Gourt Home::Gourt :: Cisgender
Cisgender (, from cis (Latin) and gender (English) ) is a concept in queer studies that labels persons who are not transgender as something other than normal. That is, it provides a name for a gender identity or performance in a gender role that society considers to match or be appropriate for one's sex.*
History
The first recorded Usenet post of cisgender was in the alt.transgendered usenet group in 1994 by Dana Leland Defosse. In April of 1996, Carl Buijs, a transsexual man from the Netherlands said in a usenet posting "As for the origin; I just made it up".
Along with the less commonly used term cissexual, the idea of cisgender originated as a way to shift the focus off of a marginalized group, by defining not only the minority group but also the majority. This is based upon the hypothesis that categorizing everyone will illustrate a difference between equal alternatives, whereas singling out the minority group implies some deviance, immorality, or defect on the part of the labeled group. Some transgender people hope that the use of the word cisgender will increase mainstream acceptance and eventually remove the taboos. Others point out that the term heterosexual is very widely used but seems to have done little for the gay rights movement. However, prior to "cisgender", there was no standard word used to describe non-transgender people without the use of negative prefixes while still avoiding terms like "normal", "born" or "genetic" (women or men).
Current usage
Many (particularly transsexual-inclusive) communities use the term non-transsexual or non-trans, perhaps because the more scientific-sounding term "cisgendered" has not yet gained popularity or widespread usage in everyday English. Other groups consider it inappropriate to define any group by what they are not.
A reason why transgender people may prefer "cisgender" to "biological", "genetic", or "real" male or female because of the implications of those words. Using the term "biological female" or "genetic female" to describe cisgender women implies that transgender women are also not biologically female; since there is debate over whether transsexuality has a genetic or biological cause, some people may believe that transgender women are also biologically female. Transgender women also may find it offensive to describe cisgender women as "real women", since they consider themselves to be real women. In addition, the terms "biological" and "genetic" leave ambiguity about how to describe women with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). Such women are anatomically and physiologically female, but genetically male.
The word is rarely used and thus, it is not often used to self-identify. Because so few people who are described by this term use it to self-identify, it can be thought of as an epithet.
See also
References
- Matthews, Donna Lynn. What Is Intergendered? October 1998, retrieved 24 November, 2005.
- Transsexual Roadmap. Transgendered Glossary. 1996-2005, retrieved 24 November, 2005.
- Gorton R, Buth J, and Spade D. Medical Therapy and Health Maintenance for Transgender Men: A Guide For Health Care Providers. Lyon-Martin Women's Health Services. San Francisco, CA. 2005. p(10,22) ISBN 0-9773250-0-8 (This full-text open-access book is free under the GNU Free Documentation License)
- Green, Eli R. (2006). Debating Trans Inclusion in the Feminist Movement: A Trans-Positive Analysis, Journal of Lesbian Studies. Volume: 10 Issue: 1/2. pp. 231 - 248. ISSN 1089-4160 Article abstract.
"Cisgender"