Cisgender: Difference between revisions

'''Cisgender''' (from Latin ''cis-'' "on the same side" + gender) means non-transgender. That is, a person who isn't [[transgender]], in that their [[gender identity]] matches the [[Sex#Gender Assigned At Birth|gender they were assigned at birth]], and they don't have [[gender dysphoria]]. Being cisgender is an aspect of a person's gender identity. [[Cisgender women|Cisgender women]] are women who were assigned female at birth (or were born with certain [[intersex]] conditions), and who have a female gender identity. [[Cisgender men]] are men who were assigned male at birth (or were born with certain intersex conditions), and who have a male gender identity. A person need not have a [[binary gender]] identity in order to be cisgender. People who were born intersex and who have a [[nonbinary]] gender identity can think of themselves as transgender, or as cisgender. Some cisgender intersex people call their gender identity "intersex," or "[[intergender]]." Some people of any gender assigned at birth think of their gender identity as cisgender at the same time as being [[genderqueer]], [[gender nonconforming]], or other identities that don't fit within the gender binary. Most cisgender people don't seek a gender [[transition]], but some do. For example, some [[drag]] artists who think of themselves as cisgender go on [[hormone therapy]].<ref>Del Lagrace Volcano and Judith “Jack” Halberstam. ''The Drag King Book''. London: Serpent’s Tail, 1999. </ref>

==History==

The word "cisgender" was "coined in 1995 by a transsexual man named Carl Buijs,"<ref>Julia Serano, "Whipping Girl FAQ on cissexual, cisgender, and cis privilege." 2009-05-14. [http://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2011/08/whipping-girl-faq-on-cissexual.html]</ref> to mean "non-transgender." He formed the word "cisgender" from the Latin prefix ''cis-'', "on the same side," which is the counterpart of ''trans-'', "across to the other side."

However, there is some evidence that the word "cisgender" has been independently coined at other times by different people. In 1994, the word appeared in the ''alt.transgendered'' newsgroup, in a post by Dana Leland Defosse, who doesn't define the term, as though it was already familiar to the readers.<ref>Dana Leland Defosse, "Transgender Research." May 26, 1994. ''alt.transgendered'' (newsgroup). Accessed 2007-12-22. http://groups.google.com/group/alt.transgendered/browse_thread/thread/69c04e35666a9a1b/69ebde0bf2af8dc6?lnk=st&amp;q=cisgendered+dana+defosse&amp;rnum=1&amp;hl=en#69ebde0bf2af8dc6

</ref>

Later, based on the word "cisgender," the word "cissexual" was created. Julia Serano uses both of these words in her book on trans-feminism, ''Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity'' (2007). Starting around 2006, both words came into use in academic writings by other writers, such as in the field of [[queer studies]].

==Cissexual==

A person who isn't [[transsexual]].<ref>"Cissexual." ''Susan's Place Transgender Resource Wiki.'' [http://wiki.susans.org/index.php/Cissexual]</ref> In some contexts, it can be useful to distinguish between cisgender and cissexual, along with distinguishing between transgender and transsexual. This distinction can be useful when talking about nonbinary and [[gender nonconforming]] people. Saying that a person is cissexual "emphasizes that someone is not dealing with the medical and legal aspects of a gender transition," then "someone who has a non-binary gender and not dealing with the medical and legal aspects of a gender transition might call themselves a cissexual genderqueer."<ref>Tobi Hill-Meyer, "Definitions." ''No Designation'' (personal blog). [https://nodesignation.wordpress.com/definitions/ https://nodesignation.wordpress.com/definitions/]</ref> Some nonbinary people who transition call themselves transsexual, whereas other nonbinary or genderqueer people who don't transition can call themselves cissexual. If a person puts value in seeing a difference between gender and sex, it can be possible to be both transgender and cissexual. That said, it is a choice for each person what labels they are comfortable with using for themself, and they may find other ways to label their gender.

==See also==

*[[Gender binary]]

*[[Demigender]]

*[[Cissexism]]

==External links==

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisgender Wikipedia: Cisgender]

 

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