A word rooted in queer and trans activism, genderqueer describes experiences beyond being solely a man or a woman. But it doesn’t tell you exactly how someone understands their gender, whether they identify as transgender, or which pronouns they use. Here’s what the term means, where it came from and how to use it respectfully.

Essential Takeaways

  • The meaning: Genderqueer can describe someone who is neither a man nor a woman, both, somewhere between, or beyond those categories.
  • The labels: Genderqueer and non-binary overlap, but not everyone uses them as synonyms.
  • The history: The term has roots in 1990s queer and trans activism, including the Toronto zine gendertrash.
  • The respectful approach: Use the name, identity label and pronouns a person uses for themself. Don’t guess.

Genderqueer describes more than one experience

Genderqueer is an umbrella term for people whose gender doesn’t fit neatly into the categories of man and woman. Some people understand their gender as a mix of masculine and feminine; others feel that neither category describes them. There isn’t one experience hidden behind the word.

Merriam-Webster defines the term in relation to gender identities that can’t be categorised as exclusively male or female. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries similarly describes people who identify as neither, both, or partly male and partly female. The definitions offer a starting point, not a complete account of what the label means to each person.

And the word doesn’t automatically mean someone identifies as transgender. Merriam-Webster notes that some genderqueer people do, while others don’t. The useful rule is simple: let people describe themselves.

From activist language to a personal identity

The word’s history reaches back to queer and trans activism in the early 1990s. The ArQuives credits activist Riki Wilchins with coining it, while also showing how the language circulated through community writing and organising.

One notable example is gendertrash, a Toronto zine that published five issues between 1993 and 1995. Its first issue welcomed “gender queers”, and editor Xanthra Phillippa challenged the separation between lesbian and gay communities and people whose identities didn’t match the gender assigned to them at birth. The word carried a political edge as well as a personal meaning.

A 1995 Washington Times item attributed a call for “genderqueers” to come out of the margins to Wilchins. The American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table treats it as an early printed example, not proof that the term began there. Merriam-Webster also records 1995 as the first known use in its current sense.

Genderqueer and non-binary: overlapping, not identical

Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries lists non-binary as a synonym for genderqueer. But the Trans Journalists Association’s guidance describes the words as similar, not interchangeable. People may use either term, both, or another label altogether.

Part of the distinction is history. Genderqueer is closely tied to the word “queer” and the activism of the 1990s, while non-binary can carry a different meaning for each person. Neither label is more correct; the one someone chooses for themself is the one to use.

Pronouns aren’t a shortcut to someone’s identity

Genderqueer people may use they/them, he/him, she/her, neopronouns or more than one set of pronouns. There’s no single set that belongs to the label, and pronouns alone don’t tell you a person’s gender.

The Trans Journalists Association advises against guessing someone’s identity or pronouns, or calling them transgender without confirmation. If you’re unsure, ask respectfully and use the answer they give you. When writing about someone, use their current name and pronouns, including when discussing their past.

A label can be a starting point, not a full explanation

The history of genderqueer shows how a term can move from activist communities into dictionaries while retaining personal and political meaning. The ArQuives also documents a 2002 anthology, Genderqueer: Voices from Beyond the Binary, edited by Joan Nestle, Clare Howell and Riki Wilchins, another marker of the term’s place in published work.

Still, no dictionary entry or timeline can tell you exactly what genderqueer means to an individual. If you’re writing about someone, or simply want to get it right, their own description is the best guide.

Start with the person, not the label.

Source Reference Map

Story idea inspired by: [1]

Sources by paragraph: