Non-binary is the umbrella word for everyone whose gender isn't covered by man or woman: both, neither, partly, or something that hasn't been named yet. It is broad on purpose. Demigirl is one of the "partly" answers: a real connection to womanhood that only goes so far, with the rest being some other gender or none at all.
Most people file demigirl under non-binary. Not everyone does. Some demigirls call themselves women and nothing else, and that disagreement is real rather than a misunderstanding. The Demigirl page has the whole thing in one sign: you might have read the word non-binary and thought yes, then thought no, because there is definitely a girl in here.
How to tell them apart
- Say "not a woman" out loud. If the sentence is simply true, non-binary covers you. If it is false, because there is definitely a girl in here, just not the whole of you, that is demigirl.
- Try a percentage. "About seventy per cent" is the shape demigirl describes, even though the number will not hold still. Non-binary needs no fraction: both, neither, or no coordinates at all.
- Tick "female" on a form and see how it feels. Demigirl: like you rounded up. Non-binary: like giving the nearest big town instead of your address.
More likely Demigirl
- You are fine with being called a woman, and not fine at all with being told that is the whole of it.
- "She" landed on you by accident and it felt like small good news, without you wanting it made permanent.
- You want to be included in women's things without being counted as one of them.
More likely Non-Binary
- You tried being fully a man and fully a woman in your head and found both wrong in a different direction rather than right.
- There is no girl in it, or the girl is not the part that is left over: it is both, or neither, or something with no coordinates.
- You need a word that works at the doctor's and on a form. Non-binary is understood; demigirl usually needs a sentence after it.
When both words are honestly available
- Usually. Demigirl sits under the non-binary umbrella for most people who use it, and a demigirl can honestly say both words in the same breath.
- Some demigirls say woman and nothing else and decline the umbrella. The umbrella is available, not compulsory, and both pages say that argument is a real one rather than a mistake.
What people get wrong
Demigirl just means a woman who dislikes gender roles.
Roles are about what you do; this is about what you are. Both pages offer the same test: remove every rule bolted to womanhood and see whether "woman" then covers all of you. If it does, the word you want is woman.
Non-binary means half and half, right in the middle, so demigirl is the same thing.
The middle is one option out of many for non-binary; plenty are neither, or both at full strength. Demigirl is specifically anchored to woman, mostly. The anchor is the point.
Questions people ask
- Is a demigirl non-binary?
- Most people would say yes: partly a woman is not fully a woman, and non-binary covers everything man and woman don't reach. Some demigirls call themselves women and nothing else and don't use the umbrella. Both are common. Use non-binary where it gets you understood, and demigirl where the girl part needs saying.
- Can I be a demigirl and still use she/her?
- Yes, and many do. She/her is accurate for the part that is a girl. Both pages say the same thing about pronouns: they are a request about what you'd like said, not proof of what you are. Keeping she/her because it fits, or because changing it isn't safe, waters nothing down.