Xenogender
Xenogender is an umbrella term for non-binary gender identities described through non-human concepts like animals, plants, food, or memes instead of standard gender language. Tumblr user baaphomet coined the word, and a mogai-archive masterpost from August 25, 2014 brought it into wider circulation before it saw a fresh spike of interest in 2021.
Overview
Xenogender is an umbrella term covering non-binary gender identities that people describe through non-human concepts rather than standard gender categories1. Instead of using words tied to man or woman, someone with a xenogender might frame their identity through animals, plants, food, objects, or abstract ideas that feel personally meaningful3. The term does not mean the person identifies as the thing itself, a cat-gender individual is not claiming to be a cat, only that felinity captures something about how they experience their own gender2.
Xenogenders often come paired with their own neopronouns tied to the subject of the identity3. Communities have organized the many coined identities into subcategories such as GamerGender for gaming-related xenogenders and PurrGender for cat-themed ones4.
How It Spread
How to Use This Meme
To use the label, someone typically picks a subject they connect with, adds -gender to it (as in CatGender or Chocogender), and often adopts matching neopronouns drawn from the same subject3. A common convention is to publish a flag whose colors each represent an aspect of the identity, following the format used by accounts such as @xenogndrhourly5.