While your experience and understanding of gender may well be very individual to you, it is important to have the vocabulary available to help you to understand gender identity. This is why certain terms and identifications can be very useful!
Alongside terms like non-binary, pangender, and gender fluid becoming used more often and understood more often, bigender is a word that has come out of the woodwork recently, adding to the understanding of gender identity!
Put simply, bigender means that you identify with two genders. You can identify with any two genders and the way that you choose to express yourself will not be the same from one bigender person to another.
Read on for some more detail of what bigender means and to learn more about how you can support bigender individuals.
What Is Bigender?
So, let’s explore the term in some more detail! The etymology of the term will give you a great starting point for understanding the term.
With bi meaning two, and gender being the way someone identifies, the term literally means that a person experiences or has two genders.
These genders can either be binary genders or non-binary. Binary genders refer to ‘man’ and ‘woman’.
Non-binary genders are a gender that can not be defined by the traditional binary of ‘male’ and ‘female’, but resides outside of these binaries.
Bigender comes under the transgender identity umbrella.
What Does It Mean To Be Bigender?
Being bigender may be experienced simultaneously or it may alternate. For instance, sometimes your experience may be male and sometimes your experience may be female.
You may also experience them in very different ways and they do not have to be equally weighted.
Some examples are a bigender person may be non-binary and a woman, a man and agender, male and female: the list goes on!
While someone might appear to be expressing one gender, this doesn’t mean that the second gender should be disregarded as it does not just disappear from their identity.
This is important to remember as it is very important to ensure that you don’t invalidate someone by ignoring their gender identity!
What Is The Difference Between Gender Identity And Sexual Identity?
Your gender identity refers to whether your experiences are male, female, bigender, non-binary, or something else!
Sexual identity refers to who you are romantically or sexually attracted to.
These two things are separate from one another, our sexual identity does not affect our gender identity and vice versa. However, it is crucial to understand that they are linked in some ways because they will together make up our complete identity.
What Does It Look Like To Be Bigender?
Being bigender comes in all different shapes, sizes, and colors! The experience of being bigender can be very different depending on the individual.
There is no single way to express your bigender identity, this is up to you! Express yourself in whatever way you like and celebrate your identity however you feel suits you!
What Pronouns Do Bigender People Use?
Bigender people do not have set pronouns that work for every person who identifies as bigender.
This will vary from person to person. In some cases, bigender people may use both binary pronouns (such as he/him and she/her). Others may choose to use a combination of binary pronouns and non-binary pronouns (she/they, he/they).
There are also neopronouns which some bigender people may also use. These are new and ever-evolving pronouns.
Remember: it is very important that you don’t assume a person’s pronouns because of their gender expression or their gender identity.
You should always introduce yourself with your name and pronouns and then ensure you ask for theirs before you address them using a pronoun.
Related Terms
There are lots of terms that describe unique identities and it is important to ensure that you are sharp on the vocab so that you can show support and understanding to those around you! Below are some important terms to be aware of.
Non-binary
Someone who identifies as non-binary doesn’t feel like their gender experience fits into the male or female category.
This person may feel like their gender doesn’t accurately reflect the gender that was assigned to them at birth.
Non-binary is also a larger category which genders such as bigender fall under.
Genderfluid
This is a very important term for someone who identifies with their gender as being fluid and changeable.
For someone who identifies as gender fluid, gender is constantly changing as they grow.
Pangender
Pangender is someone who feels as if they experience multiple, or all genders.
Bisexual
Bisexuality is not a gender, it is a sexual orientation. Someone who is bisexual will experience attraction (both sexual and romantic) to members of the same gender you a different gender.
It is possible to be both bigender and bisexual, but both do not always come hand in hand!
How Do You Know You Are Bigender?
If you are unsure if you fit into the bigender category, there are certain signs that can help you to figure out if this is your identity. These include:
Not feeling comfortable or sure of yourself in your own skin. If you experience gender dysphoria, which means that you are not comfortable with your sex assigned at birth, then you may find yourself fitting into the bigender category.
Varied gender expression. If you find yourself wanting to express yourself in different ways, then this may work as identification for you. You may sometimes wish to dress more femininely, and other times more masculine. This is not a definite sign that you are bigender but it has been known to indicate this.
Final Thoughts
Bigender refers to someone who experiences two genders and identifies with both. Bigender is not yet a well-known term. This doesn’t mean that it is any less valid than any other gender identity!
Hello, my name is Gay Worlley - no, really - and I love learning about all things queer. I am also a qualified gardener and enjoy traveling in my spare time.
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