Xenogender is defined as "a gender that cannot be contained by human understandings of gender; more concerned with crafting other methods of gender categorization and hierarchy such as those relating to animals, plants, or other creatures/things".[1] Since it is a gender identity that is outside the binary concepts of masculinity and femininity, xenogender is a non-binary identity,[2] and some xenogender people identify as transgender.[3] Xenogender is part of the MOGAI community;[4] MOGAI is an acronym for Marginalized Orientations, Gender Alignments, and Intersex,[5] and serves as an umbrella term for people who are not cisgender and/or heterosexual.[6]
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Etymology
The prefix xen- or xeno- means stranger, guest, or host.[7] The word "xenine" has been used to mean "of or pertaining to xenogenders", with "xenity" as a noun form.[8]
Community
Xenogender people may use ideas and identities outside of the gender binary to describe themselves and avoid binary gendered identifiers, such as using only their first name or the name of an animal.[2] They may feel they cannot place a label on themselves,[9] or feel as though they lack the terms to fully express their gender or identity, something that derives from a lexical gap.[10] A lexical gap is a word that does not exist in a particular language, although it could exist according to that language's rules.[11] The term "xenogender" itself was designed to help fill the lexical gap by using terms not typically associated with gender or describing gender with metaphors.[10] Young children may approach this gap by refusing to label themselves by gender, only using their name, identifying themselves as animals, and drawing themselves in self-portraits as rainbows, unicorns, or other symbols they choose.[12] Many adults take the same approach to express themselves as well.
History
The term xenogender was proposed on June 24, 2014, by Baaphomett, a user of the social media website Tumblr.[1]
Flag
Multiple xenogender flags have been proposed. On DeviantArt, Roswell (under the username Pastelmemer) created two flag options on January 15, 2017. Both use the same seven stripe colors, which are described as common shades from iris flowers. The central yellow stripe symbolizes genders that have no relation to the gender binary. The symbol in the center of the designs is the astronomical sign for the asteroid Iris, which is named after the deity associated with rainbows;[13][14] this symbol is white in the first design[13] and black in the other.[14]
Another flag was created on February 17, 2017, using stripes by an anonymous user and a symbol by Mod Hermy from Pride-Flags. Its stripes are seven shades of blue-purple, and it has a central symbol in yellow and light purple that is designed to resemble an iris flower.[15]
A xenogender symbol was designed on July 28, 2018, by Tumblr user system-lgbt. It is meant to be reminiscent of a stylized iris flower.[16]
Distinction
Xenic, also known as xeno-aligned, is similar to xenogender; however, they are not meant to be equivalent. It was proposed by Tumblr user abandonedabandoned to explain a gender alignment that is not male- or female-aligned, nor is it non-aligned. The definition of xenic or xeno-aligned is: "when your gender experience (gender, desired/current presentation, dysphoria, other expressions) doesn't fit the human binary of gender alignments. Instead of male or female aligned, one would feel like they're more aligned with animals, plants, things, and/or concepts. These terms were made with alterhumans and xenogender individuals in mind, but any nonbinary person who feels xenic fits their identity may use it."[17]
Perceptions and discrimination
Those who use new identity terms (or "neo-identities") such as xenogender may be targeted for criticism, shaming, ridicule, harassment, or accusations of being a "faker". Staying in the closet by not openly identifying as a neo-identity becomes a form of self-protection against the risks of coming out. However, not engaging in identity exploration can interrupt the process of identity formation and lead to using an inaccurate identity label that does not truly fit. The discomfort of feeling one is something "other" than the mainstream labels sometimes becomes a feeling of being "invalid" or "abnormal". Neo-identities can be life-saving and life-affirming by reassuring people that they are not "broken" or "wrong" for better relating to other words.[6]
The online trans community (primarily North American) and some of the offline trans community (such as in France) has been heatedly debating the inclusion of xenogender identities in trans support networks and political activism. Trans activism is largely concerned with self-determination for trans people, as well as ending state-sponsored and state-sanctioned violence against trans people. In online spaces, xenogender individuals have expressed that they do not feel included in the political discourses and support networks of non-xenogender trans rights activists. Members of the latter group have argued that people with xenogender identities are not oppressed for those identities in the same way that a non-xenogender trans person is oppressed, sometimes to a life-endangering extent, for being transgender.[18]
In a counseling reference book related to gender diversity, its description of xenogender says that some research suggests these forms of non-binary identity may be linked to synaesthesia, a condition where someone's senses are experienced as linked to each other; for example, the individual may perceive certain sounds as linked to specific colors. It is possible that non-binary people with synaesthesia or synaesthesia-like perceptions may experience their gender identity and describe it in terms that other people do not attribute to gender, such as time, light, shape, size, or sensory characteristics like texture or sound.[2]
One particular xenogender respondent to the Neuroqueer Survey, an informal survey of adults who identified as both transgender/non-binary/agender and on the autism spectrum, offered this response to the question, "What steps can mental health providers take to better meet/serve trans autistic patients/clients?":[3]
Listening and believing/accepting without challenging, making assumptions, and/or antagonizing; explicitly acknowledging when they are insufficiently educated in either/both issues and taking steps to seek out relevant information/training.
22-year-old white non-binary xenogender respondent, Neuroqueer Survey
Resources
References
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