What Does Neptunic Mean? + Other Neptunic Information To Help You Be A Better Ally!

Anyone can feel attached to or identify with a diversity of gender identities and/or sexual orientations. And as evermore definitions have been popularised over the years to embody the emotions and experiences of queer people, it can be hard to keep up.

If you are not totally absorbed in LGBTQ+ culture or the rainbow community, you may not appreciate these lesser-known sexual orientations and gender identities – most of which have a lack of representation in mainstream media.

One such term is neptunic, so we are going to define and cover what does neptunic mean, speak about the neptunic pride flag, and then provide some tips to help you become a better ally to neptunic people.

What Does Neptunic Mean?

An individual who is attracted to both the Nonbinary and Female genders is referred to as a Neptunic. It’s also known as the attraction to everyone except men and non-binary people who are man aligned and/or masculine aligned.

Non-binary people most commonly use this orientation to explain their attraction without using the gender binary, but anybody can use it. The phrase can be used to describe a sexuality on its own or in combination with others.

The attraction to women, feminine non-binary people, and neutral non-binary people is known as Neptunic or Nomascsexual. It’s also known as an attraction to all genders except men and/or non-binary individuals who are man-aligned/masculine-aligned.

The phrase can be used in isolation or in combination with other orientations. Trixensexual, trixic, venusic, nomasexual, and nominsexual are terms that are similar. Uranic is the masculine equivalent of neptunic. Saturnic is the non-binary equivalent of neptunic. The term neptunic can be used as a stand-alone identity or in combination with other identities.

Neptunic Flag Meaning

There are many different pride flags symbolizing most queer identities, so it should come as no surprise there is a flag for neptunic people to proudly fly.

The Neptunic flag has different shades of blue and a simple image of the planet Neptune at the center. On August 31, 2017, Tumblr user socialjusticeichigo invented the term neptunic as a shortened term for nomascsexual. On September 17, 2017, they developed the neptunic flag. On June 20, 2021, wiki FANDOM user Elderflowerjuice produced a flag version with a simplified photo of Neptune.

On or before July 4, 2021, Twitter user strwbryfemme created an alternate neptunic flag. The flag was designed to provide more contrast for paintings, and the same designer also devised a four-stripe version for the same reason. Because fawn has a history of excluding m-spec lesbians, @strwbryfemme’s flags should be utilized with caution.

Neptunic Pride Day

Education, visibility, commemoration, and appreciation are all critical in promoting global acceptance and acknowledgment of queer identities and queer folx in general.  And from experience, we know it is easier for queer people to talk to friends and loved ones – and to feel the love – when a worldwide day for them is observed. Not to mention it also helps foster awareness and increased sensitivities from society at large.

Sadly however a Neptunic Pride Day has not yet been designated. But that does not stop you from marking your calendar and doing something special (even if it’s just a social media post!) next pride month!

Or any other day of the year, to be honest.

Other Neptunic Information to Help You Be a Better Ally

There’s a lot of misinformation or lack of information about what neptunic is – and part of this is because no neptunic experience is identical to another. You can’t tell whether someone is neptunic by looking at them, observing their personality, or their physical aesthetic. None of these characteristics can provide a clue as to how a person identifies, and this is as true for neptunic individuals as it is for any gender or sexual orientation. 

The first thing you should do as an ally to neptunic people is to believe them when they tell you about their identity. Don’t try to argue them out of it or make the mistake of thinking you could know more about how they feel than they do. It could also help if you worked on your mindset. Working on your attitude means you challenge your concept of gender, sexuality, and sex. 

After all, if you have any issues with understanding neptunic people, the root cause is bound in your understanding of gender and sexuality – not theirs.  Educating yourself (as you are by reading about what does neptunic mean?) is an excellent first step to increase your awareness and not make your lack of knowledge in this area a burden on them. 

There aren’t any explicit rules or guidelines, but here are some thoughts on how you can be a better ally and support a loved one as you discover what it means to be neptunic.

You don’t have to understand what it means to be an ally or respect people

If you find the definition of neptunic a little confusing, it’s ok. The most important thing is to remember is that you should respect other people regardless of their identity or orientation. If you feel the need to try and understand what the term means, keep in mind that you should be the one to put in the effort towards research rather than expecting someone who is neptunic to explain everything to you. While there may not be so much information about the term neptunic out there, whatever you find will help you have a clearer picture of what it is.

Understand what sexual identity is and validate neptunic identities

Sexual identity refers to how one views themselves with regard to who they are romantically or sexually attracted to. There are many different sexual identities out there and just because you’ve never heard of the term neptunic doesn’t mean that it isn’t valid. Understand that sexuality comes in different forms and while some may be similar, there’s usually a distinctive difference.

As a result, even when a definition for a certain term says that there are other similar terms, go ahead and look for the difference because there’s almost always a variation even though it may be slight. This way, you will avoid using the wrong terms to refer to someone’s orientation.

Sexual orientation is not a choice

A neptunic person did not just wake up one day and decide that was when they were going to be attracted to non-binary persons and female genders. Sexual orientation cannot be changed. If you have a loved one who identifies as neptunic, it’s better to accept them as they are and validate their identity rather than making them undergo conversion therapy.

Conversion therapy is the worst way of telling someone that there’s something desperately wrong with them and that they need to be made ‘right’. If anything, conversion therapy can be damaging and it doesn’t work, anyway. Neptunic people are whole as they are.

Offer support to someone struggling with their orientation

There are different organizations and support groups available to offer support to people struggling with their orientation. These organizations can help your loved one deal with stereotypes, bias, and prejudice that many LGBTQ+ people experience daily. Remember that LGBTQ orientations are not the result of mental health problems.

However, Many people in the LGBTQIA+ community experience higher rates of substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and suicide. One of the best ways we can help our loved ones from falling into this cycle is to accept them, offer them as much support as we can, and address abuse or bullying in the workplace, at school, and other social spaces.

Maintain confidentiality about someone’s orientation

There’s nothing as bad as outing someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The world we live in hasn’t fully yet accepted the LGBTQ community and all we stand for. As a result, making someone’s sexual orientation public knowledge can put people at risk.

If the person is in an anti-LGBT community or environment, outing them or talking about their orientation may put them at risk for physical, emotional, or even verbal abuse. The best thing to do is to respect someone’s need for privacy and allow them their right to come out to people close to them when they’re ready.

Call out prejudice and discrimination

Lastly, as an ally to neptunic and other LGBT individuals, you should learn to call out prejudice and discrimination for what they are. Plenty of LGBTQ+ people experience discrimination and prejudice for being who they are. As an ally, you can call out such actions and educate those on the wrong on how their negative behavior can be damaging to other people. Doing this ensures your neptunic loved one feels loved, appreciated, validated, and accepted.