Is cisgender a derogatory term?

I don't think so.. It's a term to refer to only those who were born in the right body.

 

I don't think it's designed to be offensive. It's a useful term. I never imagined somebody could find it derogatory! I guess it could become annoying if somebody felt the need to keep saying it outside of a respectful context.

Of course, it's dumb when people say 'die cis scum.' It's crazy to judge all cisgender people like that. Do these people live in the real world? Was this a trans person or a cisgender person complaining about the term 'cisgender'?

 

Cis and trans are terms to describe functional groups of chemical isomers with cis being on the same side of a double bond and trans being on the opposite side. The analogy has been applied to gender identity.

I don't see either as derogatory despite what many people think about transgender people.

 

I don't think it's derogatory, but certainly it can be used in an insulting and condescending fashion, e.g. "you're cis--you wouldn't understand" and of course the whole "die cis scum" thing. The former is usually the more negative use I hear of it (the latter is just silly and can't be taken seriously), but I wouldn't call it derogatory and it's especially not surprising that transphobic people don't like the term. As far as they're concerned, trans people are still the gender they were born as, so the term is null for them.

 

The parallel can be drawn to the word homosexual and heterosexual.

 

It is no more derogatory then transgender... Honestly I think it might make people uncomfortable because it puts the shoe on the other foot... To me the term Cisgender levels the playing field a bit, now we're not just trans and "normal people" now we're all normal people with different labels!

 

As far as I know, it was historically simply invented as a term for non trans. Someone thought about it, if there are trans people, then there has to be a term for the non trans people.

If its derogatory is, in my opinion, depending on context, intonation, etc. Like with other terms.

I would second that

 

I've personally never heard it used in a derogatory way. The term is mainly used in giving distinction between those whose identities match the bodies they were born with as opposed to those who do not.

I suspect that as you say, many of the people who see it as derogatory are motivated by transphobia. Labels are not exactly free of their downsides but when you give a name to a certain group it can be helpful in creating a level playing field so to speak. If those who are transgender or some other variation on the gender spectrum were to be separated off by being given labels, yet everyone else was free of one, it would reaffirm the notion that they are the odd ones out, whereas if everyone has a (non-offensive) label, then it implies equality, different variations of individuals, but still equals. Those who are transphobic may be annoyed at getting a label designed to promote equality, because in their minds they think they are 'the normal ones who don't need a label', it robs them of their sense of false superiority over those they wish to treat badly.

 

It really depends on how it's used, but the term itself is not offensive. The real question would be "Does cisphobia exist?" My answer is yes, though it doesn't even compare to what trans folk deal with on a daily basis. The worst we have to deal with is 13 year old douches who type "die cis scum" all over the interwebs. It's nothing compared to the crap trans people deal with. Nobody walks down the street in fear of trans people attacking them for being cis (if you do, you're full of it), but the reverse is a real concern.

Same goes for the white Christian men living in America who constantly scream "I'm being oppressed!" (*cough* MY DAD *cough*) A vast majority of Americans are white and Christian. Quit bitching. (This doesn't apply to Christians in the LGBT community or white people who live in predominantly colored areas; they do face discrimination. It isn't as bad as what non-Christian and colored Americans face, but it's still discrimination.)

 

In just the past few years there has been a huge "political correctness" push within the gender identity community to normalize gender irregularities.

Yeah, it's kind of annoying for some people. People don't want to be labeled something new just out of correctness for other people. And transgender people are still generally considered to be an abnormal condition - so to say "normal" vs "transgender" is still pretty acceptable. All transgender people I know accept they have a mental irregularity... but that does not seem to be consistent on the internet.

It's not offensive... it's just strange to most people. I literally learned about it out of the blue this year at university in a "sensitivity training." I also learned about non-traditional pronouns (other than s/he - which as a linguistics major I absolutely hate... but that's another discussion...).

So... not offensive. Just another new politically correct term.

 

I think this is what a lot of people don't fully understand if they have no real experience with being in a minority that faces potential threat of violence or being ostracized. They can get offended, say they feel oppressed, but they haven't had the level of life experience with discrimination that would allow them to really understand. I remember there was a social experiment a few years ago focusing on racism where they got people from the same community of various races sitting around a room to discuss their views on racism. Some (not all) of the white individuals who didn't even consider themselves racist were belittling the feelings of those telling stories of racially offensive name-calling, even when some were in tears of frustration in front of them. I recall one man saying 'everyone gets called names, I used to get called tubby but I just laugh it off, it's not a big deal.' And an expert was saying that when someone hasn't been through an experience of having to live with the fear of discrimination, and hasn't been educated in the struggles of others different to themselves, they draw comparisons that are nowhere close. They literally cannot comprehend the fear, the anger, the frustration that the other person is feeling.

 

Until I started presenting as female, I had no idea the real feeling of anxiety and fear in a large city. I know I'm transgender as well so the fear is even greater, but I truly do understand that feminine vulnerability that I never felt before.

You really do have to walk in someone shoes before you can judge them.

 

I don't believe so. I've had plenty of people at my LGBT alliance refer to me as that and I don't know what else to denote myself as. I feel like I was born in the right body. I identify as male. I don't see what's bad about that, and it's just for lack of a better term, I guess.

 

If the term 'Cisgender' is offensive, wouldn't the term 'Heterosexual' be offensive as well? They are just terms to differentiate between sexuality and whether you match your gender assigned as birth or not.

I am cis but I can't stand this whiny bullshit other cis people promote. Yes we need terms to differentiate, get the hell over it.

 

I don't feel that way. Actually, I think that's ridiclous, especially to say that it's made up. cisgender: definition of cisgender in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US)

 

Cisgender isn't a derogatory term-it's just used to distinguish.

 

Because people hate being referred to as privilleged.

 

It by itself is not an offensive term. It can be used by some people as an offensive term though. I see it sort of like the word gay. A lot of times it is not used offensively, but there are times where it is used in an offensive fashion.

 

It's not really offensive usually but it's not even a necessary word, IMO. I've never heard it before coming to this forum. It reminds me of chemistry.

---------- Post added 18th Dec 2014 at 01:33 PM ----------

True. This is the most annoying thing. Voiding someone's opinion or ideas because you perceive them as "privileged" is a great way to produce animosity.