Demi-gender

'Demi-gender' is an identity label that originated online, used by someone who says they identify 'partially' with a particular gender. The Latin 'demi-' means 'half'. Well-known variants include demiboy (partially male/boy) and demigirl (partially female/girl). The term generally falls under non-binary.

What does the label mean?

According to self-descriptions, a demi-gender person identifies 'partly' with a gender category — for example, as 'half' male — while the other part would be another gender, genderlessness or an undefinable experience. What being 'half male' means in substantive terms — and how such a division could be substantiated — is not clearly explained in the literature.

Origins and scientific status

Demi-gender is a relatively young label that originated mainly in online LGBTQ+ communities and on Tumblr/Discord-like platforms. There is little clinical or scientific literature in which demi-gender is investigated and validated as a separate category. This makes it a typical example of what critics call 'identity proliferation': a rapidly expanding range of self-descriptions without a shared definition or empirical basis.

A critical point: 'partial identification' with a gender has historically been more the rule than the exception for most people. Virtually no one conforms to every gender stereotype. Whether that justifies a separate identity category, or is instead a sign that the strict distinction between 'real' and 'not real' gender identities is too narrow, is open to debate.

Demi-gender and dysphoria

Not all demi-gender people report gender dysphoria. For some, the label describes an inner experience without discomfort; for others, it is accompanied by distress. Anyone considering medical care based on such a label would do well to realise that hormones and surgery are invasive and partly irreversible — a consideration that is not automatically weighed properly in the diffuse field of identity labels. The questions a good practitioner should ask first are outlined at transgendercheck.nl.

Usage and terminology

Terminology surrounding demi-gender is not standardised. In addition to demiboy and demigirl, demi-nonbinary, demi-genderfluid and countless other combinations are in circulation. Related labels include genderflux (varying intensity of the sense of gender) and genderfae (fluidity within the feminine spectrum). What someone means by a term exactly depends heavily on the individual; this makes the label difficult to use in general language and for policy purposes.