Agender: Difference between revisions

Help

Content added Content deleted

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 01:12, 5 July 2021

Agender (also known more lightheartedly as gendern't) is complete genderlessness, or the lack of gender.^[1] It is a non-binary identity in which one is not male, female, or any other gender. They may identify most strongly as just a person, rather then as any given gender.

Agender people may also identify as non-binary, genderqueer, or transgender, though some choose to avoid these terms, as they can imply that they identify as a gender, when they in fact do not. As it is a lack of gender, some feel that it should not be labeled with the term "gender" at all.

Other Definitions

While a complete lack of gender is the most common definition of agender, people may call themselves agender for other reason, such as:

Their gender is neutral or neutrois.
Their gender is unknown or undefinable.
Their gender does not align with any binary or non-binary categories.
They are removed from the concept of gender.
There are no words to fit their gender experience.
They do not care about gender, either an internal identity, as an external label, or both.

Agender vs Gender Neutral

There is little solid agreement about the exact difference between terms such as agender and gender neutral/neutrois. Some people use these terms interchangeably, but for others, there is a difference between these terms. The most commonly sighted difference is that agender is the experience of having no gender at all, whereas gender neutral or neutrois is the experience of having a gender identity, but that gender identity is not masculine or feminine, but neutral.

Agender vs Gendervoid

Gendervoid, also called voidgender, is similar to agender, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, while they do overlap, they are not always the same. Agender is generally recognized as a broader term. While an agender person may feel as though they never had a gender in the first place, a gendervoid person may feel like there is an empty place where a gender would or should be.

History

The first recorded use of the word agender on the Internet appears to come from a post on the site UseNet, on July 28, 2000. It was used in a discussion thread titled "alt.messianic". The user Miriam Wolfe wrote "All I understand is that G-d is amorphous, agender, etc. so "image" can't be a physical or gender or sexual thing."^[2] There were a few other instances of the word being used around the same time, but these also were either about God or were talking about people presenting in a gender-neutral manner (not as specific gender identity).

The first instance where the word was used about people as a specific identity seems to also come for UseNet, in a thread titled "alt.politics.democrats". The user man_in_black529 wrote "But despite this near-universality of gender, cultures can have transgender, agender, and hypergender individuals."^[3]

In both these cases the word agender was not defined; presumably, the definition was already known at the time. The word agender probably existed before these posts, and possibly had a similar meaning to what it does now. However, earlier uses of the word are not recorded.

Flags and Symbols

The original agender flag was designed by the Tumblr user Transrants aka Salem in 2014.^[4] Black represents an absence of gender. Grey represents those who have a partial gender. Green represents the non-binary nature of this gender because green is the inverse of lavender (a mixture of pink and blue, representing a mix of female and male).

Variations on the agender flag usually include green and black.

An alternate agender flag was designed by Reddit user angerywaman on May 6, 2020^[5], The colors are based on a sunset, representing the sun setting on gender. Purple represents androgynous presenting agender people. Pink represents feminine presenting agender people. Orange represents masculine presenting agender people. Yellow represents all agender people. The in between colors represent those who have a mix of presentations.

The "citrus agender" flag variants by Mars in 2021. Turquoise or dark green represents leaves and stands for working towards agender liberation. Green represents limes and stands for agender friendship, love, and community. Yellow represents emonss and atands for gender joy and celebration. Orange represents oranges stands for gender artwork and creativity. Red represents blood oranges and stands for agender diversity and individual expression.

Several agender symbols exist. The most common is a circle (in reference to the male and female symbols and many other gender symbols), with a line through it, either horizontally or diagonally (∅), likely representing gender being crossed out and absent. Another variant includes a line without prongs, similar to the neutrois symbol. Another, less common agender symbol is a plain circle (⚪), though this symbol is also sometimes used to represent asexuality.

Resources

[:0-1] ttps://agender.info

[2] ttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/alt.messianic/Egv3-Fufvsw/FIGdiv-8z7AJ

[3] ttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!original/alt.politics.democrats/ZNxbzT3GPrg/hmVZJTBrlFkJ

[4] ttps://pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/147170289630/agender

[5] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/NonBinary/comments/geo2dx/i_redid_the_agender_flag_to_me_it_means_the_sun/

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:Agender flag.png|thumb|The agender flag.|alt=|220x220px]]
 [[File:Agender flag five stripes.png|alt=|thumb|220x220px|An alternate agender flag with five stripes.]]
+[[File:Alternate Agender flag.png|alt=An alternate Agender flag with the following colors, from top to bottom: Cold purple, light cold purple, purple, hot pink, pink, orange, yellow.|thumb|An alternate agender flag by angerywaman.]]
-[[File:Agender flag citrus four stripes.jpg|alt=Citrus agender flag variant by Mars (2021). The colors and meanings are: green (leaves - working for agender liberation), lime (limes - agender friendship, love, and community), yellow (lemons - agender joy and celebration), orange (oranges - agender artwork and creativity), and red (blood oranges - agender diversity and individual expression).|thumb|Four-stripe agender flag variant by Mars (2021). The colors and meanings are: turquoise - working for agender liberation, green- agender friendship, love, and community, yellow - agender joy and celebration, orange/red - agender diversity and individual expression.]]
+[[File:Agender flag citrus four stripes.jpg|alt=Citrus agender flag variant by Mars (2021). The colors and meanings are: green (leaves - working for agender liberation), lime (limes - agender friendship, love, and community), yellow (lemons - agender joy and celebration), orange (oranges - agender artwork and creativity), and red (blood oranges - agender diversity and individual expression).|thumb|The citrus agender flag (four stripes).]]
-[[File:Alternateagenderprideflag.png|thumb|Alternate agender pride flag]]
+[[File:Agender flag citrus variant.jpg|thumb|The citrus agender flag (five stripes).]]
-[[File:Alternate Agender flag.png|alt=An alternate Agender flag with the following colors, from top to bottom: Cold purple, light cold purple, purple, hot pink, pink, orange, yellow.|thumb|Designed by Reddit user /u/angerywaman (May 2020), it means the sun setting on gender. Meanings: purple: andro-presenting, pink: fem-presenting, orange: masc-presenting, and yellow: presents all. The colors in between each one also mean those who present both of those.]]
+[[File:Alternateagenderprideflag.png|thumb|An alternate agender pride flag]]
-'''Agender''', also known more lightheartedly as gendern't, is complete [[Genderless|genderlessness]], or the lack of gender.<ref name=":0">https://agender.info<br /></ref> It is a [[Non-Binary|non-binary]] identity in which one is not [[Man|male]], [[Woman|female]], or any other gender. They may identify as most strongly as just a person, rather then as any given gender.
+[[File:Agender symbol 1.png|thumb|A common agender symbol. |alt=|119x119px]]
+[[File:Agender symbol 2.png|thumb|Another common agender symbol. Unicode: U+2205 ∅|alt=|119x119px]]
+[[File:Agender symbol 4.png|thumb|An alternate agender symbol. Unicode: U+26AA ⚪|alt=|119x119px]]
+[[File:Agender symbol 3.png|thumb|180x180px|An alternate agender symbol.]]
+'''Agender''' (also known more lightheartedly as '''gendern't''') is complete [[Genderless|genderlessness]], or the lack of gender.<ref name=":0">https://agender.info<br /></ref> It is a [[Non-Binary|non-binary]] identity in which one is not [[Man|male]], [[Woman|female]], or any other gender. They may identify most strongly as just a person, rather then as any given gender.
+Agender people may also identify as non-binary, [[genderqueer]], or [[transgender]], though some choose to avoid these terms, as they can imply that they identify as a gender, when they in fact do not. As it is a lack of gender, some feel that it should not be labeled with the term "gender" at all.
+== Other Definitions ==
 While a complete lack of gender is the most common definition of agender, people may call themselves agender for other reason, such as:
@@ Line 15: / Line 23: @@
 * They do not care about gender, either an internal identity, as an external label, or both.
+===Agender vs Gender Neutral===
-Agender people may also identify as non-binary, [[genderqueer]], or [[transgender]], though some choose to avoid these terms, as they can imply that they identify as a gender, when they in fact do not. As it is a lack of gender, some feel that it should not be labeled with the term "gender" at all.
+There is little solid agreement about the exact difference between terms such as agender and gender neutral/[[neutrois]]. Some people use these terms interchangeably, but for others, there is a difference between these terms. The most commonly sighted difference is that agender is the experience of having no gender at all, whereas gender neutral or neutrois is the experience of having a gender identity, but that gender identity is not masculine or feminine, but [[neutral]].
-==Agender vs Gender Neutral==
+===Agender vs Gendervoid===
-There is little agreement about the difference between terms such as agender, gender neutral, and [[neutrois]]. Some people use these terms interchangeably, but for others, there is a difference between these terms. It is often said that agender is the experience of having no gender at all, whereas gender neutral or neutrois is the experience of having a gender identity, but that gender identity is not masculine or feminine, but neutral.
-==Agender vs Gendervoid==
 [[Gendervoid]], also called voidgender, is similar to agender, and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, while they do overlap, they are not always the same. Agender is generally recognized as a broader term. While an agender person may feel as though they never had a gender in the first place, a gendervoid person may feel like there is an empty place where a gender would or should be.
@@ Line 30: / Line 36: @@
 In both these cases the word agender was not defined; presumably, the definition was already known at the time. The word ''agender'' probably existed before these posts, and possibly had a similar meaning to what it does now. However, earlier uses of the word are not recorded.
 ==Flags and Symbols==
+The original agender flag was designed by the Tumblr user Transrants aka Salem in 2014.<ref>https://pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/147170289630/agender</ref> Black represents an absence of gender. Grey represents those who have a partial gender. Green represents the non-binary nature of this gender because green is the inverse of lavender (a mixture of pink and blue, representing a mix of female and male).
-[[File:Agender symbol 1.png|thumb|An agender planetary symbol. |alt=|119x119px]]
-[[File:Agender symbol 2.png|thumb|Another common agender symbol. Unicode: U+2205 ∅|alt=|119x119px]]
-[[File:Agender symbol 4.png|thumb|An alternate agender symbol. Unicode: U+26AA ⚪|alt=|119x119px]]
-[[File:Agender symbol 3.png|thumb|180x180px|An alternate agender symbol.]]
-The original agender flag was designed by the Tumblr user Transrants aka Salem in 2014.<ref>https://pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/147170289630/agender</ref> The color meanings are as follows:
-* Black represents an absence of gender
-* Grey represents partial gender
-* Green represents the non-binary nature of this gender because green is the inverse of lavender (a mixture of pink and blue, representing a mix of female and male)
 Variations on the agender flag usually include green and black.
+An alternate agender flag was designed by Reddit user angerywaman on May 6, 2020<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/NonBinary/comments/geo2dx/i_redid_the_agender_flag_to_me_it_means_the_sun/</ref>, The colors are based on a sunset, representing the sun setting on gender. Purple represents androgynous presenting agender people. Pink represents feminine presenting agender people. Orange represents masculine presenting agender people. Yellow represents all agender people. The in between colors represent those who have a mix of presentations.
-The citrus agender flag variants by Mars (2021) has four or five stripes. The colors and meanings are:
-* Green or turquoise (leaves - working for agender liberation)
-* Lime green (limes - agender friendship, love, and community)
-* Yellow (lemons - agender joy and celebration)
-* Orange (oranges - agender artwork and creativity)
+The "citrus agender" flag variants by Mars in 2021. Turquoise or dark green represents leaves and stands for working towards agender liberation. Green represents limes and stands for agender friendship, love, and community. Yellow represents emonss and atands for gender joy and celebration. Orange represents oranges stands for gender artwork and creativity. Red represents blood oranges and stands for agender diversity and individual expression.
-* Red (blood oranges - agender diversity and individual expression)
 Several agender symbols exist. The most common is a circle (in reference to the [[Man|male]] and [[Woman|female]] symbols and many other gender symbols), with a line through it, either horizontally or diagonally (∅), likely representing gender being crossed out and absent. Another variant includes a line without prongs, similar to the [[neutrois]] symbol. Another, less common agender symbol is a plain circle (⚪), though this symbol is also sometimes used to represent [[Asexual|asexuality]].