Sissy: Difference between revisions

'''Sissy''' is a term used to describe people who were assigned male at birth and embrace [[Femininity|feminine]] [[Gender Roles|roles]] and/or [[Gender Expression|expression]].  A reclaimed slur, it retains connotations of censure that can be important to those using it as an [[gender identity]] label.

The [[Gender Identity|identity]] can fall under the [[Genderqueer|genderqueer]], [[Gender Variant|gender variant]], [[Transfeminine|transfeminine]], [[Gender Non-Conforming|gender non-conforming]], or [[nonbinary]] [[Umbrella terms|umbrellas]] depending on the individual’s identification with those terms.

When used as a [[Gender Identitiy|gender identity]], Sissy has overlap with some usages of the terms [[Androgyne]] and [[Epicene]] but is distinguished by its integral emphasis on gender privilege and power dynamics.  Cultural diminishment of femininity, contempt for males who reflect it, and expectations of feminine deference to masculinity are all part of the point.  A Sissy identity queers and subverts those structures while honoring the messiness and imperfection of individual humanity and identity.  The identity has also been criticized as de facto buying-in to and, therefore perpetuating, those oppressive and limiting structures.