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Genderflux refers to a person whose experience with their gender identity changes in intensity. A genderflux person's connection to gender may weaken or strengthen at random.[1][2][3] For example, an individual could be a man most of the time, but then other times that connection to their gender could feel weaker, or even completely disappear. Genderflux could thus be compared to a thermometer, which can show fluctuating temperatures over time.[4]

Etymology[]

The suffix "-flux" used in genderflux comes from the word "flux", which can mean "continuous change, passage, or movement".[5]

Community[]

Identities under the umbrella[]

The -flux suffix in genderflux can be added onto other genders, in which case the base gender is one that a person has a fluctuating connection to.[2][3] Some genderflux people may also experience multiple genders at varying degrees of intensity at once.[1] The following are just a few examples of such genderflux microlabels.

Girlflux[]

Girlflux flag

The girlflux flag

Girlflux, also sometimes referred to as womanflux,[6] occurs when a person experiences a range of intensity of female identity,[2] such as fluctuating between being a girl, a demigirl, genderless, and various degrees of intensity in-between.[3][7] Counting womanflux as a variation of girlflux, 104 participants in the 2021 Gender Census reported that they have this identity. This accounts for roughly 0.25% of participants of that survey.[8]

The girlflux flag was created on January 19th, 2017.[6]

Boyflux[]

Boyflux flag

The boyflux flag

Boyflux, also sometimes referred to as manflux,[9] occurs when a person may have a gender that fluctuates between fully masculine, partially masculine (such as a demiboy), genderless, and various degrees of intensity in-between.[2][3][10] Counting manflux as a variation of boyflux, 69 participants in the 2021 Gender Census reported that they have this identity. This accounts for roughly 0.15% of participants of that survey.[8]

The boyflux flag was created on February 8th, 2017.[9]

Agenderflux[]

Agenderflux flag

The agenderflux flag

Agenderflux, also sometimes referred to as librafluid, occurs when an agender person fluctuates in masculinity and femininity or between genders.[11][12][13] Counting librafluid and other variations of agenderflux, about 105 participants in the 2021 Gender Census reported that they have this identity. This accounts for roughly 0.24% of participants of that survey.[8]

The agenderflux flag was created on July 4th, 2015.[14]

Fluidflux[]

FluidFlux

The fluidflux flag

Fluidflux, also known as genderfluidflux,[15] is an identity that is a combination of genderflux and genderfluid. It is essentially both fluid in its gender, as well as fluctuating in intensity.[16][17] The term was coined sometime in 2014 by two Tumblr users, genderabbit and trigenby.[18]

A flag design for this identity was available online as early as August 17, 2015.[17] The creator of the flag is unknown, but the assumed flag meaning is as follows: The multitude of colors represent how a fluidflux person can be fluid between multiple genders, with the paler colors at the bottom of the flag representing fluctuations in those genders, and the black line representing agender.[19]

History[]

Genderflux was first mentioned in a publication of the Queer Pagans Newsletter in 1994, where it was described as “shifting between genders”.[20] The modern definition was coined by a Tumblr user named Deergoths/bigendeer in 2014, defining it as being specifically about changing intensity than just changing between genders.[2][21] A Teen Vogue article that included the term genderflux with the new definition was published on April 22, 2016.[22] This article is often credited with spreading the term to a wider audience.[2]

Flag[]

The exact creator of the most commonly used version of the genderflux flag is unknown,[23] but this design was in use for genderflux as early as July 4, 2015.[24] The meanings for the flag's colors are as follows:

Distinction[]

Genderfluid[]

Both genderfluid and genderflux describe feelings of gender that can change over time. Genderfluid describes a person's gender changing into different genders, such as going from woman to nonbinary to neutrois. Meanwhile, genderflux can be seen as a subset or microlabel of genderfluid, wherein a person's gender changes in intensity rather than type.[1]

Agender[]

Genderflux is a change in intensity of any gender at all, while agender is defined as not having a gender in the first place. The moments where a genderflux person feels little to no gender could be compared to agender, but this can vary from person to person.[1]

Demigender[]

Similar to agender, demigender is a static gender, compared to genderflux which is a changing gender. If a person describes their gender as demigender, then they may feel partly one gender, and partly something else.[1] In some cases, the "something else" portion can be compared to agender or otherwise a feeling of being genderless. Genderflux people may thus feel that their gender sometimes weakens to the point of feeling similar to demigender.[2][3]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The ABC's of LGBT+ by Hardell, Ash. Published 2016 by Mango Media Inc.. ISBN 9781633534087
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Genderflux" on dictionary.com (Archived on June 2, 2022).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "What Does Genderflux Mean?" on queerintheworld.com (Archived on February 27, 2022).
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "The Gender Identification Flags You Should Know About For Pride Season!" on thelgbtsentinel.com (Archived on February 3, 2022).
  5. "Flux Definition & Meaning" on dictionary.com (Archived on October 9, 2022).
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Girlflux / Womanflux (3)" on deviantart.com (Archived on August 24, 2021).
  7. "Girlflux (What Does It Mean)" on halffullnotempty.com. Published 2021-09-01 by Half Full Not Empty
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Gender Census 2021: Worldwide Report" on gendercensus.com. Published by Gender Census (Archived on October 8, 2022).
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Boyflux / Manflux (2)" on deviantart.com (Archived on August 24, 2021).
  10. "Boyflux (as part of Genderflux)" on optimistminds.com. Published by OptimistMinds (Archived on June 22, 2022).
  11. "Agenderflux (What does it mean?)" on optimistminds.com. Published by OptimistMinds (Archived on July 5, 2022).
  12. "Librafluid and Agender (A complete guide)" on optimistminds.com. Published by OptimistMinds (Archived on June 22, 2022).
  13. "What is agenderflux?" on halffullnotempty.com. Published 2022-02-23 by Half Full Not Empty (Archived on June 22, 2022).
  14. "Librafluid / Agenderflux (1)" on deviantart.com (Archived on August 22, 2020).
  15. "On being a queer, neurodiverse, animal activist and scholar in Baltimore. Interview with Z. Zane McNeill" by Trudi Bruges on criphumanimal.org. Published 2021-03-02 (Archived on April 14, 2021).
  16. Navigating Trans*+ and Complex Gender Identities by Green, Jamison; Hoskin, Rhea Ashley; Mayo, Cris; and Miller, sj. Published 2020 by Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781350061064
  17. 17.0 17.1 "Fluidflux / Fluxfluid / Genderfliux (1)" on deviantart.com. Published 2015-08-17 (Archived on December 1, 2020).
  18. "fluidflux" by mogai-archive on purrloinsucks.tumblr.com. Published 2014 (Archived on January 21, 2022).
  19. "Fluidflux, Fluxfluid, Fliux, Fluix, or Genderfliux" by ask-pride-color-schemes on ask-pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com. Published 2017-02-11 (Archived on April 3, 2022).
  20. Cite_print error: missing title parameter must be specified. . Published 1994 by Queer Pagans Newsletter
  21. "Genderflux Information and Resources" on crushingthebinary.tumblr.com (Archived on March 21, 2016).
  22. "Merriam-Webster Just Added 2 Very Important, Inclusive Words to the Dictionary" by Puckett, Lily on teenvogue.com (Archived on November 4, 2021).
  23. "What Exactly Is The Genderflux Pride Flag, And What Does It Mean?" on queerintheworld.com (Archived on February 27, 2022).
  24. "Genderflux (1)" on deviantart.com (Archived on February 27, 2022).
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 "Pride Flag Guide: Genderflux" on flag.library.lgbt. Published by Library.LGBT (Archived on November 3, 2022).
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