Polygender
Having several genders, usually more than three.
Polygender means having several genders, generally more than three and often without a fixed count. It sits under the multigender umbrella alongside bigender and trigender.
People who use it commonly describe the genders as a set rather than a sequence: all present, with different ones more prominent in different contexts, rather than one replacing another.
It is close to pangender but not identical: pangender implies many or all, polygender simply implies several.
Polygender is not a longer list of the same thing
It is often read as bigender with more items, as though the genders were interchangeable entries on a form. People who use it usually describe them as distinct and differently present.
The absence of a count is deliberate rather than vague: for many the number is simply not a fixed quantity.
Saying it well
Say this
- I am polygender.
- Several, and I have stopped counting.
- Polygender, so it is a set rather than a queue.
- Polygender rather than pangender: several, not all.
Not this
- So you are collecting genders
- That is not how gender works
- Pick a primary one
- So you are just confused
Questions people actually ask
What does polygender mean?
Having several genders, usually more than three and often without a fixed count.
What is the difference between polygender and pangender?
Pangender implies many or all; polygender simply implies several.
Is polygender the same as genderfluid?
No. Polygender is about having several genders, genderfluid about moving between them.