Newsflash: "Cis-" is not a slur

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Just as there were the twin words Cisleithania and Transleithania,
There are also the twin words cisgender and transgender,
The twin words cissexual and transsexual,
The twin words cis man and trans man,
And the twin words cis woman and trans woman.

There are many who are ignorant of etymology and many who pretend to be so for their convenience. Cis- and trans- are Latin prefixes, antonyms of each other. Just as you would talk about transgender, it would only be natural to talk about its opposite using the corresponding antonym cisgender, using the counterpart Latin construction.

Those who want to call it a slur seem to seek to blind their audience to etymology, which I find contemptible.

There are some people who use the word cis or cisgendered in a derogatory manner, especially in the feminist community when they are talking about the evils of the patriarchy. You are right though: its not a slur, but it can be used in a hurtful way. Keep that in mind.

How's it pronounced? Hard or soft 'c'? To rhyme with 'this' or 'mice'?

As in sis.

This is like reading a "Thai-Swahili, Swahili-Thai" dictionary!

Every word in Thai is translated into Swahili, and Swahiili is translated into Thai! Whoopie!

Lol!

So this term that I never heard of is NOTa slur. Well THATS sure a relief!

So cissexual is the opposite of transsexual.

So what does THAT mean exactly?

Does it mean that if you are a "normal" person who fits into the one gender of your birth then you are 'cissesual"(ie not transsexual)?

The term is Cisgendered or Transgendered. And sex and preference and gender identity are three different things! There are cultures where Transgendered people are revered!

Some food for thought:

- Less than 3 percent of the population is on the autistic spectrum. Why should the remaining 97 percent recognize a label (neurotypical) invented by this small subgroup?
- Less than 0.1 percent of the population is transgender. Why should the remaining 99.9 percent recognize a label (cisgender) invented by this small subgroup?
- Less than 0.1 percent of the population has congenital deafness. Why should the remaining 99.9 percent recognize a label (hearie) invented by this small subgroup?

As long as these labels are used within the respective communities, I see no problem with that.

However, I can fully understand why someone who is neither autistic nor transgender nor deaf would be annoyed for having such labels applied to them in a discussion or debate they are engaged in. It can easily come across as condescending.

Psh. That's like "straight" being a slur. People don't like it because they feel since we (LGTBQ) are "abnormal" that we should be the only ones labeled. Some people don't even like being referred to as straight because they think it should be assumed someone is automatically so.

I'm guessing it is in how it's said, and the context. If it's said as an exclusionary form (as in an 'us versus them') then it can come off as feeling offensive. And especially if it is said as a derogatory term, to dehumanize and 'othering' that group.

The term is relevant to people that want to make the distinction. I'd say it probably does compare to how 'neurotypical' is used around here, I doubt we'll ever hear that cross over into popular lexicon. In the end, we aren't normal but there isn't anything wrong with that.

Agree with each point: that its a needed term for the minority in-group, that its like the NT is used here, and that were not normal, but that there is nothing wrong with that.

If you live in the tail you need a word for the rest of the dog.

Jews have the word "gentile" (or 'goyem') for the larger group of humanity who are not Jews. The Rom (or Gypsies) use the word "gadjay" to label non-gypsies. The German language has the word "Ausland" to label he whole surface of the planet outside of borders of Germany. There is starting to be community of folks born as twins/tripletes etc. They use the word "singleton" for all of us in the 87/88s part of the population who are not born in a multiple birth.

Never heard any of those cis* words. Not a clue what they mean.

TallyMan, it means that you identify as the gender you were born with. http://www.basicrights.org/uncategorize ... cisgender/

Some people who aren't transgendered insist that labeling them cisgendered is a slur. They say this either because they misunderstand the term or because they consider it insulting to not be considered the "norm". In other words, they find it offensive they even have to be labeled because they view transgendered people as abnormal and different (in bad ways). I suppose in rare circumstances, someone COULD use it as a slur. That would be heavily dependent on context, though. It's kind of like trying to say transgendered is a slur. The reason both terms exist is to be able to differentiate between gender accurately and without making it seem like either gender assignment is somehow more normal than the other.

^ So it is a bit like calling neurotypicals such. They are the norm but we aspies have coined the word to describe people who are not on the spectrum.

Yes, pretty much like that. It's also kind of better than saying autistic vs non autistic, because then the highlight is autism and how abnormal it is. So, inclusive people are neurodiverse and include everyone in their definition.

Like I said before I never heard the term before.

Apparently the term is related to "cistern" (the place that collects and stores rain water). The 'cis' part is latin for "box" or "container". So I guess someone in the transgeneder community picked the term because that person imagined us nontransgender folks to be in a gender 'box', or 'container' as opposed to....flowing all over the place (bring out the mop!).