Genderqueer
Genderqueer describes a gender identity that is neither solely female nor solely male, or is both, or sits somewhere between. On the definition alone it is almost interchangeable with Non-binary. On everything else it is not.
Featured in
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- CollectionThe Vocabulary of the 1990sSeven words first attested between 1992 and 1996, made in zines and newsletters before the general internet, carrying most of the framework still in use.7 entries
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The difference is queer. The word was built in United States activist and zine culture of the mid-1990s out of a slur that had been reclaimed in the preceding decade, and it kept the edge that reclamation gave it. Genderqueer says something about a stance towards gender norms and not only about a position within them, and people who choose it over non-binary are usually choosing that.
Why the older word did not disappear
Genderqueer was the standard term through the 1990s and 2000s, and non-binary overtook it in general use during the 2010s. The usual story of a word being replaced does not apply here, because the replacement is not doing the same job.
Non-binary is descriptive and institutionally safe. A health form or a style guide can use it without implying a politics. Genderqueer cannot be used that way, which is exactly why some people keep it. The Gender Census still records it at 34.6 per cent of gender-diverse respondents in 2025, which is not the profile of a term on its way out.
Why queer is still contested
Queer remains a slur to some people, particularly older speakers who were on the receiving end of it, and genderqueer inherits that. An entry that presented the reclamation as complete would be reporting a preference rather than a fact.
What the record holds
Merriam-Webster carries the word, which most terms in this catalogue cannot claim, and it appears in Britannica and in health-publisher glossaries. Alongside the community figure, the Trevor Project found 23 per cent of non-binary youth using it in 2021. It is among the better documented terms here.
Told apart
Often confused with Genderqueer
- Non-binaryNear-synonyms on the definition and different in tone. Genderqueer carries a political charge and non-binary does not, which is the whole reason both survive.
- TransgenderMany genderqueer people are also transgender and some are not. The words answer different questions, one about position relative to the binary and one about the birth assignment.
Common questions
Questions about Genderqueer
- Is genderqueer the same as non-binary?
- On the definition, nearly. In use, no. Genderqueer carries a deliberate political charge inherited from the reclamation of queer, while non-binary is descriptive and neutral enough for a health form. People who pick the older word are usually picking that difference rather than a different gender.
- Is genderqueer an outdated term?
- No. It is older than non-binary and was overtaken in general use during the 2010s, but the Gender Census still recorded 34.6 per cent of gender-diverse respondents choosing it in 2025. That is not the profile of a term falling out of use.
- When was genderqueer coined?
- It emerged in United States activist and zine culture in the mid-1990s, and Riki Wilchins is the name most often attached to putting it into print.
- Is queer still a slur?
- For some people, yes, particularly older speakers who had it used against them. The reclamation is widespread and it is not universal, and genderqueer inherits that unevenness.
Added 2026-08-28 · Revised 2026-08-28
Nearby in the catalogue
Related entries
- Non-binaryAn umbrella term and an identity at the very same time, and the reason its two headline figures are not remotely comparable with one another.
- TransgenderAn umbrella with a 1965 medical coinage, a 1994 antonym, and one of the very few gender figures that is a genuine population estimate.
- AndrogynosA rabbinic category for a person with both sets of genitals, ruled like a man in some respects and like a woman in others. Greek word, Talmudic use.
- Gender variantAn institutional heading rather than a label anybody picks: who writes it, why no dictionary dates it, and what it costs to file it beside the identities.