Androgynous Pride Flag: Meaning & Symbolism (2026)

Androgyne Pride Flag

We're Delwin and Jimmy, co-founders of Proud Zebra, a queer-owned Canadian small business. We don't currently carry an androgyne product line, but we kept this post live because coverage of every flag in the LGBTQ+ family matters more to us than only writing about the flags we sell merchandise for. If you're androgynous and looking for pride accessories, we link to related identity-flag pieces below that may resonate.

What does androgyne mean?

Androgyne (and the broader word androgyny) describes the blending or refusal of conventional gender signals. Someone who is androgynous may dress, style their hair, hold their body, or speak in ways that don't read as obviously masculine or feminine, or that intentionally combine elements typically coded as both. The word comes from the Greek andros (man) and gyne (woman), and the androgyne meaning has carried that same blended-gender sense for centuries.

It's helpful to separate two related uses of the word:

Androgynous gender expression is how a person presents to the world: clothing, hair, makeup or no makeup, mannerisms, voice. Anyone can present androgynously regardless of how they identify internally.

Androgynous gender identity is how a person understands themselves internally: not specifically a man, not specifically a woman, sometimes a blend, sometimes neither. People who identify this way may also describe themselves as non-binary, genderfluid, bigender, or by other related terms. Some prefer "androgyne" specifically as a noun for themselves; others use it as one of several labels that fit.

The two often co-occur but don't have to. A trans woman can present androgynously while identifying clearly as a woman. A cis man can present androgynously without being non-binary. An androgyne can present in ways that read as quite masculine or quite feminine in particular contexts, while still identifying as androgyne underneath.

What do the androgynous flag colors mean?

The androgynous pride flag (sometimes written as the androgyne pride flag, or just the androgynous flag) is three horizontal stripes. Here's what each colour stands for:

The three-stripe design echoes a pattern shared by several other identity flags within the gender-non-conforming family, including the genderfluid flag, the bigender flag, and earlier proposals for the genderqueer and non-binary flags. The shared visual vocabulary signals that these identities sit close to one another in the broader non-binary family, even when they describe different specific experiences.

Androgyny Pride 1st Edition enamel pin set

Who designed the androgynous pride flag?

The pink-purple-blue androgynous pride flag is most commonly attributed to Tumblr user saveferris, who shared it on July 24, 2014. Like many community-designed identity flags from that era, it spread through Tumblr reblogs and gradually became the version most people now recognise when they search for the androgyne flag. The original designer never claimed authorship publicly beyond that Tumblr post, so attribution is community-tracked rather than formally documented. If you've ever seen an older alternate androgyne flag (some used different colour orders or added a yellow stripe), this 2014 three-stripe version is the one that stuck.

Androgyny vs non-binary vs genderfluid: what's the difference?

These terms are related but not interchangeable.

Non-binary is the broad heading for any gender identity that isn't strictly man or woman. Androgyne is one specific identity that fits within that broader non-binary family, alongside bigender, genderfluid, agender, demiboy, demigirl, and others.

Genderfluid describes a gender that shifts over time, sometimes more masculine, sometimes more feminine, sometimes neither. An androgyne typically experiences a more steady blended or non-conforming identity rather than a shifting one, though some people use both terms.

Androgyne describes a person whose identity sits at a steady mix or refusal of binary gender categories. It overlaps heavily with non-binary, but some androgynes prefer it as a distinct label that emphasizes the blending angle specifically.

The respectful default is the same as with any identity: use the term the person uses for themselves. If someone tells you they're an androgyne, they're an androgyne. If they switch to "non-binary" later, follow them there.

Androgyny Pride Proud Cube enamel pin

Can anyone present androgynously?

Yes. Androgynous presentation isn't gatekept by identity. Cis women shave their heads. Trans men wear nail polish. Non-binary people wear suits and dresses on the same day. Androgynous fashion and styling have moved through mainstream culture for decades, David Bowie in the 1970s, Annie Lennox in the 1980s, Tilda Swinton across her career, and a growing wave of younger celebrities and athletes today have all pulled androgynous style into wider visibility.

The distinction worth holding: presenting androgynously is something anyone can do. Identifying as an androgyne is a personal claim about your internal sense of yourself. The two are different and equally valid as their own things.

For more on the spectrum of gender identities androgyny sits within, see our non-binary and genderqueer guide, our genderfluid guide, our bigender guide, and our agender and neutrois guide. For pronoun usage specifically (since many androgynes use they/them or neopronouns), see our pronouns and allyship guide.

How can you support androgynous people?

The same way you support anyone whose identity sits outside the gender binary: use their pronouns and name correctly, don't make a project of figuring out "what they really are", don't demand they pick a side, and don't comment on their presentation as a way to police it.

For workplaces, school environments, or family settings: default to the language and pronouns the person introduces themselves with, normalize neutral options in forms and bathrooms, and back them up if someone else makes a comment they shouldn't. Visible support (a pin, a flag, a pronoun line in your signature) also matters in environments where androgynous presentation tends to draw attention.

For external resources, the GLAAD media reference glossary covers androgyny and adjacent terms in current respectful usage. The LGBTA Wiki entry on androgyne is a community-maintained reference covering the term's history and related identities.

Non-binary family Proud Cube enamel pins styled

Androgyne Pride Flag Proud Cube

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Frequently asked questions

What does the androgynous pride flag look like?

Three horizontal stripes, pink on top (traditionally feminine), purple in the middle (a blend of both), and blue on the bottom (traditionally masculine). The shared three-stripe pattern echoes other flags in the non-binary family.

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Androgyny Pride

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Why we kept this post

We get asked occasionally why we cover identities we don't sell merchandise for. The honest answer: we'd rather have an LGBTQ+ blog with broad coverage than one shaped only by what's in our shop. People searching "what is the androgynous pride flag" should land on a post that explains it clearly, even if the next click isn't a buy button. That's what this post is for.

Since 2020 we've donated $10,219.58 CAD to LGBTQ+ charities including Rainbow Refugee, GLSEN, Covenant House Vancouver, UNYA, and our charity-pin partners. Every Proud Zebra purchase supports that work.

For the wider pride flag set, our complete guide to pride flags is the canonical reference.

Delwin and Jimmy