Agender

**Agender**, also known as **genderless**, can be one of the **A** terms in the acronym LGBTQIA+. It is a gender identity that has been defined multiple ways, including:

* Not identifying with any gender, particularly the gender binary; not male, not female, not both or neither.
* Feeling gender neutral.
* The absence of a feeling of gender or lacking gender.
* Rejecting the concept of gender.
* Feeling the concept of gender is personally irrelevant.

While agender is typically considered under the transgender and/or non-binary umbrellas, different individuals may or may not identify with those terms; those who do use them do not need to transition physically, legally, or socially to be agender. Some agender people are genderfluid, meaning their gender identity is not static and changes from being agender. Agender individuals can have any type of gender expression and use any set of pronouns or no pronouns at all just like any other individual can. Agender identities are not exclusive to certain assigned genders at birth or sexual orientations and romantic orientations and the orientation terms used by individuals who are agender may potentially challenge the idea of "same" and "opposite" gender attraction.

## Etymology

The term "agender" is comprised of the prefix "a-", which comes from the Ancient Greek *ἀ*-, meaning "not" or "without", and "gender". The literal meaning of the term agender is thus "genderless" or "without gender".

While agender as an identity is not new, the word describing the gender experience, or lack thereof, only surfaced on the internet in 2000 on a forum called UseNet during a religious discussion with someone referring to God as being agender. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term was used again on the same forum 5 years later, this time to refer to people, and from then on, the term started to gain traction. It was used in a profile done by the New York Times of "Generation LGBTQIA".

## Community

Agender Pride Day has been observed each year on May 19 since 2017. As such, it is one of the newer LGBTQIA+ awareness days.

### Identities under the umbrella

Agender can be used as an umbrella term for various microlabels related to feelings of genderlessness. These can include identities such as the following:

* **Agenderfluid**: Feeling both agender and genderfluid to some degree.
* **Agenderflux**: One's gender fluctuates between agender and either feminine or masculine.
* **Genderblank**: Gender that is so indescribable "that the only thought when trying to describe it is a blank space".
* **Genderfree**: An ambiguous gender that is still described as "definitely queer".
* **Polyagender**: Experiencing multiple identities under the agender umbrella at once.

### History

On March 10, 2017, the Multnomah County Court of Oregon granted Patch a "General Judgment of Name and Sex Change"; Patch thus became the first legally agender person in the United States. The same judgment also allowed them to change names and become mononymous—meaning only having one name instead of a given name and a surname.

### Flag

The agender flag was created on February 18, 2014 by Salem, who is agender. An artist from New York, they created the flag at a time when Tumblr was seeing an influx of identity expressions, making it hard for people to distinguish the valid identities from the "online fads". Capitalizing on the momentum, Salem created the agender flag (among others) to increase visibility for agender identities and reclaim their own identity. The transgender flag served as a primary influence as Salem wanted to have a similar stripe pattern and symmetry.

The flag design features 7 horizontal stripes, from top to bottom: black, gray, white, green, white, gray, and black again. The black and white stripes represent the agender experience, the gray the demi-agender experience, and the green refers to agender being part of the wider non-binary community as those who identify outside of the gender binary. While the monochrome on the flag is representative of a spectrum of internal identities, ranging from people with a strong feeling of gender to those without, the green in the middle was deliberately chosen for being the invert of the shade of purple on the non-binary flag that refers to those who relate to the gender binary, as purple is a combination of pink and blue, the traditional female and male colors, thus highlighting that agender does not fall between the binary spectrum at all.

While Salem's design remains the most widespread, more agender flags were created. In 2021, Mars created a four-striped homage to the original, using similar colors and meanings, though with a deliberately higher-contrast design and fewer stripes to emphasize the solidarity of agender people who may also be lesbian, gay, bisexual, non-binary, trans, ace, or any other sexual, romantic, and gender identities. By reducing the repetition of the colors, Mars sent out the message that "No matter what else we are, all agender people are wholly equally agender."

### Distinction

#### Gender apathy

Gender apathy is different from agender in that the individual could be cisgender or non-binary, but they do not care or think about it. People who are gender apathetic are not fazed by gendered comments and do not feel discriminated against for being their gender, even when they are.

#### Genderless

Genderless and agender are sometimes considered separate terms. In definitions that separate them, they are seen as having a strong overlap between the experiences, but with the definition of genderless having a stronger emphasis on completely lacking a gender.

#### Gender neutral

Main article: Gender neutral
Gender neutral means "not gendered", which places it right within the meaning of agender, i.e., "without a gender". However, as opposed to agender, gender neutral is not a term used to describe people. This term is used to refer to language (such as pronouns or neutral greeting or job titles), locations (like bathrooms), or other aspects of society.

#### Gender non-conforming

Main article: Gender non-conforming
The difference between agender and gender non-conforming people lies in the fact that agender people generally experience a lack of gender whereas a gender non-conforming person is someone who does not fully conform to the expectations around their gender that their society enforces. While some gender non-conforming people may identify as agender, many do not, and they simply do not follow the expected gender norms. This can out itself in the way they express themselves, the roles they assume, or any other aspect of their gender.

#### Gendervoid

Although agender and gendervoid are similar and can be used interchangeably, gendervoid puts more emphasis on feeling like one's gender is literally a void.

#### Non-binary

Main article: Non-binary
As non-binary is an umbrella term for all genders falling outside of the gender binary; agender is often placed under this term. However, this does not mean that all non-binary people are agender, as many may experience gender whereas agender people do not.

#### Neutrois

Main article: Neutrois
**Neutrois** is a non-binary gender identity with a strong emphasis on gender neutrality. It is considered part of the genderqueer and transgender umbrellas. Some people identify as both agender and neutrois.

## Media

### Music

* Angel Haze - American rapper and singer who identifies as pansexual and agender.

### Video Games

* Testament, a character from the fighting game series Guilty Gear, as confirmed by commentary from a marketing representative during the ARCREVO America 2021 Finals.

## Resources

* Neutrois - a resource for anyone who is or thinks they may be neutrois, agender, or genderless.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Davis, Chloe O.. *The Queens' English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases*. Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2021. ISBN 9780593135013.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Holleb, Morgan Lev Edward. *The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality: From Ace to Ze*. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. ISBN 9781784506636.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Hardell, Ash. *The ABC's of LGBT+*. Mango Media Inc., 2016. ISBN 9781633534087.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Trans Language Primer: "Non-Binary". *The Trans Language Primer*. (Archived on October 26, 2021).
5. ↑ The Gender & Sexuality Resource Center: "Pride Flags". *University of Northern Colorado*.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ferguson, Sian: "What Does It Mean to Be Agender?". *Healthline*.
7. ↑ Etymology of "a-"
8. ↑ "Inqueery: What Does It Mean to Be Agender?" (2018-08-07). *them.*.
9. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary: "agender, adj.". oed.com.
10. ↑ Schulman, Michael: "Generation LGBTQIA" (2013-01-09). *New York Time*.
11. ↑ News Desk: "When is Agender Pride Day in 2021?" (2021-02-24). *The Gay UK*.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 The Albert Kennedy Trust Ltd: "Resources for the Agender Community". *AKT - LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Charity*. (Archived on May 22, 2023).
13. ↑ University of Nebraska Omaha Student Life: "Queer and Trans Spectrum Definitions". *University of Nebraska Omaha*. (Archived on July 2, 2023).
14. ↑ White, Taneasha and Smith, Jamie: "Glossary of LGBTQIA+ Terms: Why Language Matters" (2022-08-23). *PsychCentral*. (Archived on March 29, 2023).
15. ↑ O'Hara, Mary Emily: "Judge Grants Oregon Resident the Right to Be Genderless" (2017-03-23). *NBC News*.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Interview: Creator of the Agender Flag". *Majestic Mess Designs*.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Introduction Interview: Creator of the Agender Flag" (2018-12-16). *Majestic Mess Designs*.
18. ↑ Agender pride flag 2021
19. ↑ "SS: Gender Apathy". boblane.com. (Archived on December 1, 2022). (content no longer online)
20. ↑ The Trans Language Primer: "Genderless". *The Trans Language Primer*. (Archived on November 1, 2021).
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 PFLAG: "National Glossary of Terms". pflag.org.
22. ↑ "What's the difference between agender and gendervoid?". transgenderteensurvivalguide.com.
23. ↑ "Neutrois". neutrois.com. Neutrois.com.
24. ↑ Keating, Shannon: "The Evolution Of Angel Haze" (27-03-2015). buzzfeed.com. BuzzFeed. (Archived on October 26, 2022).
25. ↑ Symonds, Alexandria: "The Emancipation of Angel Haze" (04-02-2014). out.com. Out Magazine. (Archived on May 19, 2022).
26. ↑ "【日本語配信】ARCREVO America 2021 Finals" [Japanese] [Video]. youtube.com. Arc System Works. "Fan translation of portion of the stream discussing Testament here (archive link)." (Archived on October 29, 2022).
27. ↑ Tolentino, Josh: "Testament Struts Their Stuff in Guilty Gear Strive Guide" (22-03-2022). siliconera.com. Siliconera. (Archived on August 20, 2022).
28. ↑ Walker, Ian: "Classic Guilty Gear Character Comes Out As Non-Binary In Latest Game" (21-03-2022). kotaku.com. Kotaku. (Archived on June 27, 2022).