I just wrote a post examining gender vs. sex (read here) so for this post I wanted to strictly focus on what it means to be cisgender (cis) and what privileges come from that experience.
What does cisgender mean? It's a word for the "norm". This word describes the people in the world who feel that their gender identity is congruent with the sex they were assigned at birth. For cisgender people sex & gender are connected and some may even say they are the same thing.
I was assigned female at birth and I have no doubt in my mind that I am 100% woman. I may choose to adopt some masculine qualities or behaviors or reject some feminine roles but deep down inside I know that the word woman feels right for me.
This all comes back to privilege (an advantage granted or available only to one person or group of people). Because I am cisgender there are certain things in life that I do not have to think about, that I do not have to worry about, or that I have never even noticed because I don't have to.
Cigender Privilege Checklist
Author unknown.
Based on Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
1. Strangers don't assume they can ask me what my genitals look like and how I have sex.
2. My validity as a man/woman/human is not based upon how much surgery I've had or how well I "pass" as a non-Trans person.
3. When initiating sex with someone, I do not have to worry that they won't be able to deal with my parts or that having sex with me will cause my partner to question his or her own sexual orientation.
4. I am not excluded from events which are either explicitly or de facto men-born-men or women-born-women only.
5. My politics are not questioned based on the choices I make with regard to my body.
6. I don't have to hear "so have you had THE surgery?" or "oh, so you're REALLY a [incorrect sex or gender]?" each time I come out to someone.
7. I am not expected to constantly defend my medical decisions.
8. Strangers do not ask me what my "real name" [birth name] is and then assume that they have a right to call me by that name.
9. People do not disrespect me by using incorrect pronouns even after they've been corrected.
10. I do not have to worry that someone wants to be my friend or have sex with me in order to prove his or her "hipness" or good politics.
11. I do not have to worry about whether I will be able to find a bathroom to use or whether I will be safe changing in a locker room.
12. When engaging in political action, I do not have to worry about the gendered repercussions of being arrested. (i.e. what will happen to me if the cops find out that my genitals do not match my gendered appearance? Will I end up in a cell with people of my own gender?)
13. I do not have to defend my right to be a part of "Queer" and gays and lesbians will not try to exclude me from OUR movement in order to gain political legitimacy for themselves.
14. My experience of gender (or gendered spaces) is not viewed as "baggage" by others of the gender in which I live.
15. I do not have to choose between either invisibility ("passing") or being consistently "othered" and/or tokenised based on my gender.
16. I am not told that my sexual orientation and gender identity are mutually exclusive.
17. When I go to the gym or a public pool, I can use the showers.
18. If I end up in the emergency room, I do not have to worry that my gender will keep me from receiving appropriate treatment nor will all of my medical issues be seen as a product of my gender. ("Your nose is running and your throat hurts? Must be due to the hormones!")
19. My health insurance provider (or public health system) does not specifically exclude me from receiving benefits or treatments available to others because of my gender.
20. When I express my internal identities in my daily life, I am not considered "mentally ill" by the medical establishment.
21. I am not required to undergo extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.
22. The medical establishment does not serve as a "gatekeeper" which disallows self-determination of what happens to my body.
23. People do not use me as a scapegoat for their own unresolved gender issues.
Here's an even more in depth of cisgender privileges from t-vox.org
What does cisgender mean? It's a word for the "norm". This word describes the people in the world who feel that their gender identity is congruent with the sex they were assigned at birth. For cisgender people sex & gender are connected and some may even say they are the same thing.
I was assigned female at birth and I have no doubt in my mind that I am 100% woman. I may choose to adopt some masculine qualities or behaviors or reject some feminine roles but deep down inside I know that the word woman feels right for me.
Cigender Privilege Checklist
Author unknown.
Based on Peggy McIntosh's White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
1. Strangers don't assume they can ask me what my genitals look like and how I have sex.
2. My validity as a man/woman/human is not based upon how much surgery I've had or how well I "pass" as a non-Trans person.
3. When initiating sex with someone, I do not have to worry that they won't be able to deal with my parts or that having sex with me will cause my partner to question his or her own sexual orientation.
4. I am not excluded from events which are either explicitly or de facto men-born-men or women-born-women only.
5. My politics are not questioned based on the choices I make with regard to my body.
6. I don't have to hear "so have you had THE surgery?" or "oh, so you're REALLY a [incorrect sex or gender]?" each time I come out to someone.
7. I am not expected to constantly defend my medical decisions.
8. Strangers do not ask me what my "real name" [birth name] is and then assume that they have a right to call me by that name.
9. People do not disrespect me by using incorrect pronouns even after they've been corrected.
10. I do not have to worry that someone wants to be my friend or have sex with me in order to prove his or her "hipness" or good politics.
11. I do not have to worry about whether I will be able to find a bathroom to use or whether I will be safe changing in a locker room.
12. When engaging in political action, I do not have to worry about the gendered repercussions of being arrested. (i.e. what will happen to me if the cops find out that my genitals do not match my gendered appearance? Will I end up in a cell with people of my own gender?)
13. I do not have to defend my right to be a part of "Queer" and gays and lesbians will not try to exclude me from OUR movement in order to gain political legitimacy for themselves.
14. My experience of gender (or gendered spaces) is not viewed as "baggage" by others of the gender in which I live.
15. I do not have to choose between either invisibility ("passing") or being consistently "othered" and/or tokenised based on my gender.
16. I am not told that my sexual orientation and gender identity are mutually exclusive.
17. When I go to the gym or a public pool, I can use the showers.
18. If I end up in the emergency room, I do not have to worry that my gender will keep me from receiving appropriate treatment nor will all of my medical issues be seen as a product of my gender. ("Your nose is running and your throat hurts? Must be due to the hormones!")
19. My health insurance provider (or public health system) does not specifically exclude me from receiving benefits or treatments available to others because of my gender.
20. When I express my internal identities in my daily life, I am not considered "mentally ill" by the medical establishment.
21. I am not required to undergo extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.
22. The medical establishment does not serve as a "gatekeeper" which disallows self-determination of what happens to my body.
23. People do not use me as a scapegoat for their own unresolved gender issues.
Here's an even more in depth of cisgender privileges from t-vox.org
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