Ryan explains a few options for gender-neutral pronouns. For more info, see the gender-neutral pronoun FAQ.

IMG_7598, originally uploaded by hawkington photography.

Someone wrote…

I don’t need to define myself, I am a shapeshifter of gender.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

stache, originally uploaded by nerd3status.

Kitsune recommends…

Genesis P-Orrridge talks about their transformation into a pandrogyne, and the death of their “other half” — lady jay.

Genesis and Lady Jay had many surgeries done to make themselves look like each other; in this way they (together) created a third being.

» Recommend something. «

You can call me… Gabe!

I identify as… a girly boy. A hopeless romantic. Pansexual. An artist. A writer. A musician. An animal lover. A vegetarian. A nerd. A failboat. Above all, a person.

As far as third-person pronouns go, … I like he and him. Gender-neutral is even better. But please don’t say she or her.

I’m attracted to… people that are nice to others. I like girly boys and boyish girls. I like bookworms with sweet smiles.

When people talk about me, I want them to… notice how nice I am and maybe even how much of a faily dork I am, but not worry about my appearance or my parts or my gender. I want them to see past that.

I want people to understand… that being different doesn’t mean being bad. That I am a boy, despite what bits I may have. That boys can wear make up and glitter too. That there are much more important things to worry about than gender.

» Define yourself. «

P1550864SNP, originally uploaded by SwitchNPlay.

Someone wrote…

It frustrates me that androgyny always seems to not include breasts.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

1980s DEAD OR ALIVE Record album sleeve vinyl LP cover 1987 single 12 inch Brand New Lover, originally uploaded by Christian Montone.

what you sippin on?, originally uploaded by Little Ben Big City.

Submitted by Ace, the model and photographer.

“Even my binder cannot satisfy me”

Someone wrote…

Sometimes I’m not sure whether I feel more like a masculine girl or a feminine boy.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

Johnny Kat rages against the gender binary system, originally uploaded by emilyrems.

A reader recommends…

I just read this article and wanted to share it with you. It’s a very inspiring story, it warms the heart.

» Recommend something. «

Claude Cahun, originally uploaded by Peglessness.

Gender Alchymist

by Erica Stratton

While researching a book on Surrealism, a man named François Leperlier came across a remarkable series of self-portraits created by an artist he had never heard of before: Claude Cahun. The name sounded masculine—some early biographers even used male pronouns—but she was female-bodied. In these pictures, Cahun showed a remarkable ability for gender transformation. She holds mysterious props that turn her into a magician, a doll, or an impenetrably masked androgyny. With her hooked nose and a shaved head, it seems she could photograph herself as male, female, or any shade in between.

Though Leperlier rediscovered Cahun in the 1980s—30 years after her death—it wasn’t until the early ’90s that her photos were shown at several international art shows celebrating Surrealism. As scholars delved into Cahun’s work, their perception of her identity seemed to shift with each summation. She collaborated with many of the Surrealists, but didn’t join the movement as one of them; her work is said to be marginalized because she was a woman, but her writing hints that she may not have thought of herself as female. Modern archivists have held her work up as an example of a transperson, an androgyny, a lesbian, queer, and even a transhumanist. She wrote in her autobiography, Disavowals, “Shuffle the cards. Masculine? Feminine? It depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.”

Cahun was based in Paris throughout most of her career. She wrote and created photographs with her partner, Marcel Moore, until the 1930s, when they retired from the Parisian art world and moved to Jersey Island. They named the house they lived in La Ferme Sans Nom, “the Farm Without a Name,” and lived there until the 1940s. Then, Nazis occupied the island. Cahun and her partner were arrested for putting fliers protesting the occupation under the windshields of Nazi vehicles and inside of newspapers for sale, and leaving cartons full of them in alleyways. They were imprisoned and threatened with execution, but released shortly thereafter.

During her career, Claude Cahun was better known for her writings than her photographs, which were never shown during her lifetime. Happily, Disaovowals and another book, Heroines, have been translated from French into English, but the bulk of her written work still remains uncollected.

I Extend My Arms, uploaded by angeloplessas

Claude Cahun 1920 uploaded by Peglessness

Claude Cahun 1912 uploaded by Peglessness

Submitted by Addison. Photo by Jack Delano.

Backstage at the “girlie” show at the state fair. Rutland, Vermont, September 1941

Someone wrote…

I don’t like the concept of “my gender” because it is not something that I own or possess, rather, it is something that comes and goes. I do not own it, and in turn, it does not own me.

What’s your experience?

And what are you thinking about gender right now?

Untitled , originally uploaded by maria.petra.

Chanti, originally uploaded by Kat+Mause@Kiss My Flash Photography.

Riley asks…

My girlfriend is confused and frustrated that I don’t really like being called her girl or boy. Being gender fluid and rejecting normal pronouns is straining our relationship. Any suggestions?

Please post your response in the comments below.

» Ask Genderfork «