Cis

A cis, or cisgender, person is one whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, someone who identifies as a man and was assigned male at birth is a cisgender man. (In contrast, someone who identifies as a woman and was assigned male at birth is a trans, or transgender, woman).

What is the origin of cis?

Cis is derived from cisgender, a relatively-recently coined term that describes people whose personal identity conforms with the gender they were assigned at birth.

The word cissexual means the same thing as cisgender. Cissexual was actually coined first, and for a bit, it was more popular than cisgender. However, in the 2000s, several popular scholarly articles and books used cisgender in place of cissexual. Ever since, cisgender has been the more common term.

Where am I likely to see cis used?

You're likely to see cis used on social media and in web forums as people discuss their own and others' gender identity. You may see people labelled as cis males and cis females, meaning they are cisgender men and cisgender women.

Note that cis does not describe a person's sexual orientation. For example, a cis man could be straight, gay, bi, pan, or asexual.

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