We are in 2020 now. The term ‘Gender Fluid’ is being used more frequently these days as more and more people understand that gender was not binary ( not only and always male or female) and not necessarily tied to physical sex characteristics.
Gender fluidity is hardly an unknown term in 2020 but still you wouldn’t be alone if you’re unsure of exactly what it means. Before getting into the definition of gender fluid, we need to understand what gender identity means as well as terms ‘cisgender’ and ‘transgender’.
- RELATED: What Does Transgender Mean?
Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else. How they feel from inside, ‘their inner sense of who they are’ It is called Gender Identity. Gender Identity is different from Sexual Orientation.
Cisgender people are those whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. “Transgender” is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not match the sex to which they were assigned at birth.
What is Gender Fluid Mean ?
Gender fluidity is a gender identity that may change or shift over time. In short, Gender fluidity, when someone’s gender identity, expression or behavior shifts between masculine and feminine. It can be displayed how someone dress, express and describe themselves.
Gender fluid means different things to each person. It is not as black and white as wanting to wear masculine clothing one day and feminine clothing the next day. In practice, genderfluid people may express masculinity, femininity, or ‘partly male and partly female’ personality, sexual experiences. gender could shift over time during the course of a day, weeks, months, or years.
Gender fluid is not to be confused with “Non-binary” but it does fall under the non-binary blanket. We can say it’s a sub-category of Non-Binary. People whose gender is not male or female use many different terms to describe themselves, Non-binary is one of them. Everyone’s experience with their own gender is unique, because of this there are so many ways one can express their own gender. Other terms include genderqueer, agender, bigender, and many more. None of these terms mean exactly the same thing, but all speak one thing for sure, that gender is Not only/always male or female.
Different pronouns may be used by gender fluid person, depending on how the person describe their gender at that moment. Many genderfluid people use “they/them” instead of “he” or “she.” Others prefer “zie” or “Mx.” but not all. If you’re not sure, just ask.
Where Does GenderFluid Come From?
The term gender-fluid first appeared in the 1980s, coming into use alongside with other terms like transgender and genderqueer. The term gender-fluid spread with the understanding that gender was not binary.
Early 2000s was when trans identities were finding their footing. Online communities, where many first encountered the word gender-fluid. In the late 2000s the term truly began to be noticed on many online forums. By 2011, gender-fluid had 37,000 hits on Google. In 2018, this increased to 2.3 million.
Social media start to accept and understand the non-binary gender. and start accepting that gender is not only/always male and female. In 2014, Gender Fluid were added as gender options to Facebook and OKCupid.