Home › Terms › Genderflux

Genderflux

'Genderflux' is a non-binary label for people whose intensity of the sense of gender varies — not so much its direction or nature. Someone with genderflux may at one moment feel strongly 'girl' and at another moment hardly at all. The term has been circulating in online non-binary communities since around 2014.

What is meant by it?

Unlike genderfluid, with genderflux it is not the gender category itself that shifts, but the extent to which the sense of gender is present. It is often described as 'fluctuating between agender and a gender category': sometimes agender, sometimes a strong feeling of 'man' or 'woman', with all the intermediate forms.

Distinction and overlap

Genderflux and genderfluid are often used interchangeably in practice; the difference lies in the dimension in which the change occurs (intensity versus direction). Boyflux and girlflux are specific variants: the intensity fluctuates within the masculine or feminine gender category respectively.

Social and practical context

Genderflux plays no role outside online communities and does not appear on official documents. Pronouns vary.

Critical perspectives

Whether 'intensity of sense of gender' is a fixed concept that can be meaningfully measured separately from direction is unanswered. The label functions primarily as a social marker within specific online groups. At the same time, it names something many people recognise: the extent to which gender is in the foreground differs by day, situation and life phase — an observation that holds equally well without the label.