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androgyny

androgyny

2 8.3
A state of having both male and female physical features or behavior
  • noun
  • /ænˈdrɒdʒəni/
translation icon : androginia
  • Her androgyny was evident in her choice of clothing, which mixed traditionally male and female garments.
  • androgyny and femininity

And you know, I was, it was really a tough couple years when I was playing with sort of gender expression and androgyny in that way.

Examples

  • The fashion show featured models that embraced androgyny, blending both masculine and feminine styles.

  • Twenge (1995) observed in a study of androgyny that U.S. college women are becoming more assertive, action-oriented, and goal-driven.

    Academic text (2005)
  • So this is what Androgyny looks like in comparison.

  • And what androgyny is at all remains for me a task of thinking.

    Academic text (1997)
  • - Androgyny suits you, Max.

  • But at the same time, we are all uncomfortable about this proposed androgyny.

    Academic text (1997)
  • I want to play on this idea of the masculine and feminine and kind of the androgyny of that time.

  • Such unrealistic ways of representing human bodies make the visualization of androgyny possible.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Three photographs taken in the late 1920s illustrate the pronounced interest in androgyny at the Bauhaus.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The artist's work explores themes of androgyny, challenging the conventional ideas of gender identity.

Synonyms

hermaphroditism
vsandrogyny
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A living thing that has both male and female sex organs or traits

is about having both sexes in appearance or behavior rather than reproductive organs
intersexuality
vsandrogyny
8.6

A condition in which a person's body has parts not clearly male or female

is specifically about having both male and female characteristics in body or behavior

How Feminine

girlishness
1 5.1
womanliness
1 4.9
femininity
29 3.4
androgyny
2 8.3
masculinity
43 4.1

Surface Forms

androgyny singular
androgynies plural

Morphology

androgyny = androgynous (semi-transparent) = andro + gyn + y

Formally related to the adjective 'androgynous' (meaning is directly connected), but the combining forms 'andro-' and 'gyn-' are not standalone English words, so learners may not parse the parts readily.

Etymology

The word androgyny comes from Greek parts andro- meaning 'man', as in android, and gyn- meaning 'woman'. So androgyny means having 'both' male and female traits in appearance or behavior.