Yes!!
"What the crap is that," you say?
Cisgender: an adjective used in the context of gender issues and counselling to refer to a type of gender identity formed by a match between an individual's biological sex and the behavior or role considered appropriate for one's sex . Linky
Now I have seen some people oppose this concept and it blows my mind. I am happily, proudly, comfortably, claiming the cisgender label.
When I found out I had a label besides "default" I honestly did a happy dance inside.
Let me reiterate that...
I am not "normal" versus "deviant." I am not "default" versus "other," "unusual," "exotic," whatever word you want to use.
THAT nonsense is the stuff of privilege , and I will not leave mine unexamined, unacknowledged, and in the face of The Others to deal with. Because they are not Others, they are people. And caring about people and their conditions in life is what got me into this feminist gig in the first place.
Whether I match the proper gender box I was given at birth on any particular day, at any particular time, is irrelevant (cuz I don't always). This is dealing with identity folks, that's a different ball game from "how well do I fit societies expectations of a woman." I'll challenge feminine stereotypes all day, but at the end of it my biology matches my soul. And I am fortunate for that to be so.
And if we truly are working towards destroying these boxes they want to put us in, we're going to have to start being more open minded when someone who doesn't fit in OUR preconceived box is telling us <b>who they are</b>. Either all the boxes go, or we stay in a fucked up system, there are no other options.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Cisgender?.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/8057
Weekly Feministing Newsletter
Feministing RSS Feed
So; I'm trying to wrap my mind around the term cisgender. Granting that gender is a social constuct (this granting is a fiat for conversation) does cisgender have an aligned, non-aligned, or compliant, non-complaint desgination for people? Does cisgender have such labels, and how does it work. If I am male, and I fit in the social construct of how a male acts am I cisgendered? Or is the term cisgender reserved for people who don't align with the social construct?
If you are not transgender, you are cisgender.
If you've never questioned the gender your physical body places you in, you are cisgender.
This has nothing to do with the gender role's demands and your opinion of them.
As I said, I'm happy to challenge the traditional gender role of women and men all day. But when it comes down to it, my body is that of a woman, and I am a woman, therefore, cisgender. ;)