Genderflux
A gender whose intensity rises and falls, rather than changing into another gender.
Genderflux describes a gender that varies in intensity. The gender itself stays the same; how strongly it is felt does not. Someone genderflux might feel firmly a man some weeks and only faintly so others, without becoming anything else in between.
That is the difference from genderfluid, and it is a clean one. Genderfluid describes movement between genders. Genderflux describes movement in the strength of one. The two can happen to the same person, and the combination has its own name, genderfluidflux.
The faint end of the range is often described as approaching agender, which is why the two words travel together so often. When the intensity drops far enough, what is left is not another gender but an absence of one.
It is not indecision and it is not doubt. A genderflux man is not less certain that he is a man on a low week; he is certain and the feeling is quiet.
It is a useful word for dating for an unglamorous reason: it explains why someone's presentation might change considerably without anything having changed about who they are.
Genderflux is not genderfluid
They get used interchangeably, and the difference is worth keeping. Fluid means moving between genders. Flux means one gender varying in how strongly it registers.
Someone can be both, and that combination has its own word. Collapsing them loses the distinction for everyone who is only one.
Saying it well
Say this
- I am genderflux.
- Same gender, different volume.
- Genderflux, so this week it is barely there.
- Genderflux and agender at the low end.
Not this
- So you are not sure
- So you are genderfluid
- Make your mind up
- So some days you are not really trans
Questions people actually ask
What does genderflux mean?
Having a gender whose intensity varies over time, without changing into a different gender.
What is the difference between genderflux and genderfluid?
Genderfluid moves between genders. Genderflux varies in how strongly one gender is felt.
Does genderflux mean being unsure?
No. The certainty does not change; the intensity does.
Can you be genderflux and genderfluid?
Yes. The combination is sometimes called genderfluidflux.
Is genderflux nonbinary?
Often, though not necessarily. A binary man whose gender varies in intensity can use it too.