Pride Abstract(ed): Gender Neutrality
Gender neutrality doesn’t erase gender — it expands possibility beyond the binary.
Gender expression — the outward presentation of gender — is different from gender identity, which is the internal sense of gender one experiences.
Being gender neutral means being partial to neither man nor woman, or perhaps even void of gender. Exact definitions and labels vary from person to person, but at its core, it describes someone or something impartial to the binary.
Expressing gender neutrality in society means minimizing language and policies that are inherently gendered, reflecting a world of people rather than of genders. A society that does not privilege one gender over another is a gender-neutral society. Once we remove gendered terms from everyday use, we start to form language around the people we describe, rather than the labels we prescribe.
Examples include:
Firefighters, not firemen.
Chair, not Chairwoman.
Server, not waiter or waitress.
Flight Attendant, not steward or stewardess.
Mx., not Mr. or Mrs.
They/them, not he/him or she/her.
When we take gender assumptions out of our everyday interactions, we begin to see each other more clearly — as people, not labels.
And if you want to use a gender-specific term, that’s perfectly fine! Calling someone a chairwoman or a cameraman can be meaningful, as long as we respect others’ wishes to be addressed with gender-neutral language.
Gender neutrality is one of the first major steps toward a free, postgender world.
The modern policing of our bodies is why symbols like the Gender Neutral Pride flag matter. For those who wish to exist outside the constraints of gendered language, it offers visibility and validation. These motifs reflect the changes of modern culture and everyday life.
Pride Abstract(ed) is a project that publishes Pride Flags and their meanings. The Gender Neutral Pride flag features yellow, white, light green, and green stripes:
Light Green & Green are gender neutral; its varying shades reflect the different ways one may experience gender or neutrality day to day. Green is the inverse of purple (the additive combination of pink and blue), a counter to the “gender-full” color.
Yellow celebrates those outside the binary — agender, genderqueer, non-binary — and supports those who live beyond traditional categories.
White usually signifies a lack of gender in one form or another, through either identity or expression.
The Gender Neutral flag, enbygsrd, 2016, DeviantArt
Gender neutral principles are not just symbolic, but are integral to redefining how we see the world. Supporting efforts to remove harmful gendered language — like using they/them, changing chairman to chair, man-made to hand-made, or waiter/waitress to server — means supporting gender neutrality. And that’s a good thing.
In September 2025, Katterhaus designed the Gender Neutrality edition of Pride Abstract(ed) to celebrate the flag and its mission: dismantling the power of natural gender roles and providing a visual identifier for the gender neutral community. Using gender-neutral language doesn’t take away anyone’s gender; it just lets everyone live fully, free from linguistic boundaries.
In a postgender world, no one loses their gender. We simply stop assuming anyone else’s — and start celebrating the infinite ways people exist.
Gender Neutrality, Pride Abstract(ed) 2025, Kate Carlin
To protect queer lives, we must protect all queer lives: Black Transgender women, Nonbinary and Neutrois people, Xenogenders, queer people with disabilities, without degrees, experiencing homelessness, or undocumented. The erasure of one is the erasure of all.
Katterhaus is on a mission to write about the rich humanity of Gender, Sexual, Gender Expression, and Gender identity.
Check back for more Pride Abstract(ed).
NOTE: This column on gender expression, identity, and gender neutrality complements other identities such as Agender, Non-binary, or Neutrois communities.
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