Andro- is a latin prefix referring to maleness or men, while -gyn is a root that can be used as either a suffix of prefix meaning woman. A person who practices androgyny is an androgyne. The adjective for androgyny is androgynous.
People of any gender and sexual orientation can be androgynous. Although many non-binary and gender fluid people take on androgynous gender presentations, so do cisgender and transgender binary individuals. There is no inherent association between gender identity and androgyny. Androgyny can be about identity, but it can also be about fashion and style.
Androgen: Hormones, such as testosterone, associated with masculinization Philanderer: A man who is intimate with many women (focuses on the man) Polygyny: Relationships involving multiple women (focuses on the fact that there are multiple women) Misogyny: Hostility or hatred towards women Gynecology: Medical care focused on women’s health
History of Androgyny
Androgyny has a long history, although not always by that name. The term, however, gained more prominence in the 1970s when Bem, a well known gender scholar, coined the concept of psychological androgyny.
Psychological androgyny referred to the idea that an individual could have both masculine and feminine qualities. More importantly, it reflected the idea that having this mixture of qualities could be a good thing, and was associated with flexibility and better adjustment.
Some researchers argue that there is both positive and negative androgyny. Positive androgyny is where individuals have positive characteristics associated with both masculinity and femininity—such as compassion and independence.
In contrast, negative androgyny is associated with having negative masculine and feminine characteristics, such as being temperamental and aggressive. Perhaps unsurprisingly, positive androgyny is associated with better mental health and well-being than negative androgyny.
One criticism of psychological androgyny is that it assumes that certain characteristics are masculine and feminine, rather than seeing masculinity and femininity as being culturally constructed.
Androgyny is more often used as a biological term when describing non humans. For example, did you know plants can be androgynous? Some plants can make both staminate and pistillate flowers at the same time. Both stamens and pistils are needed for plants to reproduce.
In that way, psychological androgyny could also be thought of as describing those who are less invested in cultural constructs around gender and its expression.
Stigma and Androgyny
The degree to which androgyny is stigmatized may reflect a number of factors. However, it is likely that, as with gender non-conforming individuals, androgynous individuals are sometimes stigmatized because they are perceived to be more likely to be sexual or gender minorities.
Unconventional appearance and mannerisms have been shown to be less acceptable to some youth and adults. And so, where androgyny is uncommon, it may lead to negative reactions.
Androgyny may also make some people uncomfortable because it causes difficulty with their social scripts. Social scripts are the automatic ways in which individuals categorize and interact with others based on perceptions of their identity.
Where people are uncertain if someone is male or female, it may require a conscious effort to interact, for example around determining pronouns, and having to make that effort may feel like a struggle. It may sound silly, but this type of struggle has been associated with negative attitudes towards transgender people.
Some individuals, particularly those who are politically conservative, are more comfortable with those transgender people who “pass” as their affirmed gender because they do not have to think about their sex.
In recent years there has been a growing awareness that both gender and sex exist on a spectrum, or multiple spectra, rather than as binaries. This may change the understanding of androgyny as well. Rather than having a mix of male and female characteristics, at least some androgynous individuals may be thought of as falling on the spectrum between male and female in their presentation or behavior.
The term hermaphrodite comes from Greek mythology and is no longer in common use to describe humans. It is, however, still used to describe individuals of other species that have both male and female reproductive capacity.
A Word From Verywell
There are a number of movie and rock stars who are adored, or even famous, for presenting in an androgynous manner, such as Tilda Swinton, David Bowie, and Marlene Dietrich. Indeed, even those historically archetypes of femininity, Disney princesses, have become more androgynous since 2006.
People’s feelings about androgyny are very related to their circumstances, identities, and upbringing—as well as the identity and circumstances of the androgynous person. It is important to note that, as a rule, androgyny is considered to be more acceptable for women than for men.
That said, even that is a moving target. Studies suggest that at least college-educated American men may be becoming more androgynous over time and that married men become more androgynous as they age.
Synonyms for androgynous include genderless, unisex, and epicene.
