{{Short description|Non-fixed gender identity}} {{Infobox gender and sexual identity | title = Genderfluid | image = Genderfluidity Pride-Flag.svg | alt = The genderfluid pride flag, 5 stripes of pink, white, purple, black and blue | caption = The genderfluid [[pride flag]] | definition = | classification = [[Gender identity]] | abbreviations = GF | symbol = Genderfluid symbol.svg | symbol2 = Genderfluid infinity symbol.svg | associated_terms = | parent = [[Non-binary]] }} {{Transgender sidebar}} '''Gender fluidity''' (commonly referred to as '''genderfluid''') is a non-fixed [[gender identity]] that shifts over time or depending on the situation. These fluctuations can occur at the level of gender identity or [[gender expression]]. A genderfluid person may fluctuate among different gender expressions over their lifetime, or express multiple aspects of various gender markers simultaneously.<ref name="Cronn-Mills">{{cite book |last1=Cronn-Mills |first1=Kirstin |title=Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices |date=2015 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |isbn=978-0-7613-9022-0 |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=24}}</ref><ref name="McGuire2015">{{cite news |last1=McGuire |first1=Peter |date=9 November 2015 |title=Beyond the binary: what does it mean to be genderfluid? |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/beyond-the-binary-what-does-it-mean-to-be-genderfluid-1.2418434 |url-status=live |access-date=1 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122121336/http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/beyond-the-binary-what-does-it-mean-to-be-genderfluid-1.2418434 |archive-date=22 November 2015}}</ref> Genderfluid individuals may identify as [[Non-binary gender|non-binary]], [[transgender]], or [[cisgender]] (meaning they identify with the gender associated with their [[Sex assignment|sex assigned at birth]]).<ref name="Bosson-2018">{{cite book |last1=Bosson |first1=Jennifer K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XStGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT54 |title=The Psychology of Sex and Gender |last2=Vandello |first2=Joseph A. |last3=Buckner |first3=Camille E. |publisher=Sage Publications |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-5063-3134-8 |location=Thousand Oaks, California |page=54 |oclc=1038755742 |access-date=4 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528040645/https://books.google.com/books?id=XStGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT54 |archive-date=28 May 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Whyte">{{cite journal |last1=Whyte |first1=Stephen |last2=Brooks |first2=Robert C. |last3=Torgler |first3=Benno |date=25 September 2018 |title=Man, Woman, "Other": Factors Associated with Nonbinary Gender Identification |journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]] |location=Heidelberg, Germany |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |volume=47 |issue=8 |pages=2397–2406 |doi=10.1007/s10508-018-1307-3 |pmid=30255409 |quote=2 out of 7479 (0.03 percent) of respondents to the Australian Sex Survey, a 2016 online research survey, self-identified as trigender. |s2cid=52823167}}</ref>
In gender fluidity, a shift in gender identity refers to changes in one's internal sense of their gender, which may differ from their assigned sex at birth or their external appearance.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Hyde|first=Janet Shibley|last2=Bigler|first2=Rebecca S.|last3=Joel|first3=Daphna|last4=Tate|first4=Charlotte Chucky|last5=van Anders|first5=Sari M.|title=The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary.|url=https://doi.apa.org/doi/10.1037/amp0000307|journal=American Psychologist|language=en|volume=74|issue=2|pages=171–193|doi=10.1037/amp0000307|issn=1935-990X|year=2019|doi-access=free}}</ref> Fluctuations in gender expression refer to outward changes in appearance and presentation, such as clothing, behavior, hairstyle, voice, or pronoun use.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Monro|first=Surya|date=2019-07-03|title=Non-binary and genderqueer: An overview of the field|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15532739.2018.1538841|journal=International Journal of Transgenderism|language=en|volume=20|issue=2-3|pages=126–131|doi=10.1080/15532739.2018.1538841|issn=1553-2739|pmc=6830997}}</ref> A genderfluid person may experience changes in identity, expression, or both.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" />
Gender fluidity is a form of [[gender nonconformity]], which describes aspects of gender identity, gender expression, and social roles that challenge traditional notions and models of gender identity.<ref name=":02" /> A 2019 peer-review in ''American Psychologist'' suggests that genderfluid identities challenge the traditional models which represent gender as a fixed, binary construct.<ref name=":02" />
Gender fluidity is different from [[Questioning (sexuality and gender)|gender-questioning]], a process in which people explore their gender in order to find their true gender identity and adjust their gender expression accordingly.<ref name="Katz-Wise2020">{{Cite web |last=Katz-Wise |first=Sabra |date=December 3, 2020 |title=Gender fluidity: What it means and why support matters |url=https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gender-fluidity-what-it-means-and-why-support-matters-2020120321544 |website=Harvard Health Publishing |access-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-date=April 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412025353/https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gender-fluidity-what-it-means-and-why-support-matters-2020120321544 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gender fluidity continues throughout lives of genderfluid people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jolly |first1=Divya |last2=Boskey |first2=Elizabeth R. |last3=Thomson |first3=Katharine A. |last4=Tabaac |first4=Ariella R. |last5=Burns |first5=Maureen T.S. |last6=Katz-Wise |first6=Sabra L. |date=2021-03-12 |title=Why Are You Asking? Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Assessment in Clinical Care |journal=Journal of Adolescent Health |volume=69 |issue=6 |pages=891–893 |doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.08.015 |pmid=34629230 |s2cid=238580640 |issn=1054-139X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Someone who identifies as genderfluid can use any pronouns they choose.
Research on genderfluid youth emphasizes that childhood and adolescence signify important developmental periods when individuals become more aware of gender categories and social expectations.<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Diamond|first=Lisa M|date=2020-06-01|title=Gender Fluidity and Nonbinary Gender Identities Among Children and Adolescents|url=https://academic.oup.com/cdpers/article/14/2/110/8231458|journal=Child Development Perspectives|language=en|volume=14|issue=2|pages=110–115|doi=10.1111/cdep.12366|issn=1750-8592|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Genderfluid youth face distinct challenges because of their non-fixed gender identities and expressions, which may often be misinterpreted and challenged by adults, peers, or institutions as gender uncertainty rather than as a valid form of gender identity.<ref name=":22" /> These challenges can be particularly relevant in academic, healthcare and familial settings where forms, policies, dress codes, pronouns, and interactions with peers often assume the traditional binary model of gender identity.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last=Simon|first=Kay A.|last2=Caba|first2=Antonia E.|last3=Renley|first3=Benton M.|last4=Eaton|first4=Lisa A.|last5=Watson|first5=Ryan J.|date=2024-09-01|title=Evidence of Differences in Gender-Affirming School Experiences in a Sample of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth|url=http://connect.springerpub.com/lookup/doi/10.1891/LGBTQ-2023-0006|journal=Annals of LGBTQ Public and Population Health|language=en|volume=5|issue=3|pages=176–190|doi=10.1891/LGBTQ-2023-0006|issn=2688-4518}}</ref> Researchers argue that genderfluid and nonbinary youth should be taken into consideration in developmental research of gender identity, rather than being treated as exceptions to typical gender development.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":02" />
{{LGBTQ sidebar}}
== History == {{Main articles|Transgender history}} Documented instances of [[transgender]] people (including [[non-binary]] and [[third gender]] people) who diverge from cisgender norms have been recorded in cultures worldwide dating back to at least the pre-colonial era. One example is the existence of gender fluidity in many Indigenous communities. Although the earliest records of gender fluidity in Indigenous communities was written by those who colonized them,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Kamassah |first=Vashti E. |date=2024-07-02 |title=Sankofa: Embracing Gender Fluidity Through Decolonizing and Reclaiming Identities |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131725.2024.2345652 |journal=The Educational Forum |language=en |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=257–264 |doi=10.1080/00131725.2024.2345652 |issn=0013-1725|url-access=subscription }}</ref> current research shows that over 150 pre-colonial groups are known to recognize or have historically recognized more than two genders.<ref name=":1">Wick, Kate (2022-04-01). [https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/566/ "Gender Through Time and Culture"]. ''WWU Honors College Senior Projects''.</ref>
The [[Navajo]] people are one group who historically recognized between four and five gender identities, one of them being [[Nádleehi|nàdleehi]] ('changing one' in English).<ref name=":1" /> In more recent history, [[two-spirit]] has been an identity adopted by Indigenous gender and sexual minorities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Robinson |first=Margaret |date=2020-10-14 |title=Two-Spirit Identity in a Time of Gender Fluidity |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918369.2019.1613853 |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |language=en |volume=67 |issue=12 |pages=1675–1690 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2019.1613853 |pmid=31125297 |issn=0091-8369|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The term challenges binary categories of sex and gender and enables some Indigenous people to reclaim traditional roles within their societies.<ref name=":3" /> According to the 2012 Risk and Resilience study of Bisexual Mental Health, "the most common identities reported by transgender Aboriginal participants were two-spirit, [[Non-binary gender|genderqueer]], and [[Non-binary gender|bigender]]."<ref name=":3" />
The term [[Hijra (South Asia)|Hijras]] is a historically recognized third gender within South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The term Hijras can date back to holy Hindu texts such as the [[Ramayana]] and the [[Mahabharata]], where a Hindu character named [[Arjuna]] transforms into the third gender.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=The Third Gender and Hijras |url=https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/religion-context/case-studies/gender/third-gender-and-hijras#:~:text=While%20the%20third%20gender%20includes,to%20Hindu%20goddess%20Bahuchara%20Mata. |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=rpl.hds.harvard.edu |language=en}}</ref> In South Asia, many Muslim rulers from the 15th to 19th century [[Mughal Empire]] were patrons of third-gender Indians.<ref name=":4" /> Hijras are often assigned male at birth, and adopt feminine characters, like clothing, grooming, and even use feminine names.<ref>{{Cite web |title=(Anh) Hijras of South Asia – Discoverpsych |url=https://discoverpsych.utm.utoronto.ca/focus-on-research/gender-diversity-across-cultures/hijras-of-south-asia/#:~:text=Hijras%20are%20feminine%20individuals%20(assigned,themselves%20as%20similar%20to%20women. |access-date=2025-04-15 |language=en-CA}}</ref>
Another example of historical recognition of gender fluidity is the Philippines. In the Philippines, they use the umbrella term [[Bakla|baklâ]] to refer to "those born male who currently exist with a feminine gender expression."<ref name=":1" /> Although this definition of the term is most common, there are a variety of identities that exist within the baklâ umbrella.<ref name=":1" />
[[Faʻafafine|Fa'afāfine]] are a culturally recognized gender category in Sāmoa used to describe individuals assigned male at birth who assume a third gender or take on feminine gender roles and expressions.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal |last=Vasey |first=Paul L |last2=Bartlett |first2=Nancy H |year=2007 |title=What Can the Samoan "Fa'afafine" Teach Us about the Western Concept of Gender Identity Disorder in Childhood? |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/222247 |journal=Perspectives in Biology and Medicine |language=en |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=481–490 |doi=10.1353/pbm.2007.0056 |issn=1529-8795|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Scholars caution that the term ''fa'afāfine'' should be differentiated from Western labels of transgender, nonbinary, or genderfluid, largely because this identity is shaped by Sāmoan social and cultural roles.<ref name=":42" />
=== Impact of colonization === European colonization strictly enforced the binary gender concept onto many groups, including those mentioned above.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In the 1500s, Europeans landed in North America and enforced binary gender conformity onto the Indigenous communities occupying the land.<ref name=":1" /> They criminalized different gender and sexual expressions.<ref name=":1" /> It is believed{{Who|date=February 2025}} that they did this in an attempt to "eradicate the two-spirit identity before allowing it to be documented."<ref name=":1" /> As a result of this, the cultural legacy of many Indigenous groups was nearly erased following colonization.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Going back to the Philippines example, enforcement of a binary gender concept began with the arrival of the Spanish in 1520.<ref name=":1" /> The Spanish began to use the word baklâ as a slur to pressure Filipino people into adopting European ideals of gender expression.<ref name=":1" /> British colonial rule also affected Hijra communities in South Asia. Under the Criminal Tribes Act enacted in 1871, British authorities classified Hijras as a criminalized group and subjected them to surveillance and legal prosecution.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=Amit Kumar |date=2022-12-14 |title=From Colonial Castaways to Current Tribulation: Tragedy of Indian Hijra |url=https://journal.uii.ac.id/Unisia/article/view/23092 |journal=Unisia |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=297–314 |doi=10.20885/unisia.vol40.iss2.art3 |issn=2829-1573|doi-access=free }}</ref> As a result, the vast majority of Hijras faced discrimination, harassment, and social stigma during British colonial rule, with many of these stigmas persisting into modern-day India.<ref name=":03" /> By forcing colonized groups to adopt European ideals of gender expression and identity, it erased key aspects of each group's history, culture, and traditions.{{Better cite|reason=Source is moderately reliable, would be better to have more sources so this section doesn't rely on a single source|date=February 2025}}
=== The modern era === The modern terms and meanings of "transgender", "[[gender]]", "[[gender identity]]", and "[[gender role]]" only emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oliven |first=John F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gw4-AQAAIAAJ |title=Sexual Hygiene and Pathology: A Manual for the Physician and the Professions |date=1965 |publisher=Lippincott |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Jannsen-2020">{{Cite journal |last=Janssen |first=Diederik F. |date=April 21, 2020 |title=Transgenderism Before Gender: Nosology from the Sixteenth Through Mid-Twentieth Century |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |language=en |volume=49 |issue=5 |pages=1415–1425 |doi=10.1007/s10508-020-01715-w |issn=0004-0002 |pmid=32319033 |s2cid=216073926}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mesch|first=Rachel |title=Before trans : three gender stories from nineteenth-century France |date=May 12, 2020 |isbn=978-1-5036-1235-8 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|location=Stanford, California |oclc=1119978342}}</ref> As a result, opinions vary on how to accurately categorize historical accounts of gender-variant people and identities, including genderfluid individuals.
The 1928 [[Virginia Woolf]] novel ''[[Orlando: A Biography]]'' features a main character who changes gender several times, and considers gender fluidity: {{blockquote|In every human being, a vacillation from one sex to the other takes place, and often it is only the clothes that keep the male or female likeness, while underneath the sex is the very opposite of what it is above.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/01/01/1222380396/thousands-of-u-s-copyrighted-works-from-1928-are-entering-the-public-domain |title=Thousands of U.S. copyrighted works from 1928 are entering the public domain |website=[[NPR]] |date=January 2024 |access-date=2024-01-14 |archive-date=2024-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113025643/https://www.npr.org/2024/01/01/1222380396/thousands-of-u-s-copyrighted-works-from-1928-are-entering-the-public-domain |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
The first known mention of the term ''gender fluidity'' was in [[gender theorist]] [[Kate Bornstein]]'s 1994 book ''[[Gender Outlaw|Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us]].''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bornstein |first=Kate |title=Gender Outlaw On Men, Women and the Rest of Us. |date=2016 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-101-97461-2 |oclc=1155971422 }}</ref> It was later used again in the 1996 book ''The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hernandez |first=Michael M. |title="Boundaries: Gender and Transgenderism". The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader. |publisher=Alyson |year=1996 |oclc=757653724}}</ref>
=== Health care recognition === In health care, genderfluid identities are often discussed within a broader category of transgender and gender-diverse individuals. The [[World Professional Association for Transgender Health]] (WPATH) notes that "TGD people encompass a diverse array of gender identities and expressions," reflecting clinical recognition of gender diversity, including gender identities and expressions that do not fit within fixed binary categories.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Coleman |first=E. |last2=Radix |first2=A. E. |last3=Bouman |first3=W. P. |last4=Brown |first4=G. R. |last5=de Vries |first5=A. L. C. |last6=Deutsch |first6=M. B. |last7=Ettner |first7=R. |last8=Fraser |first8=L. |last9=Goodman |first9=M. |last10=Green |first10=J. |last11=Hancock |first11=A. B. |last12=Johnson |first12=T. W. |last13=Karasic |first13=D. H. |last14=Knudson |first14=G. A. |last15=Leibowitz |first15=S. F. |date=2022-08-19 |title=Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644 |journal=International Journal of Transgender Health |language=en |volume=23 |issue=sup1 |pages=S1–S259 |doi=10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644 |issn=2689-5269 |pmc=9553112 |pmid=36238954}}</ref>
== Symbols == {{See also|Non-binary flag|LGBTQ symbols}}
The genderfluid [[pride flag]] was designed by JJ Poole in 2012. The [[pink]] stripe of the flag represents [[femininity]], the [[white]] represents [[Agender|lack of gender]], [[purple]] represents [[androgyny]], [[black]] represents all [[Third gender|other genders]], and [[blue]] represents [[masculinity]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Flags and Symbols |url=https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/Flags%2520and%2520Symbols.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510154054/https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/Flags%2520and%2520Symbols.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2017 |access-date=20 December 2016 |publisher=[[Amherst College]] |location=Amherst, Massachusetts}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Gender-fluid added to the Oxford English Dictionary |newspaper=LGBTQ Nation |url=http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/09/gender-fluid-added-oxford-english-dictionary/ |url-status=live |access-date=2016-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025023342/http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/09/gender-fluid-added-oxford-english-dictionary/ |archive-date=25 October 2016}}</ref>
The flag is a representation of the fluidity encompassed within the identity.
== See also == * [[Gender identity]] * [[Questioning (sexuality and gender)|Gender questioning]] * [[Non-binary gender]] * [[Transgender]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == === Bibliography === * {{Cite web |last=Booker |first=Lauren |date=2021-04-21 |title=What it means to be gender-fluid |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/13/living/gender-fluid-feat/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]]}}
{{Transgender footer}}
[[Category:Gender fluidity]] [[Category:Gender identity]] [[Category:LGBTQ studies]] [[Category:Non-binary gender]] [[Category:Transgender identities]]