As a young child I was oblivious to cultural gender roles of what was acceptable. I enjoyed being feminine but also liked to tagging along with my brother and do “guy stuff.” I was not aware of the naming my experience as a cisgender identity until this class. This also made me ignorant of the privileges I held as a cisgender individual. The readings also made me aware of cissexism as a means of oppressing transgender and transsexual individuals. Class discussion also made to realize how I gender myself in everyday life. This happens from the time I get up in the morning by curling, carrying a purse with me during the day, and removing my make-up at night.

Currently I understand cisgenderism to be a two-pronged issue. First, there is the system of oppression that perpetuates gender in terms of masculinity and femininity. This is categorizing gender and sex as “opposites” (Serano, 2013, p. 446). The result of pairing sex and gender into specific categories creates rigid categories. Secondly, there is the systematic oppression for people who are between genders and favors cisgender people. For example, when I go to the gym I do not need to worry about which locker room to use (Taylor, 2013, p. 456). Since this was not a salient identity, I did not have to be aware of the challenges other people experienced. Now that I have a better understanding of cisgenderism I can re-examine how my family and social communities functioned in persistent cissexism.

My reaction to this new awareness was to ask more questions. I wrestled with what can I do in my sphere of influence and what does justice look like through my lens of Christian faith? Not only was it difficult unpacking when I became aware of my cisgenderism, it is also challenging to unpack evidences of cissexism. In many instances I feel as if I am scrutinizing something that meshed into the background scenery of life.

Transgenderism was an “unmentionable” topic at church and at my Christian higher education institution. Most thought to transition from one gender or sex to another was to not be appreciative of yourself as “created in the image of God.” If there was not a safe place for transgender people to go when I was a student, I do not think there is a safe space now. Looking forward to my professional career I want to be proactive in engaging the conversation of cisgender and transgender identities. I think it is an important identity to be aware of and to understand better.

To echoa classmate's comment from the facilitated dialogue, as administrators in higher education, building a supportive and safe space for students’ means “sitting in the grey.” It may be a difficult topic to engage someone else with but to give of your time and presence will speak volumes to a person. It will let them know they are cared for and valued. In my opinion these small conversations can lead to an equitable and more just environment. Starting with listening I can engage with campus partners’ one conversation at a time. This might look like requesting forms to get updated, bathrooms changed, or dorm policies adjusted. For now, this is my position on navigating cissexism at the institutional level. Engendering a culture that is sensitive to the needs of students does not happen over night but one conversation at a time.

References

Serano, J. (2013). Trans Woman Manifesto. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. Castañeda, M.L. Peters, & X. Zúñiga, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice (Third ed., pp. 443-446). New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Taylor, E. (2013). Cisgender Privilege; on the privileges of performing normative gender. In M.Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. Castañeda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zúñiga, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice (pp. 455-457). New York: Routledge.