Why do some cisgender people hate the term cisgender?

[Ryo Hazuki]

I've seen this a lot when discussing transphobia. It seems like some cis people don't want to be "labelled" cisgender, often with statements like "I am a woman, not cisgender!". Is this just something transphobes and TERFs consider a slur?

It's very odd to me as it's essentially just a descriptor to say someone identifies as the sex they are assigned at birth. Being cis doesn't replace someone as identifying as a man or woman. It's just very odd to me and I only see people objecting to the term when transphobia is being discussed.

It almost feels like that when transphobia is brought up, some cisgender people want to deflect and present cisgender people as victims too, for having to put up with "labels" they don't agree with such as this one. Seems like a complete false equivalence to me.

Is it something that's rooted in transphobia to object to this term? Would love to understand why somebody would consider it offensive or insulting as it seems like a completely understandable descriptor to me.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Because people would rather be stubborn for a lifetime than take 30 seconds to learn something new, process it, and implement it for the betterment of others.

 

[Aurongel]

Many of them are accustomed to a tremendous amount of privilege and as such, treat learning a new term and applying it to themselves like it's a gigantic inconvenient chore.

 

[BioDigital Jazzman]

Why does there need to be a term for it.

 

[Birdie]

They're used to being part of the accepted, "normal" group (in terms of gender), so they charge at realizing they're not necessarily the status quo.

 

[Mulberry]

Because some of us are to stupid to figure out what it means.

 

[mute]

Too busy labeling other people, can't understand the idea of being labeled.

 

[Kraid]

Why does there need to be a term for it.

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Because we should stop treating cis as the default.

 

[crienne]

Because those people (yes, a lot of TERFs and transphobes) see themselves as the default. The normal. In their mind there is no label for them other than, "normal". They use labels to define someone as the other, so when they get labeled it's seen as an attempt to be othered and that means they're no longer seen as normal. It's a threat to their defaultness.

 

[Rassilon]

Because we should stop treating cis as the default.

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this right here

 

[Morrigan]

Fragility

 

[ClickyCal']

Why does there need to be a term for it.

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Same reason why "straight" is a term..?

 

[Platy]

Is this just something transphobes and TERFs consider a slur?

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It puts them on the same level as a trans person .... so you would guess why transphobes would not be a fan =P

 

[Darth Karja]

I don't like the way it sounds. I'd be happy with a better sounding word. But it's also not a word I come across very often, so I really don't care.

 

[Dyle]

Because they're transphobic, inadvertently or otherwise and don't understand what gender identity even is. It's also just kind of a weird, uncommon word with no clear etymology for most people which heightens its sense of foreignness or otherness. I think there would be somewhat less friction against it if it came from a common root.

 

[FPX]

"Labels are meant for the "others". You know, those type of people that are different from the default human."

 

[BioDigital Jazzman]

Because we should stop treating cis as the default.

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What I mean is if you are a trans woman and want to be referred to as a woman I'm not going to say no you are trans. I'm gonna say ok your a woman etc. I'm not going to add an extra identifier if you are cis or trans

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

They're used to being part of the accepted, "normal" group (in terms of gender), so they charge at realizing they're not necessarily the status quo.

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Because those people (yes, a lot of TERFs and transphobes) see themselves as the default. The normal. In their mind there is no label for them other than, "normal". They use labels to define someone as the other, so when they get labeled it's seen as an attempt to be othered and that means they're no longer seen as normal. It's a threat to their defaultness.

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Yeah this is an issue I've seen where some cis people will say "I'm just normal not cisgender", which is incredibly problematic. This definitely makes a lot of sense.

 

[TripleBee]

imo It's because gender identity doesnt occupy the thoughts of most CIS people at all. So it feels weird to have an identity identifier when most CIS people don't consider it a part of their identity.

 

[MJForum Poster]

To be honest I think it's because they can't context clue what it means from just the term itself. Heterosexual and homosexual make sense because people are used to heterogeneous/homogeneous, either through schooling or literature or whatever. But maybe people have never used the cis- prefix before.

 

[dyelawn91]

Because it forces the fish to recognize the water it's swimming in.

 

[Gwarm]

I always thought the terms sounded silly, but that is because I first learned heard cis/trans in the framing of chemical structures and functional groups being cis or trans in relation to a double bond. Yeah, so I got over that pretty quickly when grew up and became a functional adult.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

People can't deal with change

 

[Eros]

What I mean is if you are a trans woman and want to be referred to as a woman I'm not going to say no you are trans. I'm gonna say ok your a woman etc. I'm not going to add an extra identifier if you are cis or trans

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as a cisgendered dude, i'd feel like i'm ignoring someone's struggle/experience if say...a trans man pointed out that i was cis, and i was like "nah bruh you and me we're both MEN" or some shit.

 

[SimpleNothing]

Call people what they want to be called. If they don't want to be called "cis", then don't call them that.

 

[Kangi]

They don't want to accept that they're on an end of a spectrum, they want to be the default. The "normal". Everyone else is "abnormal"

Contrasting their being cis to others being trans or enby or agender makes them uncomfortable because it makes them actually think about their own gender identity. They don't like doing that. Think of it like a straight dude being made to consider whether or not he's actually bi or something--a lot of them, especially in prior years, react very poorly to such a prospect. They want to be "normal"

 

[julia crawford]

Acknowledging that you're cisgender is an acknowledgment that trans people not only exist but share reality with you, and worse still, that you share the reality of complex gender identity and conformity/nonconformity with them.

This imo performs the same function as "i don't see race" or "i don't care if they're gay, i just don't want them here", etc.

 

[Spine Crawler]

I never really heard about the term until maybe last year. If people want to call people that, why not? Its not like its associated with any discrimination unless I missed something.

 

[nsilvias]

i didnt even know it was a word that existed til i started browsing era/gaf.

im indifferent to the word tho

 

[SkimpyMcChicken]

It's because they're a bunch of cissies who don't want to acknowledge there's a certain level of privilege applied to those who were born the gender they're supposed to be

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Because it implies that "not cisgender" exists

 

[RiOrius]

Either because they're real sticklers for etymology, or because they're used to cis privilege and hate having it named (and thus highlighted). You'll have to use context clues to figure it out, but uh, generally the former is pretty easy to get over if the latter isn't a factor as well.

 

[Deleted member 19844]

It's also just kind of a weird, uncommon word with no clear etymology for most people which heightens its sense of foreignness or otherness.

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This pretty much sums it up, OP.

 

[HazySaiyan]

Because they hate trans people so acknowledging that people are cis would mean having to acknowledge people are trans

 

[AlgusUnderdunk]

"Labels aren't for me! I'm NORMAL!!! It's all the abnormal ones who get labels! NOT ME! NOT MEEEE!"

At least that's how I imagine their screeching justifications. Same for wearing masks.

 

[n00bp]

A while ago my girlfriend actually expressed annoyance with the term, arguing that it was unnecessary because she was "normal". I told her she was being a BIT transphobic and weird because why does she object to being called a cis woman when she has no problem with being called straight? Since in her world, being straight is also "normal".

We had a bit of back and forth about it and she ended up on the right side, so to speak.

Anyway, if someone actively HATES the term, then they're transphobic. Simple as that

 

[Deleted member 19844]

For many people also, they don't really come across situations where they feel the need to use it.

 

[Deleted member 36578]

Let people be whoever they want to be. We really don't need to label everything.

 

[Witch of Miracles]

People can't deal with change

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This, change is scary.

 

[lunarworks]

Because they believe they are "normal", and therefore don't need to be classified in such a way.

The same people were probably equally as angry when the term heterosexual emerged.

 

[scottbeowulf]

Because it implies that "not cisgender" exists

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pretty much this

 

[Lobster Roll]

I would never take issue with anybody (myself included) identifying me as being a cisgender man, but I don't think I would ever personally refer to myself as such in every day conversation unless the topic precluded it. Like for the sake of this thread, I'm a cisgender man. However if there's a thread that says "men of Era, how often do you (blank)", I'd just answer the question knowing that I fit the thread title.

 

[Pasha]

There's a lot of people out that use cis as a pejorative, with the "cis white male" probably being the most commonly used.
Saying that the term is only used as a descriptor is just being willfully obtuse.

 

[Clefargle]

In any zero sum game new things equals a threat

 

[Llyrwenne]

Call people what they want to be called. If they don't want to be called "cis", then don't call them that.

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Nah. The people who object to the terminology even after having it explained to them do not deserve such pretend civility.

 

[meowdi gras]

Because:

Using the term, by implication, legitimizes the existence of trans people. Which is something bigot are not wont to do.

It's that simple.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Why does there need to be a term for it.

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This is like asking why the term heterosexual needs to exist.

 

[DIE BART DIE]

Because those people (yes, a lot of TERFs and transphobes) see themselves as the default. The normal. In their mind there is no label for them other than, "normal". They use labels to define someone as the other, so when they get labeled it's seen as an attempt to be othered and that means they're no longer seen as normal. It's a threat to their defaultness.

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This is all it comes down to.

It also sounds like "sissy" and "cyst".

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Call people what they want to be called. If they don't want to be called "cis", then don't call them that.

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No. This is not a valid request to make and it should not be honored.

 

[Unknownlight]

People tend to get it when you compare it to "straight". Otherwise they have this weird perception that people want everyone to be called a "cis-man" or "cis-woman" always from now on, rather than it just being a word to differentiate when it's relevant.