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Xenogender

'Xenogender' (from the Greek 'xenos', strange) is an umbrella label for gender identities that according to the bearer cannot be explained via human man/woman categories, but via non-human metaphors: animals, plants, colours, sounds, abstract shapes or even fictional objects. The term originated in 2014 on Tumblr and has since been circulating in very specific online subcultures.

What is meant by it?

Examples of xenogenders are 'catgender' (sense of gender expressed via cats), 'starlightgender' (via starlight) or 'voidgender' (via emptiness). The bearer states that their own sense of gender is best named through such a metaphor. Some link it to the neurodivergence spectrum: the label would be a way for people with autism to express inner experience in images.

Distinction and overlap

Xenogender formally falls under non-binary, but is its most exotic branch. The distance from classic terms such as transgender or agender is considerable, and most non-binary persons do not recognise themselves in xenogenders.

Social and practical context

Xenogender plays no role at all outside very specific online groups. It does not appear on official documents, nor in medical literature. Pronouns ('neopronouns' such as 'bun/bunself' or 'fae/faeself') are often as idiosyncratic as the label itself.

Critical perspectives

Xenogender is the corner of the identity discourse where the difference between 'experience' and 'category' becomes most sharply visible. Critics — including many transgender people themselves — point out that this kind of label undermines the broader case for gender variance by completely detaching identity from any shared human experience. Those who recognise the label from an autistic context often describe something real (an unusual way of understanding themselves), but it is doubtful whether 'gender' is the right language for that.