What do these terms stand for?
AGAB: Assigned Gender At Birth (the gender that parents, hospitals and governments assign to someone when they're born)
AFAB: Assigned Female At Birth (by parents, hospitals and governmental ID)
AMAB: Assigned Male At Birth (by parents, hospitals and governmental ID)
Why are these terms trending, and why are people upset about them?
There’s discussion going around Twitter right now about what it means to use these terms and apply them to other people. It’s come up specifically in relation to the terms as applied to people who identify as non-binary.
Some transgender and non-binary people feel that the use of these terms is often, in effect, an attempt to reinforce the idea that trans and non-binary people aren't "really" the gender they identify as — conflating gender and biological sex, and insisting that biological sex is relevant at all.
if you describe us trans people (especially nonbinary) by our agab/genitals rather than our gender, you're not as inclusive as you think as you're putting us into a binary. I'm not "afab nonbinary" I'm just nonbinary (agreeing with you btw! just adding on <3)
— Mercury or Lilith (wolf/moon/it/they/any) (@RetrogradedMerc) August 9, 2022
Unless the trans person in question has brought up one of the terms and applied it to themselves in a discussion in which it’s relevant or they want to use it, using these terms amounts to unnecessary misgendering. It also aligns with the way trans-exclusionary radical feminists (or TERFs) talk about trans people: by centering their “assigned gender at birth.” It’s rarely, if ever, appropriate to talk about someone else’s pre-transition gender, especially if it’s speculative. Not to mention that it brushes over millions of intersex people entirely.
I'm detrans and have had multiple people say they can "tell" I'm a trans woman, and are absolutely shocked when I tell them I'm not. it's almost like you can't reliably tell someone's AGAB just by looking at them
— detrans pride! (@SupportDetrans) August 7, 2022
For non-binary people, the terms are often applied with the assumption that someone who uses the pronouns “she/they” is “AFAB” or that “he/they” means someone is “AMAB,” which is not necessarily the case. Some people might use the terms for themselves, but it’s generally agreed that they shouldn’t be applied to other people.
if ppl could stop assuming that she/they means afab and he/they means amab that would be awesome bc gender and pronouns are not the same as assigned sex! thank u for coming to my ted talk :)
— zom-bee 🐝🌈 nathan foad is a liar 💕 🏴☠️🏳️🌈 (@ShalineeLewis) August 1, 2022
That said, not everyone in LGBTQ+ circles shares these views. Discussion has been happening on Twitter in an effort to get people to stop using these terms across the board, but some people feel strongly about their right to use them in regards to themselves.
ah yes a prime example of "theyfab is a bad term bUT"
— Levi ☆ (@levijorts) August 9, 2022
some trans people feel that their agab has shaped their life enough for it to be an important part of their identity, and saying thats "inherently terfy" is in fact transphobia https://t.co/gWwbitOrcg
Are these terms trans and non-binary people use to describe themselves?
As explained above, some people might. That’s up to them.
Should I use them to describe other people?
No.
There is no reason you should be referring to any individual by their AGAB unless they say it’s okay. If they don’t then yes it is invasive and misgendering them since it can cause extreme levels of discomfort.
— Yuri X (@yuri_communism) August 9, 2022
If you use “AMAB”/“AFAB” to describe groups of people outside of discussing anatomy/relevant medical topics, you’re just doing misgendering with extra steps.
— Prime Minister DJ Cthulhu 🐙🎧 (@RealDJCthulhu) August 3, 2022
The whole point of those terms is that AGAB is what was ASSIGNED to people in the past, not what defines their present.
AGAB lanaguage isn't good for anatomy either. Intersex people may have different anatomy than other people with the same AGAB, and so may physically transitioned people. Please don't use it for that. Just say what you mean. It can be intersexist/transphobic otherwise. https://t.co/YYWs9ENjNO
— julian (sof/mew) (@transdrogyne) August 3, 2022
OK, so what’s “theyfab”?
There’s some disagreement about this, and claims that some trans people use it to discredit other people’s gender. But for the most part, people agree that it’s a mocking term wielded against non-binary people to make light of their gender identity.
The term "theyfab" is just rooted in misogyny and transphobia.
— ☘️🇹🇼 Clover 🇹🇼☘️ (@queerlyclover) August 2, 2022
It frames afab nbys as "attention seeking women who think they're Not Like Other Girls", emphasizes their biosex, and acts like they "use they/them pronouns as an aesthetic to appropriate trans culture".
"theyfab" is not a commentary or critique of proximity to white womanhood and privilege. It's literally just a term, used by terfs from the tumblr era, to act like non binary people don't actually exist and are just "quirky" women trying to "escape misogyny".
— 🌺 Fiori Loto (Tiredly Queer) 🏳️⚧️🌺 (@LakesOfLotus) August 7, 2022
AGAB is trending and people are making jokes. Can I make jokes?
If you’re not trans or non-binary, probably don’t. But you can enjoy these.
AGAB: assigned gabagool at birth
— Valerie (@FeralRollyPolly) August 9, 2022
Seeing "AGAB" trending, and brain lighting up with "All Genders -ARE- Bastards!"
— Doc Wolverine, Medically Doctorated Dipshit (@Doc_Wolverine) August 9, 2022
I love the term AGAB because I know it means “assigned gender at birth” but I just see it and think it means “assigned gay at birth”
— ❤️💙Captain River💙💜|🛹🌭🐐 (@River_The_NB) August 9, 2022
AGAB (All Garfields Are Blessed) pic.twitter.com/Z7GQ9oaSKb
— Themperor Kennedy🐸🏳️🌈 (@kennedytcooper) August 9, 2022
