Cisnormativity

Cisnormativity refers to the social assumption that all people are, or should be, cisgender, meaning that the sex assigned at birth is assumed to naturally match a person’s gender identity. This makes trans, non-binary, and other gender-diverse people invisible, misrecognized, or devalued.

Cisnormativity can appear, for example, in forms with only two gender options, expectations about pronouns or bodily traits, medical routines, language, media representation, restroom rules, or legal procedures. It can be openly discriminatory, but it can also occur unconsciously and in everyday situations.

Cissexism often refers to the ideological or discriminatory devaluation of trans and non-binary people based on cisnormative assumptions. Cisnormativity is closely connected to heteronormativity, but it is not identical to it. Discrimination, exclusion, or hostility toward trans people is usually called transphobia or transmisia.