33 or 56 Gender Identities? Or more?

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The 33 Gender Identities Recognised By The Australian Sex Survey



The acronym "LGBT" was once considered sufficiently representational of non-heterosexual sexuality and gender types. Well, it looks like we're going to need a few more letters. A new Australian sex survey conducted by researchers at The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has listed a whopping 33 options under the question "Which of the following terms do you feel best describes your gender?". Here's the full list, along with definitions of what they represent.

While the fuddy-duddies that run our country continue to wrestle over concepts like gay marriage, Australian gender identity continues to expand exponentially. According to the latest Australian Sex Survey, there are at least 33 terms for "gender" that Australians now use to identify themselves. These range from "genderfluid" (someone who does not identify entirely with either the female or male genders) to neutrois (a non-binary gender identity which is considered to be a neutral or null gender.)

Definitions

  1. Woman: A person born as a female, and who identifies as female. 
  2. Man: A person born as a male, and who identifies as a male. 
  3. Transgender Man: A person who was assigned female at birth, but now identifies as a man. Some trans people choose to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Others prefer not to, but still identify as a different gender. 
  4. Transgender Woman: A person who was assigned male at birth, but who identifies as a woman. As above, some trans people choose to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Others prefer not to, but still identify as a different gender. 
  5. Trans person: This can mean transsexual or transgender. A transsexual is a person who emotionally and psychologically feels that they belong to the opposite sex. 
  6. Trans Man: A trans man is someone who was assigned female at birth, but now identifies as a man. 
  7. Trans Woman: A person who was assigned male at birth, but who identifies as a woman 
  8. Female to Male: This term is often abbreviated to ‘FTM’ and refers to a transsexual or a transgender man. 
  9. Male to Female: This term is often abbreviated to ‘FTM’ and refers to a transsexual or a transgender female. 
  10. Transsexual: A person who emotionally and psychologically feels that they belong to the opposite sex. Transsexuals are people who transition from one sex to another, usually through dress, hormone therapy, etc. 
  11. Cisgender: A person who identifies with the gender of which they were born. For example, if someone is born as a female and identifies as a woman. 
  12. Cis Female: Cis is short for cisgender. So a cisgender female is a female who identifies as a woman. 
  13. Cis Male: Cis is short for cisgender. A cisgender male is a male who identifies as a man. Gender Non-Conforming: A person who does not identify with either the male of female genders. 
  14. None Gender: A person who does not identify with any gender in particular. 
  15. Non-Binary: A person who does not identify entirely with either the female or male genders. They may identify somewhere on a spectrum. 
  16. Neutrois: Neutrois is a non-binary gender identity which is considered to be a neutral or null gender. 
  17. Genderfluid: A person who does not identify entirely with either the female or male genders. 
  18. Genderqueer: An overarching term used to describe people who do not identify exclusively as either male or female. 
  19. Demigender: This term, (demi means half) is an umbrella term for nonbinary gender identities that have a partial connection to a certain gender. 
  20. Demigirl: A person (can also be called a demiwoman or a demifemale) who identifies partially with being a woman or has feminine characteristics. They may have been assigned female as birth, but they could also have been born as a male. 
  21. Demiboy: A person (can also be called a demiman or demimale) who identifies partially with being a man or masculine characteristics. They may have been assigned male at birth, but they could also have been born as a female. 
  22. Agender: This literally means ‘without gender’, so a person who doesn’t identify with any gender. 
  23. Intergender: Intergender people have a gender identity that is in the middle between the binary genders of female and male, and may be a mix of both. 
  24. Intersex: A person who is born with the reproductive anatomy of both a man and a woman. For example, they might appear to be female on the outside, but have mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. These people were previously referred to as hermaphrodites, but that term is considered rude and outdated. 
  25. Pangender: A person who identifies as more than one gender. 
  26. Poligender: Translates to ‘many genders’. A person who identifies as more than one gender. 
  27. Omnigender: Translates to ‘all genders’. A person who identifies as more than one gender. 
  28. Bigender: Translates to ‘two genders’. A person who identifies as both male and female genders. Some bigender people have two distinct male and female personas. 
  29. Androgyne: A person who doesn’t identify with either gender. They are both feminine and masculine. 
  30. Androgyny: The combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. 
  31. Androgyny can apply to many things - someone’s gender identity, sexual identity, and even fashion. 
  32. Third Gender: People who identify as neither a man nor a woman. Some cultures refer to some of their people by a third gender. For example, in Samoafa’afafines are male at birth, but if a family had more boys than girls and needed more women to help with housework, they male children would be raised as a fa’afafine. 
  33. Trigender: Translates to three genders. A person who shifts between the male, female and third genders. 

While the list above does appear to contain some overlap (can anyone explain the difference between "Pangender", "Poligender" and "Omnigender"?) it's clear that sexual/gender identity is far more nuanced and complex than "LGBT" or "LGBTIQ" would have us believe.

The following are gender options identified by ABC News:



  1. • Agender
  2. • Androgyne
  3. • Androgynous
  4. • Bigender
  5. • Cis
  6. • Cisgender
  7. • Cis Female
  8. • Cis Male
  9. • Cis Man
  10. • Cis Woman
  11. • Cisgender Female
  12. • Cisgender Male
  13. • Cisgender Man
  14. • Cisgender Woman
  15. • Female to Male
  16. • FTM
  17. • Gender Fluid
  18. • Gender Nonconforming
  19. • Gender Questioning
  20. • Gender Variant
  21. • Genderqueer
  22. • Intersex
  23. • Male to Female
  24. • MTF
  25. • Neither
  26. • Neutrois
  27. • Non-binary
  28. • Other
  29. • Pangender
  30. • Trans
  31. • Trans*
  32. • Trans Female
  33. • Trans* Female
  34. • Trans Male
  35. • Trans* Male
  36. • Trans Man
  37. • Trans* Man
  38. • Trans Person
  39. • Trans* Person
  40. • Trans Woman
  41. • Trans* Woman
  42. • Transfeminine
  43. • Transgender
  44. • Transgender Female
  45. • Transgender Male
  46. • Transgender Man
  47. • Transgender Person
  48. • Transgender Woman
  49. • Transmasculine
  50. • Transsexual
  51. • Transsexual Female
  52. • Transsexual Male
  53. • Transsexual Man
  54. • Transsexual Person
  55. • Transsexual Woman
  56. • Two-Spirit

Location: Melbourne VIC, Australia

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