Cisgender - meaning and definition
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Definition
Describes a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
At a glance
- Cisgender describes someone whose gender identity matches the sex assigned at birth.
- The prefix cis is Latin for on the same side as, the opposite of trans.
- It is a neutral descriptive word, not an insult.
- It is often shortened to cis, as in cis woman or cis man.
- Cishet combines cisgender and heterosexual.
In detail
The prefix cis comes from Latin and means on the same side as, in contrast with trans, meaning across. Cisgender simply names the experience of the majority, so that it does not have to be treated as the unmarked default.
Cisgender is a descriptive word, not an insult. On dating profiles it often appears in short forms such as cis woman or in combination with an orientation, as in cishet.
In a sentence
- I'm a cis woman, and I use she/her pronouns.
- The study compared the experiences of trans and cisgender participants.
Where the word comes from
The word appeared in academic and online discussions in the 1990s, built on the Latin prefix cis, and spread widely in the 2010s. It was added to major English dictionaries around the middle of that decade.
Not to be confused with
- Heterosexual
Cisgender is about gender identity; heterosexual is about sexual orientation. A person can be cisgender and gay, or transgender and straight.
Common questions
Is cisgender an insult?
No. It is a descriptive term, just like the word trans. It exists so that being cisgender is named rather than treated as the unspoken normal. Like any word, it can be said in a hostile tone, but the word itself is neutral.
Why do we need a word for not being trans?
Without a word, people tend to say normal or regular, which implies that trans people are not. Cisgender gives a neutral pair of terms, cis and trans, so both experiences can be described fairly.