The Virginia Commonwealth University's Office of Multicultural Affairs has decided to publish a very helpful "LBGTQQIAAPP Terminology Guide" to assist their confused snowflakes with the very complicated task of determining their own gender. While the guide may seem fairly thorough, VCU notes that gender "language is constantly evolving, and these definitions are not by any means comprehensive" before warning that "terms of self-identification should not be used to label others without their consent."

Luckily, the terminology guide even has some very easy to understand illustrations to help students debunk the lifelong, evil myth that gender is somehow binary...

Here are some of the definitions that we found particularly helpful and we sincerely hope that our readers will take this opportunity to read, learn and reflect on their lives of "Cis Privilege." And for those of you still living in the dark ages, Cisgendered refers to the 99.7% of the population where "a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex" all miraculously align.



Biological Sex/ Natal Sex/ Birth Sex/ Sex: The medical term used for the identification of male, female, or intersex sex i.e. chromosomes, gonads, and/or genitalia Cisgender/ Cis/ Gender Normative/ Gender Straight: a person who has a normative gender presentation, when a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex align. A person who is not transgender. Cisgender Privilege/ Cis privilege: The societal assumption and norm that all people are cisgender. There are basic civil rights and social privileges that a cisgendered person automatically receives that are systematically denied to transgender persons, simply because of their gender identity/ gender presentation Demisexual: a person who is not immediately sexually attracted to other people. A person who’s sexual attraction to another person develops after developing a relationship (not necessarily romantic). Often considered within the asexuality spectrum Gender Confirmation surgery: any surgery to make a person’s outward appearance more closely align with their gender rather than biological sex, also known as gender reassignment surgery, many have transitioned to Gender Confirmation Surgery as it utilizes more positive language. Heterosexual Privilege/Heteronormativity: The societal assumption and norm that all people are heterosexual. There are basic civil rights and social privileges that a heterosexual person automatically receives that are systematically denied to queer persons, simply because of their sexual orientation.

Of course, while VCU asserts that there are "basic civil rights and social privileges" afforded to "cisgendered" people that are constantly denied other people based on their "gender identity/ gender presentation", the university fails to define exactly which privileges to which they are referring.



For those of you looking for even more enlightenment on this very important topic plaguing roughly 0.3% of the population, please see the complete LBGTQQIAAPP Terminology Guide below: