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[Emerald]

Are you an Androgyne?
I ask the question because a lot of Androgynes don't know they are Androgynes.  You may have an Androgyne gender identity and not be aware of it!  An Androgyne is not a bad thing to be... read on and you will see.

Gender is how an individual feels about themselves, who and what they really are inside.  It's about maleness and femaleness, of being a man or a woman... or something else.

Androgyne is a gender identity, and as such it is equal to the genders of masculinity and femininity.  It can be said that 'Androgyne gender identity' is an oxymoron because some Androgynes feel they don't have a gender, but we will use the term as needed.  Fact is, Androgyne is not exactly a gender in the usual sense, but it is a 'gender identity'.

Most people feel a little bit like the other gender on occasion, but they still feel their gender matches their birth sex.  If you feel this way too you are Cisgender, not an Androgyne.  Most people are Cisgender.  Transsexuals feel like members of their opposite natal sex ALL the time. While they may look male, inside they feel like they are women.  Some Transsexuals are born female too, but they think of themselves as men, they have a male gender identity.  Transsexuals may be somewhat physically androgynous while in transition from one sex to the other or behave somewhat androgynously, but their gender identity remains the same - it is always the gender opposite their birth sex.  Transsexuals identify as men or as women, they do not possess an Androgyne gender identity.

So, what is an Androgyne gender identity?  The word 'Androgyne' means 'neither male nor female' or 'simultaneously male and female'.  The other key word is 'identity'.  Identity in this case does not refer to what is on your ID card.  Identity means who or what you identify WITH.  Men usually see themselves as being like other males, a member of the group called men.  Women usually think of themselves as being a member of the group called women.  Androgynes, on the other hand, either think of themselves as being neither men nor women, or as being a full-time member of both genders.  Some Androgynes explain that it feels like being a member of all possible genders, or being outside of gender, not having a gender, or in the middle of the gender continuum between masculinity and femininity.

Most Androgynes look like regular man and women.  They differ from Cisgender and Transsexual individuals in how they think and behave when it comes to social gender roles.  The binary gender system doesn't apply to an Androgyne!  They don't feel a need to act in a manner that is 'consistent' with a society's expectations of men and women. Behaving like a 'real man' or a 'real woman' is unnatural to them, even campy.  They feel the genders of male and female are 'limited'. Androgynes think of themselves as being human, and nothing human is forbidden to an Androgyne!

Androgyne thought has a lack of regard toward the binary system.  Androgynes may have a much larger range of behavior than Cisgender people because it doesn't occur to an Androgyne to divide their thoughts, actions, or personal preferences into categories appropriate or inappropriate for their sex.  If an Androgyne likes the color pink or blue, it's because they truly like the shade, and not because they are 'supposed' to like it or dislike it.  Androgynes do as they please, wear what they like, and behave in a manner without reverence to sex or gender.  While they don't think what they choose for themselves is being masculine or feminine, they are completely aware that other people make such distinctions! Androgynes believe in their heart of hearts what they do is perfectly sensible behaviour for any human.  Neither sex nor gender interferes with an Androgyne's desire to do and see and be all they can be to their fullest human potential and abilities.

Like all humans, Androgynes are male, female, and sometimes Intersex.  They look just as normal as anyone else. Androgynes usually don't mind that their body has a physical sex, but some Androgynes wish their bodies were as androgynous as their gender identity.  A few Androgynes take medical steps towards the opposite sex to appear more androgynous looking.  Some Androgynes dress in ways that minimize or obscure their physical sex because they would rather be thought of as a person instead of being primarily categorized and treated like a man or a woman.

Gender and sex are pervasive in human society and in the human psyche.  It is an exceptional person who can see what is outside and beyond the gender divide.  Androgynes are those extraordinary and rather eccentric individuals.  You are blessed if you know an Androgyne.  You are a rare jewel if you are one.

-Emerald 

[tinkerbell]

Thanks very much for posting this, Emerald.  I found it to be very informative.

tink

[Deeann47]

Excellent composition of thought Emerald! 

I have been dwelling on this same topic [in a much more abstract & difficult fashion] but had not given voice to the "label" such as you did.  For some reason I started out thinking I was a [dirty little] transvestite -- stayed drunk for fifty years -- sobered up and realized I was really a transsexual.  [A late bloomer I guess.] 

After beginning HRT and moving towards a more androgynous appearance I began to experience the Kate Bornstein moment -- "I know I'm not a man, but I'm not a woman either..."  So I fished around for a more appropriate label [for self definition and actualization] only to discover the true meaning of transgenderist. 

But that too failed to embrace exactly and wholly what you so eloquently put into words by your post.  So, thank you very much for articulating it for me.  [I shall see if I can explore this label a little more and try it on for size.]

Dee Ann

[az_ronni]

Emerald,
 thanks for posting that as it is indeed food for thought and does help to explain a number of my thoughts and how I feel. Labels really do seem to confine us at times but understanding my androgynous being does give me a bit of calm in the torment of defining "what category" I fit best into.
Thanks!

Ronni

[storm]

Compliments for writing and sharing this information. I think it's making a lot clear.

[Pica Pica]

I think I missed this at a time.
Clarity like a good glass.
Do not be surprised if these comments find themselves coming out of a different mouth  I bet everyone wants to nick your words.

[Emerald]

Nick away and sally forth, Pica Pica! Plenty more where that came from.
I wish had the time to put more of my writings on view... I have tons yet to be posted.

Thanks!
-Emerald

[Lionheart]

Yes i am lol i am intergendered and thank you for your help and infomation