General Discussion

Tab

(11,093 posts) Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:26 PM Dec 2015

Terminology question

Personally I'm a hetero but I've followed gay rights (for both friends of mine and personal philosophy).

I am just lost in some of the terminology right right now. I get LGBTQ. but now there's LGBTQIA. What's the last IA?

And what the hell is Cis? I get the impression it's a variation of "thinking about it / feeling that way". I want to have informed conversations, and was okay up to Cis, and that was pushing my understanding of the terminology but now that we're into "IA" - whatever that is - I've just lost my bearings, and am hoping someone here will correct my terminology. Now it's taken a terminology swing and I'm lost. Any help appreciated.

17 replies

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Highlight:

Terminology question (Original Post) Tab Dec 2015 OP

Cis is you that you identify with the same gender as you are anatomically. HERVEPA Dec 2015 #1

We need a term for that? Tab Dec 2015 #4

Gender and sexual orientation are two different things. JackBeck Dec 2015 #8

As described in the previous post Tab Dec 2015 #12

Or, on reading it again Tab Dec 2015 #14

Gender identity and sexual orientation are two entirely different things. JackBeck Dec 2015 #15

No, cisgender refers to folks who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. n/t JackBeck Dec 2015 #7

Intersex and Asexual (nt) bigwillq Dec 2015 #2

Okay... I get the asexual part Tab Dec 2015 #5

Intersex bigwillq Dec 2015 #6

Okay I can understand that now Tab Dec 2015 #13

I thought "A" referred to members of the community who identified as "Allies." n/t JackBeck Dec 2015 #9

Possibly. bigwillq Dec 2015 #10

Found this: bigwillq Dec 2015 #11

There's a lot going on in that definition! JackBeck Dec 2015 #16

Meep, I was out of date! Retracted. n/t Shandris Dec 2015 #3

Intersex and asexual Spider Jerusalem Dec 2015 #17

HERVEPA

(6,107 posts)

1. Cis is you that you identify with the same gender as you are anatomically.

Reply to Tab (Original post)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:29 PM

Dec 2015

Tab

(11,093 posts)

4. We need a term for that?

Reply to HERVEPA (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:32 PM

Dec 2015

Why not heterosexual, since (it sounds like) that's what you are?

JackBeck

(12,359 posts)

8. Gender and sexual orientation are two different things.

Reply to Tab (Reply #4)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:38 PM

Dec 2015

If we have a term to identify transgender folks, why have an issue with terminology to apply to folks who are not transgender?

Tab

(11,093 posts)

12. As described in the previous post

Reply to JackBeck (Reply #8)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:43 PM

Dec 2015

it was people who identified with their natural gender, so that's not heterosexual?

I don't care about the specific terminology, I'm just trying to understand it. Cis has always confused me.

Tab

(11,093 posts)

14. Or, on reading it again

Reply to Tab (Reply #12)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:50 PM

Dec 2015

This is that they (for example) identify with male but want non-male sexual encounters? Does Cis have a different understanding than "homosexuality"? Because it seems the same.

JackBeck

(12,359 posts)

15. Gender identity and sexual orientation are two entirely different things.

Reply to Tab (Reply #14)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:57 PM

Dec 2015

Cisgender people are people who do not identify as transgender.

Cisgender people can identify as: straight, bisexual, gay, asexual, polyamorous, etc.

Transgender people can also identify as: straight, bisexual, gay, asexual, polyamorous, etc.

Again, sexual orientation and gender identity are two different concepts, that can sometimes intersect.

JackBeck

(12,359 posts)

7. No, cisgender refers to folks who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. n/t

Reply to HERVEPA (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:36 PM

Dec 2015

bigwillq

(72,790 posts)

2. Intersex and Asexual (nt)

Reply to Tab (Original post)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:30 PM

Dec 2015

Tab

(11,093 posts)

5. Okay... I get the asexual part

Reply to bigwillq (Reply #2)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:33 PM

Dec 2015

but what's 'intersexual'?

I don't mean to be ignorant, but it seems like terminology has made a major jump in the last two years, and I'm not keeping up.

bigwillq

(72,790 posts)

6. Intersex

Reply to Tab (Reply #5)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:36 PM

Dec 2015

http://www.isna.org/faq/what_is_intersex

Tab

(11,093 posts)

13. Okay I can understand that now

Reply to bigwillq (Reply #6)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:45 PM

Dec 2015

and I know of similar situations, so I understand the new terminology on that.

JackBeck

(12,359 posts)

9. I thought "A" referred to members of the community who identified as "Allies." n/t

Reply to bigwillq (Reply #2)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:39 PM

Dec 2015

bigwillq

(72,790 posts)

10. Possibly.

Reply to JackBeck (Reply #9)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:41 PM

Dec 2015

I thought it was asexual.

bigwillq

(72,790 posts)

11. Found this:

Reply to JackBeck (Reply #9)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:43 PM

Dec 2015

LGBTQIA Allyship: The practice of confronting heterosexism, sexism, genderism, allosexism, and monosexism in oneself and others out of self-interest and a concern for the well being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people. Is founded on the belief and believes that dismantling heterosexism, biphobia, transphobia and genderism/cis-sexism is a social justice issue.

http://lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu/educated/glossary.html

JackBeck

(12,359 posts)

16. There's a lot going on in that definition!

Reply to bigwillq (Reply #11)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 07:04 PM

Dec 2015

If found it's better to simplify when introducing new concepts to folks during an advocacy training.

I've always taught "Asexual" under the sexual orientation module when introducing terminology. I've also found that referring to the "A" as "Ally" makes a lot of the folks in the room feel that they can more closely identify with the material that's being presented.

Shandris

(3,447 posts)

3. Meep, I was out of date! Retracted. n/t

Reply to Tab (Original post)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 06:30 PM

Dec 2015

---------------

Spider Jerusalem

(21,786 posts)

17. Intersex and asexual

Reply to Tab (Original post)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 09:02 PM

Dec 2015

and "cis" is "not trans", as in "Cisalpine Gaul".

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