Shim is a derogatory term for intersex individuals, gender non-comforming individuals, and individuals with otherwise ambiguous gender presentation, intentionally or not.
History
The term can be traced back to 1998, where it was used to describe the drag queen Divine.[1] In 2009, Laurie Notaro would use the term to describe her fears about her intersex traits in the book The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death.[1]
The word itself is a combination of the pronouns she and him. A flag for those who reclaim shim was created by Tumblr user satyrradio on August 7th, 2024.[2]