Musings of a woman who happens to be transgender
As a trans person, I’ve read your question, so I can answer truthfully, “yes, at least one trans person knows you reject ‘cisgender’.” But that leads me to ask you “am I supposed to care?”
There’s nothing wrong with the term itself, except that it’s out-of-date.
What is something about the LGTBQ+ community that straight people would struggle the most understanding? The pervasiveness of cisgender heteronormativity. Being cisgender and heterosexual are presumed to be the default so strongly that when LGBTQ+ people defy those expectations, they are frequently met with hostility and sometimes even violence. How often do you hear someone... Continue Reading →
A person successfully and convincingly presenting themselves as a cisgender member of a gender they were not assigned at birth is called "passing". Passing is a complicated and controversial topic, partly because of the issues that it raises for both those who can and cannot pass. It's also a philosophical issue, a safety issue, and a social issue (and a variety of other categories).
Just like sex and gender aren't the same thing, neither are gender and gender expression.
Since we don't live in a perfect world, we have gender. And, being humans who like to categorize and make things fit into tidy little boxes, we group and put labels on things.
