Gender systems

third gender of South Asian cultures

individual whose gender identity is not defined as male or female

Kathoey or katoey, commonly translated as ladyboys, is a term used by some people in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand who were assigned male at birth and present as transfeminine or effeminate. Transgender women in Thailand mostly use terms other than kathoey when referring to themselves, such as (, ). In the context of Thai gender norms, many perceive kathoeys as belonging to a third gender.

Balkan women who take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to live as men

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cultural practice in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Faʻafāfine (; ) are natal males who align with a third gender or feminine gender role in the Sāmoan Islands. Faʻafāfine are not assigned the role at birth, nor raised as girls due to a lack of daughters, as is often claimed in western media. Rather, their femininity emerges in early childhood, and Sāmoans recognize them as distinct from typical boys.

thumb|200px|right|Köçek in Ottoman miniature. The '''' (plural ) was typically a young, male, and physically attractive enslaved dancer (rakkas''), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer.

thumb|200px|Papa Moe (Mysterious Water), an oil painting by the Westerner, Paul Gauguin, from 1893. It depicts a in Tahiti drinking from a waterfall. ''''''' in Native Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures are people who embody both male and female spirit. They have traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture, similar to Tongan ' and Samoan ''''. The terms “third gender” and “in the middle” have been used to help explain māhū in the English language.

thumb|right|250px|, painted by Giuseppe Bonito ([[1707–1789) sometime between 1740 and 1760. The 's missing teeth and goitre could be signs of poverty and malnutrition. The red coral necklace is depicted as a representation of good fortune, which is often associated with .]]

Khanith (also spelled Khaneeth or referred to as Xanith; ) is a term originating from the Arabian Peninsula to denote a person assigned male at birth who occupies an intermediate "third gender" between male and female. Their mannerisms and behaviors fall between the socially constructed roles for men and women.

alt=Photo: Miho Hagino|thumb|Felina Santiago, Muxe activist, President of the Muxe Group Las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro Photo: Miho Hagino thumb|Lukas Avendaño, a Zapotec peoples|Zapotec muxe [[performance artist.]]

social structures that establish the number of genders and their associated roles in each society

Mukhannath (; plural mukhannathun (); "effeminate ones", "ones who resemble women") was a term used in Classical Arabic and Islamic literature to describe effeminate men or people with ambiguous sexual characteristics, who appeared feminine and functioned sexually or socially in roles typically carried out by women. Mukhannathun, especially those in the city of Medina, are mentioned throughout the ḥadīth literature and in the works of many early Arabic and Muslim writers. The historical role and gender identity of mukhannathun have been interpreted by predominantly Western academics of gender

Fakaleitī are individuals in Tonga who are assigned male at birth but express a feminine gender identity. The term is derived from the Tongan prefix faka- ("in the manner of") and leitī, a borrowing from the English word lady, thus meaning "in the manner of a lady". Fakaleitī represent a diverse group with varying gender identities and sexual orientations, often adopting feminine dress and mannerisms influenced by Western styles. While they may be marginalized or face discrimination, especially in youth, fakaleitī are generally accepted within Tongan culture and extended families, and have bec

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Latin American gender identity, often considered a transgender, third sex, or non-binary category

person whose sex is unknown in Jewish culture

Koekchuch is an extinct gender identity recorded among the Itelmens of Siberia. These were male assigned at birth individuals who behaved as women did, and were recorded in the late 18th century and early 19th century.

'''''' is a Cook Islands Māori word which has come, since the 2000s, to refer to transgender people of Māori descent from the Cook Islands.

In Jewish tradition, the term androgynos () refers to someone who possesses both male and female sexual characteristics. Due to the ambiguous nature of the individual's sex, Rabbinic literature discusses the sex of the individual and the legal ramifications that result based on potential sex classifications. In traditionally observant Judaism, sex plays a central role in legal obligations.

Malaysian trans women

''''' (also spelled '') is the contraction of an old Lakota word, ', meaning 'wants to be like a woman'. Historically, the ' have in some cases been considered a social category of male-bodied individuals who adopt the clothing, work, and mannerisms that Lakota culture usually considers feminine. However, in contemporary Lakota culture, ' is usually used to refer to a homosexual man, regardless of whether that man is in other ways gender non-conforming. Contemporary '''' may or may not consider themselves part of the more mainstream gay, LGBTQ, or pan-Indian two-spirit communities. Historicall

Fakafifine are people from Niue, who were born assigned male at birth but who have a feminine gender expression. In Niue this is understood as a third gender, culturally specific to the country.

gender system in Bugis society

' (also spelled '; ) is a Māori term that is used in a similar way to LGBT. When speaking Māori, LGBT people of any culture are referred to as . In English, a person is a Māori individual who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, Intersex () and/or transgender.

In the Philippines, a baklâ (Tagalog and Central Bikol, ), badíng (Tagalog and Central Bikol), bayot (Cebuano), or agî (Hiligaynon) is a person who was assigned male at birth and has adopted a gender expression that is feminine. They are often considered as a third gender. Many bakla are exclusively attracted to men and some identify as women. The polar opposite of the term in Philippine culture is tomboy (natively, the lakin-on or binalaki), which refers to women with a masculine gender expression (usually, but not always, lesbian). The term is commonly incorrectly applied to trans women.

Binabinaaine or sometimes called Pinapinaaine are people who identify as a third gender that is not male nor female. In Kiribati, this term is broad and can refer to gay men, bisexual men, and transgender women.Their sex is assigned male at birth but they are seen to have female or more feminine characteristics. The word means “becoming a woman” in Gilbertese.They come from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in Kiribati and Tuvalu. The term is flexible and can be used as a noun, verb or adverb. There are multiple terms in the surrounding area for a third gender that is more feminine presenting in

Apwint () is a culturally specific term to Myanmar which is used to refer to individuals assigned male at birth who openly identify as women and are attracted to men. External to the local context, apwint are commonly regarded more broadly as transgender women. However, according to Veronese et al., "unlike typical Western characterizations [such as in the LGBT community] that utilize separate categories to define sexual and gender identities, one set of labels are often used across Asia to characterize both sexual and gender identities." Another Myanama term, apone (), is used to describe mal

Japanese slang term referring to a range from men who dress and behave in a feminine manner to trans women who have undergone sex reassignment surgery.

Vakasalewalewa are people from Fiji who were assigned male at birth but who have a feminine gender expression. In Fiji, this is understood as a traditional third gender identity, culturally specific to the country.

'''''' is a term used in Papua New Guinea and its diaspora to refer to people whose gender identity or sexuality does not conform to heteronormative standards, and who, in Western contexts, might identify as part of the LGBT+ community.