Freedressing Campaign

Promoting awareness for gender nonconforming people since 2012.

Freedressing, a term first attested by LGBTC activist Leslie Krause in 2004, is a rallying call for genderqueer and gender nonconforming people who advocate for freedom of gender expression, in defiance of binary gender stereotypes. Through education and awareness, we hope to curb prejudice, bullying, and hate crimes toward genderqueer and gender nonconforming people.

In contrast to crossdressing, which invokes a gender binary mode of expression, freedressing seeks to liberate genderqueer and gender nonconforming people from overly oppressive, socially imposed masculine and feminine gender roles and expectations.

Terminology

gender creative (adj) - an individual whose conception of their birth-assigned gender intrinsically differs from the prevailing cultural norms and ideals of manhood and womanhood (attested by Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, 2012, and adapted from the phrase "individual creativity" by Donald W. Winnicott)

boi (n) - free-floating identifier for an individual that adopts a characteristically androgynous or ambiguous gender presentation; a trans-feminine or trans-masculine identified individual

gender expansive (adj) - inclusive and affirming umbrella label for all gender minorities (i.e. transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, gender creative, two-spirit, etc.), intended to substitute for the clinical research term "gender variant" (attested by Human Rights Campaign, 2012)

trans-creative (adj) - umbrella label for the transgender and gender creative communities as a whole; recommended substitute for the phrase "transgender and gender-nonconforming"

gender variant (adj) - gender identity, presentation, and/or conception that exists beyond the previling cultural norms and ideals; synonym for gender expansive

freedressing (adj) - appearance, behaviors, mannerisms, or pronouns, associated with gender-neutral presentation; values and principles consistent with fashion freedom (attested by Leslie Krause, 2004)

ambigender (adj) - taxonomical classifier for gender creative people as separate and distinct from the more polarizing cisgender-vs-transgender dichotomy

ambiphobia (n) - irrational fear or hatred of gender creative people, typically motivated by attitudes of cissexism; intolerance or discrimination enacted toward people on the basis of non-normative gender presentation (attested by Leslie Krause, 2015)

Statistics

A recent study of California youth found that more than one in four teens say their classmates view them as resisting dominant forms of gender expression. The study also found that GNC youth were more likely to experience severe psychological distress compared to gender-conforming teens (17 percent compared to 7 percent, respectively).

The chart from GLSEN below confirms that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer students don’t just get bullied for their sexual orientation, but for their gender nonconformity as well.

In 2018, the Human Rights Campaign conducted a survey of gender expansive youth. Approximately 1/5 of respondents self-reported as gender-nonconforming.

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