Intergender

*Not to be confused with integender.*

**Intergender** is a gender for intersex people only, referring to any gender identity that is fundamentally tied to one's intersex identity. It denotes that being intersex has an important affect on one’s gender identity. It commonly involves a gender that is in between male and female or a gender that is partially male and/or female, but it does not necessarily have to. It can modify someone’s gender identity (i.e. intergender demiboy) or it can be an identity on its own (i.e. one is intergender because being intersex is their gender experience).

## History

Intergender has a second, older definition, and there are contradictory opinions on how it should be used. The first recorded usage of the word was in October 1998 and was used to refer to a gender that feels in between male and female. Under this definition it could be used by both dyadic and intersex people. However, it seems clear that the word created due to a lack of terminology at the time. At the time, "intergender" was used as an umbrella term, similar to how "non-binary" 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. In modern times the umbrella term "non-binary" has replaced intergender. The words non-binary or androgyne can be used to have a similar, if not the same meaning.

In 2014, the Tumblr usernames quietlyloud-intersex/indonintersex independently coined the word "intergender," with the condition that this word is for the use of intersex people only. It had an otherwise similar definition as it did previously. It was defined as "A gender that is between and among male and female." The post did not seem to be aware of the other usage of the word.

Many intersex people find it inappropriate for dyadic people to use the term. Intergender should only be used by intersex people, as they need words that correlate with their specific experiences. Dyadic people should use other words such as androgyne, bigender, or non-binary.

## Flags and Symbols

The pink, yellow, and blue flag seems to be the oldest of the flags and was likely designed before the intersex-specific definition. The designer and meaning are unknown, though it presumably uses pink and blue to represent femininity and masculinity, with yellow in between them.

The pink, purple, and blue flag was designed by Tumblr user Actuallyintersex, on or before August 17, 2015. The flag demonstrates that being intergender is related to being intersex, so they use the same general layout and color scheme as the intersex flag.

The purple and yellow flag was designed by Tumblr users Interpunked and Deafblinddisaster on Janury 17, 2020. This is similar to the previous flag as it is also based off the design and color scheme of the intersex flag, however this one uses the yellow and purple flag, which has become the more popular and widely recognized intersex flag.

The intergender symbol was designed on October 4, 2014 by a group of non-binary people from Brazil. The symbol has a circle and two parallel lines facing downward to the right. On one line is half a cross, like on the female symbol. On the other line is half an arrow, like on the male symbol. This symbol was possibly designed with the old definition in mind.

## Resources

1. ↑ http://cydathria.com/ms\_donna/intergen.html
2. ↑ https://pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/148276809390/intergender
3. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Intergender-1-554424855
4. ↑ https://interpunked.tumblr.com/post/190315338222/intergender-flag-updated-design-117-this-flag-was
5. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/cari-rez-lobo/art/Gender-Symbols-486052086