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Aliagender (from Latin alius, "other"[1]) is “A gender experience which is 'other', or stands apart from existing gender constructs.”[2] It is a specific nonbinary identity which is not a mixture of male and female, nor an absence of gender, but instead a strong, specific gender identity other than man or woman. This term is used by people who would identify as "third gender," but who don't want to appropriate any culture-specific gender identity implied by the term "third gender."

History[edit | edit source]

A moderator on the askanonbinary Tumblr blog created the word "aliagender" in response to Tumblr user Zobothehobo. Zobothehobo later described this event: "i was there when aliagender was coined. actually, i was the reason it was coined. I sent messages to askanonbinary and beck came up with the word. we defined it then as a gender experience other from the traditional spectrum. I always meant for this to be a term for a specific positive gender that was not associated with the man/woman spectrum, but was a gender that existed and NOT genderless."[3]

Soon after, there was a conflict about whether the word was politically problematic. Some people of color reportedly said "that aliagender is racist in that it is basically just a whitewashed version of third gender."[4] In response, another person coined "aporagender" as an alternative to aliagender, due to concerns that aliagender might be "racist or appropriative."[5] Zobothehobo said "they did not intend for aliagender to be harmful in anyway, and was created to describe an 'othering' concept of gender."[6]

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

  • [1] An article comparing aliagender with some similar nonbinary identities.

References[edit | edit source]