Agender Awareness
In recognition of International Non-Binary People’s Day
This Friday, July 14 is International Non-Binary People’s Day, the conclusion of Non-Binary Awareness Week. So in case you’re not aware, I, Pax Ahimsa Gethen, am non-binary. To be more specific, I am agender and transmasculine. I go by they/them/their pronouns.
What does it mean to be agender? The answer depends on who you ask. In my case, it means that I cannot define what it means to be a man, woman, or any other gender with referring to body parts, and body parts do not define a person. Yes, I’m aware that body parts are more correctly associated with “sex” rather than gender, but these terms are often used interchangeably.
(Note that being agender should not be confused with being asexual. In humans, this term concerns sexual attraction, not gender identity.)
I do not associate any clothing, hairstyles, hobbies, or mannerisms with any particular gender. If I put on a wig like the one in the photo above, some might see that as a feminine gender expression. I just see it as covering my balding head with longer hair than I was ever able to grow myself.
So if I’m agender, why do I also call myself transmasculine? I was assigned female at birth, but function better on testosterone than I did on estrogen, and would prefer…
