Demigender is a gender identity in which a person partially identifies with a particular gender, but not completely. That partial identification may be stable or it may change in intensity. There is a connection to the gender, but it feels less complete than in people who identify completely with that gender.
Demigender is often seen as part of the broader non-binary spectrum. Some people who are demigender also consider themselves transgender. Others use the term alongside other labels to describe their experience more specifically. There is no set way for someone to be demigender.
The opposite of demigender is hypergender, in which a person actually identifies more strongly than average with a gender. Genders similar in some ways to demigender are libragender, paragender and pseudogender. All of these terms describe a form of partial or varying identification with a gender.
In elementary school, Alex felt partly related to the boys in the class, but the image of what a boy was supposed to be was not quite right. There were days when that feeling was stronger, and days when it faded into the background. It didn’t fit in completely anywhere.
In adolescence, Alex started looking for words that could describe how that worked. Non-binary came close, but seemed too broad. It wasn’t until later, during a conversation in an online group, that Alex first read the word demigender. The explanation was recognizable, as if it described exactly that in-between space in which Alex moved.
It did not provide a ready answer, but it did provide language for talking to others. Friends understood better why Alex sometimes talked about himself as part man, and sometimes not. It made it clear that this shift was not an uncertainty, but a permanent part of how Alex perceived himself.
Now Alex uses the word demigender when people ask about gender. Not to fully explain it, but because it’s a starting point for a conversation that was previously missing.
Demigender as a gender prefix
A demigender version of each gender can exist by adding the prefix demi- before the gender. Some common examples of demigenders are:
- Demiboy: Partly a man or partly masculine.
- Demigirl: Partly a woman or partly feminine
- Demifluid: Partially gender fluid, with the other part of your gender being static.
- Demineutrois: Partially neutrois.
- Deminonbinary: Partially non-binary.
- Demixenine: Partial xenine or xenogender.
Being demigender does not necessarily mean that you are part specific gender and part agender (although it is possible). For example, you can also be a demiboy and a demigirl at the same time, meaning that part of your gender is a boy and the other part is a girl. The “other part” of your gender can be any gender or combination of genders.
Demigender as gender identity in itself
Demigender can also be an identity in itself, for people who feel partially connected to the concept of gender in general.
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