Insomniagender





Insomniagender is a mutogender that isn't felt at times due to symptoms of insomnia. One might experience a disconnect from their gender, or they might feel as though their gender is lost. The term is exclusive to those with chronic insomnia and/or those with a form of neurodivergence that involves insomnia as a lasting symptom. Therefore, it can be considered a neurogender.

Insomnia can often lead to emotional dysregulation, depression, an increased risk of disease, stress, concentration issues, irritability, anxiety, memory issues, fatigue, etc. Some of these things have the potential to affect one’s gender and/or one's perception of it. For example, one might not have the energy to notice their gender due to a lack of sleep. Alternatively, they might not have the energy to figure out their gender in the first place. Insomniagender, as a label, describes those who typically have a gender but occasionally can't feel it because of their symptoms. Someone who is already genderless might instead feel less than genderless, or removed from the concept of gender entirely.

History
The term was coined by Tumblr user synpa-tee on July 29, 2021. The original flag was created by the same user on the same day.

Flag
The original insomniagender flag has seven stripes: four black stripes, two yellow stripes, and one blue stripe. There are stripes of different sizes in order to represent irregular sleep. Black represents a lack of gender, nighttime, and being asleep. Yellow represents non-binary genders, daytime, and being awake. And blue represents drowsiness, fatigue, and depression. The use of both yellow and blue represent changes in mood and/or mood swings.

The current flag was created by Tumblr user synpa-tee on October 3, 2021. It has five stripes: two blue stripes, two green stripes, and one yellow stripe. The blue stripes represent periods of tiredness, exhaustion, depression, etc. The yellow stripe represents periods of wakefulness, happiness, and being highly energised. The fact that there are fewer yellow stripes also represents that with insomnia, one typically experiences these periods less often. The green stripes represent the inbetween, with the darker green leaning more towards tiredness and the lighter green leaning more towards wakefulness. They represent contentedness, mild fatigue, lack of energy, etc. Just like in the original flag, the use of both yellow and blue represent changes in mood and/or mood swings.

Etymology
The term combines the word 'insomnia' with the word 'agender.'