Bigender

**Bigender** is a non-binary gender identity in which someone has two distinct gender identities. They could feel both genders at the same time or be fluid between them, in which case they may also identify as genderfluid. The two genders they experience can be male, female, and/or any non-binary identities. Bigender people do not have to experience both genders in equal amounts.

Bigender people can be a combination of *any* two genders, including non-binary genders. For example, a bigender person could be female and neutrois. One or both of their genders could be fluid or fluctuating.

Bigender people may also identify as transgender or non-binary. People who experience more than two genders can be trigender, quadgender, or multigender.

## History

One of the first recorded instances of bigender being used comes from a trans organization called the Human Outreach and Achievement Institute in the 1980s which defined "bigenderist" as a type of androgyne, with the latter being defined as "a person who can comfortably express either alternative gender role in a variety of socially acceptable environments."

The more modern definition of bigender comes from Gary Bowen, who defined being bigender as "having two genders, exihibiting[sic] cultural characteristics of male and female roles" in his 1995 "Dictionary of Words for Masculine Women".

A 1997 paper concerning the "gender continuum" in International Journal of Transgenderism noted that "a person who feels or acts as both a woman and a man may identify as bi-gendered." A 1999 survey conducted by the San Francisco Department of Public Health observed that, among the transgender community, less than 3% of those who were assigned male at birth and less than 8% of those who were assigned female at birth identified as bigender.

## Flag and Symbols

Several bigender flags exist, most based off of or being similar to the original and most popular bigender flag.

The creator of the original and most popular bigender flag is unknown. The date of creation is unknown but it existed at least before July 4, 2015. It has no confirmed color meanings but is assumed that blue represents manhood/masculinity, pink represents womanhood/femininity, and purple represents androgyny or a mix of genders. The white in the center is a reflection of the white at the center of the transgender flag, which stands for non-binary identities and represents the non-binary nature of this identity. It may also represent a shift from one gender to another.

The second most popular bigender flag was created by an unknown person and was created at least before August 23, 2015. It also has unconfirmed color meanings. The colors likely mean the same as the previously mentioned flag, but with a yellow stripe likely representing non-binary genders. This flag was likely created because the original flag only seemed to focus on male-female bigender people.

There is also an intersex flag that is often incorrectly called a bigender flag, due to the creator changing the meaning after it was originally posted.

The most common bigender symbol is a mix of female (Venus) symbol and male (Mars) symbol. The symbol is most commonly associated with bigender but it can also mean intersex or transgender. It can also be interpreted as representing heterosexuality. It is the botanical symbol for hermaphrodite.

## Resources

1. ↑ https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/8g84mm373
2. ↑ https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/5q47rn80n
3. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19961105010926/http://www.ftm-intl.org/Wrtngs/ftm-words.gary.html
4. ↑ https://cdn.atria.nl/ezines/web/IJT/97-03/numbers/symposion/ijtc0102.htm
5. ↑ http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=cftg-02-02
6. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Bigender-1-543925382?ga\_changes=1&ga\_submit\_new=10%253A1468623785&ga\_type=edit
7. ↑ https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Bigender-2-555613271?ga\_submit\_new=10%253A1468623784&ga\_type=edit&ga\_changes=1