unfamiliar terminology?

[Guest LindaKay_LV]

Hi Y'all,

I was reading an article in the Sunday paper yesterday about LGBT issues and the author used the term "cisgender" and said that it applied to straight people that are comfortable with the body parts that they were born with. Does this apply to crossdressers that are "part time" as opposed to transgendered? It seems like every time I turn around there is a new term for all the different facets of gender/sexual issues.

hugs & kisses,

Linda Kay

[Guest Kayla Grace]

Personally, crossdressers are a part of transgender that I've never been able to figure out. My understanding is that a crossdresser is cisgender who just likes to dress up in the oppose clothes. I'm not CD, so I can't give you an educated answer. I can however say that some CD's turn out to be transsexuals once they get a taste for presenting the opposite sex.

Personally, once I tried on a bra, forms, and my wig, I was sold. If only I could sleep in my breast forms, I'd be beyond happy

God Bless

Kayla <3

[Guest Ripley]

Cisgender simply means any individual who identifies with the gender assigned to them at birth. It has nothing to do with sexual orientation. Someone who's assigned male at birth, identifies as male, and is sexually attracted to men is still cisgender.

[Carolyn Marie]

Linda, you've highlighted a problem that I see with the umbrella term "transgender." It includes a whole lot of different folks that don't necessarily have a lot in common. I suppose it can mean anyone who isn't cisgender, but that probably isn't accurate either.

The author you read has it right; cisgender is used in that manner. Do cross dressers fall into that category? They might, or they might not. Not all cross dressers are the same. Can someone be transgender and still be cisgender? Quite possibly. Is it confusing? Absolutely!

Cisgender, while still commonly used, has many detractors. More and more folks on both sides of the isle prefer to use "non-trans" or something similar, as some folks consider cisgender to be offensive and derogatory.

Labels and categories are not as important as how one feels about themselves and where they fall on the spectrum, IMO. I think we get too caught up in the "I'm in this box, and you're not" way of thinking. Labels serve their purpose, but they can also cause hurt, confusion, and poor communication.

Sorry about the soapbox. I've probably confused you even more. My job is done here.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Ripley]

There's nothing derogatory about the word cisgender. It's about as clinical a term as you can get. It's from latin "cis" meaning "on this side of", just like "trans" is latin and means "On the far side of/beyond". The people who think it's derogatory either do not understand the term and thus think it's an insult, or have encoutered the "die cis scum" meme which most definitely does not help anyone.

[VickySGV]

While I have rarely used the term Cis gender, I am one who takes my audience into account when using any term. I even tend to break down the Trans* groups by their hopefully least offensive designations. For Cross Dressing and Drag it is a wilderness as to whether any one person still accepts and is comfortable with there Assigned Birth Gender, which if they are comfortable, technically puts them in with Cis people. There are even people who are comfortable with their bodies in either or both genders.

[Guest Eve Caillard]

Personally I dislike the term cisgender. I feel it is an obscure word, and for those that do not know it, nor understand its meaning, it actually lends itself to the idea of "something wrong with gender" rather than its true meaning. I'd honestly prefer it was not used. I'd like to bin the term.

I genuinely like the broader term 'transgender' for any who are in the 'no-mans-land' (excuse the pun) of questioning their gender outlook, be it CD, or on-going full operative change. It's a term that is easy to grasp, easy to say, and easy to work with. So long as it is understood to be a range rather than a specific type. Then from Transgender, it is easier to narrow it down to the various categories, like CD, etc. Like "I'm transgender, I'm a cross-dresser". It's easier to say instead of: "I'm a Cross-dresser, you might consider me Transgender but actually I'm cisgender and that means....hey! Come back! I'm still speaking to you!"

Also, to be honest, personally I identify as Transgender. Why? Having taken a number of 'brain' and other gender tests, they all place me at 75% female orientation. I am not, by nature from birth, a 'manly' man. I have never been like that. I feel most comfortable among females and I identify with them. And this encapsulates exactly how I feel and so it is hardly surprising my cross-dressing is a physical expression of this orientation. Like many of us, I wanted a 'label' so I could understand how I am. Transgender fits me, with CD being the group within.

And I think we should be prepared to adopt the more understandable labels so others can more easily grasp where we come from.

But in the end they are all labels, and regardless of them I know how I feel about myself. And I am happy with it!

But, that's just my opinion.

Eve

[Guest]

Personally, once I tried on a bra, forms, and my wig, I was sold. If only I could sleep in my breast forms, I'd be beyond happy

Not to change the subject, but you can sleep in certain forms. I have both PALS and Aphrodite forms and both can be slept in. The PALS are pretty reasonably priced where the Aphrodites' are pretty pricey...

As for terminology, there's so many new terms, I don't really have much of an opinion. However, certain things do kinda bother me...

[Guest LindaKay_LV]

Thanks so much for the input. I'm in the situation where about half the time I'm perfectly satisfied being a guy. I'm comfortable in my guy body, I have a guy attitude and sense of humor and I enjoy doing guy things. I am not sexually attracted to other men and I am sexually attracted to women. The other half of the time I need to connect with my feminine side. If I can't dress I will "underdress" but I really feel great when I am in my feminine mode and I can go all the way with cloths, make-up and a wig. I've always had an attraction to womens shoes and I love wearing them. That is when I start thinking about how I wish I was younger and could transition into being a real women.

I guess all of this makes me "part-time transgendered" or something like that.

Hugs,

Linda Kay