What does it mean?

“A person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders.” – Oxford Dictionaries

“an umbrella term used to describe gender identities other than man and woman – for example, those who are both man and woman, or neither man nor woman, or moving between genders” – NHS Choices

Terms with similar meanings are nonbinary and enby.

Slur

The term queer is often used as a slur - a word used to attack and insult people. As a result, people may find the word - or words like “genderqueer” that contain it - to be upsetting.

Through the process of reappropriation some people now use the word positively. Whether to use reclaimed slurs is a personal choice - but if you do use them, be aware that they may offend or upset some people.

Umbrella term

"Genderqueer" is a term that covers a large number of different people - it’s an umbrella term.

Terms like this can:

• help if you’re not sure what specific term describes you
• help if how you relate to gender is fluid and changes over time
• be more likely to be understood by the general public
• be useful for ensuring that a wide range of different people can access resources and support

However, terms like this can also:

• hide how much people using the term actually differ
• hide how much more discrimination some people using the term receive
• include people in a term that they don’t like without asking them
• include people in a term that they don't feel actually describes them

Think carefully before using this term to describe someone or a group of people - they may not wish to be described that way.

Errors and omissions

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