Androgyne, androgyn or androgynous gender, is an identity under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. Androgynes have a gender identity that can be a blend of both or neither of the binary genders. They may describe this as being between female and male, between man and woman, between masculine and feminine or simply ‘in between.’ They can also identify as neither feminine or masculine, or neither female and male.
As stated in the definition, androgyne people are trans (they don’t identify exclusively as the gender they were assigned at birth), and nonbinary (they are not one of the binary genders). Of course it is up to an individual to choose the words they use to identify themselves with.
The word androgyne has an interesting history, at times it was used as an umbrella term similar to nonbinary (I won’t go in to much more detail here, but there is more info in the nonbinary wiki).
androgyne, androgyny, androgynous
As a rule, androgyne refers to a gender identity, while Androgyny refers to gender expression (androgynous would be the word used to describe an individual using androgyny as their gender expression). A person may identify as androgyne, and not be androgynous, and a person my be androgynous and not identify as androgyne.
It is explained well in this post, but I think a good way to understand the difference is that androgyne is an androgynous gender identity. While androgyne will be used as a gender identity, and androgyny is more general reference to a blend of male and female characteristics.
What is overall the most important to understand that use of these words for individuals will vary. General use of these terms has changed over time. If an individual feels that these words help them to understand themselves (even if they don’t fit the “exact definitions”) than that is what is important. Words are here to benefit us.
Here is a useful graphic to understand the “androgyne spectrum”:
androgyne spectrum
[ID: a scale, starting from the left with “Female” and “Feminine”, then “Gynx”, “Androgyne” and “Androgynous”, “Androx”, “Male” and “Masculine”. End]
from this post, by @bentonthegay. And this post gives a good explanation about it, and about androgyne as a gender identity:
I think that the specific thing that makes Androgyne an identity all its own that I believe is within the center of the gender spectrum, right alongside other non-binary genders that blur the line between “male” and “female”. Androgyne is the “neither” and/or “both” of the spectrum. It’s a bit of a blend of selected traits from both sides. Given, that means very different things to different people, so I imagine that not every Androgyne person dresses or behaves just like I do. […] The part of the identity that sets it apart is how Androgyne people feel about themselves. As an Androgyne person, I believe that I am not a man or a woman. I reside comfortably between the extremes. So I guess it’s not just a mix, it’s more that I’m a blurred segment of the gradient between them. I do believe that Androgyne is an identity by itself and not just “a mix of female and male traits”. Given, that’s like saying a banana split is just ice cream with bananas and sweet toppings. You’re not wrong, but it’s not just that.
Another important point to remember that while androgyne is a mix of the two binary genders, it is also connected to neutrality, being in the middle of the spectrum, it is “both” and “neither”, and can be different for each person.
Similarly, androgyny can be both presenting femininely and masculinely at the same time, or more of a neutral look, neither feminine nor masculine.
multigender?
Depending on the person, androgynes may see themselves as falling under the multigender umbrella.
in the “Brochure for the Human Outreach and Achievement Institute” (1987) the following definition is found:
Androgyne: A person who can comfortably express either alterative gender role in a variety of socially acceptable environments. (Includes bigenderist)
This is both an interesting historical look on the meaning of androgyne, but also the close connection androgyne has with the multigender (and in particular bigender) community.
The meaning of bigender has expanded in the past 30+ years. It refers to people who have two specific gender identities, these identities may be male and female but also may not be. Seemingly this can include androgynes.
The choice to include oneself under the multigender/bigender umbrella should be a personnel one. Do I feel like being androgyne is a mix of two things? Or perhaps it is one identity, one gender? Maybe the experiences of multigendered people resonate with me, and I would like to be connected to their community regardless? The history connects androgynes and multigended people. At any rate, we are all queer and therefore connected.
micro-labels
Femandrogyne: an androgyne person that feels more feminine than masculine.
Mascandrogyne: an androgyne that feels more masculine than feminine.
Neutrandrogyne: an androgyne with equal amounts of masculinity and femininity, and/or simply neutral.
Versandrogyne: an androgyne with amounts of femininity and masculinity that fluctuate, for example they could go between femandrogyne and mascandrogyne.
Demiandrogyne: an androgyne who relates partially, but not fully, to the androgyne experience (this term is also under the demigender umbrella).
[ID: flag with three vertical stripes, in the colors, from left to right: pink, purple, and light blue. End]
The pink represents femininity, the light blue masculinity, and the purple a mix of them both.
This is a great post explaining about other flags that are less known, based off the nonbinary wiki.
The symbol ⚨ is used to represent this gender identity (a mix of the male and female gender symbols).
One important symbol is:
[ID: a circle with an arrow coming out of the top, and a horizontal line underneath the triangle of the arrow. End]
This symbol is a mix of female (Venus) and male (Mars) symbols. It is also an intersex symbol, and a symbol for other genders. In the image the symbol is pointing up, but it is sometimes depicted pointing to other directions.
Another important symbol is the Necker Cube:
[ID: illustration of a cube. End]
Necker Cube n. 1. An optical illusion in the shape of a cube. May take either of two forms:
Proposed by the author as a symbol of androgyny, because it is either concave or convex depending on how you look at it. I prefer this to the mars-plus-venus sign, which depends upon a juxtaposition of stereotpyes (sword and shield for male, looking-glass for female), and which, furthermore, combines the signs for the two most irritating gods in the Roman pantheon. If we must depend on Greek mythology, I would prefer to take a cue from Janus and use some variation of the two-faces motif on the cover of some editions of The Left Hand of Darkness. The Necker cube, however, is simpler, and suggests ambiguity in more than mere gender. Who wants to design the lapel pin?
There is much more history to the word and identity. Many more experiences it could include, but there is only so much I can cover. I do hope that nothing I’ve written makes it seem like this identity has rigid rules that need to be adhered to in order to identify with it. On the contrary. This seems to be a very broad and open way of identifying, and different aspects of it may resonate with many.
