I was in a meeting a while back reviewing candidates for a specific position we noticed that ‘cisgender’ was an option on the application form. I personally knew one of the applicants and hadn’t heard the term cisgender before so I was immediately thinking… I’ve never heard her describe herself as that. The person across the table from me said “So, what does cisgender mean?” and I blushingly had to admit I wasn’t 100% sure.
After doing some research to be fully informed I have an answer to the question. Cisgender is a term that is used to describe a person who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth. So you may be asking yourself, why do we need such a term? Well, it’s because cisgender is a way to describe someone who is not transgender. It’s a more correct way of saying non-transgender. Saying non-trans makes an implication that being trans is abnormal, whereas saying cisgender and transgender doesn’t make any implications of which is more normal than the other. They are simply two words with equal meanings co-existing together. You’ll see cisgender used in educational tools around transgender topics.
The above is a really simplistic definition of what cisgender is. I do not claim to be an expert and in this case I am delivering you my interpretation based on information I found. I think it is important to note that while the terms transgender and cisgender are used together, sex and gender are not the same thing, nor are gender identity and sexual orientation.
If you’ve read any of my past blog posts you’ll see that I have a beef with the usage of the word transgendered. It’s simply not a word. It would appear that cisgendered (the plural form) is not a word either. You cannot be transgendered any more than I can be lesbianed. Read my past post about being lesbianed here.
So, tell me what you your thoughts are? What information do you have about cisgender? I’d love to hear it. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
For more than a decade Jenn T. Grace, the Professional Lesbian, has helped organizations connect with the lucrative LGBTQ market. In this, her fourth LGBTQ book, she takes us behind the scenes of her professional and personal life as she shares stories that illustrate the do’s and don’ts of doing business with the LGBTQ community. Woven into her stories, which are sprinkled with Jenn’s signature style of unapologetic honesty and lighthearted humor, are proven strategies to help readers navigate this highly nuanced demographic – sensitively and profitably.
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Very interesting. I had not heard the word “cisgender” before. Thanks for the definition Jenn! I appreciate how you bring clarity to complex, undefined and emerging topics.
Thanks Trish! Glad I could help!
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Dear Jenn,
several months ago, i am almost sure, I read a post from you in CT SHRM Diversity Summit group of LinkedIn about the means of the terms related to people of the LGTB community, such as gay, lesbian, transsexual, transgender, etc. But now I have not be able to find it.
Would you be so kind to refer me where I can get that post?
Kindest regards,
luis
Hi Luis,
Thanks for reaching out. Absolutely no problem. You can check out this blog post – “Pardon my ignorance but what is LGBT?” which can be read here: http://jenntgrace.com/whatislgbt/ or if you prefer to listen, I did a podcast titled – #002: What Exactly is LGBT? Basic Terminology, which you can listen to here – http://jenntgrace.com/002/.
If it was a different blog post you were talking about, let me know and I’ll keep looking for what it might have been. 🙂
[…] What is Cisgender? […]
This was very helpful in explaining the term, however I just can’t seem to shake the thought of ‘why do we need yet another label?’ I don’t know if others feel the same, but I’m starting to think that as a society we’re over-complicating things, with the need to give everything a label, whilst assuring everyone that everything is equal and that we shouldn’t have to define ourselves to fit in, seems utterly paradoxical.
Thank you for your taking the time to read my post and comment – I’m glad you found it helpful in explaining the term!