Cis Is Not a Slur. It Does Not Belittle Who You Are.
It just helps to tell your story.
I was recently told by a woman who was born female that my use of “cisgender” to identify her experience was a slur that made her a subset of her gender. It struck me as odd. I see “cisgender” as a descriptive much like “she is an Italian woman” or “she is a Muslim woman.” I never said she wasn’t a woman. Cisgender just describes an element of her experience as a woman, so I don’t see the slur.
“A pejorative, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard.”
Again, I never said she wasn’t a woman. The only way I can identify that I am a transgender woman—and differentiate that experience to explain what I feel—is to compare my trans experience to someone who’s had the right physical sex since birth. That is what a cisgender person is. “Cis” is just an identifier. Not a slur.
An identifier is a “thing that establishes the identity of someone.”
Other choices I could have made to compare other women to me:
- a prettier woman (I am not pretty)
