Some people seem to use these two interchangeably, while to me genderqueer seems like more of a willful bending of gender roles-more of a political act-to be publically genderbent. And androgyne seemed more innate, like "This isn't a choice, this is who I am..."
That's why I don't like the term genderqueer for myself these days. It used to be quasipolitical; or so I thought...but now it's about being at home in my own skin. It's about being who I really am-about taking joy in myself.
-hylie random
they are both umbrella terms for non binary gendered people and as such are to broad to use as an identity most gender diverse people I've met IRL haven't heard the term androgyne
-Kinkly
I think in the end, whatever we call ourselves we should be happy to explain what it means to us, because it's inevitable that the meaning's going to be different from person to person.
-yoxi
I always figured that Androgyne meant something more like "neither or in-between" genders, whereas genderqueer implied a fluidity in gender identity.
-Yakshini
I've only heard genderqueer as an umbrella insult, while genderfu*k implies intentionally raising eyebrows by changing your appearance. Androgynuity is more complicated but it's not normally done for the intention of... trying to think of a better term... "trolling" the world.
-My Name Is Ellie
I always thought that Androgyne was someone who's appearence was neither male nor female, but that they still had a gender. As I've heard the terms Agender and Neutrois for people who do not have any gender at all. Genderqueer was more that you had a gender but it didn't fit within the traditional male or female and Genderfunk was just a more in your face version of Genderqueer.
-f1r3wire
Not real sure, about the queer part. Is it to mean gay or odd or unconventional, or eccentric or conterfeit ?
-espo
Gender has no meaning or value if it is counterfeit. Counterfeit gender is just a game, a trick, an amusement, an act, a fraud, a deception, an imitation, artificial, bogus.
Be yourself, not a gender.
Being yourself is effortless and genuine.
Being yourself is REAL, not counterfeit.
In being yourself, in behaving in a manner which is natural to you,
whatever gender you are becomes self-evident.
-Emerald
I think of genderqueer as not fitting under the male or female label. In my mind, androgyne would fall under this heading. I'd describe the willful bending of genders as gender->-bleeped-<-. It's interesting how we all seem to have different definitions for these.
-Lee
Genderqueer covers a pretty wide range, and some androgyne individuals may feel comfortable within that range or overlapping with it.
-SydneyTinker
I used to see genderqueer as a performance and androgyne as an identity.
-Pica Pica
Hummmm.....that's interesting.
-espo
to me androgyne means something specific: the blending or diffusion of binary genders, so you're not entirely one or the other.
whereas genderqueer means nothing specific: just that your gender is "queer" somehow, and you're not saying exactly how, but you're not saying it in a positive in-your-face kind of way.
-jenalex
When I identified as genderqueer, it was a fairly fluid place to me. I saw the gender binary, but picked and chose between the traits there to better fit who I was. I wasn't putting on a performance or trying to be political. I was just using binary gendered language to describe different aspects of myself.
When I stopped doing that, I became much more comfortable identifying as androgyne. At that point, I stopped viewing different aspects of my personality or behavior as "masculine" or "feminine." They just are. I'm not some mystical blend of arbitrary gender concepts. I'm me. I have whatever gender exists outside of culture and societal prescription.
Since the terms are fairly fluid and may be applied in multiple ways, though, I don't much worry about what they might mean to other people. They're just words. Words can't encompass the reality of a human.
-Lepidoptera
I find that these terms mean different things for different people. It's all about what feels right.
-Jaimey
Although some of the above was pulled out of context, I think it has a lot to say.
-Ativan