UMBRELLAS AND MICROLABELS

Welcome to GSA! Topic: Umbrellas, Microlabels, (and Xenogenders)

Speaker: Xander

What are labels?

A label, according to the Brittanica Dictionary, is "a word or phrase that describes or identifies something or someone". Examples of labels are: class clown, playboy, Karen, Indigenous American, pansexual, etc. Labels can be identities, stereotypes, or adjectives! When we label ourselves in the LGBTQ+ community, we are identifying ourselves as part of a niche group of people. Why do we label ourselves? Often times we use labels to better understand ourselves, explain ourselves to others, and find people who share our experiences!

What are umbrella terms?

Within the LGBTQ+ community, umbrella terms contain many specific identities that fall within the definition of the term. For example, transgender is an umbrella term! The defintion of trans is not identifying with ones assigned sex at birth, which is a broad definiton. Within the trans umbrella are binary and nonbinary genders. Binary trans people are either male or female, and nonbinary people are neither! Nonbinary is another umbrella term itself, because there are so, so many genders that still fall within the definiton of nonbinary. Some examples are genderfluid, demigender, agender, etc. There are many other umbrellas within the LGBTQ+ community.Can you give an example of an umbrella and list a few identities under it?

What are microlabels?

Microlabels are labels that fall under or overlap with an umbrella term. Microlabels tend to be "hyperspecific", meaning that they describe a very specific experience of a gender/sexuality/etc. For example, pansexual, omnisexual, and polysexual are common microlabels that fall under the bi/multisexual umbrella. (Note that many microlabels are emerging terms, and you may never have heard of them before). Why do we need microlabels? There is an infinite, diverse spectrum of human experience of gender and sexuality, which often cannot be contained to just lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer. Microlabels allow us to feel more comfortable with a label that best describes us.

Xenogenders

Xenogenders are often a target of criticism, from both outside and inside the LGBTQ+ community. It's important to note that people who are xenogender do not "believe they are a cat/star/inhuman etc." Xenogender people are very much human, but their gender may be related to or influenced by (cats/stars/other non-human things and ideas). Gender is not limited to our view of it through a binary lens. What does gender mean to you?

The xenogender umbrella contains perhaps the most vast array of microlabels out there! Xenogender itself is a microlabel under the nonbinary umbrella. Xenogenders are genders that "cannot be contained by human understandings of gender". Instead, those with xenic identities have genders related to animals, plants, space, concepts, feelings or other creatures/things.

Are xenogenders valid?

Of course, why wouldn't they be?

Respect other's experiences

Xenic individuals ≠ Not human

Gender is abstract

Xenogenders can be difficult to understand, but you don't need to understand it to respect it! The human experience is endlessly diverse.

Gender is a man-made concept. This is not to say gender is fake, but that gender is abstract and uncontainable. We as individuals get to define gender and what it means to us.

As mentioned before, xenogender people are very much human, though their gender is not. There is a difference between state of being and gender.

Conclusion

Labels help us better understand ourselves and explain our experiences

Labels

Umbrella terms are general terms that contain many microlabels

Umbrellas

Microlabels fall under umbrella terms and tend to be hyper-specific

Microlabels

Xenogenders cannot be described by the human definition of gender- often they relate to animals, concepts, and other things

Xenogender

Gender concept

Gender is abstract! It is completely open to interpretation!