The Transgender Dictionary

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Agender

Table of Contents

Introduction

There are numerous nonbinary gender identities that people can identify as. Agender is a somewhat common term that people identify as. The term has existed since at least the mid-90s. Not everyone who identifies as agender will use the same pronouns as each other, or display the same gender presentation.

May 19th is agender pride day.

General Information

To be agender is to not identify with experiencing or having a gender. Some people who are agender may describe their gender as the following; gender neutral, genderless, having an unknown or undidentifiable gender, neutrois, not knowing or caring about their gender, lacking gender, having a null gender, identifying as more of an individual than any gender at all, without gender, not aligning with any other gender, genderfree, having a gender that is outside of the gender binary, genderblank, or simply having no other words to accurately describe their gender identity.

For some people, to label themselves as having a gender is to label themself as having more of a gender than they even do, for identifying as agender can still constitute being labeled as having a gender. For others, the label of agender is simply a declaration of not having a gender. The presentation of agendered people can vary, though most prefer to dress in a way that is not gendered. Some agender people seek out nullification surgeries.

History

The term "agender" is derived from the prefix "a" meaning "not" and word "gender." Together, this word means "not gender" or "not having a gender." While the usage of the term "agender' has been documented for several decades, the original coining of the term is unknown.

The first known usage of the word agender on the internet to refer to a person was in June of 2005 on an internet forum known as UseNet in a chat room discussion entitled "alt.politics.democrats" by user man_in_black529 who wrote "But despite this near-universality of gender, cultures can have transgender, agender, and hypergender individuals."

The first known usage of the word "agender" on the internet was in the year 2000 on the afformentioned internet forum known as UseNet in a chat room discussion entitled "alt.messianic" when a user posted “God is amorphous, agender, [...] so image can’t be a physical or gender or sexual thing.”

The first known usage of a hyphenated version of the word (a-gender) was in 1996 in the British newspaper "The Independent" where it was written as "How the drinks industry labels young drinkers: Cyber Gen, the wired generation..A-gender, Tank girl meets new man—androgynous and proud."

Agender Flag

The agender pride flag was designed in the year 2014 by Salem X and shared on the website known as tumblr. The flag features seven horizontal stripes, and the colors are symmetrical.

The two black stripes in the agender flag represent a lack of or absence of gender. The black stripes also represent the resilience and strength of the agender community.

The two gray stripes in the agender flag represent semi-genderless identities and the fluidity of those who identify as both partially gendered & gender neutral.

The two white stripes in the agender flag represent a lack of gender, gender neutrality, and the experience of being neither female nor male.

The green stripe at the center of the agender flag represents nonbinary genders. The green stripe also represents the importance of acceptance and inclusivity within the LGBTQIA+ community.

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