Demigender: Difference between revisions

'''Demigender''' (from ''demi'' "half" + "gender") is an [[umbrella term]] for [[nonbinary]] [[gender identity|gender identities]] that have a partial connection to a certain gender. This includes the partly [[female]] identity '''demigirl,''' and the partly [[male]] identity '''demiboy'''. There are other partial genders using the "demi-" prefix for the same reasons. For example, '''deminonbinary''', '''demifluid''', '''demiflux''', and so on. Like nonbinary, '''demigender''' is also an identity within itself, for people who feel connection to the concept of gender rather than certain genders. Being a demigender "is not dependent on how much (as in percentage) someone identities as one gender; it solely depends on if a person identifies as partially. For some, they may identify with two or more genders while others may not."<ref name="Savage">{{Cite web |title=Demigender Definitions |author=Savage |work=A Safe Place for Demigenders |date=11 November 2014 |access-date=30 April 2020 |url= https://demigenders.tumblr.com/post/102344212344/demigender-definitions}}</ref>

A demigirl is someone who only partially (not wholly) identifies as a girl or woman, whatever their assigned gender at birth.<ref>http://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/55798-definitions-master-list/ AVEN: Definitions Master List</ref> They may or may not identify as another gender<ref name="Queeries">{{Cite web |title=Some Genderqueer Identities |author= |work=Gender Queeries |date= |access-date=30 April 2020 |url= https://genderqueeries.tumblr.com/identities}}</ref> in addition to feeling partially a girl or woman. May also use the terms demigal, demifemale or demiwoman.

Alternatively, demigirl can be used to describe someone [[Assigned_at_birth#Assigned_Gender_At_Birth|assigned female at birth]] who feels but the barest association with that identification, though not a significant enough dissociation to create real physical discomfort or dysphoria, or someone assigned male at birth who is trans feminine but not wholly binary-identified, so that they feel more strongly associated with “female” than “male,” socially or physically, but not strongly enough to justify an absolute self-identification as "woman".<ref>http://genderqueerid.com/gq-terms</ref>

A demiboy, also called demiguy, is someone whose gender identity is only ''partly'' male, regardless of their [[sex#Gender Assigned At Birth|assigned gender at birth]].<ref>http://asexualityorg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gender&amp;action=print&amp;thread=9 Definitions Master List</ref> They may or may not identify as another gender<ref name="Queeries" /> in addition to feeling partially a boy or man. They may also define their identity as both male and genderless ([[Agender|agender]]).

* Irish journalist [[Kay Cairns]] identifies as a [[genderqueer]]<ref name="mcguire">{{Cite web |title=Beyond the binary: what does it mean to be genderfluid? |last=McGuire |first=Peter |work=The Irish Times |date=9 November 2015 |access-date=30 April 2020 |url= https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/beyond-the-binary-what-does-it-mean-to-be-genderfluid-1.2418434 }}</ref> demiguy.<ref name="OCallaghan">{{Cite web |title=Gender fluidity: Break free from being identified as male or female |last=O'Callaghan |first=Helen |work=Irish Examiner |date=3 October 2015 |access-date=30 April 2020 |url= https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/gender-fluidity-break-free-from-being-identified-as-male-or-female-356787.html}}</ref>

* Dr. [[Sand Chang]] uses a number of varying gender terms for themself, including demiboy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ep 69 Dr. Sand Chang Licensed Psychologist Interview |last=Kramer |first=Kaiya |work=The Queer Life Radio |date=11 December 2015 |access-date=6 April 2020 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtFtRleENew}}</ref>

* [[Sam de Leve]] is an American who plays non-binary characters for the Geek & Sundry [https://geekandsundry.com/tag/sam-de-leve/] and Saving Throw multimedia networks. They<ref>https://twitter.com/chaikovsky</ref> are also a dancer [https://vimeo.com/233586263] and writer [https://medium.com/@DeLeve]. They describe themself as a "half-boy" in their Twitter bio.

* Indian activist [[Dan Rebello]] is a demiboy.<ref name="Pundir">{{Cite web |title=What it’s Like Being Non-Binary in India, Where Everyone Uses Gendered Pronouns |last=Pundir |first=Pallavi |work=Vice |date=4 February 2020 |access-date=8 November 2020 |url= https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3m3pm/what-its-like-being-non-binary-in-india-where-everyone-uses-gendered-pronouns}}</ref>

* In ''School Spirit: An Unlikely Webseries'', the character Charley Condomine is demigender.<ref name="lezw_Char">{{Cite web |title=Charley Condomine |author= |work=LezWatch.TV |date= |access-date=16 June 2020 |url= https://lezwatchtv.com/character/charley-condomine/}}</ref>

* In the dating sim game ''The Office Type'' (still in development), the character Cal is a demigirl and the character Syl is a demiboy.<ref>https://www.heavythoughtstudios.com/projects/</ref>

On August 12, 2010, user Bad Patient of AVEN's transyadas<ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/54301-whats-a-transyada/?tab=comments#comment-1640236</ref> posted  

PS The elitist douche in me likes describing himself with terms that are likely used by no-one else. <ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/52633-transwhatevers-of-aven/page/20/?tab=comments#comment-1615634</ref></blockquote>

In December of that year, a different user in that forum, seeking more information, wrote<ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/52633-transwhatevers-of-aven/page/728/?tab=comments#comment-1733093></ref> that the only place they could find a description of the term "demigirl" was on the yada wiki.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20110415202533/http://yada.wikia.com:80/wiki/Demigirl</ref> In response, user A Long Time Ago posted

<blockquote> As far as I know, that and demiguy are terms made up by the yadas, so there is no additional information on it. Hopefully, they will get onto the Definitions Master List soon where the terms will get more visibility and then maybe it will spread out into more common usage. I personally identify as demigirl because I feel kind of like an female-agender blend by which I mean that I have no identification as male but have an identification as female that is not very strong.<ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/52633-transwhatevers-of-aven/page/728/?tab=comments#comment-1733127</ref></blockquote>

"Demigirl" and "demiguy" were added to the AVEN Gender Definitions Masterlist<ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/159465-gender-definitions-masterlist-forum-ettiquette-and-faq/</ref> on Dec 12th 2010.<ref>https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/52633-transwhatevers-of-aven/page/728/?tab=comments#comment-1733514</ref>

By Oct 14, 2011, "demigirl" and "demiguy" had been added to the Genderqueer Identities & Terminology page of the popular blog Genderqueerid.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20111014042115/http://genderqueerid.com:80/gq-terms</ref>. The blog owner, Marilyn Roxie, had collected data for a survey of genderqueer people that year, (Sept 15th - Oct 15th); nine people selected the "demiboy" checkbox, and seven people selected "demigirl."<ref>https://genderqueerid.com/gqhealth</ref>

A tumblr blog named demigenders was started in March 2014, aiming to be "a safe space for those who identify as demigirl, demiboy, demienby, demigender demiflux, or demifluid".<ref>https://demigenders.tumblr.com/archive/2014/3</ref> Another blog, demigenderpalace, was created in June 2014, with a similar aim.<ref name="palace">{{Cite web |title=Hello this is the demigender palace |author=spyro |work=safe space for demigenders |date=17 June 2014 |access-date=5 July 2020 |url= https://demigenderpalace.tumblr.com/post/89018247156/hello-this-is-the-demigender-palace-a-safe-space }}</ref>

In 2015, tumblr user transrants created "demigirl & demiguy flag proposals" which would go on to become the standard flags for these identities. User druxydeity created the deminonbinary flag following the same pattern.<ref name="druxy-deminb">[https://genderheaven.tumblr.com/post/627494343816724480/druxydeity-transrants-demigirl-demiguy-flag MOGAI HEAVEN! post on Tumblr], quoting druxydeity.</ref>

In 2018, Washington state began to allow "X" gender markers on official documents<ref name="Jackman">{{Cite web |title=Washington to recognise third gender in groundbreaking move |last=Jackman |first=Josh |work=PinkNews |date=5 January 2018 |access-date=14 May 2020 |url= https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/01/05/washington-to-recognise-third-gender-in-groundbreaking-move/}}</ref>, with the law stating that {{quote|"X" means a gender that is not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to, [[intersex]], [[agender]], [[amalgagender]], [[androgynous]], [[bigender]], [[demigender]], female-to-male, [[genderfluid]], [[genderqueer]], male-to-female, [[neutrois]], [[nonbinary]], [[pangender]], [[third gender|third sex]], [[transgender]], [[transsexual]], [[Two Spirit]], and unspecified.<ref name="washington">{{Cite web |title=WAC 246-490-075: Changing sex designation on a birth certificate. |author= |work=Washington State Legislature |date= |access-date=14 May 2020 |url= https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=246-490-075}}</ref>}}

In 2021, a person going by the online handle Bluebolt712 created Demigenders Awareness and Pride Day, to be celebrated on the 15th of December.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CXgI9g6umH1/ |author=Bluebolt712 |date= 15 December 2021|access-date=15 December 2021 |title=(Post 1/4) Today is Demigenders Awareness and Pride Day. This is a day I created because I noticed the sharp increase in the number of people claiming these labels as their own in the past few years. Yet, the awareness of demigenders remains quite low.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Demigenders Resources |author=Bluebolt712 |work=Bluebolt712's LGBT+ Resources |date= |access-date=15 December 2021 |url= https://bluebolt712.wordpress.com/demigenders-resources/}}</ref>