This is the definition of 'cisgender': denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.

When I first heard this term, I thought, “Hey! This is a great step forward in acknowledging the difference between personal identity and biological sex!” But, as I read more articles about gender identity in relation with sexual orientation from the LGBTQ+ point of view, I noticed that the term was littered with negative connotations.

What I want to know is, when did being pro-trans necessarily mean being anti-cis? Considering that neither group of people has any choice in the matter! Quite frankly, it is absurd that any kind of oppression occurs due to something beyond our control (and as we know, history repeating itself is possibly the most absurd). If this sounds familiar, and it should, it is because this is exactly what is going on with the 'People-of-Color-Anti-White' and 'Pro-Feminist-Anti-Male' phenomena.

I think there is something wrong if, in today's society, you're completely out of luck if you're a white cis-male, regardless of your good intentions and contributions to the cause.

Now, I've never been content with labels. Just five years ago I would have lived my life without ever referring to myself as a bisexual-person-of-color-ciswoman. However, by accepting these labels, I was also able to accept that there was a place in society (more or less) for these concepts, and by extension, these aspects of myself. Since then, it has been a path of personal transformation and acceptance.

That being said, I want to point out that there is nothing wrong with being cisgendered (or white, or male). What upsets minorities is the fact that cispeople don't recognize the privileges they do have.

The bottom line is this: we shouldn't be so quick to judge cispeople. For all we know, they may have dealt long and hard with their personal identity and gender role, only to conclude that they are in fact the gender 'assigned' to their biological sex. I consider it a step forward in society if there even is such a term as 'cisgendered' and not just 'transgender'.

My hope is that when we encounter a person, regardless of labels, we are patient enough to allow them the freedom of accepting themselves. Now, more than ever, we need education and acceptance, not more oppression.