Cisgender/es: Difference between revisions

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>

The word "cisgender" was "coined in 1995 by a transsexual man named Carl Buijs" 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."<ref>Julia Serano, "[http://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2011/08/whipping-girl-faq-on-cissexual.html Whipping Girl FAQ on cissexual, cisgender, and cis privilege.]" 2009-05-14. </ref>

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, "[https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/alt.transgendered/acBONWZqmhs Transgender Research.]" May 26, 1994. ''alt.transgendered'' (newsgroup). Accessed 2007-12-22.</ref>

A person who isn't [[transsexual]].<ref>"[https://www.susans.org/wiki/Cissexual Cissexual.]" ''Susan's Place Transgender Resource Wiki''</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"; by contrast, "someone who has a nonbinary gender and [is] not dealing with the medical and legal aspects of a gender transition might call themselves a cissexual genderqueer."<ref>Tobi Hill-Meyer, "[https://nodesignation.wordpress.com/definitions/ Definitions]." ''No Designation'' (personal blog).</ref> Some nonbinary people who transition call themselves transsexual, whereas other nonbinary or genderqueer people who don't transition can call themselves cissexual. (For example, [[Chanda Prescod-Weinstein]] is an "[[agender]] cis-sex woman".)  It is possible to be both transgender and cissexual, if gender and sex are considered to be separate aspects of a person. 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.