Genderqueer (adj.)

Definition

Genderqueer is a gender identity that generally refers to not identifying as male/female and/or as a man or woman. It’s possible for someone to identify as multiple genders, so identifying as genderqueer does not mean you do not or cannot identify as something else. It is a specific identity but is sometimes also incorrectly used as an umbrella term for non-binary (read: people who are not just men or women) gender identities. Some people prefer to just use the word genderqueer to describe their identity, some non-binary people don’t care for the term genderqueer to describe them (even in an umbrella sense) for a variety of reasons (use of the word “queer” which may implicate subversion when no identity is actually intrinsically subversive, potential political connotations, etc.).

Someone does not have to look androgynous in order to identify as genderqueer.

People often mistake genderqueer to mean that someone identifies as a point “in between” male/female and/or man/woman; it is often used as though it were synonymous with androgynous. Someone who identifies as genderqueer may identify as these things, but androgynous and genderqueer are not the same thing.

Usage

Genderqueer is technically an adjective but is also sometimes colloquially used as a noun. 

Examples:

• “Oh yeah, my genderqueer friend was telling me about a non-binary festival coming up!”
• “Not all genderqueers prefer to be referred to as ‘they’.”

See also

Non-binary