Neuter: Difference between revisions

2. Without sexual organs, or with incomplete sexual organs. In biology and zoology, this can mean animals that were artificially spayed, [[orchiectomy|castrated]], or otherwise [[sterilization|sterilized]], as well as animals who were normally born in that condition, such as worker bees. In botany, neuter can mean plants without pistils and stamens.<ref>"Neuter." ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary.'' https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neuter</ref><ref>"Neuther." ''Dictionary.com.'' https://www.dictionary.com/browse/neuter</ref><ref>"Neuter." ''The Free Dictionary.'' https://www.thefreedictionary.com/neuter</ref>

Although the word "neuter" has existed in English with these meanings for hundreds of years, surveys show that it hasn't been common for contemporary [[nonbinary]] people to call themselves neuter.<ref>[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ePCyWMdorSHAaxNcd1Iv64oLvkdgeoZldTdGZZTHlvY/edit#gid=498446722 Gender Census 2019 - the public spreadsheet]. 30 March 2019</ref> However, neuter was mentioned as one of many valid nonbinary identities in the 2013 text ''Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide''.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=9781446293133|title=Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide|last1=Richards|first1=Christina|last2=Barker|first2=Meg|year=2013|publisher=SAGE Publications}}</ref>

The word in English usage dates back to the 14th century ''neutre'', used in the grammatical sense. The English language borrowed this word from Latin ''neuter'' meaning "neither one nor the other" (''ne-'' "not, no" + ''uter'' "either (of two)"). This Latin word is likely taken in turn from the old Greek word ''oudeteros''.<ref name="etym_neut">{{Cite web |title=neuter (adj.) |author= |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |date= |access-date=20 October 2020 |url= https://www.etymonline.com/word/neuter#etymonline_v_6890}}</ref>

* '''FTN'''. In some queer communities, this has meant female-to-neuter (or [[neutrois]]) transsexual (or transgender), as a counterpart to more widely-used terms, FTM (female-to-male, meaning a trans man, or someone on the trans-masculine spectrum) and MTF (male-to-female, meaning a trans woman, or someone on the trans-feminine spectrum).<ref name="neutrois_terms">"LGBTQ terms." ''Neutrois.com.'' [http://neutrois.com/definitions/terms/]</ref>

* Autistic activist and [[intersex]] person [[Jim Sinclair]] (1940 - ) has said they are "proudly neuter, both physically and socially."<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207013228/http:/web.syr.edu:80/~jisincla/brief_bio.htm|url=http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/brief_bio.htm|archive-date=7 February 2009|title=Self-introduction to the Intersex Society of North America|last=Sinclair|first=Jim|date=1997}}</ref> In 1993 Sinclair wrote the essay, "Don't Mourn for Us", articulating an anti-cure perspective on autism.<ref name=DontMourn>{{cite web|url=http://www.autreat.com/dont_mourn.html|title=Don't mourn for us|publisher=Autreat|author=Sinclair, Jim|year=1993 |accessdate=2014-08-11}}</ref>  The essay has been thought of as a touchstone for the fledgling autism-rights movement, and has been mentioned in ''The New York Times''<ref name="Harmon">{{cite web|last=Harmon|first=Amy|title=How About Not 'Curing' Us, Some Autistics Are Pleading|date=2004-12-20|work=The New York Times

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/health/20autism.html|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> and ''New York Magazine''.<ref name=Solomon>{{cite web|last=Solomon|first=Andrew|title=The Autism Rights Movement|date=2008-05-25|work=New York Magazine |url=https://www.nymag.com/news/features/47225/ |accessdate=2008-06-28}}</ref>