Gender spectrum

Gender spectrum or gender continuum is a term often used as a metaphor to help explain nonbinary identities.

In its most simplistic form, the gender spectrum is a line going from male on one end to female on the other end. However, this conceptualization has been criticised by some, as it does not fully adequately include all genders. Many nonbinary genders are not "between male and female" (for example maverique, agender, aporagender, or xenogender).

The phrase "on the gender spectrum" is sometimes used as a synonym for "nonbinary" or "gender nonconforming".

Gender Spectrum is also the name of a USA-based gender inclusion organization.

History
One of the earliest references to a gender spectrum in literature may have been from German legal author Prof. Ludwig Frey, when he uses the German language term Geshlechtsreihe in his 1898 book Die Männer des Rätsels und der Paragraph 175 des Deutschen Reichsstrafgesetzbuches ("The Men of Riddles and Paragraph 175 of the German Imperial Criminal Code"). Although this is not explicitly the term "gender spectrum", Geshlechtsreihe can be translated to mean a scale/spectrum/sequence of genders/sexes.

The phrase "gender spectrum" in English dates back at least to the 1980s. For example, in a 1985 issue of the crossdressing/transsexualism magazine "Tapestry", a listing for a therapy group is described as including "transsexuals, transvestites and persons who are trying to find themselves on the gender spectrum."