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
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.
Girflux
Girlflux, also sometimes referred to as womanflux,[6] occurs when a person may have a gender that fluctuates between being a girl, a demigirl, genderless, and various degrees of intensity in-between.[2][3][7][8] 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.[9]
The girflux flag was created on January 19th, 2017.[6]
Boyflux
Boyflux, also sometimes referred to as manflux,[10] occurs when a person may have a gender that fluctuates between being a boy, a demiboy, genderless, and various degrees of intensity in-between.[2][3][11][12] 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.[9]
The boyflux flag was created on February 8th, 2017.[10]
Agenderflux
Agenderflux, also sometimes referred to as librafluid or libraflux, occurs when a person feels mostly agender, which can then fluctuate to other genders.[2][13][14][15] 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.[9]
The agenderflux flag was created on July 4th, 2015.[16]
Fluidflux
Fluidflux, also known as genderfluidflux,[17] 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.[18][19] The term was coined sometime in 2014 by two Tumblr users, genderabbit and trigenby.[20]
A flag design for this identity was available online as early as August 17, 2015.[19] 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.[21]
History
Genderflux was first mentioned in a publication of the Queer Pagans Newsletter in 1994, where it was described as “shifting between genders”.[22] 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][23] A Teen Vogue article that included the term genderflux with the new definition was published on April 22, 2016.[24] 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,[25] but this design was in use for genderflux as early as July 4, 2015.[26] The meanings for the flag's colors are as follows:
- Dark pink: Women[4][27]
- Light pink: Demigirls[4][27]
- Grey: Agender[4][27]
- Light blue: Demiboys[4][27]
- Dark blue: Men[4][27]
- Yellow: Nonbinary[4][27]
Distinction
Genderfluid
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The ABC's of LGBT+ by Hardell, Ash. Published 2016 by Mango Media, Inc.. ISBN 9781633534087
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Genderflux" on dictionary.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "What Does Genderflux Mean?" on queerintheworld.com (Archived on February 27, 2022).
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ "Flux Definition & Meaning" on dictionary.com
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Girlflux / Womanflux (3)" on deviantart.com (Archived on August 24, 2021).
- ↑ "Girlflux (What Does It Mean)" on halffullnotempty.com. Published 2021-09-01 by Half Full Not Empty
- ↑ "Meaning of girlflux" on queerundefined.com. Published by Queer Undefined
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Gender Census 2021: Worldwide Report" on gendercensus.com. Published by Gender Census
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Boyflux / Manflux (2)" on deviantart.com (Archived on August 24, 2021).
- ↑ "Boyflux (as part of Genderflux)" on optimistminds.com. Published by OptimistMinds
- ↑ "Meaning of boyflux" on queerundefined.com. Published by Queer Undefined
- ↑ "Agenderflux (What does it mean?)" on optimistminds.com. Published by OptimistMinds
- ↑ "Librafluid and Agender (A complete guide)" on optimistminds.com. Published by OptimistMinds
- ↑ "What is agenderflux?" on halffullnotempty.com. Published 2022-02-23 by Half Full Not Empty
- ↑ "Librafluid / Agenderflux (1)" on deviantart.com (Archived on August 22, 2020).
- ↑ "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).
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Fluidflux / Fluxfluid / Genderfliux (1)" on deviantart.com. Published 2015-08-17 (Archived on December 1, 2020).
- ↑ "fluidflux" by mogai-archive on purrloinsucks.tumblr.com. Published 2014 (Archived on January 21, 2022).
- ↑ "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).
- ↑ Cite_print error: missing title parameter must be specified. . Published 1994 by Queer Pagans Newsletter
- ↑ "Genderflux Information and Resources" on crushingthebinary.tumblr.com (Archived on March 21, 2016).
- ↑ "Merriam-Webster Just Added 2 Very Important, Inclusive Words to the Dictionary" by Puckett, Lily on teenvogue.com (Archived on November 4, 2021).
- ↑ "What Exactly Is The Genderflux Pride Flag, And What Does It Mean?" on queerintheworld.com (Archived on February 27, 2022).
- ↑ "Genderflux (1)" on deviantart.com (Archived on February 27, 2022).
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 "Pride Flag Guide: Genderflux" on flag.library.lgbt. Published by Library.LGBT