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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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CIS Gender
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1
2016/12/06 - 9:55am
I have been reading some amazing posts in the new Facebook Page, Pantsuit Nation but one term has cropped up that I had not seen before:  CIS Gender.  I figured it had to do with the transgender movement but it wasn't making sense to me.  What is a CIS Gender person?  So I looked it up.
And, of course its definition is obvious.  It is someone whose appearance matches their gender.  Ok, so now I have another label to attach to myself.  Yippee.  (I keep hearing Lady Gaga's Song, Born this Way, in my head!)  
 
So my question is now this, Why identify yourself as CIS gender?  No really.  Why?  We know scientifically that the vast majority (85% to 90%-- that could be a little high) of the world's people's gender and sexual orientation align with traditional assumptions.  So why is it now necessary to state the generally assumed characteristic of oneself?  Do people do it to be in solidarity with their transgender sister and brothers?  Do people do it so that there is no confusion about their gender identity... as if that would be issue for the majority of the CIS gender people.  Really? 
 
I raise this issue because I do believe that labels matter.  They can really impact a person's perspective of their reality and experience.  I have to believe that most transgender persons would love for the world to not slap on them the label of Transgender.  Except identifying one's transgenderness for a medical or legal reason, calling attention to the fact that one was born Trans is probably not something a person would want the world to notice first.  (And given that more and more kids are now able to identify and transition to their "true" gender early in life and will be able to present themselves to the world as their true selves, this label should become less and less important in the general, day to day transaction of life.)
 
So why should the majority CIS Gender people identify as CIS?  To be honest, it is concerning to me.  I feel like this new language trend increases divisions and otherness... it doesn't, as I suspect some good meaning folks are trying to accomplish in identifying themselves as CIS, bring us together.
 
I am just curious about your thoughts on the matter.  Thanks.
Robert
553 Posts
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2
2016/12/07 - 6:39am

You capitalize the prefix for emphasis, no?  It's really a prefix that's used with nouns without hyphen.

This is  still a new word because the transgender issue is still new.   When there arise issues of group identity, words like that would inevitably be coined to refer to "the rest."    The prefix non-  should do too, but, well, it's not as smart looking is it?

I have encountered  heterosexual  used only in discussions that concern issues of sexual orientation, not so much to pin down or to divide people by labeling them.   Similarly  gentile   is used only in contexts of Jewishness.   Generally I never feel being labeled except in official documents, which all persons inside the grid have to bear through anyway.  And I don't see a lot of advantages in distinguishing yourself with labels, either as   this   or  the rest.

Guest
3
2016/12/07 - 6:56am

the capitalized CIS is how people were writing it.  You are probably correct about the proper way to write the term.  In this case, folks were just identifying themselves this way without necessarily in the context of a specific discussion about transgenderness.  It is probably just a fad of the moment.  One can hope. 

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