Demigender

Demigender is an umbrella term for a certain non-binary gender identity, where people feel a partial connection to one of the binary genders. For example, a “Demiboy” feels a partial connection to the male gender, while a “Demigirl” feels a partial connection to being female, while belonging to the opposite sex. In some cases, they just feel a partial connection to the concept of a gender, and cannot fully describe this connection. Most identify themselves as mainly non-binary, but are either more masculine or more feminine.

“Demigender” people have gained acceptance in the 2010s, with the growing awareness of gender identities.

There is no one way to be a “Demigender”; each person experiences this identity in their own way. Some may feel more masculine than feminine, or vice versa. Others may feel equal amounts of both traits or neither trait at all. It is up to each individual to decide how they wish to identify themselves and how they want others to perceive them.

The term “Demigender” is a relatively new and emerging gender identity that has been gaining visibility in recent years. Made up of the prefix “demi-”, meaning “half” or “partial”, and “gender”, it is used in the LGBTQ+ community to describe people who feel partially connected to a certain gender identity and do not fully identify with any gender.

The term was coined in August 2010 by user Bad Patient in a discussion forum on the platform AVEN (The Asexual Visibility and Education Network). He described how he particularly liked the already existing term “Demiromantic”, and that “demi-” could be used to define other orientations and gender identities as well.

Already in December 2010, “Demigender” spawned a variety of new definitions, shared on AVEN‘s Gender Definitions Masterlist, including “Demigirl” and “Demiguy”. This was followed by “Genderqueerid” within a year, which was added to the Genderqueer Identities & Terminology section of the site.

By 2014, the popularity of the term “Demigender” grew significantly, as people with similar feelings found a feeling with which they could identify themselves.
Although “Demigender” can be applied by people of any sexual orientation or gender identity, it is often used by individuals who don’t completely fit into traditional gender roles. People who identify as “Demigender” may partially identify with different genders at the same time. Over the years, many variations within “Demigender”, were created, to be more specific, regarding indentities, including “Demiboy”, “Demigirl”, “Deminonbinary”, and many more. Each of these terms can be further divided into many subcategories.

“Demigender” people often find pride in their identity and use the flag pictured above to represent themselves. There is no one certain interpretation of meaning, but it is widely accepted that the varying shades of gray represents different levels of genderlessness and the partial connection to a certain gender, the white may represent all genders as it does in the non-binary flag, and the yellow may represent non-masculine and non-feminine genders. This flag allows those identifying as “Demigenders” to express their feelings of partially identifying with a certain gender identity while still remaining part of the larger LGBTQ+ community.

• Nonbinary Wiki – Demigender