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Agender & Neutrois Pride Flags: Genderless Guide

by Delwin Tan

The short version

  • Agender describes someone who has no gender, or a neutral or null gender. The "a-" prefix means "without."
  • Neutrois describes someone with a neutral or null gender, often associated with a desire for a more neutral physical presentation.
  • Neutrois vs agender vs non-binary: all three sit on the same map. Non-binary is the wide umbrella for any gender outside the man/woman binary. Agender and neutrois are specific spots under that umbrella, both describing absence or neutrality of gender, where neutrois more often involves a physical-presentation component.
  • The two identities overlap significantly. The most-cited difference: agender is more about identity (no gender), neutrois often includes a gender-neutral physical or expression component.
  • The agender flag has 7 horizontal stripes (black, gray, white, green, white, gray, black). The neutrois flag has 3 stripes (white, green, black).
  • Both identities sit under the broader non-binary umbrella; many people identify with one or both.

We're Delwin and Jimmy, co-founders of Proud Zebra, a queer-owned Canadian small business designing pride pins and accessories from the Lower Mainland, BC. Agender and neutrois are some of the more nuanced identities under the non-binary umbrella, and they get asked about a lot at our pride festival booth, usually by people just discovering they don't quite fit anywhere else.

This guide covers both agender and neutrois, what each identity means, what their flags look like, where the difference lies (and where it doesn't), and how both relate to the broader non-binary spectrum. It's part of our complete guide to LGBTQ+ pride flags.

What does agender mean?

Agender describes someone who has no gender, or who experiences a null, neutral, or absent gender identity. The "a-" prefix in English means "without", an agender person is, literally, without gender.

What this looks like in practice varies. Some agender people experience a complete absence of gender: gender doesn't feel like a thing they have. Others experience a very neutral gender, neither male nor female nor anything else specific. Others feel that gender is something other people have but they don't.

LGBTA Wiki's agender and neutrois entries cover the terms' coining and community-emergent flag histories. GLAAD's transgender resources include agender within their broader non-binary glossary.

What agender is not:

  • Not the same as androgynous (which is a gender expression, not necessarily an identity)
  • Not the same as bigender (which involves having two gender identities)
  • Not "I haven't figured out my gender yet." Agender is a settled identity, not an in-between state.
  • Not a refusal to acknowledge gender. Agender people often think a lot about gender; they just don't experience having one.

What does neutrois mean?

Neutrois describes someone with a neutral or null gender. To define neutrois plainly: it's a gender identity that sits outside masculine and feminine, often experienced as neutral, absent, or null. The term predates "agender" in modern English usage, neutrois was coined in 1995 by an early non-binary community member known as H. A. Burnham, who created it specifically to describe a gender that's neither masculine nor feminine.

A quick note on spelling: neutrois is frequently misspelled as neutrosis, neutrios, nuetrois, or netrois. They all refer to the same identity.

Neutrois often (though not always) carries an additional component: many neutrois people seek a physical presentation that aligns with their gender-neutrality. That can include haircuts, clothing, voice, body language, or in some cases medical transition steps that move toward physical neutrality rather than masculinity or femininity.

Neutrois isn't a strict requirement of physical alignment, plenty of neutrois people don't pursue any physical changes. But the term often shows up in contexts where physical presentation is part of how the identity is lived.

Neutrois vs agender: are they the same thing?

Short answer: there's significant overlap, and many people use the terms interchangeably. When people search "neutrois vs agender" or "agender vs neutrois" or "difference between agender and neutrois", they're usually after this distinction:

Identity Core meaning Common nuance
Agender Without gender, or null/neutral gender Often used as a pure identity label, with no required relationship to gender expression or presentation
Neutrois Neutral or null gender Often associated with neutral physical presentation, body neutrality, or transition toward neutrality

In practice, many people use both labels, switch depending on context, or pick whichever feels more accurate to their experience. There's no hierarchy between them, and the lines blur in actual use.

Neutrois vs agender vs non-binary, the three-way comparison

The other common question is how all three fit together: neutrois vs nonbinary, agender vs non binary, and where neutrois lands in that mix. Here's the relationship in one table:

Term What it is Scope
Non-binary An umbrella term for any gender identity that isn't strictly man or woman Broadest, includes agender, neutrois, genderfluid, bigender, demiboy, demigirl, genderqueer, and many more
Agender A specific identity meaning no gender, or null/neutral gender Sits under the non-binary umbrella; specifically about absence of gender
Neutrois A specific identity meaning neutral or null gender, often with a neutral-presentation component Sits under the non-binary umbrella; close cousin to agender, with more emphasis on physical neutrality for some people

Plain version: non-binary is the country, agender and neutrois are two neighbouring cities inside it. Someone can identify with one, two, or all three labels at once, and "non-binary" is often used as a shorthand when the more specific labels feel too detailed for a given conversation.

Gender neutral vs agender, what's the difference?

"Gender neutral" and "agender" sound similar but they're doing different jobs. Gender neutral usually describes things, language, clothing, bathrooms, pronouns, a haircut, anything designed to work without leaning masculine or feminine. Agender is a gender identity, an answer to "what's your gender?" rather than a description of a thing.

So a gender-neutral bathroom isn't agender (bathrooms don't have gender identities). An agender person might use gender-neutral pronouns, wear gender-neutral clothing, or live in a very gender-neutral way, but they could also present in any direction they like. The "agender vs gender neutral" framing is mostly an apples-to-oranges comparison: one is an identity, the other is a description of presentation or design.

"Agender vs genderless" and "genderless vs agender" land closer together. Genderless is sometimes used as a plain-English translation of agender. Some people prefer "genderless" because it's instantly understandable; others prefer "agender" because it's the established community term. Both describe the same core experience.

What do the agender and neutrois flags look like?

The agender flag was designed by Tumblr user Salem X (Ska) in 2014. It has 7 horizontal stripes:

Stripe Colour Meaning
1 (top) Black Absence of gender
2 Gray Semi-genderlessness
3 White Lack of gender (mirrored)
4 (centre) Green Non-binary gender (the inverse of purple, which traditionally combines male and female)
5 White Mirror of stripe 3
6 Gray Mirror of stripe 2
7 (bottom) Black Mirror of stripe 1

The flag is vertically symmetrical. The green centre is intentional: green is the inverse of purple on the colour wheel, and purple has historically been used to represent the combination of male and female. Green therefore represents identity outside that combination entirely.

The neutrois flag has 3 horizontal stripes: white (top), green (middle), and black (bottom). It pre-dates the agender flag by some years and uses the same green-as-non-binary symbolism. Different community members have proposed slightly different stripe counts and arrangements; the 3-stripe version is most common today.

The Neutrois Flag Cube pin lays the white-green-black stripes in a flat 1.25-inch enamel format for collar, lanyard, or badge holder.

Neutrois and agender pronouns

There are no required pronouns for either identity. Neutrois pronouns and agender pronouns are whatever the person actually uses, and that varies widely. Common choices include they/them, neopronouns like xe/xem or ze/zir, mixed sets (such as they/he or she/they), or even traditional she/her or he/him if those feel right. The only reliable way to know is to ask, the same as with anyone else.

For more on the wider set of pronouns people use, see our guide to pronouns and allyship and our neopronouns deep-dive.

How do agender and neutrois fit within the non-binary umbrella?

Both sit under the broader non-binary umbrella, but they describe a specific kind of non-binary experience: gender absence or neutrality rather than gender mixture or fluctuation.

Compare:

  • Agender / neutrois, no gender, or null/neutral gender
  • Bigender, two distinct gender identities held in parallel
  • Genderfluid, gender that shifts between identities over time
  • Genderqueer, broader umbrella, often political/expansive in framing
  • Demiboy / demigirl, partial identification with a binary gender

Agender and neutrois are distinct from each of these because they describe absence or neutrality specifically, not other configurations of gender experience.

"The double-pin back is super sturdy! Super high quality and beautiful finish, I just love them!"

Zoe M., on our Agender flag cube pin set

We design agender pride pins, neutrois pride pins, and accessories across both flags. Browse the full pride pins collection for the complete range.

Frequently asked questions

What does agender mean?

Agender describes someone who has no gender, or who experiences a null, neutral, or absent gender identity. The "a-" prefix means "without." Agender people might experience a complete absence of gender, a very neutral non-specific gender, or feel that gender is something other people have but they don't.

What does neutrois mean?

Neutrois describes someone with a neutral or null gender. The term was coined in 1995 by H. A. Burnham. Neutrois often (though not always) carries an additional component: many neutrois people seek a physical presentation that aligns with their gender-neutrality, including haircuts, clothing, or in some cases medical transition toward physical neutrality.

Are agender and neutrois the same thing?

There's significant overlap, and many people use the terms interchangeably. The most-cited difference: agender is often used as a pure identity label with no required relationship to physical expression, while neutrois often carries a stronger association with neutral physical presentation. In practice the lines blur and many people use both labels.

Neutrois vs agender vs non binary, what's the difference?

Non-binary is the umbrella term for any gender that isn't strictly man or woman. Agender and neutrois are both specific identities sitting under that umbrella. Agender means no gender or null gender. Neutrois means neutral or null gender, often with a neutral-presentation component. All three overlap and many people use more than one label depending on context.

What's the difference between gender neutral and agender?

Gender neutral usually describes things (clothing, bathrooms, pronouns, language) that don't lean masculine or feminine. Agender is a gender identity, an answer to "what's your gender?" An agender person can use gender-neutral language and presentation, but the two terms aren't synonyms. One is an identity, the other is a description.

What pronouns do agender and neutrois people use?

There's no required pronoun set for either identity. Common neutrois and agender pronouns include they/them, neopronouns like xe/xem or ze/zir, and mixed sets such as they/he or she/they. Some agender or neutrois people also use she/her or he/him. The reliable approach is to ask.

Is neutrois a sexuality?

No. Neutrois is a gender identity, not a sexual orientation. Sexual orientation describes who you're attracted to (or not); gender identity describes your own gender. A neutrois person can be any orientation: gay, straight, bi, pan, asexual, or anything else.

How do you spell neutrois? I've seen it written several ways.

The standard spelling is neutrois (n-e-u-t-r-o-i-s). Common misspellings include neutrosis, neutrios, nuetrois, and netrois. All refer to the same identity, but neutrois is the spelling used by the originator H. A. Burnham and by community sources.

Are agender people transgender?

Many agender people identify as transgender (since their gender doesn't match the one assigned at birth). Some don't. It's a personal call. Some agender people use both labels; others use only "agender"; others identify as trans without specifically using "agender." All approaches are valid.

Who designed the agender pride flag?

The agender pride flag was designed by Tumblr user Salem X (also known as Ska) in 2014. The 7-stripe symmetrical design uses black for absence of gender, gray for semi-genderlessness, white for lack of gender, and green as the centre, green being the inverse of purple, which has historically represented the combination of male and female.

Carrying the flag forward

Agender and neutrois are some of the most precise identity terms in the queer lexicon, they describe a specific kind of relationship to gender that other labels don't quite capture. Both flags give people who experience gender as absence or neutrality a way to be visible without having to translate their experience into language built for people who do have a gender.

If you wear an agender pride pin, a neutrois pin, or one of the more specific identity flags from our complete pride flags guide, you're claiming visible space for an identity that's about precision: not having gender, or having a neutral one, as a real and settled thing.

We've donated $10,219.58 CAD to LGBTQ+ organizations to date (lifetime, as of 2026-05-13), including Rainbow Refugee Society, Covenant House Vancouver, GLSEN, UNYA (Urban Native Youth Association), and BC pride societies. Sayoni was previously supported through our charity-pin partnership program (paused 2025+). See our donations page for the full breakdown. Every order helps that number grow.

Written by Delwin Tan, Co-Founder of Proud Zebra

Published 2026-05-06. Last updated 2026-05-06.

Delwin co-founded Proud Zebra with his partner Jimmy Cheang in late 2020. We're a queer-owned Canadian small business, designing pride pins, patches, stickers, and accessories from the Lower Mainland, BC. We've donated over $10,219.58 CAD to LGBTQ+ organizations to date.

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