third gender
Neither male nor female
Third gender refers to a gender identity or social category outside the male-female binary.
Many cultures recognize such categories: hijras in South Asia, two-spirit people among some Indigenous North Americans, fa'afafine in Samoa.
In contemporary Western usage, third gender often appears in legal or administrative contexts: Germany allows "third gender" on official documents.
The term emphasizes that gender categories beyond man and woman have existed across cultures and throughout history.
Outside male-female categories
- genderqueerOutside the two-category system
- genderfluidVariable gender identity
- agenderHaving no gender identity
- bigenderTwo-gender identity
Embodying both gender essences
- cultural identityBelonging through shared traditions
- social constructCollectively maintained abstraction
Change from one state
- trans rightsLegal protections for transgender individuals
- transmasculineMoving toward male identity
- transfeminineGender identity toward femininity
- coming outRevealing one's identity
Change from a norm
- chromosomalRelating to genetic structures
- gonadalConcerning reproductive glands
- intersexualityMixed biological sex characteristics
- karyotypeOrganized chromosome display
congenital · mosaicism · sex characteristics · biological sex · endocrine · hermaphrodite
Official record of arrival
- official documentsVerified governmental or institutional papers
- legal statusOne's position in law
- registrationFormal recording of participation
- identificationEstablishing who someone is
nonbinary
Outside male-female categories
- genderqueerOutside the two-category system
- genderfluidVariable gender identity
- agenderHaving no gender identity
two-spirit
Embodying both gender essences
- cultural identityBelonging through shared traditions
- social constructCollectively maintained abstraction
transition
Change from one state
- trans rightsLegal protections for transgender individuals
- transmasculineMoving toward male identity
- transfeminineGender identity toward femininity
variation
Change from a norm
- chromosomalRelating to genetic structures
- gonadalConcerning reproductive glands
- intersexualityMixed biological sex characteristics
karyotype · congenital · mosaicism · sex characteristics · biological sex · endocrine · hermaphrodite
birth certificate
Official record of arrival
- official documentsVerified governmental or institutional papers
- legal statusOne's position in law
- registrationFormal recording of participation
- gendermale, female, masculine, feminine, man
- gender identitiesmale, female, man, woman, men
- gender optionsmale, female, non-binary, nonbinary, other
- sexual identitiesgay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer
- gender identitynonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, bigender, agender
- androgynyandrogyne, epicene, unisex, genderqueer, nonbinary
third genderbinary gender
Male-or-female categorization only
gender binary · male · female · man · woman
third, gender, thirds, genders, gendered, thirdly, genderless, misgender