Nonbinary Wiki

Intergender: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Intergender.png|thumb|Intergender flag from Pride Flags on DeviantArt]]
{{uncommon identity}}
[[Intergender]] is a [[gender identity]] under the [[nonbinary]] and [[transgender]] [[umbrella terms]]. Intergender people have a gender identity that is in the middle between the [[binary gender]]s of female and male, and may be a mix of both. The word "intergender" has been independently coined by different people at different times, resulting in two main differences in meaning:
{{infobox identity
| flag = intergender.png
| related = [[Bigender]], [[Androgyne]], [[Ipsogender]], and [[Amalgagender]]
| umbrella = [[Nonbinary]]
| frequency = 0.1%
| gallery_link = Pride Gallery/Intergender
}}
This term has two separate and conflicting definitions<ref>https://gender.fandom.com/wiki/Intergender</ref>. The word "intergender" has been independently coined by different people at different times, and the meaning has been different.


1. Some of them have given it as an identity label that any person can use, even if they are not [[intersex]] ([[dyadic]]) themselves. This definition seems to have been coined earlier, at least in the 1990s.<ref>Donna Lynn Matthews, “What is intergendered?” 1998-10. http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/intergen.html</ref>
# [[Intergender]] is a [[gender identity]] under the [[nonbinary]] and [[transgender]] [[umbrella terms]]. Intergender people have a gender identity that is in the middle between the [[binary gender]]s of female and male, and may be a mix of both.  
# [[Intergender]] refers to a [[gender identity]] that is influenced by or directly tied to a person's experience being [[intersex]].


2. Others have said that "intergender" can only by used by people who are intersex, and that intergender is an identity only for intersex people.<ref>Aeshling. "Intergender." ''Mogai-Archive.'' http://mogai-archive.tumblr.com/post/92026280519/intergender</ref> Intersex people need words for gender identities that correlate only with intersex bodies. In that case, dyadic nonbinary people should respect intersex people by taking up a different label than intergender for themselves, such as [[androgyne]] or [[bigender]].
Many people within the intersex community believe this word should only by used by people who are intersex, and that intergender is an identity only for intersex people.<ref name="Aeshling_Mogai">Aeshling. "Intergender." ''Mogai-Archive.'' 2014. http://mogai-archive.tumblr.com/post/92026280519/intergender {{dead link}}</ref> However, the identity label had already been in use for at least sixteen years as something that was open to people of any birth sex.<ref name="Matthews_Intergendered">Donna Lynn Matthews, “What is intergendered?” 1998-10. http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/intergen.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20230607030918/http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/intergen.html Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref><ref name="Matthews_Genderqueer">Donna Lynn Matthews, “Being genderqueer – What it means for me.” 2006-10. http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/genderqueer.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20230321220818/http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/genderqueer.html Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref> This is not a unique situation, as many intersex exclusive terms are often co-opted by [[Dyadic|perisex]] (non-intersex) people. It is unclear whether the term originated among the intersex community due to a lack of surviving intersex history.


On the other hand, dyadic people who identified as intergender before this rule was created may be no less entitled to it. There is also the matter that some nonbinary people who were born dyadic describe their [[transition]] as one that will make their body more intersex, and call themselves female-to-intersex or male-to-intersex transsexuals.<ref>Raphael Carter, "Angel's Dictionary." 1996-07-14. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050308185631/http:/www.chaparraltree.com/raq/angels.shtml]</ref> (However, some intersex people have said they were uncomfortable with this.) Either way, both definitions agree that "intergender" means a gender identity between female and male, which may be a mix of both.
==History==
 
During the 1990s, usenet newsgroups were informal public discussion groups on the Internet that were oriented around topics of interest, such as hobbies, fandoms, and LGBT issues. Starting sometime before 1998, people who identified as intergender created a discussion group in the alt.support.intergendered newsgroup, which was created by an intergender and non-intersex person named Donna Lynn Matthews.<ref name="Matthews_Genderqueer"/> The [http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/asig_charter.html charter (last updated in 1998) for that newsgroup] explains its purpose, and what intergendered means: 
 
<blockquote>
"The intent of this newsgroup is to provide a supportive, informative and friendly environment for intergendered individuals. Intergendered individuals do not gender themselves as 'men' or 'women', but somewhere inbetween, as a mix of both masculine and feminine qualities. Others gender themselves as neither 'men' nor 'women' ([[agender|agendered or non-gendered]]), thus placing themselves 'outside' of the gender 'spectrum' completely. Given this, intergendered individuals tend to present (to varying degrees) in a non-descript or ambiguous manner by means of androgyny, partial crossdressing [sic], genderbending, and part-time cross-gender living, to name a few. Intergendered should not be confused with intersexed, as the two are quite different. It is not the intent of this to be an intersexed support forum. This newsgroup is open to anyone (intersexed individuals included), provided that posted articles are on topic and of relevance to intergendered individuals."<ref name="newsgroup_charter">{{cite web |title=CHARTER: alt.support.intergendered |url=http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/asig_charter.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321220847/http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/asig_charter.html|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>  
</blockquote>
 
From the above description, at the time, "intergender" was posed as an umbrella term in the 1990s, similar to how "nonbinary" came to be widely known as an umbrella term in the 2010s. Intergender included a variety of gender identities (even genderlessness) and gender expressions that didn't fit into the binary. It was an identity label that any person can use, even if they are not [[intersex]].<ref name="Matthews_Intergendered" />
 
Some participants of that newsgroup used xe/hir/hirs as gender neutral pronouns.<ref>"GNP FAQ." [https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http:/aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html]</ref> There were enough people who identified as intergender that there was an intergender webring. A webring was something that any site with something in common with its theme could choose to join, so users could browse a list of sites on the same subject matter. Webrings were important for finding sites about any particular kind of content before the advent of large search engines like Google. This means that on the intergender webring, there was a list of personal websites by many different intergender people, similar to blogs.<ref>"Welcome to the Intergendered Webring." ''Donna's Hideout.'' c. 1998. http://donnas-hideout.org/igring.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20211027191151/http://donnas-hideout.org/igring.html Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>
 
In 1998, Matthews described intergender as "a gendered state ''between'' the polar endpoints of man and woman. […] I'm both and neither at the same time. […] As we do not gender ourselves along the either/or lines of the binary gender system, we often choose not to present along these lines. […] We are not really interested in ''passing'' as women or men. We want nothing more than to be able to simply be who we are without having choose between two extremes."<ref name="Matthews_Intergendered" />
 
In 2000, a non-intersex and intergender person named [http://cydathria.com/ms_donna//interdressing.html Deird Duncan coined the word "interdressing,"] meaning intergender [[gender expression]] in clothing, possibly without any intention to be seen as any particular gender.<ref>Deird Duncan, “Interdressing.” 2000-04-10. http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/interdressing.html  [https://web.archive.org/web/20211029113308/http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/interdressing.html Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>
 
In March 2004, Livejournal user badoingdoing created an intergender-centric community, describing its intended audience on its profile<ref name=":0">https://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml/?user=intergender</ref>:<blockquote>This community is for people who:
 
feel uncomfortable with the way society treats gender in general
 
don't feel like they fit in "masculine" or "feminine" roles
 
want to express both "masculine" and "feminine" roles


==History==
have gender somewhere between or not described by "masculine" or "feminine"


In the 1990s, people who identified as intergender had a discussion group in the alt.support.intergendered newsgroup, which was created by a dyadic intergender person named Donna Lynn Matthews.<ref>Donna Lynn Matthews, “Being genderqueer – What it means for me.” 2006-10. http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/genderqueer.html</ref> Some participants of that newsgroup used gender-neutral [[pronouns]].<ref>"GNP FAQ." [https://web.archive.org/web/20120229202924/http:/aetherlumina.com/gnp/listing.html]</ref>
want to discuss these things in an accepting environment.</blockquote>As of 2024, the community had 48 members; the last post was in July 2008.<ref name=":0" />  


In 1998, Matthews described intergender as "a gendered state ''between'' the polar endpoints of man and woman. […] I'm both and neither at the same time. […] As we do not gender ourselves along the either/or lines of the binary gender system, we often choose not to present along these lines. […] We are not really interested in ''passing'' as women or men. We want nothing more than to be able to simply be who we are without having choose between two extremes."<ref>Donna Lynn Matthews, “What is intergendered?” 1998-10. http://cydathria.com/ms_donna/intergen.html </ref>
In a 2010 encyclopedia, intergender is listed as a type of "[[androgyne]]" gender: "Androgyne identities include [[pangender]], [[bigender]], [[ambigender]], nongendered, [[agender]], [[gender fluid]], or [[intergender]]."<ref>''Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies'', page 894, SAGE Publications,