Cisgender

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Cisgender is a gender modality for individuals who identify as the gender they were assigned at birth. Some intersex individuals who are non-binary may consider themselves cisgender, though that is not the case for everyone.

Alternate Names

  • Cis

Etymology

The term comes from the Latin prefix cis- meaning "on the same side," as in the cis-trans distinction in chemistry.

Definitions

  • Someone who is not transgender. Cisgender people identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. - Trans Language Primer[1]

History

The term cisgender was coined by Dana Defosse in 1994 on UseNet. She was writing a paper for graduate school on the health of transgender adolescents and wanted to refer to non-transgender individuals without othering trans individuals[2].

Community

Controversy

The term "cisgender" has been met with criticisms. Women's and gender studies scholar Mimi Marinucci writes that some consider "cisgender" to be 'lumping individuals who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual together with a heteronormative class of individual.'[3]

Others criticize the term, saying it "creates - or re-creates - a gender binary."[4]

Meanwhile, some intersex individuals have argued that the term "can get confusing" in relation to intersex conditions.

Related Terms

See Also

Gallery

Flags

The most well-known cisgender flag was created by DeviantArt user FlagsforCisHets on August 5, 2016[5]. It has no confirmed meaning.

Two alternate flags were created by the same user[6][7]. These flags were posted with the title "Straight/Cisgender" flag, so it is unclear if these flags were intended as cisgender flags, straight flags, or cisgender straight flags.

Another alternate flag was created by FANDOM user OMeera on June 8, 2021. It is a greyscale flag to contrast against the transgender flags, similar to how the heterosexual flag is in greyscale to contrast with the rainbow flag.

Another alternate flag was created by FANDOM user ThunderBrine on November 17, 2021. The flag contains grey with azure and rose stripes on opposite ends to symbolize gender isolation from each other. This is to represent how if the colors were to touch, it could be interpreted as gender questioning or the midway point between identifying as cisgender and transgender.

Two alternate cis boy and cis girl flags were created by Tumblr user stardusted-queerness on July 15, 2023[8].

Combinations

Sources