Gender symbols
Gender symbols are graphic designs that represent a gender, such as the Venus symbol for female, and Mars symbol for male. Symbols for nonbinary gender identities explore variations on these. This page gives an incomplete list of symbols for gender identities.
Symbols based on Venus/Mars paradigmEdit
Like the Venus and Mars symbols for the binary genders, these designs have a large, central circle, just with different prongs, angles, or other details. These designs may also use other astrological symbols.
Binary gender symbolsEdit
These are the basic symbols of the binary genders.
| Symbol | Description | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
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The Venus symbol, for women. Depicts the handmirror or distaff of the Roman goddess of love. Alchemical symbol for copper. | U+2640 ♀ |
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The Mars symbol, for men. Depicts the shield and spear of the Roman god of war. Alchemical symbol for iron. | U+2642 ♂ |
Transgender symbolsEdit
The transgender symbol has a combination of female, male, and mixed symbols.
| Symbol | Description | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
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The transgender symbol. A mix of female (Venus), male (Mars), and androgyne (Venus and Mars mixed). This symbol was designed in the 1990s by Holly Boswell, Wendy Parker, and Nancy R. Nangeroni. A specific version-- blue, with rounded line ends, on a lavender triangle-- belongs to Nangeroni, but otherwise the symbol belongs to none and can be used freely.[1] | U+26A7 ⚧ |
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Transfeminism symbol, combining the transgender symbol with the feminism symbol (a Venus symbol containing a fist of power). | |
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Transgender equality symbol. | |
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The transcommunist symbol, combining the traditional transgender symbol with the communist hammer and sickle, indicating transgender support of communism and/or queer liberation. |
Ambiguous symbolsEdit
There are several common symbols that don't have clearly defined meanings, and may be used to represent various different concepts.
| Symbol | Description | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
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Symbol for a mix of female (Venus) and male (Mars). Can mean intersex or transgender.[2] Botanical symbol for hermaphrodite. This symbol is also used to represent bigender individuals whose two genders are female and male.[3][4] Can also be interpreted as representing heterosexuality.[5] | U+26A5 ⚥ |
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Androgyne, intersex, or other gender symbol. Made from female (Venus) and male (Mars) symbols. Can point other directions, but meanings of this aren't agreed upon. Also the alchemical symbol for iron sulfate. | U+26A8 ⚨ or U+26A6 ⚦ or U+26A9 ⚩ |
Nonbinary gender identity symbolsEdit
These are symbols for specific nonbinary gender identities. Listed in alphabetical order.
| Symbol | Description | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
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An agender symbol made by tumblr user system-lgbt. | U+2205 ∅ |
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An aliagender symbol designed by a group of non-binary Brazilians in 2014.[3] | |
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A demiboy symbol designed by a group of non-binary Brazilians in 2014.[3] It is a Mars symbol with half of the extending arrow removed. | |
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A demigirl symbol designed by a group of non-binary Brazilians in 2014.[3] It is a Venus symbol with half of the extending cross removed. | |
  
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Various genderfluid symbols made by tumblr user system-lgbt. | |
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An interlocked 'G' and 'Q' symbolizing the genderqueer identity. Dates back to at least 2010.[6] | |
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A gender symbol meant to represent nonbinary individuals specifically. The use of the "x" was a decision made by the creator (Johnathan R), in 2012, due to the rise of use of "x" as a letter that represents nonbinary individuals both legally and in pronouns and titles. | |
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An agender symbol. Also a neuter or neutrois symbol. Based on Venus and Mars symbols, but with no prongs. | U+26AA ⚪ |
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A neutrois or neuter gender symbol, the latter used in botany. Also an older version of the Venus symbol. | U+26B2 ⚲ |
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Neutrois symbol used by the Neutrois Outpost in 2000. The circles represent a null gender. Additionally, the lavender triangle is for pride in LGBT identity.[7] | |
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A neutrois symbol. Can be seen as a variation on the Venus and Mars symbols that omits the prongs of either. Null or empty set symbol. | U+2205 ∅ |
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The astronomical symbol for comets used as a nonbinary symbol. Proposed because the male and female signs are both signs for planets. | U+2604 ☄ |
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Nonbinary man symbol created by a tumblr user named Aster in 2018. It is a Mars symbol with an asterisk inside the circle. |
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Nonbinary woman symbol created by a tumblr user named Aster in 2018. It is a Venus symbol with an asterisk inside the circle. | |
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Other gender symbol. | |
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Pangender symbol. | |
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Symbol for those who use Sissy as a gender identity. Replaces the masculine spear icon with a feather duster. | |
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A symbol for solarian nonbinary people. It is a minimalist representation of the Sun. | U+263c ☼ |
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A third gender symbol designed by a group of non-binary Brazilians in 2014.[3] It is made of two shapes, a small triangle and a larger circle, connected by a horizontal line. |
More identity symbolsEdit
These symbols are for identities that aren't always seen as nonbinary gender identities, or sometimes even as gender identities. Listed in alphabetical order.
| Symbol | Description | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
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A butch symbol designed by a group of non-binary Brazilians in 2014.[3] It is a Mars symbol with elongated arms on the arrow. | |
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Eunuch symbol. A male (Mars) symbol, with the extending arrow detached from the circle. | |
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A femme symbol designed by a group of non-binary Brazilians in 2014.[3] It is a Venus symbol with longer arms on the cross. | |
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Gallae gender symbol, by Laura Anne Seabrook. Based on the female (Venus) symbol, but also an alchemical symbol for sulfur (representing a fire triangle on a cross of earth) | U+1F70D 🜍 |
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Intersex symbol, the astrological symbol for Earth. | U+1F728 ⴲ |
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Mercury symbol, meaning hybrid. Used for intersex people and genderfluid/gender nonconforming individuals[8][9]. Originally used for hermaphroditism; before gender and sex were depicted as separate[10], it also became symbol for androgyny. Depicts the staff of the Roman messenger god, based on the caduceus (below). | U+263F ☿ |
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The caduceus symbol represents Hermes (or the Roman Mercury), and by extension trades, occupations, or undertakings associated with the god. In later Antiquity, it provided the basis for the astrological symbol representing the planet Mercury. Thus, through its use in astrology, alchemy, and astronomy it has come to denote the planet and elemental metal of the same name. It is said the wand would wake the sleeping and send the awake to sleep. If applied to the dying, their death was gentle; if applied to the dead, they returned to life.
By extension of its association with Mercury and Hermes, the caduceus is also a recognized symbol of commerce and negotiation, two realms in which balanced exchange and reciprocity are recognized as ideals. This association is ancient, and consistent from the Classical period to modern times. The caduceus is also used as a symbol representing printing, again by extension of the attributes of Mercury (in this case associated with writing and eloquence). |
U+2624 ☤ |
 
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Gender questioning symbols. The circle of the female (Venus) and male (Mars) symbols, but instead of their prongs, a question mark shape. |
Other kinds of gender symbolsEdit
Some gender symbols aren't based on the Venus and Mars symbols. This can be an intentional choice for those who don't like Venus and Mars symbolism, or to get farther away from the gender binary.
| Symbol | Description | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
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In 1996, Raphael Carter proposed that this ambiguous geometric shape called the Necker Cube be a symbol for androgynes, "because it is either concave or convex depending on how you look at it."[11][12] | |
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In some kinds of family tree diagrams (genograms or pedigrees), a triangle is a symbol for a person whose gender is unknown. It's also for fetuses that were miscarried, or were not yet born when the genogram was drawn. This is as opposed to squares (male) and circles (female). | U+25B3 △ |
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A rhombus is a botanical symbol for a plant of unknown sex, as well as a family tree symbol for a person of unknown sex. | U+25CA ◊ |
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ Nancy R. Nangeroni. "Transgender symbol." July 1994. http://www.gendertalk.com/tg-symbol/ Archived on 17 July 2023
- ↑ lucas (26 July 2006). "Symbols". Archived from the original on 21 August 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Cari-Rez-Lobo (2 October 2014). "Gender Symbols". DeviantArt. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ↑ SilenceTheFox (13 February 2019). "Gender Symbols + Orientation Symbols". DeviantArt. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ↑ ⚥ Male and Female Sign, Emojipedia, retrieved 15 November 2020 Archived on 17 July 2023
- ↑ "File:Gqsymbolproudava.png". Wikimedia Commons. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023.
Date: 3 September 2010
- ↑ Axey, Qwill, Rave, and Luscious Daniel, eds. “FAQ.” Neutrois Outpost. Last updated 2000-11-23. Retrieved 2001-03-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20010307115554/http://www.neutrois.com/faq.htm
- ↑ "☿️ Mercury Emoji". emojipedia.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
- ↑ "Gender symbols - Cakeworld". www.cakeworld.info. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
- ↑ "Sex and gender distinction". Wikipedia. 2020-11-04. Archived from the original on 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2020-11-12.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ↑ Raphael Carter, "Angel's Dictionary." July 14, 1996. https://web.archive.org/web/19990427014012/http://www.chaparraltree.com/raq/angels.shtml
- ↑ Nat Titman, "The Necker Cube: Symbol for androgyny." June 25, 2011. Practical Androgyny. http://practicalandrogyny.com/2011/06/25/the-necker-cube-symbol-for-androgyny/ Archived on 17 July 2023
