Androgyne

The androgyne flag by lanky.

**Androgyne** is a gender identity associated with androgyny. It may also be described as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between those two genders, or neither. The term is also sometimes used to refer to androgynous individuals, regardless of gender identity.

## Etymology

"Androgyne" is derived from the Greek *andro*, meaning "man," and the Greek *gyne*, meaning "woman."

## History

Androgyne has historically been used as a synonym for intersex, and while this use of the term has become less common, it is not completely obsolete. Androgyne can refer to a person's gender identity, a person's sex, or both. The word was first used in reference to gender in 1918.

## Distinction

### Bigender

***Main article:** Bigender*

Bigender is a term for people who experience two distinct gender identities, fluidly or simultaneously. This can be any two gender identities, and these genders can be individually binary or nonbinary. While many bigender people are both men and women, this is not always the case. A bigender person can also be a binary gender and a nonbinary gender, or two nonbinary genders. Androgyne, on the other hand, is often specifically defined as a blend of both binary genders.

### Intergender

***Main article:** Intergender*

Intergender is a term with multiple definitions, but is generally defined as a gender identity which is related to being intersex, and often exists between the binary genders. Androgyne, on the other hand, is not typically defined as being intersex-exclusive. A person of any sex may be an androgyne, whereas it is usually accepted that only intersex people can be intergender, due to a need for gender terms tied to the intersex experience.

### Intersex

***Main article:*** *Intersex*

Intersex is an umbrella term for sex variations that cannot be neatly defined as male or female. While androgyne was historically synonymous with intersex, this definition has almost completely fallen out of use. Androgyne is now generally accepted to refer to gender identity, rather than sex. However, it can still refer to gender, sex, or both.

## Flag

The androgynous equal pride flag was created by an unknown person. The date of its creation is also unknown, but it likely predates other androgyne flags, and is rumored to date back to 2003. The blue stripe represents masculinity, and the pink stripe represents femininity. They form an equal sign to symbolize harmony between one's masculinity and one's femininity. Grey represents the "grey area" between the two binary genders. There is also a version of the flag where the blue and pink stripes completely stretch from one side of the flag to the other.

The three stripe androgyne flag was created by Tumblr user saveferris (also known as lanky or lankyledlights) on March 29, 2011. The stripe meanings were not specified in xyr posts, but it is generally assumed that pink represents women and/or femininity, blue represents men and/or masculinity, and purple represents being a mix of both.

The seven stripe androgyne flag was created by Tumblr user pride-flags-for-us as late as August 23, 2015. The black and white stripes represent how androgyne, though nonbinary, is "somewhat more binary" than other nonbinary genders, weaving between male and female comfortably. In other words, these stripes represent harmony between both binary genders, rather than complete rejection of them. Blue represents masculinity, pink represents femininity, and purple represents a mix of both.

## Symbol

The first and most commonly used androgyne symbol (⚨) combines the tail from the Mars symbol (♂), which is commonly used to represent men and masculinity, with the tail from the Venus symbol (♀), which is commonly used to represent women and femnininity. It is often oriented with the tail pointing upwards, but can also be oriented with the tail pointing to the top right (⚦), to the side (⚩), or another direction. This symbol is also sometimes used to represent intersex people, transgender people, and hermaphroditic organisms.

An alternate androgyne symbol was proposed by Cameron Reed in the 1990s. They stated that they don't like the Mars-Venus symbol, due to its reliance on gender stereotypes and "the two most irritating gods in the Roman pantheon," leading to this proposal. She suggested the Necker cube, due to it being either concave or convex, depending on how the person looks at it. It was also chosen to due its simplicity and implications of ambiguity.

## Gallery

The androgynous equal pride flag (alternate version)The androgynous equal pride flag (alternate colors)
## Notes

1. ↑ lanky uses xe/he/it pronouns.
2. ↑ Some plants and animals are hermaphroditic, meaning they have reproductive capabilities categorized as both male and female, simultaneously or sequentially. Humans cannot be hermaphrodites, and this word is considered a slur when applied to people. However, some choose to reclaim this word.
3. ↑ The sources used include Cameron Reed's deadname. In this article, she is referred to with her current name and pronouns, rather than the name and pronouns used on their old website.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Trans and Intersex Glossary. OULGBTQ+ Society. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Payne, Alice (2020-08-05). Sexuality Flags & LGBT+ Symbols: The Ultimate Pride Guide. Vispronet. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Hardell, Ash. *The ABC's of LGBT+*. Mango Media Inc., 2016. ISBN 9781633534087.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Androgyne. The Trans Language Primer. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Feldman, Stephe (2001-04-20). Androgyne Online. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Terms to Know. Out Front Theatre Company. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 PFLAG National Glossary of Terms. PFLAG. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023.
8. ↑ Androgyne Definition & Meaning. Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023.
9. ↑ Andro Definition & Meaning. Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023.
10. ↑ gyno-. Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Reed, Cameron. RAQ: Not This, Not That. Archived from the original on December 9, 2004.
12. ↑ Werther, Ralph. *Autobiography of an Androgyne*. Herring, Scott, Rutgers University Press, 2008-02-22. ISBN 0813543002.
13. ↑ Lane, S. Nicole (2021-01-17). What Is Genderqueer?. Verywell Health. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023.
14. ↑ Bigender / Trigender / etc.. The Trans Language Primer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023.
15. ↑ Pride-Flags (2015-08-17). Intergender (1). Archived from the original on August 2, 2023.
16. ↑ actuallyintersex (2014-11-19). Intergender Flag (untitled post). Archived from the original on August 2, 2023.
17. ↑ Intergender. The Trans Language Primer. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023.
18. ↑ 'LGBTI' People and Communities. LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (2019-06-28). Archived from the original on April 20, 2021.
19. ↑ Is a person who is intersex a hermaphrodite?. Intersex Society of North America. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Androgyne (Alternate). Library.LGBT (2021-06-11). Archived from the original on October 24, 2021.
21. ↑ Viridzen (2015-07-02). Androgyne pride flag proposal. AVEN. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015.
22. ↑ saveferris-blog (2011-03-29). Voilà. Androgynous flag.. Tumblr. Archived from the original on December 11, 2022.
23. ↑ Pride Archive. Androgyne Pride. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022.
24. ↑ Pride-Flags (2015-08-23). Androgyne (2). DeviantArt. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Reed, Cameron (1996-07-14). The Angel's Dictionary. Archived from the original on April 27, 1999.
26. ↑ History of Transgender Symbolism. T-Girl Publishing (2015). Archived from the original on June 1, 2021.