WHAT IS ‘CISSEXISM

 WHAT IS ‘CISSEXISM?’

Cissexism is a form of oppression and discrimination by those who fear, disbelieve, or severely dislike people who are gender non-conforming.

Cissexism can be both obvious and subtle, with some people denying jobs, housing, healthcare, and more, to someone who is transgender.

People can have cissexist tendencies or behaviors due to several reasons. For example, a person may grow up in a family or community that encourages stereotypes or negative views of people who are transgender.

Additionally, an individual’s family or community may also have strict gender roles and look down on those who do not conform.

Other people may exhibit cissexist attitudes or behaviors because they do not know or understand the issues that the trans community faces.

Some examples of cissexist beliefs and behaviors include:

• having a negative attitude towards people who are transgender
• prejudice and aversion to those in the trans community
• fearing and misunderstanding the trans community
• not believing and refusing to use preferred pronouns or a person’s gender identity
• using offensive slurs
• physical, verbal, and psychological abuse and violence

How can cissexism affect a person’s mental health?

Experiencing cissexism can lead to mental health conditions.

In a 2018 systematic review, researchers used a minority stress model to investigate the stressors that a minority group experiences.

These stressors include:

• discrimination and violence
• the energy that a minority group has to expend to protect themselves against this discrimination and violence
• a minority group’s internalization of negative stereotypes

These all contribute toward mental health conditions. A combination of these stressors may overwhelm a person’s ability to cope.

The review looked at several studies through the minority stress model to investigate the effect of cissexism on a person’s mental health.

People who are a part of the trans community and experience cissexism are likely to experience:

• depressive symptoms
• anxiety symptoms
• posttraumatic stress symptoms
• general psychological distress