Posts tagged with "cis"

I Am Not Your Cisgender

BY JEANETTE LENOIR

Let’s talk about sexuality. Recently I stumbled upon the term “cis” or “cisgender” while scrolling through social media. It was a new phrase to me, so I decided to investigate. And according to Wikipedia, “Cisgender (sometimes cissexual, often abbreviated to simply cis) is a term for people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth.” Okay. So, cisgender is the new label introduced like another jolly ranger flavor that identifies the opposite of transgender. In more unnecessary words, straight or heterosexual people are now referred to as “cis” or “cisgender.” The phrase is more commonly used among the gay community, celebrities, social media culture warriors and hipsters. Another thing I learned is the motive behind the new label. As complicated as the subject of sexual identity is, the aim, according to the gay community and their allies is to eliminate notions of what society views as normal or abnormal.

The term has taken a life of its own in this new gender-bender world we find ourselves in. Oh, and “gender-bender” is another sociological term similar to “cis” that identifies a gender bender as a person who disrupts or bends gender roles. That’s not all. The synonym for “gender-bender” is “genderfuck.” And if you think that’s overcomplicating human sexuality, you haven’t delved into the world of sexuality and identity. For example, the Bugis people of Indonesia view sexual identity on a spectrum and recognize 5 different genders in their culture, including androgyny. And, members of their androgynous community are also revered shamans. In Samoa, Thailand, Oman and other parts of Asia there are those who identify as having a third gender or are nonbinary. In Hawaii, including Tahitian and Polynesian islands in the North and South Pacific Ocean, third-gender or nonbinary people are respected as cultural teachers and even goddesses. Third-gender people are those who identify with a gender that is different from their own, or not. So, are they gender benders? Not according to the concept of the label.

The term cisgender has its origin in a two-part peer review, (1991 and 1998) publication by Volkmar Sigusch, a German sexologist, physician and sociologist. The term, which is frequently being used these days, has caused me to wonder about my own identity as a straight woman. Are women still free to sexually identify as women without enraging the gay community? J.K. Rowling recently took some heat for criticizing an op-ed that labeled women, not as women, but as “people who menstruate.” The opinion piece, aimed at boosting investments in menstruation management for millions of “those who menstruate,” purposely shifts the term “women” to “those who menstruate” as a way to include those who identify as women. It didn’t take long for celebrities, including several Harry Potter actors, members and allies of the gay community to accuse Rowling of being homophobic. They insist transwomen are women. If that’s so, what does that make me? Well, according to the gay community that makes me a cis or a cisgender person. Basically, in order to appease the gay community, women must be stripped of their sexual identity for them to experience human rights, dignity and inclusion. Damn our collective experience being women.

The Kybalion, a book discussing the 7 Hermetic principles describes gender as follows: The principle of gender is manifested on all planes of life, material, mental and spiritual. Gender does not mean sex. Sex is merely a material manifestation of gender. Gender means relating to generation or creation. And wherever anything is generated or created on any plane, the principle of gender must be manifested, and this is true even in the creation of universes.

Let’s put this argument in a larger perspective. Society uses science-backed findings as arguments to support environmental and climate causes, the dangers of tobacco, the opioid crisis, including the current pandemic, but demand that we disregard the same science that distinguish gender. When it comes to sexual identity, we are being programmed to pick and choose science for politically correct arguments to placate the gay community. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the agenda is to eliminate what it truly means to be a woman. And those who don’t fall in line are labelled homophobic. Even when it comes to sports, transgender people are taking part in competition with the sex they identify with. Although it’s scientifically proven that in general, men are physically stronger than women, we are being programmed to think otherwise in order to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. This persecution of women is reminiscent of times past when we were denied basic human rights and subjected to second class status. And, the relabeling of society reaches beyond the gay community, as it’s even turned Latinos into Latinx. And when it comes to race, Rachel Dolezal who tried passing as a Black woman was mercilessly persecuted for it. Apparently, science only bends for gender.

The gay community is demanding acceptance by way of sociologically bullying others to conform to their view of the world. This is incredibly threatening and a major overreach. Why are women being forced to make room for men who want to be women and others on the spectrum of sexual identity, by denying their own biological makeup and life experiences. Everyone has a right to live in a world that is accepting and tolerant. And that includes women. The gay community deserves acceptance and human rights just like everyone else. But acceptance doesn’t equate to delusion or blatant disregard for science and what it means to be an actual woman. I can accept anyone as they are or want to be, but it shouldn’t require me to deny scientific facts of human sexuality. Transwomen are transwomen. For this not to be so means there’s no distinction between me, (a straight woman) and a transwoman. And that’s clearly not true. People want to be socially woke but asleep when it comes to the science of sexuality.

When we start removing the taboos in basic truths, perhaps we’ll find harmony in sharing the world as diverse people, regardless of where you find comfort on the sexual identity spectrum. There’s no argument gay rights are human rights, unfortunately it’s becoming apparent that it means taking from Patricia to comfort Patrick who wants to be Patricia. Similar to the agenda comparing the civil rights movement to the gay rights movement faced pushback, so must this bullying tactic and audacious overreach to relabel the majority of the human population. To take away our identity as women, or to pass it around like a hat anyone can wear, is to trivialize the experiences of women and our history. Although I’m an ally, I refuse to be a sycophant for the gay community. I am not cisgender. I am not transgender. I am a woman.