Photo: Sara D. Davis (Getty)
We’ve come a long way as people, but we’ve got a long way to go, and sometimes it just takes a fresh perspective. While cisgender is the predominant gender identity, people who subscribe to their denoted birth sex, there are also agender people who simply don’t subscribe at all. For a long time, people who subscribe to gender have grown up in the age-old binary system where sex and gender are classified as “two distinct, opposite and disconnected forms,” masculine and feminine.
Just prior to the Trump administration, progressives were on a roll, moving us from the binary gender system towards a non-binary catch-all system that includes everything in between and outside those parameters so we’re going to gender bend your brain for a moment, in case you weren’t aware of these genders, and then you can share them with your friends and family at your next androgynous get-together.
We’re not saying you have to go out and make any rash decisions, but awareness can be a huge step against bigotry. Now, hopefully, the number of people offended by us unlicensed amateurs shining the light on some lesser-known genders will be minimal, but then again, we’re also the same people who think Cool Runnings is one of the most underrated Disney movies ever. If you feel we’re misinformed on anything herein, please speak up in a kind manner, except the Cool Runnings part. That’s set in stone.
8 Gender Identities You May Have Never Heard Of And Might Want To Consider
Nelly Queens & Butch
Photo: via Huffington Post
We’ll start you off with a commonly used gender identity: butch (lesbians with masculine qualities), which is generally lumped in with nelly queens, or effeminate gay men. Actress Lea DeLaria from Orange is the New Black calls the two the pariahs, or outcasts, of the LGBT community.
Demiboy/Demigirl
A demiboy or demiguy, (not to be confused with “demagogue,” which refers to the man leading the country against demiguys) is somebody who identifies only partially with the male gender. They may or may not identify with another gender, as well. The same goes for demigirls, who identify only partially with the female gender.
Fa’afafine
Since the early 20th century, the Samoan culture has identified with the term fa’afafine, which refers to someone who is assigned the male gender at birth but embodies both male and female traits later in life. Is that why the Girl Scouts changed the name of their cookie to Caramel deLites? Because we hate that shit name for such a bitching cookie.
Hijira
Photo: NBC News
Hijira is the term used in South Asia for a person who is assigned male gender at birth but later becomes a transexual, recognized as third gender to the government. Other similar names, such as Agavani and Jagappa, are used in that region, where as Northwest India uses the terms thirunangai and chhakka.
Mahu
In Hawaiian and Polynesian culture, Mahu refers to someone who embodies both the male and female spirit, yet identifies either with both genders or neither at all. Before the colonization of Hawaii, it was considered a highly respected, special role in their culture. Now the word takes on a loosely based negative connotation like “fag” and “dyke” today.
Transfeminine
Photo: via theodysseyonline.com
A transfeminine is more of an umbrella transexual gender that includes some the aforementioned genders, such as demigirl and transwoman, who are assigned male at birth but identify more with the female gender than the masculine. So it’s sort of like (here comes an ignorant assumption) the opposite of butch (someone who is assigned female but identifies with more masculine qualities), albeit butch is not necessarily transexual. Did we lose you yet?
Polygender
Photo: via southfloridagaynews.com
A polygender, or many genders, is like the suicide sports drink from your childhood where you get a little bit of every flavor in your cup. Polygenders experience multiple identities, including but not limited to male, female and any non-binary identity. Holy shit, that made sense.
Pangender
Now, I’m not sure if I understand this correctly, but if I do, then it’s awesome. Whereas a polygender refers to many genders, a pangender is all the genders or a “vast and diverse multiplicity of genders that can expand infinitely all at once or over time.” So yeah, all the genders! Similarly, a pansexual is someone who is not limited by any means in sexual preference or gender identity.
