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Germaine Greer 鈥� feminist, academic and no stranger to controversy 鈥� has angered transgender activists and found herself the subject of an听听following comments she made during a听听last week that 鈥減ost-operative transgender men are not women鈥�.

The petition鈥檚 aim is to prevent Greer from presenting a lecture at Cardiff University next month. Students at the university, most vocally women鈥檚 officer Rachael Melhuish, have accused Greer of demonstrating 鈥渕isogynistic views towards trans women, including continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether鈥�.

Greer has defended her听, claiming she鈥檚 鈥渘ot about to walk on eggshells鈥� with her views, but her comments do open up space for a meaningful discussion on gender, sex and the complex relationship between the two.

There are boys and there are girls, right?

We are taught that there are boys and there are girls. Later, if we鈥檙e lucky, we are taught that sometimes 鈥渂oys鈥� become girls and 鈥済irls鈥� become boys.

But is it always one or the other? Genderqueer people, among others, say 鈥渘o鈥�.

People who describe themselves as genderqueer often feel that the gender binary (boy OR girl, woman OR man) is too limiting to describe their experience of gender.

From infancy, we are told that everyone should fit into a box associated with either 鈥渕an鈥� or 鈥渨oman鈥�. One of the first things we do when meeting someone new, or simply passing someone on the street, is to make a choice as to which box they fit into.

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Yet the social division of gender can be alienating for those who do not identify with this binary, according to听:

"In reducing the human experience to a simplistic interpretation of gender identity, we reify the notion of discrete and mutually exclusive categories of gender, marginalising those who cross over the borders of gender specification."

Some feminists have argued for a听, where sex is the biological framework of male and female, gender is the social construction and experience of masculinity and femininity.

Other feminists, including听, have gone further, challenging our belief in the 鈥渘atural鈥� biological binary of sex and pointing out that not all babies are born听.

These scholars have shown that our social ideas about gender also shape the way we understand the body itself. The understanding that gender is neither intrinsic nor a binary is where the idea of genderqueer begins.

Beyond the gender binary

For many people, the concept of genderqueer remains something of an enigma. This is, in part, because 鈥済enderqueer鈥� means different things to different people.

Some genderqueer people think of themselves as living between the binary genders; some as living outside the binary genders; and others reject the idea of binary gender altogether, seeing it as something to be challenged, stretched or played with.

Genderqueer can enable individuals to flexibly explore their gender over time, experimenting and changing as they go, but it can also describe a steady sense of sitting somewhere in between the traditional binary boxes.

Other terms 鈥撎�,听,听听鈥� describe similar perspectives, while 鈥溾�� describes the experience of identifying with the gender you were assigned at birth (being assigned female at birth and identifying as a woman, for example).

There is no one way of being 鈥� or looking 鈥� genderqueer.

While some genderqueer people blur the boundaries between masculinity and femininity in their appearance, it is important to note that not all genderqueer people look androgynous.

Since you won鈥檛 be able to pick a genderqueer person simply by looking at them, the only way to ever really know how someone feels about their gender is to listen carefully and follow their lead.

What about transgender?

There has been a lot of听听about the term 鈥渢ransgender鈥�, particularly around former Olympian听听and听听(2013-present) star听.

So let鈥檚 sketch out the relationship between 鈥済enderqueer鈥� and 鈥渢ransgender鈥�.

听traditionally refers to people who are strongly attached to whichever binary gender (boy OR girl, woman OR man) is 鈥渙pposite鈥� to their biological sex. Someone assigned 鈥渕ale鈥� at birth but who identifies as a woman is often described as a 鈥渢ransgender woman鈥�, while someone assigned 鈥渇emale鈥� at birth but identities as a man is often described as a 鈥渢ransgender man鈥�.

(One of the critiques of Germaine Greer鈥檚 recent comments has been that Greer confuses this language when she insists on calling transgender women 鈥減ost-operative transgender men鈥�, thus mis-gendering an already marginalised group of people.)

Most of the transgender characters we see on television are portrayed as having an attachment to the gender binary, but not all transgender people feel this way. While some trans people have a sense of being in the 鈥渨rong body鈥�, others have a much more fluid sense of gender. Some people may identify as genderqueer as well as trans or transgender.

Some transgender and genderqueer people may want to access hormones and/ or surgeries in order to re-shape their bodies. Others may not desire any particular physical changes at all.

Genderqueer is a lesser-known concept than transgender and, as a result, genderqueer people who do want to make a shift in the way they are medically, legally or socially recognised may face extra barriers to having their identity legitimated.

There is much scholarship devoted to transgender experiences, including the Transgender Studies Reader (,听). There is much less academic attention to genderqueer identities and experiences. One book that attempts to address this gap is听听(2002), edited by Joan Nestle, Clare Howell and Riki Anne Wilchins.

Institutional and linguistic barriers

Much is said about the changes people make to their own bodies, but far less about the many small changes we could make as a society that would make a difference in the lives of genderqueer people.

Aspects of daily life which many people take for granted, like walking into the 鈥渞ight鈥� public restroom or ticking 鈥淢鈥� or 鈥淔鈥� on a form, become complex (if not impossible) when you don鈥檛 fit the either/ or model.

Many schools, workplaces and other organisations are beginning to offer听. On some official documents, 鈥渙ther鈥� gender boxes and gender neutral title options like 鈥淢x鈥� (alongside Ms and Mr) are starting to be provided.

These changes are crucial to removing some of the institutional barriers genderqueer and other non-binary people face. There are also some things individuals can do to ensure they are supporting genderqueer people.

Changing one鈥檚 name can be an important step in signalling gender identity to the world. If your name is 鈥淛essica鈥�, people tend to assume you鈥檙e a woman; if it is 鈥淏en鈥� they鈥檒l assume you鈥檙e a man. While not all genderqueer people feel the need to change their names, some prefer a gender-neutral name.

Respecting those name changes is a crucial part of respecting an individual鈥檚 expression of gender. Similarly, while some genderqueer people might be comfortable with gendered pronouns like 鈥渉im/ his鈥� or 鈥渉er/ hers鈥�, others will prefer the gender neutral 鈥渢hey/ theirs鈥� or 鈥渮ie/ zir鈥�.

While this language shift has horrified some听, the use of the traditionally plural 鈥渢hey鈥� to refer to a singular subject has recently been recognised by the听.

Using 鈥渢hey鈥� to describe an individual might be tricky the first few times you do it. But it is ultimately a small adjustment to make in order to demonstrate your respect for a person鈥檚 sense of self.

It can be confronting to understand and remember the complexity of these new terms. This does not mean it is not a worthwhile endeavour.

After all, the challenge of adjusting to a new word pales in comparison to the considerable social听听unfortunately still associated with coming out as trans or genderqueer.

Time to abandon the boxes

We can take these lessons one step further. A strict gender binary is not only embedded in our language and our paperwork 鈥� it often shapes the way we see the world.

Since we now know not everyone fits into the boxes of 鈥渕an鈥� or 鈥渨oman鈥�, perhaps it is time to start challenging the instinct to automatically label. Next time you are walking down the street, try to let the people you pass exist in your mind without a gender.

For many of us this is incredibly hard to do. But, with some practice, we might all make a little more space for the next person we meet who is not either/ or.

While Greer鈥檚 desire to 鈥渘ot walk on eggshells鈥� may fulfil her right to free speech, denying an individual鈥檚 articulated gender identity can contribute to prejudice, fear and violence towards people who sit outside of the gender binary.

This violence can exist in myriad ways and effect a variety of individuals such as transgender, agender and genderqueer people. Rather than trying to decide who is 鈥渞eally鈥� a woman, aren鈥檛 we better off spending our time talking about, and respecting, the complexity of people鈥檚 gender experiences?

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First published on .听