Agender is a gender identity where an individual has no gender and does not necessarily follow gender roles. It can also be known as genderless, gender-free, non-gendered, or ungendered.

Agender represents a variety of identities that differ from conventional gender norms. Identities that fall under the agender label include demiagender and gendervoid, among others. The A in LGBTQIA+ stands for agender, alongside asexual and aromantic.

The identity of agender people, like other queer identities, are not universally accepted, and agender people can face discrimination. The first person to be legally recognised as agender was recognised in Oregon in 2017.

In 2017 an analysis of gender identity surveys found that 14% of transgender participants identified as agender. In 2025, Gender Census, a global survey of non-binary people, found that 25% of participants identified as agender.

Identity

Agender people identify as having no gender. Agender people may choose to not follow traditional gender roles. Some agender people partially associate with other genders, while others reject gender entirely. The term agender also covers several related gender identities. Identities that fall under the agender label include demiagender and libragender, as well as identities similar to agender such as neutrois, among others. Some, although not all, agender people may consider themself to be transgender.

There is no single set of pronouns used by all agender people, and agender people may choose any pronoun set. The most common used is singular they, with many agender people also accepting any pronouns.

History

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of the word was in 1996, as "A-gender", in an article in the Independent.

A 1997 paper in International Journal of Transgenderism (later renamed International Journal of Transgender Health) states that "An individual of any genetic sex may also regard [themself] as [...] an ungendered person, who does not or will not identify with any conventional gender".

The first known use of the term "agender", without the hyphen, was on a Usenet forum referring to the gender of the Christian God. The Oxford English Dictionary points to usage of the word as far back as 2005 on the Usenet newsgroup "alt.politics.democrats":

Cultures can have transgender, agender, and hypergender individuals.

— Re: Homosexuality & Bible in alt.politics.democrats

A 2013 New York Times Article talked about a non-binary person who used the term agender to describe themself. In 2014, the agender flag was created by a Tumblr user.

"Agender" and "neutrois" were among the custom gender options added to Facebook in February 2014 and to OkCupid since November 2014.

In 2017, Judge Amy Holmes Hehn ruled that Patch, an agender resident of Portland, Oregon, could be legally identified as agender. The first Agender Pride Day was celebrated on May 19, 2017 to commemorate this, and is celebrated annually on that day.

In 2019 the literary magazine The Asexual rebranded itself to Aze, and began to publish content about agenderness and aromanticity, instead of only asexuality.

Symbols

A display of the 2023 Bern Eurogames including the agender flag.

The agender flag was created in 2014 by Salom X, a Tumblr user. The same user created the demiboy and demigirl flags. The black and white represent the absence of gender, the gray represents people who are semi-genderless and the green is for non-binary genders.

Agender Pride Day

Agender Pride Day is an annual event celebrated on May 19 every year since 2017. It is dedicated to celebrating agender people and identity as well as raising awareness of issues and discrimination agender people face. It originally celebrated an Oregon resident being legally recognised as agender.

Related identities

Many identities overlap and there are some non-binary people who consider the agender experience to be a spectrum, encompassing other forms of expression. Some multigender people also identify with other genders, including agender, or are fluid between agender and another gender.

Apogender

Apogender is defined as not only rejecting gender, but also feeling removed from the concept of gender entirely.

Demiagender

Demiagender (Sometimes spelt demi-agender) is a subclass of demigender and agender identity in which someone feels a partial connection to one gender while also partially identifying with no gender.

A flag consisting of seven equal-spaced horizontal stripes, from top to bottom: dark gray, gray, light blue-gray, white, lime, gray, and dark gray.
Demiagender flag

Gendervoid

Gendervoid can be described as being devoid of gender. It is often used as a synonym of agender, but is generally considered to be closer to a complete lack of gender experience or identity.

Neutrois

Neutrois is a gender identity closely related to agender, in which someone has a neutral gender. The term was coined by H.A. Burnham in 1995, and was most popular in the 2010s. Neutrois and agender overlap in meaning, with some people identifying as both, but neutrois is associated closer with expression and physical appearance.

The term is often (although not always) used by those who experience gender dysphoria and/or gender euphoria who may seek medical and/or social gender transitions to have a more neutral or androgynous appearance. Neutrois is believed to come from the French "neutre", meaning neutral, and "trois" meaning three. Neutrois was one of 50 genders added as options on Facebook in 2014.

A flag consisting of three equal-spaced horizontal stripes, from top to bottom: white, green, black.
Neutrois flag

Notable agender people

SJ Miller, an agender American academic.
Marissa Lenti, an agender American voice actress.

Fictional characters