What is Ambigenderism?

As psychological science is shedding more light on the nature of gender in the context of biological sex and social norms, more identity labels seem to be coming out every day. One label that has yet to receive decent recognition is Ambigenderism. I think the best way to share what ambigenderism entails is to share myself as an ambigendered person.

About 4 months ago was when I started to transition from boy to girl (distinguished from male and female), however in the early stages I felt a great deal of conflict when it came to the final image I had in mind. I wasn't sure if I wanted Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS), and I was conflicted about voice therapy, mainly because I sing in a band and my vocal range is important to our composition. I bounced back and forth between considering SRS and not considering it. I eventually decided I liked my "parts" and really had no desire to change myself sexually, so SRS was not an option for me. However, as a person who doesn't make a lot of money, I knew that breast implants and hair removal, two things I certainly want to do, would be difficult to do in a timely manner. I considered hormone therapy, but after speaking with a fellow transgendered girl I found out the effects hormone therapy has on muscle mass, sex drive, and penis size were something I wasn't comfortable with, even if it does basically remove all body and facial hair.

I felt conflict with my identity; tucking is difficult for me, and the body hair is quite the pain to deal with. I have very thick, dark body and facial hair, and hiding it is a hassle and doesn't work all the time. Laser hair removal is expensive and painful, but hormone therapy, which is cheap and relatively painless, comes with side effects that I'm not comfortable with.

Eventually my wife told me about a person who dresses in feminine clothing and makeup at the house, but is a man in public. The person said it was not shame based, but rather just a preference. They referred to themselves as Ambigendered.

Ambigendered uses the root word Ambi, similar to ambidextrous, which is the ability to write with both hands effectively. Ambigenderism, in specific, is the preference to exist as both boy and girl. A great example of this are drag queens and masculine male to female transgendered people, and another example is the group known as Club Kids. Club Kids are a sect of transgenderism who stress both male and female properties; they will have full beards, but wear dresses, heels, and makeup, or they will show off their breasts but wear masculine clothing. I learned that is where I sit.

The best thing about Ambigenderism is it is much more of a gradient, rather than a binary relationship that exists between transgenderism and transsexualism. Transgender sometimes comes with the implication that one seeks to be the opposite gender as much as possible, barring SRS. However, Ambigenderism gives the ability to fall anywhere within that spectrum without one feeling incomplete or in an odd state where no identity describes oneself. One may wish to dress as a woman, have breasts, wear makeup and have no body hair, but at the same time have a deep voice and a penis. One may have breasts and a vagina, but wear suits, cut ones hair short and have facial hair implants. Ambigenderism allows one to not just fall on male or female, but to fall anywhere in between.

If you have any questions about Ambigenderism, or transgenderism in general, feel free to ask in the comments or send me a personal message.

Amare atque Pace, Semper

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