Gender “Essentialism” vs. Gender “Identicalism” Feminism 101 for Third Wave Femi

[Natasha]

Gender "Essentialism" vs. Gender "Identicalism" Feminism 101 for Third Wave Feminists

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By catkisser
8/22/2008


Recently those who claim some feminist creds among the transgender/->-bleeped-<- spectrums have introduced the concepts of cisgender and cissexual. These words, read in context, appear to be an "othering" of those who use them from the entire rest of the world to then claim victimhood by everyone. At least that's how it appears to me. Cisgender apparently refers to having a consistent gender identity (sense of one's self as male or female) and cissexual apparently refers to having a congruence of gender identity with one's own body. These transgender/->-bleeped-<-s argue that this confers a "privilege" similar to male privilege that is similarly invisible to all but those who are "othered".