what are xenogenders?

“Xenogender (coined in 2014 by Tumblr user Baaphomett in a submission to the MOGAI-Archive blog, from xeno alien + "gender") is a nonbinary gender identity "that cannot be contained by human understandings of gender; more concerned with crafting other methods of gender categorization and hierarchy such as those relating to animals, plants, or other creatures/things."

“Neurodiversity: Some nonbinary people have mental variations (mental illnesses, neurological conditions, or neurodivergence). Some who have mental variations see these as an influence on-- or an inseparable part of-- their gender identity.”

sources are in order of use!

(1) Nonbinary Wiki. “Xenogender.” Nonbinary Wiki, Nonbinary Wiki, 17 Aug. 2020, nonbinary.wiki/wiki/Xenogender.

(2) “Xenogender.” Gender Wiki, Gender Wiki, gender.wikia.org/wiki/Xenogender.

in brief, a xenogender is a nonbinary identity that references concepts, animals, plants, or objects in reference to one’s gender expression. this does not mean that someone identifying with a cat xenogender believes that their gender is a cat, for example; rather, their associations with cats align with their associations of their own gender.

xenogenders were created by neurodivergent individuals (austistic, adhd, etc) as a way to express their gender identities in a way that feels authentic and reflects the impact their neurodivergence has on their gender.
neurotypicals (those without autism, adhd, etc) are usually permitted and encouraged to use xenogenders if they want to, although some xenogenders are very closely intertwined with meurodivergent experiences.

“how do they work?”
anyone can create a xenogender if they’d like to and feel it would help them better express themself! many xenogenders are paired with corresponding flags and pronouns, these vary based on both the xenogender and the individual who identifies with it. pronouns outside of conventional use (he, she, they in english) include xe, fae, zi, bun, plur, and many more.

the following are links to various xenogenders if you’d like some examples !

this carrd was made by an autistic nonbinary person who identifies with xenogenders. the topics spoken about that do not have direct citations are from lived experience. please keep this in mind as you read.

thank you for reading, i hope this was helpful :D