View source for Androgyny

{{Short description|Having both male and female characteristics}}
{{Other uses|Androgyny (disambiguation)}}
{{Multiple issues|{{unfocused|date=December 2018}}
{{Expert needed| anthropology|reason=This article covers contemporary fashion far more than it covers human history and behaviour|date=December 2018}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

'''Androgyny''' is the possession of both [[masculine]] and [[feminine]] characteristics.<ref name="x">{{cite book|author1=Chris Park|author2=Michael Allaby|title=A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation (3 ed.)|date=2017|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780191826320|page=Androgyny}}</ref> Androgyny may be expressed with regard to [[Sex|biological sex]], [[gender identity]], or [[gender expression]].

When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often refers to [[intersex]] people, who are born with congenital variations that complicate [[Sex assignment|assigning their sex at birth]]. In comparison, [[hermaphroditism]] is the possession of both male and female reproductive organs.<ref name="y">{{cite book |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/hermaphroditism |title=Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |page=Hermaphroditism |accessdate=29 January 2022 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121194753/https://www.britannica.com/science/hermaphroditism |url-status=live }}</ref>

Regarding [[gender identity]], androgynous individuals may identify as [[transgender]] or [[non-binary]] and use this as a form of [[gender expression]], in which androgyny has fluctuated in popularity in different cultures and throughout history. Physically, an androgynous appearance may be achieved through personal grooming, fashion, or [[Transgender hormone therapy|hormone treatment]].

Androgyny in those who are assigned female at birth is suggested to contribute to positive mental health, although individual factors such as education and marital status may affect this.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Prakash |first1=Jyoti |last2=Kotwal |first2=A.S.M |last3=Ryali |first3=V.S.S.R |last4=Srivastava |first4=K |last5=Bhat |first5=Ps |last6=Shashikumar |first6=R |date=2010 |title=Does androgyny have psychoprotective attributes? A cross-sectional community-based study |journal=Industrial Psychiatry Journal |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=119–124 |doi=10.4103/0972-6748.90343 |issn=0972-6748 |pmc=3237128 |pmid=22174535 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The term derives from {{lang-grc|[[wikt:ἀνδρόγυνος|ἀνδρόγυνος]]}}, from {{lang|el|ἀνήρ}}, [[Word stem|stem]] {{lang|el|ἀνδρ}}- (''anér, andro-'', meaning man) and {{lang|el|γυνή}} (''gunē, gyné'', meaning woman) through the {{lang-lat|[[wikt:androgynus|androgynus]]}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Online Etymology Dictionary: ''androgynous'' |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=androgynous&allowed_in_frame=0 |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-date=20 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420172524/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=androgynous&allowed_in_frame=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

==History==
{{See also|Sexuality in ancient Rome#Hermaphroditism and androgyny}}
Androgyny is attested from earliest history and across world cultures. In ancient [[Sumer]], androgynous and [[intersex]] men were heavily involved in the cult of [[Inanna]].<ref name="Leick">{{cite book|last=Leick|first=Gwendolyn|title=Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-134-92074-7|location=New York City, New York|orig-year=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKoWblE4pd0C&pg=PA64|access-date=26 May 2020|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321210620/https://books.google.com/books?id=WKoWblE4pd0C&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|157–158}} A set of priests known as [[gala (priests)|gala]] worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.<ref name="Leick"/>{{rp|285}} ''Gala'' took female names, spoke in the ''[[eme-sal]]'' dialect, which was traditionally reserved for women, and appear to have engaged in [[Gay sexual practices|sexual acts with men]].<ref name="Roscoe">{{cite book|last1=Roscoe|first1=Will|last2=Murray|first2=Stephen O.|date=1997|title=Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature|location=New York City, New York|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0-8147-7467-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Zw-AAAAQBAJ&q=Gordon%201959%20gala&pg=PA65|pages=65–66|access-date=9 October 2020|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321210624/https://books.google.com/books?id=6Zw-AAAAQBAJ&q=Gordon%201959%20gala&pg=PA65|url-status=live}}</ref> In later [[Mesopotamia]]n cultures, ''kurgarrū'' and ''assinnu'' were servants of the goddess [[Ishtar]] (Inanna's [[East Semitic]] equivalent), who [[cross-dressing|dressed in female clothing]] and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.<ref name="Roscoe"/> Several Akkadian [[proverb]]s seem to suggest that they may have also engaged in sexual activity with men.<ref name="Roscoe"/> Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian ''[[Hijra (South Asia)|hijra]]''.<ref name="Leick"/>{{rp|158–163}} In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.<ref name="Roscoe"/> The 2nd century CE [[Mishnah]], a foundational text of [[Rabbinic Judaism]], mentions the term ''[[androgynos]]'' 32 times. In one mention, [[Rabbi Meir]] describes the ''androgynos'' as "a creation of its own type, which the sages could not decide whether is male or female".<ref>{{cite web|title=Mishnah Bikkurim 4:5|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Bikkurim.4.5|access-date=2021-08-10|website=www.sefaria.org|archive-date=10 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810194946/https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Bikkurim.4.5|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Greek mythology|ancient Greek myth]] of [[Hermaphroditus]] and [[Salmacis]], two divinities who fused into a single immortal – provided a frame of reference used in Western culture for centuries. Androgyny and homosexuality are seen in [[Plato's Symposium]] in a myth that, according to Plato, [[Aristophanes]] tells the audience, possibly with a comic intention.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Symposium: and, The Phaedrus; Plato's erotic dialogues|year=1993|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|isbn=978-0-7914-1617-4|others=Translated and with introduction and commentaries by William S. Cobb}}</ref> People used to be spherical creatures, with two bodies attached back to back who cartwheeled around. There were three sexes: the male-male people who descended from the Sun, the female-female people who descended from the Earth, and the male-female people who came from the Moon. This last pairing represented the androgynous couple. These sphere people tried to take over the gods and failed. [[Zeus]] then decided to cut them in half and had [[Apollo]] repair the resulting cut surfaces, leaving the [[navel]] as a reminder to not defy the gods again. If they did, he would cleave them in two again to hop around on one leg. This is one of the earlier written references to androgyny - and the only case in classical Greek texts that female homosexuality (lesbianism) is ever mentioned. Other early references to androgyny include astronomy, where androgyn was a name given to planets that were sometimes warm and sometimes cold.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=did;cc=did;rgn=main;view=text;idno=did2222.0000.198 | title=Androgyn | journal=Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert - Collaborative Translation Project | date=October 2003 | publisher=University of Michigan Library | access-date=1 April 2015 | archive-date=12 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912095245/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=did;cc=did;rgn=main;view=text;idno=did2222.0000.198 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Philosophers such as [[Philo of Alexandria]], and early Christian leaders such as [[Origen]] and [[Gregory of Nyssa]], continued to promote the idea of androgyny as humans' original and perfect state during [[late antiquity]]."<ref name="Lugt, Maaike 2010">van der Lugt, Maaike, "Sex Difference in Medieval Theology and Canon Law," ''Medieval Feminist Forum (University of Iowa)'' vol. 46 no. 1 (2010): 101–121</ref>  In [[Middle Ages|medieval Europe]], the concept of androgyny played an important role in both Christian [[Theology|theological]] debate and [[Alchemy|Alchemical]] theory. Influential Theologians such as [[John of Damascus]] and [[John Scotus Eriugena]] continued to promote the pre-fall androgyny proposed by the early [[Church Fathers]], while other clergy expounded and debated the proper view and treatment of contemporary hermaphrodites.<ref name="Lugt, Maaike 2010"/>

=== Modern history ===
[[Western esotericism]]'s embrace of androgyny continued into the [[Modern history|modern period]].  A 1550 anthology of Alchemical thought, ''[[De Alchemia]]'', included the influential [[Rosary of the Philosophers]], which depicts the sacred marriage of the masculine principle (Sol) with the feminine principle (Luna) producing the "Divine Androgyne," a representation of Alchemical [[Hermeticism|Hermetic]] beliefs in dualism, transformation, and the transcendental perfection of the union of opposites.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Alchemy|last=Hauck|first=Dennis William|date=2008|publisher=Alpha Books|isbn=9781592577354|location=New York|oclc=176917711}}</ref> 

The symbolism and meaning of androgyny was a central preoccupation of the [[German mystic]] [[Jakob Böhme]] and the Swedish philosopher [[Emanuel Swedenborg]].  The philosophical concept of the "Universal Androgyne" (or "Universal Hermaphrodite") – a perfect merging of the sexes that predated the current corrupted world and/or was the utopia of the next – is also important in some strains of [[Rosicrucianism]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians|last=Atkinson|first=William Walker|date=2012|publisher=Weiser Books|isbn=9781578635344|editor-last=Marsh|editor-first=Clint|location=San Francisco, CA|pages=52–61|oclc=792888485}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rose-croix.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rosicrucian_prophecies.pdf#page=4|title=Rosicrucian Prophecies|last=Rosicrucian Order|first=AMORC|date=13 December 2011|website=rose-croix.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-04|archive-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215120054/http://www.rose-croix.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rosicrucian_prophecies.pdf#page=4|url-status=live}}</ref> and in philosophical traditions such as [[The New Church (Swedenborgian)|Swedenborgianism]] and [[Theosophy (Boehmian)|Theosophy]].{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}  Twentieth century architect [[Claude Fayette Bragdon]] expressed the concept mathematically as a [[magic square]], using it as building block in many of his [[First Universalist Church (Rochester, New York)|most noted buildings]].<ref>Ellis, Eugenia Victoria (June 2004). "Geomantic Mathematical (re)Creation: Magic Squares and Claude Bragdon's Theosophic Architecture". ''Nexus V: Architecture and Mathematics'': 79-92.</ref>

In the mid-1700s, the [[Macaroni (fashion)|macaronis]] of [[Georgian era|Georgian-era]] [[England]] were a wealthy [[subculture]] of young men, known for androgynous [[gender expression]]. Their unusually large [[Wig|wigs]], lavish [[Haute couture|fashion]], and [[Sentimentality|sentimental]] behavior prompted backlash from conservative generations of the time. In 1770, the Oxford Dictionary declared, "There is indeed a kind of animal, neither male nor female, a thing of the [[Grammatical gender|neuter gender]], lately started up among us. It is called a macaroni."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shipley |first=Joseph Twadell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zCx4r72uVKQC&pg=PT328 |title=The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots |date=2001-07-01 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-9643-9 |language=en |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321210658/https://books.google.com/books?id=zCx4r72uVKQC&pg=PT328 |url-status=live }}</ref> An example is portrait artist [[Richard Cosway]], referred to as "the Macaroni artist."<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNeil |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IW9yDwAAQBAJ&q=richard+cosway |title=Pretty Gentlemen: Macaroni Men and the Eighteenth-century Fashion World |date=2018-01-01 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-21746-9 |language=en |access-date=13 April 2022 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321210623/https://books.google.com/books?id=IW9yDwAAQBAJ&q=richard+cosway |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Psychological ==
{{expert needed|psychology|section|reason=This article describes personality attributes, but not underlying principles|date=December 2018}}
In psychological study, various measures have been used to characterize gender, such as the [[Bem Sex-Role Inventory|Bem Sex Role Inventory]] and the [[Personal Attributes Questionnaire]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Psychological Androgyny|last=Cook|first=Ellen Piel|publisher=Pergamon Press|year=1985|isbn=0-08-031613-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/psychologicaland0000cook}}</ref>

Masculine traits are categorized as [[Agency (philosophy)#In psychology|agentic]] and instrumental, dealing with assertiveness and analytical skill. Feminine traits are categorized as communal and expressive, dealing with empathy and subjectivity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Androgynous Manager|last=Sargent|first=Alice G.|publisher=AMACOM|year=1981|isbn=0-8144-5568-9|location=New York|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/androgynousmanag0000sarg}}</ref> Androgynous individuals exhibit behavior that extends beyond what is normally associated with their given sex.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/androgyny|title=Androgyny|last=Rogers|first=Kara|date=February 6, 2009|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=30 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630034018/https://www.britannica.com/topic/androgyny|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics, androgynous individuals have access to a wider array of psychological competencies in regards to emotional regulation, communication styles, and situational adaptability. Androgynous individuals have also been associated with higher levels of creativity and mental health.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Gartzia|first1=Leire|last2=Pizzaro|first2=Jon|last3=Baniandres|first3=Josune|title=Emotional Androgyny: A Preventive Factor of Psychosocial Risks at Work?|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|year=2018|volume=9|page=2144|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02144|pmid=30534094|pmc=6275296|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{cite web|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/blurred-lines-androgyny-and-creativity/|title=Blurred Lines, Androgyny and Creativity|last=Kaufman|first=Scott Barry|author-link=Scott Barry Kaufman|date=September 1, 2013|website=Scientific American Blog Network|language=en|access-date=2019-10-10|archive-date=22 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922210628/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/blurred-lines-androgyny-and-creativity/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Bem Sex-Role Inventory ===
The [[Bem Sex-Role Inventory]] (BSRI) was constructed by the early leading proponent of androgyny, [[Sandra Bem]] (1977).<ref name="Santrock">Santrock, J. W. (2008). ''A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development''.<!--Perhaps the year is wrong (2007 or 2009) or the title is wrong (Life-Span Development).--> New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies. 007760637X {{page needed|date=November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sandra Lipsitz Bem |url=http://faculty.webster.edu/woolflm/sandrabem2.htm |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=faculty.webster.edu}}</ref>  The BSRI is one of the most widely used gender measures. Based on an individual's responses to the items in the BSRI, they are classified as having one of four gender role orientations: masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated. Bem understood that both masculine and feminine characteristics could be expressed by anyone and it would determine those gender role orientations.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gender in Communication|last=DeFrancisco|first=Victoria L.|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4522-2009-3|page=11}}</ref>

An androgynous person is an individual who has a high degree of both feminine (expressive) and masculine (instrumental) traits. A feminine individual is ranked high on feminine (expressive) traits and ranked low on masculine (instrumental) traits. A masculine individual is ranked high on instrumental traits and ranked low on expressive traits. An undifferentiated person is low on both feminine and masculine traits.<ref name="Santrock" />

According to Sandra Bem, androgynous individuals are more flexible and more mentally healthy than either masculine or feminine individuals; undifferentiated individuals are less competent.<ref name="Santrock" /> More recent research has debunked this idea, at least to some extent, and Bem herself has found weaknesses in her original pioneering work.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} Now she prefers to work with [[gender schema theory]].

One study found that masculine and androgynous individuals had higher expectations for being able to control the outcomes of their academic efforts than feminine or undifferentiated individuals.<ref name="Choi">Choi, N. (2004). Sex role group differences in specific, academic, and general self-efficacy. Journal of Psychology, 138, 149–159.</ref>

=== Personal Attributes Questionnaire ===
The [[Personal Attributes Questionnaire]] (PAQ) was developed in the 70s by Janet Spence, Robert Helmreich, and Joy Stapp. This test asked subjects to complete a survey consisting of three sets of scales relating to masculinity, femininity, and masculinity-femininity. These scales had sets of adjectives commonly associated with males, females, and both. These descriptors were chosen based on typical characteristics as rated by a population of undergrad students. Similar to the BSRI, the PAQ labeled androgynous individuals as people who ranked highly in both the areas of masculinity and femininity. However, Spence and Helmreich considered androgyny to be a descriptor of high levels of masculinity and femininity as opposed to a category in and of itself.<ref name=":5" />

==Biological sex==
{{See also|Sex differences in humans}}

Historically, the word ''androgynous'' was applied to humans with a mixture of male and female sex characteristics, and was sometimes used synonymously with the term ''[[hermaphrodite]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/androgyny|title=Androgyny &#124; psychology|access-date=18 April 2019|archive-date=30 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630034018/https://www.britannica.com/topic/androgyny|url-status=live}}</ref> In some disciplines, such as botany, ''androgynous'' and ''hermaphroditic'' are still used interchangeably.

When androgyny is used to refer to physical traits, it often refers to a person whose biological sex is difficult to discern at a glance because of their mixture of male and female characteristics. Because androgyny encompasses additional meanings related to gender identity and gender expression that are distinct from biological sex, today the word ''androgynous'' is rarely used to formally describe mixed biological sex characteristics in humans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex|title=What is intersex? &#124; Intersex Society of North America|access-date=18 April 2019|archive-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110143819/http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex|url-status=live}}</ref> In modern English, the word ''[[intersex]]'' is used to more precisely describe individuals with mixed or ambiguous sex characteristics. However, both intersex and non-intersex people can exhibit a mixture of male and female sex traits such as hormone levels, type of internal and external genitalia, and the appearance of secondary sex characteristics.

==Gender identity==
{{Transgender sidebar}}

An individual's gender identity, a personal sense of one's own gender, may be described as androgynous if they feel that they have both masculine and feminine aspects. The word ''androgyne'' can refer to a person who does not fit neatly into one of the typical masculine or feminine [[gender roles]] of their society, or to a person whose gender is a mixture of male and female, not necessarily half-and-half. Many androgynous individuals identify as being mentally or emotionally both masculine and feminine. They may also identify as "[[gender-neutral]]", "genderqueer", or "non-binary".{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced Trans* Terminology |url=https://wou.edu/wp/safezone/files/2014/07/Advanced-Trans-Terminology.pdf |access-date=May 6, 2023}}</ref> A person who is androgynous may engage freely in what is seen as masculine or feminine behaviors as well as tasks. They may have a balanced identity that includes the virtues of both men and women and may disassociate the task with what gender they may be socially or physically assigned to.<ref name=":0" /> People who identify as androgynous typically disregard which traits are culturally constructed specifically for males and females within a society, and rather focus on what behavior is most effective within the situational circumstance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1 = Woodhill|first1 = Brenda|date = 2004|journal = Journal of Gender Studies|doi = 10.1080/09589236.2004.10599911|first2 = Curtis|last2 = Samuels|title = Desirable and Undesirable Androgyny: A Prescription for the Twenty-First Century|volume = 13|pages = 15–28|s2cid = 146597061}}</ref>

Some non-Western cultures recognize additional androgynous gender identities, called [[third gender]]s.

==Gender expression==
[[File:Louisebrooks1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louise Brooks]] exemplified the [[flapper]]. Flappers challenged traditional gender roles and had boyish hair cuts and androgynous figures.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_VgLtO4Lby4C&pg=PA253 ''New world coming: the 1920s and the making of modern America'']. New York: Scribner, 2003, p. 253, {{ISBN|978-0-684-85295-9}}.</ref>]]

[[Gender expression]] that includes a mixture of masculine and feminine characteristics can be described as androgynous. The categories of masculine and feminine in gender expression are [[social construction of gender|socially constructed]], and rely on shared conceptions of clothing, behavior, communication style, and other aspects of presentation. In some cultures, androgynous gender expression has been celebrated, while in others, androgynous expression has been [[gender policing|limited or suppressed.]] To say that a culture or relationship is androgynous is to say that it lacks rigid [[gender role]]s, or has blurred lines between gender roles.

The word ''[[genderqueer]]'' is often used by androgynous individuals to refer to themselves, but the terms ''genderqueer'' and ''androgynous'' are neither equivalent nor interchangeable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genderqueer|title=Definition of Genderqueer|access-date=18 April 2019|archive-date=18 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418215636/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genderqueer|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Genderqueer'', by virtue of its ties with [[queer]] culture, carries sociopolitical connotations that ''androgyny'' does not carry.  For the association with [[homosexuality]], some androgynes may find the label ''genderqueer'' inaccurate, inapplicable, or offensive.  ''Androgyneity'' is considered by some to be a viable alternative to ''androgyn'' for differentiating internal (psychological) factors from external (visual) factors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://androgyne.0catch.com/psych.htm#androgyneity |title=Psychological Androgyny -- A Personal Take |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232231/http://androgyne.0catch.com/psych.htm#androgyneity |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2023}}

An alternative to androgyny is '''gender-role transcendence''': the view that individual competence should be conceptualized on a personal basis rather than on the basis of masculinity, femininity, or androgyny.<ref name="Pleck">Pleck, J. H. (1995). "The gender-role strain paradigm". In R. F. Levant & W. S. Pollack (Eds.), ''A new psychology of men''. New York: Basic Books.</ref>

In [[agender]]ism, the division of people into women and men (in the psychical sense), is considered erroneous and artificial.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bodiesthatmatter00butl |url-access=registration |title=Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of 'Sex' |first=Judith P. |last=Butler |year=1993 |access-date=12 October 2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bodiesthatmatter00butl/page/2 2]–3|isbn=9780415903660 }}</ref> Agendered individuals are those who reject gender labeling in conception of self-identity and other matters.<ref name="towson">{{cite book|last1=Galupo|first1=M. Paz|last2=Pulice-Farrow|first2=Lex|last3=Ramirez|first3=Johanna L.|title=Identity Flexibility During Adulthood |chapter="Like a Constantly Flowing River": Gender Identity Flexibility Among Nonbinary Transgender Individuals |year=2017|pages=163–177|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55658-1_10|isbn=978-3-319-55656-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Johanna Schorn|title=Taking the "Sex" out of Transsexual: Representations of Trans Identities in Popular Media|url=http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/schornglpaper.pdf|website=Inter-Disciplinary.Net|publisher=Universität zu Köln|access-date=6 February 2017|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025012342/http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/schornglpaper.pdf|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Galupo|first1=M. Paz|last2=Henise|first2=Shane B.|last3=Davis|first3=Kyle S.|title=Transgender microaggressions in the context of friendship: Patterns of experience across friends' sexual orientation and gender identity.|journal=Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity|date=2014|volume=1|issue=4|page=462|doi=10.1037/sgd0000075|citeseerx=10.1.1.708.6228}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sumerau|first1=J. E.|last2=Cragun|first2=R. T.|last3=Mathers|first3=L. A. B.|title=Contemporary Religion and the Cisgendering of Reality|journal=Social Currents|date=2015|volume=3|issue=3|page=2|doi=10.1177/2329496515604644|s2cid=148049302|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283188192}}</ref> They see their [[subjectivity]] through the term ''person'' instead of ''woman'' or ''man''.{{r|towson|page=p.16}} According to E. O. Wright, genderless people can have traits, behaviors and dispositions that correspond to what is currently viewed as feminine and masculine, and the mix of these would vary across persons. Nevertheless, it does not suggest that everyone would be androgynous in their identities and practices in the absence of gendered relations. What disappears in the idea of genderlessness is any expectation that some characteristics and dispositions are strictly attributed to a person of any biological sex.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Erik Olin Wright|editor1-last=Axel Gosseries, Philippe Vanderborght|title=Arguing about justice|date=2011|publisher=Presses universitaires de Louvain|location=Louvain|isbn=9782874632754|pages=403–413|chapter-url=http://books.openedition.org/pucl/1851|access-date=6 February 2017|language=en|chapter=In defense of genderlessness (The Sex-Gender Distinction)|archive-date=22 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422034545/http://books.openedition.org/pucl/1851|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Contemporary trends==
{{Main article|Androgyny in fashion}}
[[File:Gabrielle Chanel en marinière.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Coco Chanel]] wearing a sailor's jersey and trousers. 1928]]

Throughout most of twentieth century Western history, social rules have restricted people's dress according to gender. Trousers were traditionally a male form of dress, frowned upon for women.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=History of Twentieth Century Fashion|last1=Ewing|first1=E.|last2=Mackrell|first2=A.|publisher=Quite Specific Media Group Ltd|year=2002|location=LA}}</ref> However, during the 1800s, female spies were introduced and [[Vivandière]]s wore a certain uniform with a dress over trousers. Women activists during that time would also decide to wear trousers, for example [[Luisa Capetillo]], a women's rights activist and the first woman in Puerto Rico to wear trousers in public.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Luisa Capetillo, Pioneer Puerto Rican Feminist: With the collaboration of students from the Graduate Program in Translation, The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, Spring 1991|last=Valle-Ferrer|first=Norma|date=1 June 2006|publisher=Peter Lang Publishing Inc.|isbn=9780820442853|language=en}}</ref> 

[[File:Yves St Laurent le smoking at deYoung Museum San Francisco.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]], the [[Tuxedo|tuxedo suit]] "Le Smoking", created in 1966]]

In the 1900s, starting around World War I traditional gender roles blurred and fashion pioneers such as [[Paul Poiret]] and [[Coco Chanel]] introduced trousers to women's fashion. The "flapper style" for women of this era included trousers and a chic bob, which gave women an androgynous look.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qfl0AQAAQBAJ|title=A Social History of Late Ottoman Women: New Perspectives|last1=Köksal|first1=Duygu|last2=Falierou|first2=Anastasia|date=10 October 2013|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004255258|language=en}}</ref> Coco Chanel, who had a love for wearing trousers herself, created trouser designs for women such as beach pajamas and horse-riding attire.<ref name=":1" /> During the 1930s, glamorous actresses such as [[Marlene Dietrich]] fascinated and shocked many with their strong desire to wear trousers and adopt the androgynous style. Dietrich is remembered as one of the first actresses to wear trousers in a premiere.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barnebys.co.uk/blog/article/1293/|title=Harriet Fisher|website=The Queen of Androgyny – Marlene Dietrich – Blog|access-date=2016-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616200113/https://www.barnebys.co.uk/blog/article/1293/|archive-date=16 June 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the women's liberation movement is likely to have contributed to ideas and influenced fashion designers, such as [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/21/opinions/kohn-seventies-sexual-revolution/index.html|title=The Seventies: The sex freakout|first=Sally|last=Kohn|website=CNN|date=21 July 2015|access-date=2016-05-22|archive-date=22 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522233145/http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/21/opinions/kohn-seventies-sexual-revolution/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Yves Saint Laurent designed the Le Smoking suit and introduced it in 1966, while [[Helmut Newton]]'s erotized androgynous photographs of the suit made it iconic and a classic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sophmoet.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/352mc-27/|title=Androgyny and Feminism|last=Moet|first=Sophie|date=1 May 2014|website=Sophie Moet|access-date=2016-05-22|archive-date=12 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012201207/https://sophmoet.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/352mc-27/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Elvis Presley]] introduced an androgynous style in rock'n'roll.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://observer.com/2016/01/elvis-never-gets-credit-for-one-of-his-greatest-gifts-to-rock-n-roll/|title=Elvis Never Gets Credit for One of His Greatest Gifts to Rock 'n Roll|date=8 January 2016|website=Observer|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-23|archive-date=11 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511162942/http://observer.com/2016/01/elvis-never-gets-credit-for-one-of-his-greatest-gifts-to-rock-n-roll/|url-status=live}}</ref> His pretty face and use of eye makeup often made people think he was a rather "[[effeminacy|effeminate]] guy",<ref name=":3">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/lostrevolutionss00dani|url-access=registration|title=Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s|last=Daniel|first=Pete|date=1 January 2000|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=9780807848487|language=en}}</ref> When [[the Rolling Stones]] played London's [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in 1969, [[Mick Jagger]] wore a white "man's dress" designed by [[Michael Fish (fashion designer)|Michael Fish]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150331-womens-clothes-for-men|title=His or hers: Will androgynous fashion catch on?|last=Baker|first=Lindsay|website=www.bbc.com|access-date=2016-05-22|archive-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513121944/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150331-womens-clothes-for-men|url-status=live}}</ref> Fish was the most fashionable shirt-maker in London, the inventor of the [[Kipper tie]], and a principal taste-maker of the [[peacock revolution]] in men's fashion.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Elan|first1=Priya|title=Peacock revolution back with label that dressed Mick Jagger and David Bowie|url=https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/mar/13/peacock-revolution-david-bowie-mick-jagger-mr-fish|work=The Guardian|date=13 March 2016|location=London|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-date=10 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210061917/https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/mar/13/peacock-revolution-david-bowie-mick-jagger-mr-fish|url-status=live}}</ref> His creation for Mick Jagger was considered to be the epitome of the [[swinging 60s]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/10129974/Mick-Jaggers-white-dress-cast-him-as-a-romantic-hero.html|title=Mick Jagger's white dress cast him as a romantic hero|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=2016-05-22|archive-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508124540/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/10129974/Mick-Jaggers-white-dress-cast-him-as-a-romantic-hero.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Boy George 1995.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Pop stars [[Boy George]] (pictured) and [[Annie Lennox]] appeared on the front cover of ''[[Smash Hits]]'' magazine in December 1983 in identical makeup, followed by the cover of ''[[Newsweek]]'' in January 1984 to mark a [[second British Invasion]].<ref name="WP">{{cite news |title=Boy George, The Man |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/11/15/boy-george-the-man/59944def-e309-4cfc-828d-449410acd5f4/ |access-date=14 November 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |quote=Newsweek put Boy George and Eurythmic Annie Lennox on a cover heralding a second British Invasion, pop's gender benders |archive-date=28 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228003931/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/11/15/boy-george-the-man/59944def-e309-4cfc-828d-449410acd5f4/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Music journalist Sue Steward wrote that the ''Smash Hits'' cover "begged the question, 'Which one is the boy?'"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Steward |first1=Sue |title=Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: True Life Stories of Women in Pop |date=1984 |publisher=South End Press |page=51}}</ref>]]
In 1972, [[David Bowie]] presented his alter ego [[Ziggy Stardust (character)|Ziggy Stardust]], a character that was a symbol of sexual ambiguity when he launched the album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wsimag.com/fashion/91-androgyny-in-the-fashion-world|title=Androgyny in the fashion world|last=Lalovic|first=Itana|date=19 November 2013|website=Wall Street International|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-22|archive-date=25 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525172101/http://wsimag.com/fashion/91-androgyny-in-the-fashion-world|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Marc Bolan]], the other pioneer of [[glam rock]], performed on the BBC's ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' in 1971 wearing glitter and satins, with ''[[The Independent]]'' stating his appearance "permitted a generation of teeny-boppers to begin playing with the idea of androgyny".<ref>{{cite web |url-status=live |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/gary-glitter-written-out-of-glam-rock-history-in-favour-of-no-l-coward-8911627.html |title=Box-set billed as the definitive guide to Seventies music genre has further ostracised its disgraced former star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102011533/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/gary-glitter-written-out-of-glam-rock-history-in-favour-of-no-l-coward-8911627.html |archive-date=2 January 2020 |website=The Independent |access-date=15 September 2017 |date=29 October 2013 |first1=Adam |last1=Sherwin }}</ref> The 1973 [[West End theatre|West End]] musical ''[[The Rocky Horror Show]]'' also depicted sexual fluidity.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 September 2015 |title=We Live in the World 'Rocky Horror' Created |language=en-US |work=Flavorwire |url=http://flavorwire.com/539534/we-live-in-the-world-rocky-horror-created |first1= Judy |last1=Berman |access-date=22 May 2017 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014034415/http://flavorwire.com/539534/we-live-in-the-world-rocky-horror-created |url-status=live }}</ref>

Continuing into the 1980s, the rise of avant-garde fashion designers like [[Yohji Yamamoto]],<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Global Influences: Challenging Western Traditions|journal=London: Berg}}</ref> challenged the social constructs around gender. They reinvigorated androgyny in fashion, addressing gender issues. This was also reflected within pop culture icons during the 1980s, such as [[Grace Jones]], [[Jamie Lee Curtis]],  [[Annie Lennox]] and [[Boy George]].<ref name="WP"/><ref>{{cite news|author=Andrew Anthony|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/10/annie-lennox-eurythmics-christmas-cornucopia-universal-child|title=Annie Lennox: the interview|work=The Observer|access-date=2 October 2012|location=London, UK|date=10 October 2010|archive-date=23 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023210318/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/oct/10/annie-lennox-eurythmics-christmas-cornucopia-universal-child|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Yoshiki Hayashi.jpg|thumb|[[X Japan]] founder [[Yoshiki (musician)|Yoshiki]] is often labelled androgynous, known for having worn lace dresses and acting effeminate during performances.<ref name="GlobalGlam">{{cite book|title=Global Glam and Popular Music: Style and Spectacle from the 1970s to the 2000s|pages=203–205|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RY-PCwAAQBAJ&q=X%20Japan%20androgynous%20look&pg=PA204|editor=Ian Chapman, Henry Johnson|year=2016|isbn=9781317588191|access-date=9 October 2020|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321210627/https://books.google.com/books?id=RY-PCwAAQBAJ&q=X%20Japan%20androgynous%20look&pg=PA204|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

[[Power dressing]] for women became even more prominent within the 1980s which was previously only something done by men in order to look structured and powerful. However, during the 1980s this began to take a turn as women were entering jobs with equal roles to the men. In the article "The Menswear Phenomenon" by Kathleen Beckett written for Vogue in 1984 the concept of power dressing is explored as women entered these jobs they had no choice but to tailor their wardrobes accordingly, eventually leading the ascension of power dressing as a popular style for women.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Menswear Phenomenon.|journal=Vogue; Conde Nast}}</ref> Women begin to find through fashion they can incite men to pay more attention to the seduction of their mental prowess rather, than the physical attraction of their appearance. This influence in the fashion world quickly makes its way to the world of film, with movies like "Working Girl" using power dressing women as their main subject matter.

Androgynous fashion made its most powerful in the 1980s debut through the work of Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, who brought in a distinct Japanese style that adopted distinctively gender ambiguous theme. These two designers consider themselves to very much a part of the avant-garde, reinvigorating Japanism.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Global Influences: Challenging Western Traditions.|journal=London: Berg.}}</ref> Following a more anti-fashion approach and deconstructing garments, in order to move away from the more mundane aspects of current Western fashion. This would end up leading a change in Western fashion in the 1980s that would lead on for more gender friendly garment construction. This is because designers like Yamamoto believe that the idea of androgyny should be celebrated, as it is an unbiased way for an individual to identify with one's self and that fashion is purely a catalyst for this.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Also during the 1980s, [[Grace Jones]], a singer and fashion model, gender-thwarted appearance in the 1980s, which startled the public. Her androgynous style inspired many and she became an androgynous style icon for modern celebrities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highsnobiety.com/2015/05/14/androgynous-fashion-moments/|title=Androgynous Fashion Moments|date=14 May 2015|website=Highsnobiety|access-date=2016-05-23|archive-date=28 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528155546/https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/androgynous-fashion-moments/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, [[Louis Vuitton]] revealed that [[Jaden Smith]] would star in their womenswear campaign. Because of events like this, [[gender fluidity]] in fashion is being vigorously discussed in the media, with the concept being articulated by [[Lady Gaga]] and [[Ruby Rose]] and in [[Tom Hooper]]'s film ''[[The Danish Girl (film)|The Danish Girl]]''. Jaden Smith and other young individuals have inspired the movement with his appeal for clothes to be non–gender-specific, meaning that men may wear skirts and women may wear boxer shorts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cubmagazine.co.uk/2016/02/gender-fluidity-in-the-fashion-industry/|title=Gender Fluidity in the Fashion Industry|date=8 February 2016|website=Cub Magazine|access-date=2017-02-19|archive-date=20 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220012409/http://cubmagazine.co.uk/2016/02/gender-fluidity-in-the-fashion-industry/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:G-Dragon in 2012.jpg|thumb|South Korean pop star [[G-Dragon]] is often noted for his androgynous looks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/move-over-psy-here-comes-gdragon-style-9673768.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/move-over-psy-here-comes-gdragon-style-9673768.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Move over, Psy! Here comes G-Dragon style|date=17 August 2014|access-date=2015-04-05|work=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/mar/03/k-pop-music-a-beginners-guide-south-korea-sxsw|title=K-pop: a beginner's guide|work=The Guardian|access-date=2015-04-05|date=3 March 2014|archive-date=31 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331031356/http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/mar/03/k-pop-music-a-beginners-guide-south-korea-sxsw|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Androgyny has been gaining more prominence in [[popular culture]] in the early 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uniorb.com/RCHECK/RAndrogyny.htm |title=Androgyny becoming global? |publisher=uniorb.com |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226022658/http://uniorb.com/RCHECK/RAndrogyny.htm |archive-date=26 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Both the [[fashion]] industry<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.torontosun.com/life/fashion/2010/10/04/15572956.html |title=Androgynous look back for spring |first=Astrid |last=Wendlandt |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-date=6 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006174728/http://www.torontosun.com/life/fashion/2010/10/04/15572956.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and pop culture have accepted and even popularised the "androgynous" look, with several current [[celebrities]] being hailed as creative trendsetters.

The rise of the [[metrosexual]] in the first decade of the 2000s has also been described as a related phenomenon associated with this trend. Traditional gender stereotypes have been challenged and changed since the 1960s, which included the [[hippie movement]] and [[flower power]]. Artists in film such as [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] sported the "skinny" look in the 1990s, a departure from traditional masculinity, which resulted in the fad "Leo Mania".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-02-24/entertainment/17359092_1_leonardo-dicaprio-titanic-fan |title=The teenage fans from 'Titanic' days jump ship as Leonardo DiCaprio moves on |date=24 February 2005 |author=Peter Hartlaub |publisher=sfgate.com |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511093209/http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-02-24/entertainment/17359092_1_leonardo-dicaprio-titanic-fan |url-status=live }}</ref> Musical stars such as [[Brett Anderson]] of the British band [[Suede (band)|Suede]], [[Marilyn Manson]] and the band [[Placebo (band)|Placebo]] have used clothing and makeup to create an androgyny culture throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cavendish|first1=Marshall|title=Sex and Society, Vol 1|date=2010|publisher=Paul Bernabeo|page=69}}</ref>

While the 1990s unrolled and fashion developed an affinity for [[unisex]] clothes, there was a rise of designers who favored that look, including [[Helmut Lang (fashion brand)|Helmut Lang]], [[Giorgio Armani]], and [[Pierre Cardin]]. Men in catalogues started wearing [[jewellery]], [[make up]], [[visual kei]], and designer stubble. These styles have become a significant mainstream trend of the 21st century, both in the Western world and in Asia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/featured/nfw2/stories.php?id=416 |title=Androgynous look catches on |newspaper=The Himalayan Times |date=13–16 September 2010 |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-date=19 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119170230/http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/featured/nfw2/stories.php?id=416 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Japanese people|Japanese]] and [[Koreans|Korean]] cultures have featured the androgynous look as a positive attribute in society, as depicted in both [[K-pop]], [[J-pop]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tokyo-top-guide.com/Harajuku_Girl.html |title=Harajuku Girls Harajuku Clothes And Harajuku Gothic fashion Secrets |publisher=Tokyo Top Guide |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-date=30 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630041452/http://www.tokyo-top-guide.com/Harajuku_Girl.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[anime]] and [[manga]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jpopasia.com/profiles/405/kagerou.html |title=Profile of Kagerou |publisher=jpopasia.com |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-date=27 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127025152/http://www.jpopasia.com/profiles/405/kagerou.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as the fashion industry.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20051113x1.html |title=Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo 2005. A stitch in time? |first=Martin |last=Webb |date=13 November 2005 |newspaper=The Japan Times |access-date=17 December 2010 |archive-date=26 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426040059/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20051113x1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Symbols and iconography==
In the ancient and medieval worlds, androgynous people and/or hermaphrodites were represented in art by the [[caduceus]], a wand of transformative power in ancient Greco-Roman mythology.  The caduceus was created by [[Tiresias]] and represents his transformation into a woman by [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] in punishment for striking at mating snakes. The caduceus was later carried by [[Hermes]]/[[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] and was the basis for the [[astronomical symbol]] for the [[planet]] [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] and the botanical sign for hermaphrodite.  That sign is now sometimes used for [[transgender]] people.

Another common androgyny icon in the medieval and early modern period was the [[Rebis]], a [[conjoined]] male and female figure, often with solar and lunar motifs.  Still another symbol was what is today called [[sun cross]], which united the cross (or [[saltire]]) symbol for male with the circle for female.<ref>William Wallace Atkinson, The Secret Doctrines of the Rosicrucians (London: L.N. Fowler & Co., 1918), 53-54.</ref>  This sign is now the astronomical symbol for the planet [[Earth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/680/solar-system-symbols|title=Solar System Symbols|website=Solar System Exploration: NASA Science|access-date=December 31, 2018|archive-date=20 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220171351/https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/680/solar-system-symbols/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- |accessed {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814172945/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galleries/solar-system-symbols%7Caccessed |date=14 August 2016 }} 23 February 2016 ??? -->

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Chambers 1908 Caduceus.png|The caduceus
File:Mercury symbol.svg|Mercury symbol derived from the caduceus 
File:Rebis Theoria Philosophiae Hermeticae 1617.jpg|A rebis from 1617
File:Earth symbol.svg|"Rose and Cross" androgyne symbol
File:Wheel cross.svg|Alternate "rose and cross" version
</gallery>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[List of androgynous people]]
* [[List of transgender-related topics]]
* [[Bigender]]
* [[Epicenity]]
* [[Futanari]]
* [[Gender bender]]
* [[Gender dysphoria]]
* [[Gender neutrality]]
* [[Gonochorism]]
* [[Gynandromorphism]]
* [[Gynomorph]]
* [[Non-binary gender]]
* [[Pangender]]
* [[Postgenderism]]
* [[Sexual orientation hypothesis]]
* [[Soft butch]]
* [[Third gender]]
* [[Transsexual]]
* [[True hermaphroditism]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Androgyny}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}

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{{LGBT}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Androgyny| ]]
[[Category:Non-binary gender]]
[[Category:Human appearance]]
[[Category:Fashion aesthetics]]
[[Category:Intersex in society]]