Demigirl
Partly a girl or woman, and partly something else.
A demigirl (also written demi girl or demi-girl) is someone who is partly a girl or woman, and partly something else. The connection is real but not the whole story, and the rest of it sits outside the category rather than in another one.
The prefix demi means half, which is close enough to be useful and not quite accurate. It is less a fifty-fifty split than a partial identification: the word girl fits, but only up to a point, and something is left over that it does not cover.
It sits under the nonbinary umbrella. The remaining part does not have to be boy. For most demigirls it is simply unlabelled, or agender, or nothing at all, which is why the word is not a synonym for bigender.
It exists because the alternatives were worse. Saying woman felt like overclaiming and saying nonbinary felt like discarding something that was genuinely there. Demigirl names the position rather than forcing a rounding in either direction.
Demigirls can be AFAB or AMAB. An AMAB demigirl is often transfeminine, and the two words describe different things: transfem is a direction of travel, demigirl is where she arrived. Neither implies the other.
Pronouns vary and do not follow from the word. She/her is common, so is she/they, so is they/them alone. The girl in demigirl is about identification, not about what someone wants to be called.
Demigirl has several other names for the same identity. The LGBTQIA+ Wiki and a 2024 PinkNews explainer list demiwoman, demifemale, demigal and demidudette, so someone who says demifemale is describing the same partial connection to being a woman.
Demigirl is not being unsure, and it is not half woman half man
The first misreading treats demigirl as a waiting room, a label for someone who has not finished working it out. For most demigirls it is the conclusion, not the pause before one. Partial identification is a stable place to be, not a failure to commit.
The second fills in the missing half with boy, because a binary makes that feel like the only option. It usually is not. The part that is not girl is most often simply nothing, which is a different experience from being bigender and is why the two words are not interchangeable.
Saying it well
Say this
- I am a demigirl.
- Partly a woman, partly not, and that is the whole of it.
- She/they, if you are asking.
- Demigirl, under the nonbinary umbrella.
Not this
- So you are half a woman and half a man?
- You will figure out which one eventually
- Assuming she/her without asking
- Demigirl is just woman with extra steps
Questions people actually ask
What is a demigirl?
Someone who partly identifies as a girl or woman and partly does not. The connection is genuine but incomplete, and the rest sits outside the category rather than in the opposite one.
Is demigirl nonbinary?
Yes. It falls under the nonbinary umbrella, because a partial identification with woman is not the same as being one, and the binary does not have a slot for it. If you are wondering whether a word like this fits you, am I non-binary? is a good place to start.
What is the other half of a demigirl?
Often nothing in particular. It can be agender, unlabelled, or simply absent. It does not default to boy, which is what separates demigirl from bigender.
Can an AMAB person be a demigirl?
Yes. Many are transfeminine as well, but the two words describe different things: one is a direction, the other is a destination.
What pronouns do demigirls use?
Any. She/her and she/they are both common, and they/them alone is too. Ask rather than assume from the word.
What is the difference between a demigirl and a demiboy?
Which gender the partial connection is with. A demigirl is partly a girl or woman; a demiboy is partly a boy or man. For both, the rest is usually unlabelled or agender, and neither word depends on the sex assigned at birth.
Is demifemale the same as demigirl?
Yes. The LGBTQIA+ Wiki and a 2024 PinkNews explainer list demiwoman, demifemale, demigal and demidudette as other names for the same identity.