Cisgender
Cisgender (cis-, "on this side of, not across;" compare cisatlantic, cisalpine) is a neologism meaning "not transgender," that is, having a gender identity or gender role that society considers appropriate for one's sex.The term was created by Carl Buijs, a female-to-male transsexual from the Netherlands, in 1995. Along with the less commonly used cissexual, it originated as a way to shift the focus off of a marginalized group, by defining not only the minority group but also the majority. This is based upon the hypothesis that categorizing everyone will illustrate a difference between equal alternatives, whereas singling out the minority group implies some deviance, immorality or defect on the part of the labeled group. Some transgender people hope that the use of the word cisgender will increase mainstream acceptance and eventually remove the taboos. Others point out that the term heterosexual is very widely used but seems to have done little for the gay rights movement. However, prior to 1995, there was no standard word used to describe non-transgender people without the use of negative prefixes while still avoiding terms like "normal" or "straight."
The origination and use of cisgender can be compared to the reclamation of profane words and hate speech, such as nigger and queer.
See also
