We will cover :
• definition and deconstruction of the
meaning of gender
• Common and uncommon gender
identities
More about gender!

• Gender, as defined by geneq.berkeley.edu/ is:
• “Gender: A socially constructed system of classification that ascribes qualities
of masculinity and femininity to people. Gender characteristics can change
over time and are different between cultures.”
• A bit more simply, the concept of gender was created by society for people
to describe themselves. (gender is a social construct!) Society today only sees
two ways to describe oneself with gender: as male or female.
• The thought that female and male are the only genders is known as ‘the
gender binary’
• The gender binary is gross and constricting
Gender:

• Gender is a spectrum
• As in, there are more than two genders, and some of these genders
are very similar but are their own identities
What people think
gender is like :
What gender is
actually like :

• Cisgender: someone who identifies
as the gender they were assigned
at birth
• example:
• a baby is born, the doctor declares
the baby a girl, the girl grows up
and still identifies as a girl
First, something you should be familiar with

• now, lets start with some of the more common identities
• Agender can be described as
someone with no gender, someone
who doesn’t identify with any gender

• Genderqueer is a term used for
anyone who does not identify as
cisgender female or cisgender
male
• Many trans people consider
themselves genderqueer

• Similar to genderqueer
• “so, isn’t that the same as
genderqueer?”
• Hold on we are about to cover
that

• As put by Wikipedia:
• “Difference between Genderqueer and Nonbinary
• Genderqueer means non-normative or queer gender while nonbinary means
gender that falls outside the gender binary model. Both of these terms are
extremely similar in scope, however in practice their connotations are
significantly different.
• Genderqueer comes with the anti-assimilationist political connotations of queer,
which is a reclaimed slur word with strong associations with a countercultural
sexuality movement that sets itself apart from the mainstream LGBT community
• …By contrast, nonbinary is more politically neutral in its connotations. Nonbinary
was coined as a descriptive term, originally simply 'non-binary gender', used to
describe the range of experiences that fall outside of the binary gender model.”

• Genderqueer means non “normal” gender, and can simply mean queer. With that
come the negative association of the word queer, thought it is a reclaimed slur
• While nonbinary only has a history of simply describing a gender that is not binary
• The history of the words are different!
• Genderqueer carries the word queer so some people may not want to use that term
to describe themselves
• Some also consider genderqueer to fall under the transgender umbrella, so that
may also be a reason that people identify as one or the other
• Weather or not genderqueer falls under the transgender umbrella is still an
argument, it varies from person to person
Let break that down a bit more simply

• Genderqueer also has some things to do with gender expression
• For example, someone could identify as a genderqueer woman or man
• Wikipedia: “Genderqueer-identified people seem to be more likely to hold
binary gender identities (eg, 'Genderqueer Woman') while considering
their gender expression or gender performance to be queer or non-
normative”
• Basically, some do not follow/support gender rolls (gender rolls: a woman
must be feminine, a man must be masculine) and so consider themselves
genderqueer

• Cliffnotes.com: “Gender roles are cultural and personal. They determine
how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within the
context of society. Learning plays a role in this process of shaping gender
roles. These gender schemas are deeply embedded cognitive frameworks
regarding what defines masculine and feminine.”
• Wikipedia: “Gender roles are sets of societal norms dictating what types of
behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate or desirable
for a person based on their actual or perceived sex … These are usually
centered around opposing conceptions of femininity and
masculinity,Gender roles may be a means through which one may express
their gender identity, but they may also be employed as a means of
exerting social control, and individuals may experience negative social
consequences for violating them.”
Gender rolls (ew)

• Androgynous is not a gender
identity but one way of gender
expression
• You might have heard of this
word before, used as a synonym
for “gender neutral”
• However, androgynous can be
either no feminine/masculine
traits or both at the same time
• Has to do with genderqueer-ness

• To help you understand, here is the
color wheel again. Lets say each
color represents a gender
• Someone who is Genderfluid could
be any color on this wheel on any
given day
• It depends on how they feel that
day
• Even if they change their pronouns
daily, you should always respect
someone’s preferred pronouns!

• Someone who is bigender switches
between two set genders
• It is not like being Genderfluid.
• Again, lets bring up the color wheel and say
each color represents a gender.
• While Genderfluid could be any color any
day, bigender would only switch between
two colors, lets say, red and green only, or
yellow and blue. this is for the person to
decide
• Bigender fits under
the Genderfluid umbrella,
But again, they are not
the same thing

• Quite literally, a infinite amount. Gender is how a person feels about their
own identity, and as long as there are human beings with feelings, new
identities will pop up.
• Finding you own gender is about exploring how you feel about your own
identity and recognizing how society had made you to perceive your
gender
• New terms are coined almost every day, don’t be afraid to explore your
gender
“well dang! How many genders are there?!”

• Demigender: gender.wikia.com: “Demigender is a gender identity
that involves feeling a partial, but not a full, connection to a gender
identity.”
• Demigirl: gender.wikia.com: “A demigirl is someone who only
partially (not wholly) identifies as a girl or woman, whatever their
assigned gender at birth. They may or may not identify as another
gender in addition to feeling partially a girl or woman”
• Demiboy: gender.wikia.com: “A demiguy is someone who only
partially (not wholly) identifies as a boy or man, whatever their
assigned gender at birth. They may or may not identify as another
gender in addition to feeling partially a boy or man.”
Demigender/demigirl/demiboy

• like bigender, but this time
with three
• Wikipedia: “Regardless of
current gender, trigender
people's sexual orientation
stays the same, as sexual
orientation and gender are
associated with independent
neural mechanisms”
• Trigender also fits under the
gender fluid umbrella, as it
involves shiftment between
genders.

• Aliagender: askanonbinary.tumblr.com: “ Alia or aliagender: A gender
experience which is “other”, or stands apart from existing gender
constructs
• Neutrois: the feeling that one is a neutral gender
• Obruogender: Used when somebody is overwhelmed or overpowered by
their gender identity, to an even uncomfortable or suffocating feeling.
• Apagender: being apathetic about your gender with no desire to look
into it”
Wow, Even more gender

• Nonbinary.org: “Pangender = binary genders (100% female and 100% male) + known
genders + unknown genders.
• The greek prefix “pan” refers to “everything” or “all”, therefore, pangender could
mean “all genders”, however the genders of pangender people are limited to their
own life experience. Pangenders only identify with genders of their own culture.
Pangenders do not try to identify with ethnic genders outside their own culture (and all
of them by the way), because that’s impossible (one would have to spend their life in
all cultures). Attempting to identify with ethnic genders outside one’s culture is
colonialist cultural appropriation; therefore, people who do that and call themselves
pangender should not be considered as an example of pangender. This applies to all
non-binary identities: one cannot identify with gender(s) outside their own culture. “
• Wikipedia: “… People who identify as pangender might more accurately be speaking
of a desire or willingness to include aspects of any and/or all genders in their lives,
rather than making a claim that they associate with every gender which exists.”
• Pangendering.tumblr.com: “It’s true that individuals who ARE colonialists or racists can
use pangender in these ways. People like this should NOT be considered as examples
of pangender. So, that doesn’t mean that it’s correct for people to erase the
pangender identity from people who are pangender. Pangender is still an identity
and it’s NOT limited to colonialist / racist individuals.”
pangender

• Yes, yes there are. Among witch are : two-spirit, hijra, Kathoey, Non-binary travesti,
and muxe.
• Two-spirit is an identity specific to some Native American tribes, and is explained as
someone who identifies with both male and female roles
• Hijra: Wikipedia:” Hijra is a term used in South Asia – in particular, in India – to refer to
an individual who is transsexual or transgender. In other areas of India, transgender
people are also known as Aravani, Aruvani or Jagappa.”
• Kathoey: Wikipedia “Kathoey or katoey is a Thai term that refers to either a
transgender woman or an effeminate gay male in Thailand. A significant number of
Thais perceive kathoeys as belonging to a third gender, including many kathoeys
themselves . The word kathoey is of Khmer origin.”
• Non-binary travesti: Wikipedia “a travesti is a person who was designated male at birth
who has a feminine, transfeminine or femme gender identity and is connected to a
local socio-political identity. Travestis have been described as a third gender, but not
all see themselves this way. “
• Non-binary travesty is culturally specific to Brazil.
“Hold on, there are culture specific genders?!”

• Muxe: Wikipedia “In Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca (southern Mexico), is an assigned male at
birth individual who dresses and behaves in ways otherwise associated with the female
gender; they may be seen as a third gender.”
• Muxe: The first thing most people notice about muxes (pronounced MOO-shay) is that they
appear to be men dressed as women … most wear long hair, dresses, and some makeup.
The majority of muxes start young, in their teens, and are trained in womanly ways by
family and friends, taking their place in a Zapotec cultural tradition that predates the
Spanish colonizers. Now their traditional role has become that of caretaker
• “Sons and daughters get married and have families of their own, so the person that stays
to care for the parents is the muxe,” explains Pedro Martinez Linares, a well-known muxe
who began his training at age 13. “That’s why they are so highly valued.”
• Like their Two-Spirit sisters in North America, the muxes are an integral part of Zapotec
culture, revered, not reviled. And like other third gender people, muxes are not gay. Some
take male lovers, others take wives. And they’re not transgender. They are distinct. Nor do
all muxes work solely as women. Many take more “manly” career tracks
• And despite the popular description, not all muxes dress as women. Those are just the
vestidas. There are also pintadas, the less common muxes who wear men’s clothing and
makeup. And both come together each year for the muxes’ annual pageant, the four-
day long La Vela de las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligró, which translates to
“The Celebration of the Bold Seekers of Danger.”

• Intersex is not a gender identity, but rather
something someone is born as
• Insa.org: “Is a person who is intersex a
hermaphrodite?
• No. The mythological term “hermaphrodite”
implies that a person is both fully male and
fully female. This is a physiologic
impossibility.”

• “Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born
with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions
of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on
the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. … Or a person
may be born with mosaic genetics, so that some of her cells have XX chromosomes
and some of them have XY.
• Though we speak of intersex as an inborn condition, intersex anatomy doesn’t always
show up at birth. … Some people live and die with intersex anatomy without anyone
(including themselves) ever knowing.
• Which variations of sexual anatomy count as intersex? In practice, different people
have different answers to that question. That’s not surprising, because intersex isn’t a
discreet or natural category.
• What does this mean? Intersex is a socially constructed category that reflects real
biological variation.
• … So-called “sex” chromosomes can vary quite a bit, too. But in human cultures, sex
categories get simplified into male, female, and sometimes intersex, in order to
simplify social interactions, express what we know and feel, and maintain order.

• So nature doesn’t decide where the category of “male” ends and the category of
“intersex” begins, or where the category of “intersex” ends and the category of
“female” begins. Humans decide. Humans (today, typically doctors) decide how
small a penis has to be, or how unusual a combination of parts has to be, before it
counts as intersex. …
• In our work, we find that doctors’ opinions about what should count as “intersex”
vary substantially. Some think you have to have “ambiguous genitalia” to count as
intersex, ... Some think your brain has to be exposed to an unusual mix of hormones
prenatally to count as intersex … And some think you have to have both ovarian
and testicular tissue to count as intersex.
• Rather than trying to play a semantic game that never ends, we at ISNA take a
pragmatic approach to the question of who counts as intersex. We work to build a
world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for anyone born
with what someone believes to be non-standard sexual anatomy.”

• I hope you learnt as much from watching this PowerPoint as I did from
making it!
• (there will be a separate PowerPoint covering transgenderism)
That’s all, folks!

• www.advocate.com
• pride-flags-for-us.tumblr.com
• Gender.wikia.com
• www.dancingtoeaglespiritsociety.
org
• www.cliffsnotes.com
• geneq.berkeley.edu
• Kanayapapayas.tumblr.com
• www.isna.org
• Nonbinary.org
• anagnori.tumblr.com
• askanonbinary.tumblr.com
resources