Forget rigid categories, gender is a spectrum of experiences. Each person has a unique way of understanding their roles, identities, and orientations. The key to truly understanding someone is to ask, “What does gender mean to you?” This simple question opens the door to genuine connection.
Below is a list of various genders and what they typically mean, offering a glimpse into the diverse world of gender identities.
Agender
A person who does not self-identify with having a gender. The term also refers to those who are “gender neutral”.
Androgynous
A non-binary gender identity where a person’s outward appearance and/or internal sense of self (identity) are a blend of genders or feel ‘in-between’ genders. This can present as a combination of feminine and masculine traits but people may also identify as neither masculine or feminine. Also referred to as Androgyne or androgyn.
Apagender
Usually refers to someone who is indifferent toward their own gender identity.
Bigender
A person who identifies with two genders, either at the same time or at different times.
Butch
A person who is typically female-identified whose social and relationship roles are perceived by many as being masculine, often having a lesbian, gay, or queer orientation.
Cisgender
A person whose gender corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth and not everyone is comfortable using the term Cis.
Cis Man
A cis man is someone whose sex was assigned male at birth and identifies as a man.
Cis man is shorthand for cisgender man but not everyone is comfortable using the term Cis.
Cis Woman
A cis woman is someone whose sex was assigned female at birth and identifies as a woman.
Cis woman is shorthand for cisgender woman but not everyone is comfortable using the term Cis.
Crossdresser/Transvestite
A person who wears articles or style of clothing (e.g. high heels) traditionally intended for the opposite gender. This could range from a single item of apparel to an entire outfit and accessories. It is often with the purpose of creating an outward appearance or persona of the opposite gender for comfort, escape, or erotic fulfillment.
People that crossdress don’t typically struggle with body dysphoria as some transgender people do and they shouldn’t automatically be considered to be transgender. Someone that likes to crossdress usually has no interest in transitioning to permanently become the gender they are dressing as but may identify as that gender when they are dressed.
Crossdressing as an activity is not limited to Cisgender people, transgender people may also crossdress.
Demiboy
People who identify as partly male. Demiboy is a non-binary gender identity where people feel a partial connection to a certain gender, also referred to as being demigender.
Demigirl
People who identify as partly female. Demigirl is a non-binary gender identity where people feel a partial connection to a certain gender, also referred to as being demigender.
Eunuch
Eunuch historically referred to humans identified as male at birth who have had testicles removed or destroyed.
In modern gender discourse it may refer to an individual who is assigned male at birth and wishes to eliminate masculine physical features, genitals, or genital functioning. This is achieved through radical reduction of the hormone testosterone.
This modern definition includes both those whose testicles have been physically removed or rendered nonfunctional, and those whose testicles have been rendered nonfunctional by chemical means (without removal of the testes).
It is important to note that the gender of detesticulated people is unrelated to their testicular status. There are cisgender detesticulated men, trans women, and non-binary people. Eunuch today may refer to gender with a physical affirmation, or may also be encountered as an identity used by some detesticulated cisgender men taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), in respect of historic usage and community heritage.
Female
A female is a person that defines themselves as a woman. When displayed on a FetLife profile this is abbreviated to F.
Female is also often used as a medical term to describe sex rather than gender. The medical use of this term describes a person who is typically born with a reproductive system that includes a vulva, vagina, ovaries and womb. The sex you are assigned when you were born is often described by abbreviations such as AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth).
Femme
Femme, often abbreviated Fem, refers to a person who has an appearance or other characteristics traditionally seen as feminine, often having a lesbian, gay, or queer orientation.
Gender Anarchist
A person who resists gender-based hierarchy, authority, and coercion.
Genderfluid
A person who fluctuates between more than one gender, or between having a gender and not having one.
Gender Neutral
A person who does not subscribe to traditional male or female roles and who wishes to be neither male or female.
Gender Non-Conforming
Gender Non-Conforming, often times abbreviated as GNC, usually refers to someone who does not wish to be limited by expected gender roles or behaviours.
Genderqueer
A person whose gender identity falls outside the male-female binary, identifying with combinations of male, female, neither, and other genders. The person’s identity, expression, and orientation often do not conform to gender norms or even heterosexual and homosexual norms. A non-binary identity.
Gender Questioning
A term to describe people who are in the process of exploring their gender identity. Some people may continue to identify as questioning for their entire lives while some may ultimately end up choosing a particular identity or identities to describe themselves.
Glitchgender
Identifying one’s gender as glitchy. This could mean it feels wrong (but not necessarily in a bad way), violently or quickly fluid, technology-adjacent or anything the user identifies their gender as. This is very much a self-defined label.
Intersex
Intersex people have one or more secondary sex characteristics from the binary view of sex. Sex characteristics are physical features relating to sex; including chromosomes, genitals, gonads, hormones, other reproductive anatomy, and secondary features that emerge from puberty.
Male
A male (often abbreviated as M) is a person who has the identity and characteristics of a man. When displayed on a FetLife profile this is abbreviated to M.
Male is also often used as a medical term to describe sex rather than gender. The medical use of this term describes a person who is influenced by the presence of testosterone in the womb and is born with a reproductive system that includes a penis, testicles and prostate. The sex you are assigned when you were born is often described by abbreviations such as AMAB (Assigned Male At Birth).
Masc
A person who has an appearance or other characteristics traditionally seen as masculine, often having a lesbian, gay, or queer orientation.
Multigender
Multigender is an umbrella a term for anyone who experiences more than one gender identity.
Multigender identities can include:
• Androgynous – A combination of masculine and feminine gender characteristics.
• Bigender – Two gender identities.
• Gender Fluid – Fluctuating between gender identities.
• Pangender – Any or All gender identities.
• Polygender – Several gender identities.
Musicgender
Identifying one’s gender as music-like. This could mean it feels smooth and beautiful, or anything the user associates with the label. It is very much a self-defined label.
Neogender
An umbrella term which covers any gender labeled or defined after the year 2000 [1]. The prefix “neo” means “new.”
Some examples are librafluid (mostly agender, but fluctuating with other genders slightly) and demigender (identifying only somewhat as one gender, and usually partly agender as well but not always!).
Non-Binary
A person whose gender identity falls outside the male-female binary. This is often abbreviated NB or enby (the phonetic version of “NB”).
Non-binary can be any mix of male and female, any xenogender or neogender (identifying one’s gender as something alien, for example), agender (no gender), or anything else that isn’t “just male” or “just female.”
It is up to individuals if they identify with the label of non-binary, and how they identify with it, whether it be as a vague umbrella or as their own specific gender identity on its own.
Pangender
Not a Man ♂️ or a ♀️ Woman. Pangender is a label that means you identify as every gender, not “none of them.”
It also could refer to those that are fine with being any gender at any time.
Polygender
A non-binary person who falls outside of the male-female binary and identifies with several genders or gender characteristics, either at the same time or at different times.
Pupgender
Identifying one’s gender as doglike or puplike. This could mean that the user’s gender feels playful, boyish, cozy, or anything the user associates with, as it is very much a self-defined gender label.
Questioning
Someone who is questioning or uncertain about their gender identity.
Trans Man
A person who is assigned female at birth (AFAB), and identifies as a man. Irrespective of their physical or observable traits, including but not limited to genitalia, body hair distribution, bone structure, etc.
Trans Non-Binary
A person who identifies with any nonbinary gender identity, but also identifies with or is transgender.
There are many kinds of nonbinary, which themselves can have subtypes, ranging from agender (lack of gender) to androgynous (middle of male/female, or ‘the binary’) to those that are outside binary entirely, such as some forms of xenogender.
Trans Woman
A transgender person who was assigned male at birth (AMAB) and identifies as a woman, irrespective of their physical or observable traits, including but not limited to genitalia, body hair distribution, bone structure, etc.
Different than a sissy or crossdresser who still identify as their birth assigned gender. Most trans women also do not currently use the term shemale unless they are sex workers.
Transfeminine
A transfeminine person is someone who was assigned male at birth but whose gender identity is in some way aligned with or characterized by femininity.
Transmasculine
A transmasculine person is someone who was assigned female at birth but whose gender identity is in some way aligned with or characterized by masculinity.
TransgenderA person whose biological sex assigned at birth is not an accurate or complete description of their personal identity and gender.
Trans is shorthand for transgender.
Transgender should always be used as an adjective ex. transgender woman or trans woman.
Transgender can be used alone or as an umbrella term for any number of gender identities.
Transsexual
A person who does not identify with the sex they were born with and is transitioning to the gender with which they identity, usually (but not always) with medical assistance.
Transsexual is often considered to be an older, formerly correct, term for being transgender that, while still in use by some, has largely been replaced by transgender. Some people may find the word transsexual offensive.
This term still sees regular use within the porn industry to such a degree that many have begun to use it to reference for transgender pornstars specifically.
Two-Spirit
Two-Spirit, 2-Spirit or 2S, is a term used within some Indigenous communities that encompasses cultural, spiritual, sexual and gender identity.
Two spirit usually refers to a person who has both a masculine and a feminine spirit. When displayed on a FetLife profile this is abbreviated to TwoS.
The term reflects complex Indigenous understandings of gender roles, spirituality, and the long history of sexual and gender diversity in Indigenous cultures.
Individual terms and roles for Two-Spirit people are specific to each nation. However, not all Indigenous people who hold diverse sexual and gender identities consider themselves Two-Spirit, many identify themselves as LGBTQ+.
Often interchanged with the “Third Gender” roles traditionally present in many other societies.
Due to its cultural, spiritual, and historical context, the Two-Spirit identity should only be used by Indigenous people. Appropriate alternatives for a non-indigenous person who identifies as multiple genders are bigender, pangender, and polygender.
Unsure
Someone who isn’t sure what their gender identity is. Similar to Questioning.
Xenogender
A non-binary identity that is typically “alien” or at least nonhuman. The prefix “xeno” means “alien” or “unusual.”
Some examples are pupgender, glitchgender, or musicgender.
This is not the same as being therian or otherkin, there’s a difference between identifying your gender as being nonhuman-adjacent and identifying one’s soul or self as nonhuman.