Xenogender

Xenogender

Xenogender (coined in 2014 by Tumblr user Baaphomett in a submission to the MOGAI-Archive blog, from xeno alien + "gender") is a nonbinary gender identity "that cannot be contained by human understandings of gender; more concerned with crafting other methods of gender categorization and hierarchy such as those relating to animals, plants, or other creatures/things." Xenogender isn't defined in relation to "female" or "male" (the binary genders), but by other kinds of ideas that most people don't think of as having to do with gender. When people talk about nonbinary gender, they often find that there aren't any words for their experiences. This is called a lexical gap. In order to fill a lexical gap, this wiki takes up "xenogender" as an umbrella term for an entire category of nonbinary genders that are defined by characteristics with no relation whatsoever to "female" or "male." The adjective "xenine" means "of or pertaining to xenogenders". The noun form of xenine is xenity.

Because a gender binary society doesn't give much in the way of roles or descriptions for nonbinary genders, some transgender and nonbinary people address the challenge of describing their unusual gender identities by creative methods, referring to concepts that aren't usually seen as related to gender. This has been observed in very young nonbinary people:

"Not all children fit neatly into a male or female gender identity, trans or otherwise. For some children, the sense of being 'both' or 'neither' best describes their reality. [...] Children who see themselves as 'neither' will often speak of how regardless of whether they're with a group of boys or girls, they feel like they don’t fit. This is not necessarily a sad feeling. They just see the kids around them and know that they are not 'that.' Kids in this category often appear androgynous, and will frequently answer the question 'are you a boy or a girl' by saying their name ('I'm Devon') or by identifying themselves as animals. When asked to draw self portraits, they will portray themselves as rainbows, or unicorns, or another symbol of their choosing."

- "Frequently Asked Questions," GenderSpectrum.org

These creative methods of describing nonbinary genders come naturally to many nonbinary people. As such, these are an emerging part of nonbinary culture, worthy of exploration and examination. Some common themes of these concepts:

Nouns and archetypes: Some nonbinary people find it easier to perceive or describe their inner sense of their gender identity by evoking familiar archetypes. Instead of giving references to how their gender relates to maleness and femaleness, they say their gender is-- or is like-- a kind of animal, an imaginary being, a part of nature, an abstract concept, or a symbol. Some nonbinary people describing their gender this way do so because they feel a sense of gender euphoria or some other connection when thinking about an object. Some people have made names for some of these kinds of noungenders, such as astralgender, described below.

Aesthetic and synaesthetic perceptions: Synaesthesia is an uncommon condition in which people have their senses linked together, so that, say, sounds and words bring up specific colors in their minds. Some nonbinary people find it feels more natural to perceive or describe their inner sense of their gender identity in terms of synaesthesia-like perceptions. For example, texture, size, shape, time, light, sound, or other sensory characteristics that most people don't attribute to gender at all. Some people have made names for some of these kinds of "aesthetgenders", such as dryagender, described below.

Neurodiversity: Some nonbinary people have mental variations (mental illnesses, neurological conditions, or neurodivergence). Some who have mental variations see these as an influence on-- or an inseparable part of-- their gender identity. These are called neurogenders, and most of them are not described on this page, but on the neurogender page.

In the 2020 Worldwide Gender Census, 85 of the responses (0.35%) called themselves "xenogender." Far more in the census called themselves by specific genders under the xenogender umbrella, though that is hard to quantify or differentiate. Individually, any given xenogender is rare, and many seem to have only been proposed, but never used by anybody.

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

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 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.

List of xenogender

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• List of nonbinary identities
• Galactian system
• Neurogender
• Otherkin