The other day I was having coffee with a friend.

“I love trans people, but I do not feel like I need to identify as cisgender,” my friend stated. She went on to say, “I am not transgender, I was born a woman and identify as a woman. Why should I say I am “cis” and how do I have ‘cisgender’ privilege? I’m just normal. How is being normal a privilege?”

What she didn’t realize was that saying she was normal – while speaking to me, a transgender man, as unintentionally “abnormal” – is exactly where cis privilege starts.

Here are a few cis privilege examples I gave my friend and I hope they help other ally folks too!