Since the beginning of human history, there has been a development towards the dominance of the cis man over the cis woman. In the two-gendered world known at the time, the man was in charge. Except a few groups, the patriarchal social structure developed around the globe and remained almost completely unchallenged over the millennia until the last century.
New word as linguistic face
In parts, the German language is considered a vehicle of oppression, so to speak. You have probably heard of the so-called generic masculine. This is described by academics as the result of centuries of patriarchal society. In which men oppressed all other genders and gave them no or only very limited room for manoeuvre, let alone the right to have a say. This is still noticeable in language today, for example when talking about students, politicians or customers. The human brain almost automatically recognises the masculine form. These forms must be grammatically correct, but are not solely the consequence of natural language development. Humans write grammars and dictionaries to determine what is correct and what is not. All well and good, if it weren’t for the small but important fact that linguistics. For example, was the domain of men who laid down the rules until well into the 21st century.
Gender affiliations cisgender, cis-man, cis-woman
In the meantime, the world has become more differentiated, more colourful, more diverse and also more gendered. Next to cis people, there are also intersex people and non-binaries. In order to give them the attention they deserve and bring them into people’s consciousness, it is important to recognise their individual affiliations.
cisgender: meaning
“cisgender” is defined as people whose gender identity corresponds to the sex registered at birth. This gender identity is entered in the birth register after it has been determined on the basis of the physical, biologically unique sexual characteristics. Here it is important to recognise that the fact that one’s gender and identity does not explicitly refer to sexual identity or orientation. This means that cis people can have a heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or asexual orientation.
cis man: meaning
A cis man is a man who was born in the body of a man, who was entered in the birth register as male and who also identifies himself as a man. In the case of a heterosexual cis man, this would mean that the above description applies and that he also claims the sexual orientation of heterosexuality. He therefore feels attracted to people of the opposite sex.
cis-woman: meaning
On the other hand, a cis-woman is a woman who had female sexual characteristics at birth, was registered as female in the birth register and defines herself as a woman, for example by saying “I am a woman” or “I am female”.
Where the term comes from: cisgender
The term “cis” comes from the Latin language and means something like “on this side”. „Cis“ is used today primarily in the field of gender and identity politics and refers to a person’s gender identity. “Cis” is the opposite of the term “trans”. And is used to describe people whose gender identity is consistent with their sex assigned at birth. In society, cis people form the largest group. It does not matter whether they are heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual.
The term “cis” or “cisgender” is used to distinguish between people whose personal gender identity is identical to the sex assigned at birth. And the people who are non-binary or transgender, i.e. whose gender identity does not match the sex assigned at birth.
“cis“, like other terms, has only recently been increasingly used to draw attention to the topic. And give people the opportunity to define themselves. The use of terms such as “cis”, “trans”, “inter” or even non-binary is an essential contribution to raising awareness of the diversity of gender identities. It also supports the recognition and acceptance of trans people.
Why the cis concept challenges criticism
It is about recognising all known gender identities today. Critics accuse the concept of the cis-trans distinction of not taking enough account of non-binary identities, for example. In addition, many believe that labelling a person as “cisgender” is a definition based solely on their cis-ness. Furthermore, the gender present at birth is not suitable as a fixed point for comparison. In the opinion of gender researchers, the increasingly frequent use of the term “cis” ensures that the concept of man and woman is becoming the predominant format. As a result, other gender identities, such as trans people, are being forced to come out again and again, with fewer and fewer narrative or visual labels available to them. This restricts gender diversity, according to A. Finn Enke, Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin.
Many cis people reject the term
If you ask cis people about their opinion on this term, many reject the term for themselves. Quite a few even see it as an insult. In 2023, Elon Musk conducted a survey among his followers and announced that he would sanction the use of the term on the X platform. In the future, it will be considered an offence that could lead to a ban.
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