"Cisgender" Becoming Part of the Vernacular

[UCBerkeleyPostop]

In Berkeley, at least, but keep in mind, trends start here and spread. A young Asian guy in Women's film class described himself as a straight cisgendered guy. Everyone seemed to know what he meant.  I have heard the term used by other students as well. The significance of this is that my idea for us to become known as non-cisgender (when it is necessary to label ourselves other than just women)  instead of trans can begin to take hold.

[Devlyn]

"In Berkeley, at least, but keep in mind, trends start here and spread." Snort.... chuckle...You didn't really just say that!

[A]

Not that it's a bad thing in any way, but I'm not sure why he would describe himself as a cisgendered guy. I mean, uh, is there a need? Isn't it what people would naturally assume by a simple matter of probability? oo'

Besides, isn't even stating that he's a guy a bit weird? I mean, isn't that the kind of thing that you show but don't say? Not to mention the name+voice+context combination usually make gender more than obvious... I'm a bit lost. Was there a special context?

In my head, even if it was a transgendered person who still doesn't pass 100 % who stated their gender in an introduction, it would sound a bit strange...

[PrincessLeiah]

I don't know about being "non-cisgender." It would seem to be defining myself by what I'm not rather than what I am.

[Isabelle]

Part of me thinks it's cool that someone would refer to themselves in that way because it like saying "I was born this way and I happy with that but, I understand not everyone is like me" another part of me thinks its a redundant use of language and can almost be construed as another way of othering people with a transexual medical history....

[Elena G]

"In Berkeley, at least, but keep in mind, trends start here and spread." Snort.... chuckle...You didn't really just say that!

I cracked up too. Love these things. 

[Kelly J. P.]

 Being called "trans" others us, so we invent "cis" to set equal ground. Sometimes, we hope that the cis people might use cis too, as that would mean they were sensitive about not wanting to other us. Now that they are beginning to use cis, it's redundant and another devious way to other us in disguise.

Well, I can't say it doesn't figure. If people are using the word, they are probably aware of the sensitivity of the trans audience - that would provide motive for using cis in the first place. I don't imagine that they would use the word if they had ill intentions, at least at this stage of usage.

I'm for it. I mean, yeah, it's probably silly to use an adjective to describe something that one would assume 99.9% of that thing definitely is... but I appreciate the intent behind it. That guy's just trying to be sensitive and accepting.

[Stealthy]

I think that yes, 'cis' is starting to hit the mainstream, terminology-wise. It'll take a few more years, at least (it's in the very beginning part of mainstreamification), but someday it'll just be a normal everyday term, like 'straight'.

I remember reading the term on a TV Tropes page just a couple of weeks ago or so.

[lilacwoman]

non-cisgender actually means non-binary so no I won't be promoting use of it.   

plus I've never heard cisgendered used over here in UK anyway.

[justmeinoz]

It would depend on the circumstances and the topic of conversation, but it sounds like the sort of thing that would surface in a Gender Studies class, even if nowhere else.  It means that at least there are a few more people out there who 'get it'.

Karen.

[UCBerkeleyPostop]

"In Berkeley, at least, but keep in mind, trends start here and spread." Snort.... chuckle...You didn't really just say that!

I cracked up too. Love these things. 

It is a fact whether you like it or not.  San Francisco and, by extension Berkeley-- as Berkeley is certainly part of San Francisco  culture--is one of the seven trend-setting cities in the world, the others being Milan, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles and London. 

non-cisgender actually means non-binary so no I won't be promoting use of it.   

plus I've never heard cisgendered used over here in UK anyway.

I never hear transgender either outside of women's studies classes. Cisgender means simply having a gender that matches that with which one is born --to put in layperson's terms--so non-cisgender means that one's gender identity differs from that with which one is born.

I identify with being non-cisgender because when considering my core identity, I did not change anything. I am still the same as I was born, only with modification so that society can recognize who I really am.

Part of me thinks it's cool that someone would refer to themselves in that way because it like saying "I was born this way and I happy with that but, I understand not everyone is like me" another part of me thinks its a redundant use of language and can almost be construed as another way of othering people with a transexual medical history....

I did not explain the context of what the student said because I didn't think it was relevant but I can assure you that he wasn't trying to "other" transsexuals, he was identifying himself as part of the dominant hegemony.

[Devlyn]

What about Boston? We started the trend of mass produced tea, hundreds of years ago! That's no pile of beans. Hugs, Devlyn

[lilacwoman]

I never hear transgender either outside of women's studies classes. Cisgender means simply having a gender that matches that with which one is born --to put in layperson's terms--so non-cisgender means that one's gender identity differs from that with which one is born.

In Uk TS get 'transgendered' all the time which is why I constantly point out that TS isn't TG.

[UCBerkeleyPostop]

What about Boston? We started the trend of mass produced tea, hundreds of years ago! That's no pile of beans. Hugs, Devlyn

My hometown is Baltimore where one might claim, we invented crab cakes, in Atlanta, Coca-Cola was invented but that hardly qualifies these places, or Boston, as globally trend-setting cities. Sorry. 


As an academic, a published writer, and a researcher, all of my opinions can be backed up with evidence. In this case, here is my source for San Francisco being one of the top seven trend-setting cities. You might notice that California is the only state with two trend-setting cities. Of course, not every trend starts here, just many of them perhaps even most. (US anyway)

http://www.henrikvejlgaard.com/Images/NewslMedia.pdf

I also found this but the source is not academic:

Freeways (Los Angeles)
Raves (Los Angeles)
Indoor shopping malls (Los Angeles / OC)
Drive-thrus (Los Angeles / OC)
Surf rock (OC)
West Coast hip-hop (Long Beach / Oakland)
Modern theme parks (Anaheim)
Movies* (Hollywood)
Conservation zoos (San Diego)
Martinis and Irish coffees (San Francisco)
Jeans (San Francisco)
Fortune cookies (San Francisco)
Psychedelic music (San Francisco)
Solar power (San Francisco)
Domestic partnership (San Francisco / West Hollywood)
LSD (Berkeley)
3-D animation (Emeryville)
The Internet* (Silicon Valley)
iPods (Silicon Valley)

-fashion trends
-car trends
-food trends
-many police procedures originated here
-gangs originated here
-police helicopters originated here
-crystal meth
"Val Speak" / Valley Girls

Sushi in the 60s
Yoga in the 70s
Bottled water in the 80s
Japanophile culture in the 90s
The smoking ban in the 90s.
California wine culture in the 90s.
The green/organic food movement of 2000s.
CA didn't originate it, but that state is always the first to start or grasp the trend.

Hippy culture, Skateboard culture, surfing culture, casual fashion culture, car culture and the breakdown of formal wear culture, modern day gay rights movement...
*questionable. Al Gore invented the internet and movies got started in New Jersey.

[Elena G]

My hometown is Baltimore where one might claim, we invented crab cakes, in Atlanta, Coca-Cola was invented but that hardly qualifies these places, or Boston, as globally trend-setting cities. Sorry. 


As an academic, a published writer, and a researcher, all of my opinions can be backed up with evidence. In this case, here is my source for San Francisco being one of the top seven trend-setting cities. You might notice that California is the only state with two trend-setting cities. Of course, not every trend starts here, just many of them perhaps even most. (US anyway)

http://www.henrikvejlgaard.com/Images/NewslMedia.pdf

I also found this but the source is not academic:

Freeways (Los Angeles)
Raves (Los Angeles)
Indoor shopping malls (Los Angeles / OC)
Drive-thrus (Los Angeles / OC)
Surf rock (OC)
West Coast hip-hop (Long Beach / Oakland)
Modern theme parks (Anaheim)
Movies* (Hollywood)
Conservation zoos (San Diego)
Martinis and Irish coffees (San Francisco)
Jeans (San Francisco)
Fortune cookies (San Francisco)
Psychedelic music (San Francisco)
Solar power (San Francisco)
Domestic partnership (San Francisco / West Hollywood)
LSD (Berkeley)
3-D animation (Emeryville)
The Internet* (Silicon Valley)
iPods (Silicon Valley)

-fashion trends
-car trends
-food trends
-many police procedures originated here
-gangs originated here
-police helicopters originated here
-crystal meth
"Val Speak" / Valley Girls

Sushi in the 60s
Yoga in the 70s
Bottled water in the 80s
Japanophile culture in the 90s
The smoking ban in the 90s.
California wine culture in the 90s.
The green/organic food movement of 2000s.
CA didn't originate it, but that state is always the first to start or grasp the trend.

Hippy culture, Skateboard culture, surfing culture, casual fashion culture, car culture and the breakdown of formal wear culture, modern day gay rights movement...
*questionable. Al Gore invented the internet and movies got started in New Jersey.

I've been to several of those cities and wasn't impressed by the 'trend setting' at all. It's all pretty much a way to put something 'en vogue' for people who lack real, profound knowledge of little known costumes or cultures that have been there for eons, and get recycled to be seen as something new. Trends usually put an emphasis on the banal aspects of things and disregard their true essence, which most often is the thing that cannot be sold or mass marketed. Most people that follow trends are the ones that wouldn't be attracted to those things if they didn't have the fancy appeal the silly machinery of marketing associates them with. That's why 'westernized' chinese restaurants are dime a dozen, and a very good dim sum is so friggin' hard to find (at least where I live). Or why Taco Bell or Chick-fil-A and all that poop food is so popular, but the greasy mexican joint round the corner with the old mexican lady cooking kickass food is half-empty every night. Then you have all those academia suits with bigger-than-thou attitudes and racks of books that make humongous research about the cultural subproducts we're being fed, created in those holy cities that epitomize human progress.

So f*** trends.

[UCBerkeleyPostop]

I've been to several of those cities and wasn't impressed by the 'trend setting' at all. It's all pretty much a way to put something 'en vogue' for people who lack real, profound knowledge of little known costumes or cultures that have been there for eons, and get recycled to be seen as something new. Trends usually put an emphasis on the banal aspects of things and disregard their true essence,[nonsense] which most often is the thing that cannot be sold or mass marketed. Most people that follow trends are the ones that wouldn't be attracted to those things if they didn't have the fancy appeal the silly machinery of marketing associates them with. That's why 'westernized' chinese restaurants are dime a dozen, and a very good dim sum is so friggin' hard to find (at least where I live). Or why Taco Bell or Chick-fil-A and all that poop food is so popular, but the greasy mexican joint round the corner with the old mexican lady cooking kickass food is half-empty every night. Then you have all those academia suits with bigger-than-thou attitudes and racks of books that make humongous research about the cultural subproducts we're being fed, created in those holy cities that epitomize human progress.

So f*** trends.

Trends that are beneficial last, ones that don't merely fade. I would argue that Valley girlspeak is a fad and will fade. Some trends are beneficial.  Right turn on red, for instance. Most people would agree that is a good trend.  Metering lights are a pain but they are beneficial and will probably be something that will spread. Water fountains have begun to appear that have spigots to fill your water bottle. And here on campus, they provide filtered, cold water at zero cost to the consumer. (The only cost is saving your water bottle) Sooner or later, you will see these water fountains everywhere.

[Ave]

I think people argue against your point because it comes across as if you're going "I'm at UC Berkeley and you're not nah-nah-na-nah-nah". I know you're not doing that, but people identify a lot with places they live and when those places get called "inferior" (indirectly, of course) through their lack of "trend-setting" power, they tend to push back and take offense.

[Sarah Louise]

Lets tone down the insults.

[Elena G]

Trends that are beneficial last, ones that don't merely fade. I would argue that Valley girlspeak is a fad and will fade. Some trends are beneficial.  Right turn on red, for instance. Most people would agree that is a good trend.  Metering lights are a pain but they are beneficial and will probably be something that will spread. Water fountains have begun to appear that have spigots to fill your water bottle. And here on campus, they provide filtered, cold water at zero cost to the consumer. (The only cost is saving your water bottle) Sooner or later, you will see these water fountains everywhere.

I could've gone forever with every kind of trend you could imagine. Water fountains? Is that a trend worth mentioning coming out of a big city? I'm talking about the phenomena that make those seven cities appear in such a list, the ones that really matter, which are the ones that make loads of money go around, create media attention, following, etc. It CAN look like a feeble attempt at whatever you were thinking I was trying to do, but just by the type of examples I chose.

All I was trying to explain is that trends are usually overrated. Many things labeled as trends are nothing but the simple and mere act of reinventing the wheel. People put an absurdly high amount of importance on them cause they have an iconic quality and make them feel special. But that's just added value. From Apple products to social conventions, and anything in between.

I know that maybe you feel very assertive because you quote many things with published material and, therefore, make it look like it's utterly right. But that doesn't make it any less debatable.

And please, next time you quote something, don't edit the quote, much less with a derogative word.
Thank you.

[Constance]

Certain words are not permitted on this site, as per Rule # 11 of the TOS.

11. Foul or obscene language, and/or subjects belongs on the street, Please do not bring it on to my site.

In addition to toning down the insults, let's refrain from using profanities.

-Connie Anne
Global Moderator