"Genderqueer" Means Many Things to Many People

The term surfaced in the late 1990s, mostly among lesbian youth who liked to toy with gender presentation, but has come to mean a wide range of people with transgressive gender expression, some of whom may not consider themselves transgender, but still play with perceptions pertinent to a transgender issue. Genderqueer might refer to intentional androgyny, or mixing and matching gender-assumed clothing and / or roles in order to challenge societal assumptions. Genderqueer people may be of any sexual orientation, but usually feel enough kinship with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to accept the reclaimed word "queer" as their own. Some variations of the term exist, including "bigender," "dual-gender" and "genderfuck" (the latter of which evolved around the same time as "genderqueer" and may have been the original term).

Genderqueer can include anyone who feels they don't fit a strict binary of "male" / "female," or people who willfully reject such a binary in defining their own identity. They may refuse to conform to gender stereotypes, or may even snub them emphatically. Gender neutral pronouns such as "sie" (pronounced "ze") or "hir" (pronounced "heer") might be used. Drag performers sometimes embrace a kind of genderfuck in their performances, but haven't necessarily embraced the term. "Butch," "bull," "boi," "femme" and other variations of "masculine" women and "feminine" or empathetic men have tended to embrace genderqueer, though not always in name.

Genderqueer Resources:

• Gendercrash: a Boston-based genderqueer information and support website.
• Genderqueer.tribe.net: a discussion community.
• GenderQueer Revolution: a national organization formed to support and empower people of all genders.