Demiboy

Q: Does a demiboy have to be AMAB?

No. Both AMAB and AFAB people can call themselves demiboy. The label concerns identity, not sex assigned at birth. A demiboy experiences a masculine sense of gender, but only in part. The other part may be agender, fluid, or undefined. This applies regardless of whether someone was registered as a boy or a girl at birth.

Q: What is the difference between demiboy and demi-gender?

Demi-gender is the umbrella term; demiboy specifies the direction: boy or man. The prefix 'demi-' means half or partial. A demiboy therefore identifies partially, but not completely, with 'boy' or 'man'. The counterpart within the same category is demigirl, with the same partial identification but with 'girl' or 'woman'.

Q: Which pronouns do demiboys use?

Often 'he/him', sometimes 'they/them', or a combination of the two. Pronouns therefore vary, and there is no fixed rule associated with the label. Demiboy does not appear on official documents, and in social contexts the label is primarily recognized within specific communities. Outside those communities, it is practically a matter of using the person's preferred form of address.

Q: Is demiboy clinically recognized?

No. It is a self-description that emerged online and has circulated in non-binary communities on forums and Tumblr since the early 2010s. Critics point out that the fine-grained distinctions between such labels primarily serve a sociological function within those communities. For the person using the label, the experience is real, but that does not automatically make demiboy a separate category.

The demiboy flag with gray, light blue, and white stripes — Image: Trichromat, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

'Demiboy' (also 'demiman' or 'demiboy') is a non-binary label for someone who identifies partially, but not completely, with 'boy' or 'man'. The label is a specification within the demi-gender category and has circulated in online non-binary communities since the early 2010s.

What does it mean?

A demiboy experiences a masculine sense of gender, but 'only in part'. The other part may be agender, fluid, or undefined. The person may be AMAB (assigned male at birth) or AFAB (assigned female at birth); both occur.

Distinctions and overlap

Demiboy is structurally related to demigirl: the same partial identification, but with 'boy/man' rather than 'girl/woman'. The term overlaps with some variants of genderfluid and with general non-binary self-descriptions.

Social and practical context

Demiboy does not appear on official documents. Pronouns vary: 'he/him', 'they/them', or a combination. More about these forms can be found under gender-neutral language. In social contexts, the label is primarily recognized within specific communities.

Critical perspectives

The claim that someone is 'partly a man' raises the question of what exactly the remaining part consists of. Critics point out that the fine-grained distinctions within non-binary self-descriptions serve a sociological function: identity as a detailed self-label within specific communities. How long that list has become is discussed in how many genders there are. For the person using the label, the experience is real; that does not automatically make 'demiboy' a separate category within a broader spectrum.

Origin of the term

The prefix 'demi-' means half or partial. The LGBTQIA+ Wiki traces its use back to an August 2010 post on the AVEN forum, in which a user placed the prefix before identity terms. In October 2011, 'demigirl' and 'demiguy' appeared in the glossary of the Tumblr blog Genderqueerid. The earliest known flag is attributed to Tumblr user Transrants and dates from February 2014 at the latest. Related labels can be found in the overview of gender terms.

Does a demiboy have to be AMAB?

What is the difference between demiboy and demi-gender?

Which pronouns do demiboys use?

Is demiboy clinically recognized?

Sources

Richards, C. et al. (2016). "Non-binary or genderqueer genders." International Review of Psychiatry, 28(1). DOI
Vincent, B. (2020). Non-Binary Genders. Policy Press.
Tumblr-archieven (2011 tot 2014): vroege publicaties van 'demiboy' en aanverwante varianten.