ectoplasm, originally uploaded by Jesse Draper.

Lucas recommends…

This is a web project dedicated to mapping out safe restrooms that are gender neutral, unisex or gender inclusive. It is available only in North America at the moment, but Safe2Pee plans on expanding. People can document and map bathrooms across the country that are safe and gender-variant friendly.

» Recommend something. «

You can call me… anytime, I love conversation.

I identify as… a monster, a trainwreck, a ball of thoughts/ideas floating in the atmosphere. A painfully confused, indecisive, and ambitious person.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I am a she/her but calling me anything else makes for good conversation.

I’m attracted to… people that make me do a double take, cool voices, people who speak their mind.

When people talk about me, I want them to… know that it is also a reflection of themselves.

I want people to understand… to balance of patience with misunderstanding because that’s what I want to understand for myself.

About —
I am a student majoring in Chinese studies, linguistically and culturally. I am an artist. I sell my life on amazon.com to help ease the burden of student loans.

» Define yourself. «

gull, originally uploaded by Anna Kharina.

You can call me… Andrew, Andy

I identify as… A masculine-identified genderqueer person.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I prefer he/him/his. I’d use ze/hir if they were more widely accepted but I almost feel like I’m asking too much of people when I request that they use them. I’ll happily use them for others, though.

It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when people assign gender to words though. It is not a female pronoun or a male pronoun – words don’t have gender.

I’m attracted to… Smart people who are happier to sit at home and read/bake/watch movies than go out and party.

When people talk about me, I want them to… not stare awkwardly at me. Not use the “right” pronouns only when I’m listening. Only ask questions if they need the answers.

I want people to understand… my gender identity is not the only thing I want to talk about. There are a lot of other facets of my personality that are much more interesting, I promise.

About Andrew
Andrew is a 22-year-old student and LGBT activist. And he’s awesome.

» Define yourself. «

Del moño, originally uploaded by Diego Epstein.

Someone wrote…

I used to think my gender was some complicated beast and it weighed me down a lot. Now I realise it isn’t, just the only word for it is “me.”

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

You can call me… Crys.

I identify as… An androgynous artist.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … It doesn’t really matter. Most people know me as a female since that was what I grew up as, but I find it flattering when some he’s and him’s are thrown into conversation. Anything goes.

I’m attracted to… My boyfriend, Max.

When people talk about me, I want them to… Talk about my artwork, or what makes me a good person, or something funny I said. I want them to consider that my androgyny isn’t a choice and that it’s a need. I want people to smile when they think of me.

I want people to understand… That it is necessary to be open-minded about things. Nothing is rigid – there is always a shade of grey in between.

About Crys
Crys is a 16-year-old artist who spends hours upon hours creating artwork, writing, and lazing around. She is obsessive in his love for creativity, androgyny, and his lovely boyfriend. She also enjoys a good nap.

» Define yourself. «

miko after the peach, originally uploaded by Lorac’s.

…to a child whose preferences stray from gendered stereotypes.

You can call me… Aline

I identify as… There’s not many words to describe me in portuguese. Usually I prefer “trans” for being a completely generic term. I was a trans woman who stopped believing in the gender system and now appreciates her masculine traits.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I prefer the female ones. I would accept gender neutral ones, but we don’t have them in portuguese which as a latin language is very binary.

I’m attracted to… In terms of gender, I like some femininity, doesn’t matter the body, if (trans)men, (trans)women, androgynous.

I don’t like superficiality, I prefer those who make me angry with their words over those who are scared to tell me what they think.

When people talk about me, I want them to… I don’t really care If I look too strange to people, if I’m too atypical. I don’t really care if they talk about this, as long as they keep this as less important than my skills, my personality, as long as they listen to me.

I want people to understand… That I’m not going to play the game of accepting a labelled box of “transexual” or “travesti” (words we use in Portuguese). There are too many ways to live our lives, too many ways to express our genders and too many ways to express our sexuality.

I’m free now, and no one is allowed to tell me how I should be or not. I’m free and happy with my queerness.

» Define yourself. «

I am a cyborg, no shame in that ., originally uploaded by justin©bess.

Someone wrote…

went to a fancy dress party a couple of days ago, and, at the suggestion of one of the guys there, went as a girl (skirt, low cut top, flowers in my hair, the lot). This I found amusing. Half of the other people there got it, the other half thought it was a bit odd. But when a bunch of guys came out in dresses, that was hilarious. They got a load of attention. It made me feel invalidated and a bit crappy. So I went and had a cry. The thing is, dressing as a girl is more drag for me than dressing as a boy is, and probably no less so than it was for the guys.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

You can call me… Sarah, which is my given name, or Max or Alex, which are masculine names I sometimes (increasingly often) take on.

I identify as… a being. I don’t like it when my age, gender, or anything else irrelevant is pointed out. I’m a person who likes The Sisters of Mercy, who works at PacSun, who likes Sedaris. I’m honest and I try to be funny. Being a man or a woman has nothing to do with those things.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I get female ones mostly, but I don’t mind, and some of my close friends can tell when to call me by a masculine pronoun.

I’m attracted to… everyone and everything. When I survey a room, it’s the women I notice first, but certainly I don’t discriminate against a penis when it’s attached to a fun and brilliant man.

When people talk about me, I want them to… say something true.

I want people to understand… me.

» Define yourself. «

Devin 3, originally uploaded by CharlieBTuna.

genderkid recommends…

Poets Alysia Harris and Aysha El Shamayleh speak about Melissa/James, a young person who would rather go by the pronoun “hir.” Keegan made a transcription.

» Recommend something. «

You can call me… Lenore St. Strange (or Andi if you’re feeling intimate).

I identify as… A performer of all sorts.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … In the words of the immortal Mighty Boosh, “I’m the confuser! Is it a man? Is it a woman? I’m not sure if I mind!”

I’m attracted to… those silly, melodramatic, creative types with a side dish of wit and style.

When people talk about me, I want them to… focus on my actions, not my appearance.

I want people to understand… That I’m usually never serious, and that you should dare to be yourself, not just different.

About Lenore St. Strange
I’m a kid at heart hailing from metropolitan Arizona. I love pretty much everything considered “artsy-fartsy.” I’m a bibliophile, and a massive nerd (in all senses of the word). My vices are Performing and British Comedy. I blog at rawrdom.xanga.com/profile.

» Define yourself. «

Muse #8, originally uploaded by Teatro Negro.

Someone wrote…

I shied away from dresses for a long time… but since growing out my armpit and leg hair, they don’t nearly seem so bad.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

L. with her adventurer portrait, fourth sitting Nov. 07, originally uploaded by slurkflickr.

Suzanne Rachel Forbes is a courtroom artist turned alternative portrait painter. You can see more details of her genderbending portrait of her friend L. on her photostream.