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How many genders do you know? I know 100
Joseph Tumwesigye
Posted: 3 weeks 1 day
NTV Uganda. There are more than 2 genders

If I possed that question to you, the answer will definitely be wrong. Many of my fellow Ugandans can only identify 2 to 4 genders in existence. These will include male, female, intersexual (hermaphrodite) and Transexual (because of its existence in pop culture thanks to E entertainment).

I have to admit that these were the only genders I knew until very recently. In a Telegram group I belong, a friend of mine shared a picture that blew my mind away. As he was trying to apply for a job in the UN, he selected the entry for gender and he was given a total of 9 options. On top of the 4 already mentioned in this article, there was Crossdresser, FTM (Female-To-Male), MTF (Male-to-female), Genderqueer/Androgynous, and Transgender (not to be confused with transsexual). As you may realise, this kind of information really gets many of us thinking really hard. But it is actually really simple. I will break it down for easy understanding.

First of all, there is the physical/biological aspect. Biologically, a person will be identified by 4 different genders. You are either male, female, intersexual or transexual.

An intersexual is simply a person with a variety of conditions in which he or she is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. So it is very much biological as one is born this way and intersex people have existed since the beginning of humanity. People should understand that it is not a disorder as such people can live a normal life.

Transexual: most websites that speak of transsexuality are very subtle with their definitions. Transexuals do not just identify themselves with the opposite sex, they take an extra initiative to medically change their sex. Transexuals believe that they were born in the wrong body. The obvious example is the U.S Olympic champion Bruce Jenner who changed to Caitlyn Jenner. From what I could gather concerning questions I have asked myself, transexuals are sexually active however cannot have children in that condition. However, they can always have sperm and eggs banked before they transition for later use.

Now that you have an understanding of the biological genders, allow me to introduce you to the others. Ever heard of Gender fluidity? There is an an understanding that gender is socially constructed. The belief is that society created the idea of genders. Personally, I feel that the biological and physical features are a strong evidence against this claim but I’m no expert.

In my view, those genders that are not determined by one's physical aspects come up due to mentality and social upbringing (Society). In fact, transexuals are partly like this. It is just that extra effort to medically change themselves that puts them in the biological chapter of this story.

Transgender. This is a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. Again, this is another subtle definition. Unless I did not understand it, your gender cannot “not” correspond with your birth sex. Your birth sex is a gender in itself. I do agree with the part of personal identity. Transgenders feel like the opposite sex and are more comfortable that way. So, they end up acting like the opposite sex. They dress, talk and walk like the opposite sex. The issue could be mental as they may think the opposite sex is a better gender for one to be. Or it could be social upbringing. Imagine you are a boy and are raised among multitudes of girls and women who indulge you into the feminine way of life. It makes sense when you actually turn out more of a girl in character than the biological boy you are.These men and women are just one step behind transexuals. Transgenders may not necessarily be gay but most of them are.

Genderqueer/Androgynous. This is a person who does not subscribe to the common gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both or a combination of male and female genders. You may call such a person confused. I think the name genderqueer should be changed because it suggests that such people are indeed confused. In simple terms, if you are androgynous, you either do not want to be identified by any gender or you identify yourself with more than one gender. I really cannot give an explanation for what this is all about. However, I believe that people are maximising the freedoms they have now to live and act how they feel and think (as long as your freedom does not interfere with other people’s freedoms.

As you may have noticed, I put the Androgyny gender together with the genderqueer. They are almost similar only that the androgynous may also involve persons with a combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. These should however not be confused with intersex people. An Androgyny has one gender’s sexual reproductive system but there other body parts like arms, chest, skin and others may have characteristics of the opposite sex. Take for example a female with biceps of a male or a male with facial or skin complexion of a female. The fact is that this does not change their sex. However, because nature may have given them different features and characteristics, they feel like identifying themselves with a gender that is neither male or female.

Crossdresser. I feel like this is self-explanatory but I will still tell you who these people are. Crossdressers are people who are attracted to the opposite sex’s clothing or dressing than that of their gender. They may not exactly be transgender, genderqueer, androgyny or intersex to act this way. Sexuality is also not an exact determinant for reasons as to why crossdressers prefer their lifestyle. I have, in my life, met tomboys (a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of a boy). I believe this is the closest I have come to meeting a crossdresser. However, I have not met a tomgirl

FTM/MTF. Female-To-Male and Male-to-female are the only genders anyone will consider temporary. FTM and MTF people are those who are in the process of transitioning into a transsexual. Unnecessary if you ask me but such people have the right to identify themselves with their uniqueness.GUESS WHAT!!!!!! From my research, the 9 options the UN gave my friend on his application form were a mercy. While researching for this article, I found that there are over 50 genders. Clearly, all these are not physical or biological. On a website called “aPath”, an article lists a total of 63 genders. The article is somewhat old and at the genesis, there is a disclaimer about some of the things mentioned. However, the article bases gender on 3 different aspects all of which I have mentioned, in some way, here. They include; Physical (biological), Personality (who you are/social upbringing/how you feel) and preferences (I’ll explain later).

In simple terms, one has to consider all 3 of these aspects to determine one’s gender. But there is a flaw, PREFERENCE. According to the article, sexuality should also be considered to determine one’s gender.

This determines whether you are interested in men or women. I do not think sexuality should determine one’s gender. Sexuality and gender are two different things that are always confused with each other. For example, someone may ask why homosexuals are not considered in this article. Homosexuality is not a gender, it is sexuality.

Other online sources face a different kind of problem. They form genders out of other genders.

On a Tumblr account page called Genderfluid Support, about 80 genders are mentioned. However, many of them are almost similar and it is hard to accept that there are people anywhere in the world that identify themselves with many of these genders. It seems to me, that experts found a room and managed to break down the various possible ways personalities around the world would act and behave, and put it all in a research paper that multitudes are referring to for more advise. I do not think there are people in the world who identify themselves as being Abimegender, Aesthetigender, Libragender or even Vocigender. However, I wouldn’t know.

I think maybe we mix two different things that shouldn’t be mixed.

And I don’t mean gender and sexuality, I mean gender and sex. Could they be different? Some sources agree that they are different. But many still feel they are the same. Sex is the assigned gender at birth and/or the gender of your reproductive organs according to some. Gender in itself is where you feel that you personally fall on the spectrum between male and female. This removes the idea of a physical or biological determinant of gender. All that goes into sex.

Gender, on the other hand, is what you feel you are. So, if you are male and you feel female, which of the two is a priority over the other? Which one is supposed to be considered in official circumstances?

Here are some of the multitudes of genders in existence. All are copied from Genderfluid Support.


Adamasgender: a gender which refuses to be categorized

Aerogender: a gender that is influenced by your surroundings


Affectugender: a gender that is affected by mood swings








Amicagender: a gender that changes depending on which friend you’re with





Anongender: a gender that is unknown to both yourself and others


Anxiegender: a gender that is affected by anxiety



Astergender: a gender that feels bright and celestial

Astralgender: a gender that feels connected to space


Autogender: a gender experience that is deeply personal to oneself



Biogender: a gender that feels connected to nature in some way





Cassgender: the feeling of gender is unimportant to you

Cassflux: when the level of indifference towards your gender fluctuates


Cendgender: when your gender changes between one and its opposite








Condigender: a gender that is only felt during certain circumstances




Demigender: a gender that is partially one gender and partially another










Femfluid: having fluctuating or fluid gender feelings that are limited to feminine gendersFemgender: a nonbinary gender which is feminine in nature




Genderflow: a gender that is fluid between infinite feelings





Genderpunk: a gender identity that actively resists gender norms




Glassgender: a gender that is very sensitive and fragile

Glimragender: a faintly shining, wavering gender


Gyragender: having multiple genders but understanding none of them


Heliogender: a gender that is warm and burning



Hydrogender: a gender which shares qualities with water

Imperigender: a fluid gender that can be controlled by the individual








Mirrorgender: a gender that changes to fit the people around you

Molligender: a gender that is soft, subtle, and subdued








gender identity; only applies to genders within one’s own culture


Perigender: identifying with a gender but not as a gender




Subgender: mostly agender with a bit of another gender



Tragender: a gender that stretches over the whole spectrum of genders


Trigender: the feeling of having three simultaneous or fluctuating genders





Vocigender: a gender that is weak or hollow