Neurogender

Neurogender (coined by Tumblr user Baaphomett in 2014, in a submission to the MOGAI-archive blog) means any self-identity in which a person feels that their gender identity is somehow linked to-- and best described in connection with-- their neurological type (neurotype), neurological conditions, neurodivergence, mental variation, or mental illness. One's neurotype affects many parts of one's life, including one's gender identity. Neurogenders are not defined in relationship to concepts of male and female, which puts it under the umbrellas of nonbinary gender and xenogender. There are many different neurogenders related to most, if not all, neurodivergencies. Not everyone who is neurodivergent sees themselves as having a neurogender. Some neurogenders are only for people with certain neurotypes.

"Neurodivergent" is a general category for people whose neurological development and state are atypical, and it includes people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, epilepsy, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or many other neurological conditions or mental illnesses. The word neurodivergent comes from the neurodiversity movement, which was started by autistic rights activists in the late 1990s. The neurodiversity movement seeks civil rights for neurodivergent people, and encourages seeing neurodivergence as a natural part of human diversity.

In her book The Gender Creative Child, psychologist Diane Ehrensaft wrote: "...when a child shows up with a co-occurrence of gender nonconformity and neuro-atypicality, we are meeting with gender and something else rather than gender as a symptom of something else. It might even be that the gender and the neurodiversity are part and parcel of the same thing."

In order to keep the wiki accurate to the lived experiences of neurodiverse and nonbinary people, identities should only be listed here if they cite from at least two separate external sources, showing:

1. origin (such as a source about how the term was coined, or at least history of the term's use), and

2. evidence that the identity has actually been used as someone's own identity. Acceptable evidence includes presence in at least one Gender Census result, a news article, or published nonfiction book describing an actual person using it.

A design for a pride flag does not count toward origin or evidence of use. A personal blog written by the person who coined the term or claiming to use the term does not count toward evidence of use. A source citation of a web page counts if it is either a live link, or an archive of a dead link, but dead links by themselves are not acceptable.

Neurogenders associated with autism
Autism ("Autism Spectrum Disorder" in the DSM-V ) is a spectrum of highly variable neurodevelopmental disorders. Psychologists have three main criteria for autism: impairments in social interaction, impairments in communication, and repetitive behavior. Autistic people may be impaired in some respects, but average or better in others. Autism lasts lifelong from birth; behavioral signs can be apparent as early as infancy, and many adults and seniors are autistic. The specific causes of autism are unknown, though there is thought to be a substantial genetic contribution). Therapeutic goals are not to "cure" autistic neurotypes but to teach functional skills, reduce harmful behaviors, and enhance well-being. The autistic culture and autism rights movement includes those who argue that autism should be accepted as a natural part of the diversity of kinds of people.  In the 2000s, the number of autistic people was estimated at 1–2 per 1,000 people worldwide. Recent U.S. estimates suggest that approximately 1 in every 36 children is on the autism spectrum (Maenner et al., 2023), and roughly 1 in every 45 adults is on the autism spectrum (Dietz et al., 2020).

Autigender



 * Name(s): autismgender, autigender, or autgender.


 * Origin: Coined on or before Aug 25, 2014 by Tumblr users autismgender and esperancegirl by submissions to the MOGAI-Archive blog.


 * Meaning: A gender identity with which some nonbinary autistic people choose to use to describe themselves. As originally defined by Tumblr users autismgender and esperancegirl, autismgender means "autism as part or whole of gender identity; a gender that can only be understood in context of being autistic." When your gender experience is influenced by or linked to your autism, or your understanding of the concept of gender itself is fundamentally altered by your autism.


 * Keywords: autism, gender connected with mind or brain conditions (neurogender), genders about things other than connection to female or male,


 * Demographics: In the 2016 Nonbinary/Genderqueer Survey, one of the respondents called their gender identity "autistic," and another said "autisgender." In the 2019 Worldwide Gender Census, 66 of the respondents (0.59%) called their gender identity autigender, autgender, autistic, or autiqueer. Several of these included explanations from the survey respondents that they meant that autism was their gender, or had a significant effect on their understanding of gender. In the 2020 Gender Census, 82 people were autigender, five people were autgender, one person reported they were "autigender maybe", two reported "autism gender"/"autismgender", one person was "autiegender", and one person was "autigender male" (total of 92 people whose gender is affected by their autism).

Neurogenders associated with Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong emotional reactions. People with BPD tend to have trouble seeing their identity clearly. In particular, they tend to have difficulty knowing what they value, believe, prefer, and enjoy. They may also tend to dissociate, which can be thought of as an intense form of "zoning out". They are often unsure about their long-term goals for relationships and jobs. This can cause people with BPD to feel "empty" and "lost". Individuals often engage in self-harm, substance abuse, depression, eating disorders, and other dangerous behavior. Approximately 10% of people affected die by suicide. The behavior typically begins by early adulthood and occurs across a variety of situations. BPD is typically treated with therapy, which may reduce the risk of suicide. Medications do not cure BPD, but can help with the symptoms. About 1.6% of people have BPD in a given year, with some estimates as high as 6%.

Bordergender

 * Name(s): bordergender or borderfluid


 * Origin: Coined by Tumblr user izayaorihahaha in 2014 in a submission to the MOGAI-Archive blog


 * Meaning: As defined by its coiner, "A fluctuating gender experienced exclusively by people with BPD [Borderline Personality Disorder]. A gender identity lacking a firm grasp on ones identity, while still experiencing gender, to varying degrees, but having trouble pinning it down to just one label or identity. Having the sense of grasping at labels as much as possible to describe a gender we keep questioning because we keep second guessing our sense of selves and, consequentially, our sense of gender. [...] this isn’t 'borderline is my gender' this is 'borderline has an affect on my gender because mental illness can have an affect on all aspects of our lives including our sexualities, romantic orientations and genders.'"


 * Keywords: connected with mind or brain conditions (neurogender), genders about things other than connection to female or male, indescribable


 * Demographics: In the Nonbinary/Genderqueer Survey 2016, one respondent. In the 2019 Worldwide Gender Census, two respondents. In the 2020 Gender Census, eight people were bordergender and/or borderfluid.

Neurogenders associated with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning.



Skhizeingender

 * Name(s): skhizeingender


 * Origin: Coined in 2014 or earlier by tumblr user psychoticfrodo, via submission to the mogai-archive blog.


 * Meaning: A gender strongly connected to someone's schizophrenia, or gender that is difficult to describe or communicate because of schizophrenia.


 * Keywords: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, psychosis, psychoses


 * Demographics: In the 2020 Gender Census, one respondent.

Gendervague





 * Name(s): gendervague


 * Origin: Coined in 2014 by Cryptomegha (Tumblr usernames StrangeGloved and Gcdzilla), together with many participants of the neurodivergentkin network.


 * Meaning: As originally described by its coiners, gendervague is "a nonbinary gender that can only be used by neurodivergent people [...] it means that your gender is not definable with words because of one’s status as neurodivergent. the black and gray flag represents brain fog, as well as vagueness." Later, in 2016, autistic activist Lydia X. Z. Brown (b. 1993) wrote, "I've started referring to myself as gendervague, a term coined within the autistic community to refer to a specifically neurodivergent experience of trans/gender identity. For many of us, gender mostly impacts our lives when projected onto us through other people's assumptions, but holds little intrinsic meaning. Someone who is gendervague cannot separate their gender identity from their neurodivergence – being autistic doesn't cause my gender identity, but it is inextricably related to how I understand and experience gender. [...] For many (but certainly not all) autistic people, we can’t make heads or tails of either the widespread assumption that everyone fits neatly into categories of men and women or the nonsensical characteristics expected or assumed of womanhood and manhood. Recent research has shown that autistic people are more likely to identify as transgender or genderqueer than non-autistic people. That’s not surprising to me, because I've met far more trans or genderqueer people in autistic spaces than I have anywhere else." Another gendervague person, the author Max Sparrow, wrote that "gendervague helps to create a community where people understand that disability can affect gender presentation as much as or even more than inherent gender identity. Identity labels so often focus on sifting out one aspect of identity, holding it apart and separate from other aspects of our lives. Gendervague is an inherently intersected identity, honoring two different facets of identity equally, simultaneously more exclusive and more inclusive."


 * Keywords: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, epilepsy, gender connected with mind or brain conditions (neurogender), genders about things other than connection to female or male, indefinable, indescribable, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)


 * Demographics: In the 2019 Gender Census, 26 respondents (0.23%) called themselves gendervague. Three more respondents simply called their gender "vague." The latter may or may not have meant the same identity as gendervague.


 * Notable people who call themselves gendervague: As mentioned above, activist Lydia X. Z. Brown and author Max Sparrow are gendervague. (Sparrow describes themself as "gendervague epicene". )

Pendogender



 * Name(s): pendogender


 * Origin: Coined in 2014 by Tumblr user pastel-memer by submission to the MOGAI-Archive blog.


 * Meaning: As originally described by pastel-memer, it means "never being satisfied with your gender or feeling settled no matter how well it fits due to self-doubt, causing one to compulsively search and seek out something that fits even better. Gender perfectionism. The 'gender' part can be replaced by the closest fitting gender at any time, i.e. pendojuxera or pendo-agender. For neurodivergent folks only, coined with people with anxiety disorders, OCD, and OCPD in mind."


 * Keywords: anxiety, gender connected with mind or brain conditions (neurogender), genders about things other than connection to female or male, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), prefix, questioning


 * Demographics: In the 2019 Gender Census, one respondent.