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What does Cisgender mean?
Cisgender refers to individuals whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
In other words, if someone is cisgender, they identify as the gender typically associated with their biological and physical characteristics. For example, a person who is assigned female at birth and also identifies as a woman is cisgender. The term “cis” is derived from the Latin word meaning “on the same side.” It is used to describe individuals who are not transgender.
Where did the word cisgender come from?
The term “cisgender” originated from the Latin prefix “cis,” which means “on the same side” or “on this side of.” It was first introduced in the 1990s by a German sexologist named Volkmar Sigusch. The purpose of coining the term was to provide a linguistic counterpart to “transgender” and to acknowledge that not everyone identifies as transgender. Since then, “cisgender” has gained widespread use and acceptance in gender studies, social sciences, and everyday language to describe individuals whose gender identity aligns with their assigned sex at birth.