What's wrong with 'Cisgender'

[ASugar]

As someone who identifies as a cisgender woman and works in sexual health, I am honestly confused as to why so many females (sex term) who identify with being women (gender term) dislike the term Cisgender?

Now I'm not here to tell you what to say, I am genuinely curious.

However, here is my opinion for those who may be interested.

Cisgender just means you are not transgender. That your sex links you your gender and you assign any gender terms (ie. Pronouns, Gender identity, sometimes gender expression but not always, etc). I personally don't like to think that just because I was born with a vagina means I am a woman because I know many men with vaginas and women with penises. Additionally those who don't have a gender identity, then that would mean you wouldn't use women and men as they're gender terms (according to medical professionals). It would make you non binary or agender.

I understand that the term 'Cis' has been used to insult others which for that I am sorry.
My view is that if you can't allow trans women to be accepted in society and identified as women (without the need for 'trans' infront of it constantly) then we should be using cisgender. It is a medical term that professionals such as the NHS recognize. But I understand that is just my opinion.

I probably won't be commenting as I can imagine this will be filled with comments and I don't want to disrespect anyone's views. Just a cisgender woman who wants to understand more...

And as always I would appreciate if you respect my view as I'm going to be respecting all of yours.

“Woman” doesn’t need a qualifier.

It assumes all people who aren’t trans have a gender identity that aligns with their sex. I don’t.

It’s the equivalent of calling someone a heretic- you are defining them in line with your religious belief.

Oh give over.

My sex is female, so I am a woman.
I believe gender is a construct society imposes on me because of my sex.
I don't adhere to the stereotypes of womanhood that society deems appropriate.
I have no gender, cis or otherwise.

I am a woman, not a subset. I do not need anything added to my sex/gender to make someone else feel comfortable about theirs.

We don’t all have a/believe in gender , try being more inclusive with your language.

Cisgender just means you are not transgender

'Cis' exists to validate 'trans'. If there was no 'trans' there would be no 'cis', and no need for 'cis'.

'Cisgender' implies that everyone has a gender identity, even if they don't. What the use of 'cis' does is enforce a whole ideological belief system onto everyone regardless of whether they buy into it or not.

If you want to call yourself 'cis', or if you identify with it, then you can, of course, use it.

It's used to denote a privileged person. So a cis woman is more privileged than a trans woman and that's often not the case and clashes with issues of feminism since the trans woman doesn't have a female body and wasn't raised in a society where there are lots of stereotypes on them etc.

'When someone tells you who they are, believe them.'

I am not cisgender. I am a woman.

@PheasantPlucker1

Trying to divide everyone into cis and trans is like asking if they are Catholic or Protestant.

Unbleievers wont fit either catergory, for religion or gender.

Yes, exactly this.

I'm not ciswomqn. I'm just woman. I don't need to define what subset of woman I am just because TRAs or Transwomen wanted to claim woman for themselves and relegate me to a subset of it.

Perhaps OP you would like to read through this one too.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4158457-To-think-that-the-vast-majority-of-people-do-not-feel-they-have-a-gender-identity

This was from the main section of MN so, some cross over with posters here but from the wider user base. It is also an indication of prevalence for those who continue to tell posters on the FWR board that they are not representative of the majority view and that we, the posters on this board, are an out dated minority fringe group. Which is frankly, quite funny when you think about it.

I knew it was a loaded term the first time I heard talk of ‘cis privilege’.

It’s another term which says ‘shut up about x because you can’t talk about it’.

Fuck that.

@PheasantPlucker1

Trying to divide everyone into cis and trans is like asking if they are Catholic or Protestant.

Unbleievers wont fit either catergory, for religion or gender.

Fantastic.

Double standards seem to apply with you OP.

You want to demand be called ciswoman yet you're questioning others who are more than happy to stick with the biological fact of 'woman'. Nothing further needed.

Also, just because you 'identify as', doesn't mean we all have to conform to your way of thinking.

I am a woman, no gender and no self identify required That works just fine for me.

No that’s not what I mean. Everyone has a sexual orientation of some description whereas I personally don’t feel like I have a gender identity so unlike sexuality, it’s an abstract concept.

[quote ASugar]@Ereshkigalangcleg I understand that. However being female doesn't always mean you are a woman. Many people who are born female don't then identify as being a woman. As gender and sex are separate.[/quote]
I am surprised by your 'many'.

Why is identifying as a woman become such a issue for people. Why are people hell bent on trying to get rid of it.
I identify as a woman and I always will. If you want to identify as a man, trans ect be my guess but respect me calling and wanting to be called a woman. It is not a dirty word.

Heterosexual/Straight isn't the same thing as Cis.

The only way they would be equivalent would be if sexual attraction was something not everyone believed in.

I believe in sexual attraction, and have experience of it, therefore it makes sense to identify myself according to it.

I do not believe in a gender identity, have no experience of it, and therefore it would be a complete nonsense to identify myself according to it.

I'd no sooner identify myself according to my magical ability.

Words that weren't intended as insulting become insults if they are used in that way

At one point there was a commonly used shortening of Pakistani that was used as an insult and now we don't use that word

Similarly there was a word that meant black in Latin that we do not use because it was used as an insult

CIS is one of those words, please do not use it to describe women, it is an insult and we do not like it.

It doesn't matter that you identify as it, and find it acceptable. We (many of us) have stated very clearly that we find it offensive so please stop using it now that you know :)

Guest

Justforphoto It's a bit weird reading this thread because everyone is mostly saying what I feel but in different ways. Feels like vainly gazing into a mirror for me! In contrast, I'm finding the current judicial review thread much more challenging and novel.

Why do you even need to 'otherise' yourself like that? The alternative of a trans woman is a woman. The alternative of a trans man is a man.

There is no 'cis' needed.

Is there a reason why you need to qualify yourself?

Why can't you say you are a woman? That is, after all, the default position. You give a clue what it's about when you state that women can't just be women. If trans people have to have a prefix, then therefore WOMEN are the ones who have to give up their term and add a prefix.

See that there, is the problem. Everything is changed just for transgenders. You cannot allow us just to be.....women. You have to erase or change that and add a prefix to it.

If you can't see how unfair and wrong that is, I don't know what to say to you. But cisgender is deeply offensive to women, for the EXACT REASON you have outed it. That if person who was born male can't be a woman, then NO ONE is allowed to be, without us adding a prefix. It's stamping their feet 'if we can't be just women, then THEY can't either!'

You have unwittingly demonstrated that the goal is to erase women. To remove our status, just to suit another group. You don't realise it, but you outed your goal. The erasure of 'women' as a category.

I am not a 'cis'. I am WOMAN (*and hear me ROAR!). I am the default. And I don't need a qualification nor a prefix added just because a person born with male genitals wants to be a woman.

I say to you, what is wrong with just......woman?

In deference to our recently deceased great Australian singer (and hell would boil over if you suggest to our National Hero that she change her title to 'cis woman'),

^I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
You can bend but never break me
'Cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible…^

I....am.......WOMAN!

@MammaMiaWallace

No that’s not what I mean. Everyone has a sexual orientation of some description whereas I personally don’t feel like I have a gender identity so unlike sexuality, it’s an abstract concept.

that was for Yeahbutnaw

Female = sex term,
Woman = sex term,
Feminine = gender term.

I don’t see the need to use Cis. It means a female woman, so is tautological.