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sophiaserpentiaThere's been a lot of discussion in the blogosphere lately around the word "cis." It was coined 15 years ago so that there would be a word that means, basically, "someone who lives as a member of the sex they were assigned at birth." Why do we need such a word? Because those who are not cis are discriminated against horribly in this society (by families, friends, strangers, the law, schools, employers, social clubs, and religious institutions) and we deserve to not be the only people whose gender identity is given a name: trans.
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wildeabandon posted a poll yesterday, the results of which match what I have seen in other discussions about "cis" in recent weeks: many or most of those who recognize that the term is meant to refer to them do not really object to it, though they often find it odd or awkward. But the objections are interesting, and it is those to which I wish to respond today.
A. General linguistic objections.
1. "Cis" sounds like you are calling me a sissy.
I've seen this objection cited several times in the last few weeks, entirely (as you might imagine) by men.
2. "Cis" is too clever.
"Cis" as opposed to "trans" is a terminology arising out of chemistry (or Classical studies, take your pick), a sort of accidental tribute to the general geekiness of the average trans person. So, 9 out of 10 times it's used, it has to be explained; it is only intuitive to those who are familiar with chemistry or Latin.
1 & 2 are not really objections to the assertion that there is a need for this term, merely objections to the actual morpheme in use. What term might we use instead, and in what way would it be an improvement?
B. Philosophical objections.
3. You're imposing an identity on me and I don't consent.
"Gentile" is a word that means "someone who is not a Jew," and it describes most of the human race. The term does accurately represent me, but it is not a part of my identity. I don't identify as a gentile, but I don't deny that I am one.
There are other terms that describe people which we do not incorporate into our identity and worldview. For example, I do not identify as "a person of medium height." But I chose "gentile" here because of what I see as an obvious parallel to the term "cis:" they are both terms that describe most of the human race which have been introduced by the minority for whom the term does not apply.
I'm not sure why those who are described by the term cis would assume the term's existence means they have to incorporate it into their identity. Is it because society sees "trans" as an identity? Is it because of political parallels to "gay," "straight," "white," "black"?
4. If you call me "cis," that implies that I am comfortable with the sex/gender I have been assigned by society. I've always felt uncomfortable with the gender role imposed on me, so it is not fair or accurate to associate it with me.
Being trans has very little to do with being uncomfortable with sex or gender roles. To put it bluntly, I am not trans because I am uncomfortable with the male gender role, I am trans because I am a woman. I am a woman whom most of the world insists is a man.
Everyone chafes against gender roles. Some people respond by acting or dressing in unconventional ways: a man might wear eyeliner; a woman might shave her head and refuse to wear skirts. Transition is fundamentally different from this. It's not simply gender-bending taken to a higher degree. Someone gender-bends because it's interesting or exciting or sexy; someone transitions because they are looking for relief.
I didn't petition the court to change my name because I am a nonconformist, I changed my name because my parents gave me a man's name by mistake. I needed to have a name that didn't increase my stress every time I had to answer to it.
I had my facial hair lasered off because afterward I could finally recognize the person I see when I look in the mirror. After puberty I had very excessive facial hair that made it likely that people would mistake me for a man. Getting rid of it has been a tremendous relief.
5. If you call me "cis," that implies that I identify strongly with the way my body is shaped and/or the politics that go with having a particular body shape.
This is an objection I've only seen from women. I suppose it's not impossible that a man might feel the same way, but I've yet to see it.
The women I've talked to who feel this way describe having lived their lives with a sense that womanhood is an artificial construct that people around them expect them to identify with and act like. Womanhood is imposed on them because of the shape of their body, even though their body is itself alien and disconnected.
The sense that one's body is not who one is, is far more profound than basic chafing at gender roles. On the face of it, this is rather like what it feels like to be trans, with an important distinction. Relief for this dissociative dysphoria would not come from transition, because manhood is just as alien and artificial to them as womanhood.
Labeling those who have this experience as "cis" is probably inaccurate, though they are not trans either. We might need a new term altogether. "Iso" perhaps?
A final point: we might be well served by defining a spectrum of terms that range from "cis" to "trans" rather than having an either/or distinction. For example, quite a few people identify as genderqueer and this seems to be a relationship to sex and gender that falls between cis and trans.
wildeabandon posted a poll yesterday, the results of which match what I have seen in other discussions about "cis" in recent weeks: many or most of those who recognize that the term is meant to refer to them do not really object to it, though they often find it odd or awkward. But the objections are interesting, and it is those to which I wish to respond today.A. General linguistic objections.
1. "Cis" sounds like you are calling me a sissy.
I've seen this objection cited several times in the last few weeks, entirely (as you might imagine) by men.
2. "Cis" is too clever.
"Cis" as opposed to "trans" is a terminology arising out of chemistry (or Classical studies, take your pick), a sort of accidental tribute to the general geekiness of the average trans person. So, 9 out of 10 times it's used, it has to be explained; it is only intuitive to those who are familiar with chemistry or Latin.
1 & 2 are not really objections to the assertion that there is a need for this term, merely objections to the actual morpheme in use. What term might we use instead, and in what way would it be an improvement?
B. Philosophical objections.
3. You're imposing an identity on me and I don't consent.
"Gentile" is a word that means "someone who is not a Jew," and it describes most of the human race. The term does accurately represent me, but it is not a part of my identity. I don't identify as a gentile, but I don't deny that I am one.
There are other terms that describe people which we do not incorporate into our identity and worldview. For example, I do not identify as "a person of medium height." But I chose "gentile" here because of what I see as an obvious parallel to the term "cis:" they are both terms that describe most of the human race which have been introduced by the minority for whom the term does not apply.
I'm not sure why those who are described by the term cis would assume the term's existence means they have to incorporate it into their identity. Is it because society sees "trans" as an identity? Is it because of political parallels to "gay," "straight," "white," "black"?
4. If you call me "cis," that implies that I am comfortable with the sex/gender I have been assigned by society. I've always felt uncomfortable with the gender role imposed on me, so it is not fair or accurate to associate it with me.
Being trans has very little to do with being uncomfortable with sex or gender roles. To put it bluntly, I am not trans because I am uncomfortable with the male gender role, I am trans because I am a woman. I am a woman whom most of the world insists is a man.
Everyone chafes against gender roles. Some people respond by acting or dressing in unconventional ways: a man might wear eyeliner; a woman might shave her head and refuse to wear skirts. Transition is fundamentally different from this. It's not simply gender-bending taken to a higher degree. Someone gender-bends because it's interesting or exciting or sexy; someone transitions because they are looking for relief.
I didn't petition the court to change my name because I am a nonconformist, I changed my name because my parents gave me a man's name by mistake. I needed to have a name that didn't increase my stress every time I had to answer to it.
I had my facial hair lasered off because afterward I could finally recognize the person I see when I look in the mirror. After puberty I had very excessive facial hair that made it likely that people would mistake me for a man. Getting rid of it has been a tremendous relief.
5. If you call me "cis," that implies that I identify strongly with the way my body is shaped and/or the politics that go with having a particular body shape.
This is an objection I've only seen from women. I suppose it's not impossible that a man might feel the same way, but I've yet to see it.
The women I've talked to who feel this way describe having lived their lives with a sense that womanhood is an artificial construct that people around them expect them to identify with and act like. Womanhood is imposed on them because of the shape of their body, even though their body is itself alien and disconnected.
The sense that one's body is not who one is, is far more profound than basic chafing at gender roles. On the face of it, this is rather like what it feels like to be trans, with an important distinction. Relief for this dissociative dysphoria would not come from transition, because manhood is just as alien and artificial to them as womanhood.
Labeling those who have this experience as "cis" is probably inaccurate, though they are not trans either. We might need a new term altogether. "Iso" perhaps?
A final point: we might be well served by defining a spectrum of terms that range from "cis" to "trans" rather than having an either/or distinction. For example, quite a few people identify as genderqueer and this seems to be a relationship to sex and gender that falls between cis and trans.
