Cishet
Cishet is a term to describe individuals who are both cisgender and heterosexual (or heteroromantic). In other words, a cishet individual is someone who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth and are attracted to the opposite/dissimilar gender.[1] It is also used by LGBTQIA+ or queer individuals to describe anyone who is not part of the community in any way, shape or form.[2] However, when regarding this definition, cishet tends to not be inclusive of those who:
- may be on the anattractional spectrum;
- are only partly cisgender or hetero;
- or whose gender and orientation is fluid and thus only sometimes cisgender and hetero.
Other variations of cishet include allocishet, periallocishet, monocishet, monoallocishet, perimonocishet, and perimonoallocishet.[3][4][5][6][7] These alternatives reference the following additional identities:
- allo: individuals that experience attraction;
- perisex: individuals that are not intersex;
- monoamorous: individuals that are only partnered with one individual at a time.
Criticisms
Some individuals prefer the longer descriptive formats to ensure certain queer minorities aren't excluded. However others argue that these variants are excessive, and although the term cishet does not reference the aforementioned minorities, cishet is still acknowledged to be synonymous with "not queer".[5][6][4][7]
Various individuals have also expressed a dislike towards the inclusion of monoamorous in monocishet and similar variants, stating that polyamory is not inherently a queer identity.[7][8]
Related Terms
| Label | Relationship | Description | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| COGAP | Similar | An acronym for individuals who are not part of the LGBTQIA+ community in any way. | COGAP includes cishet individuals in addition to other conformant terms. |
| Conformant | Similar | A term for anyone who falls into expected societal or cultural ideas, self-identification, and roles. | One can be conformant in some ways but not others, whereas cishet is meant to serve as a catch-all for any non-queer individuals. |
| LGBT+ | Opposite | An acronym referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other orientation and gender minorities. | Cishet is used to describe individuals who are not queer nor part of the LGBT+ umbrella. |
| Queer | Opposite | A term for individuals who fall outside societal or cultural norms regarding self-identification. | Cishet is used to describe individuals who are not queer nor part of the LGBT+ umbrella. |
| Variant | Opposite | Describes an individual who does not fall into the expected societal or cultural ideas, self-identification, or roles. | Cishet is used to describe individuals who are not queer nor part of the LGBT+ umbrella. |
Resources
- ↑ Ferguson, Sian. “10 FAQs about the Difference between Being Cisgender and Straight.” Healthline, 23 Sept. 2019, www.healthline.com/health/cisgender-vs-straight#cishet-defined.
- ↑ Piñeiro, Sophia Melissa Caraballo. “What Does Cishet Mean?” Cosmopolitan, 24 Sept. 2021, www.cosmopolitan.com/sexopedia/a37711267/cishet/.
- ↑ A Lone Smartass. "allocishet". Urban Dictionary, 14 Jun, 2021, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=allocishet.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 posi-pan. "anonymous had this to say:". Tumblr, 17 Mar, 2019, https://posi-pan.tumblr.com/post/183509940612/every-time-i-see-the-word-cishet-anymore-i-cant.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Patchirisu. "Is polyamory queer?". Reddit, 25 Feb, 2021, https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/lrdgrh/is_polyamory_queer/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Pensive-emoji--. "Why must gender (and other stuff) be like this". Reddit, 11 Apr, 2023, https://www.reddit.com/r/ennnnnnnnnnnnbbbbbby/comments/12i5tli/why_must_gender_and_other_stuff_be_like_this/.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 world-broken-doll. "Okay, since I've seen a lot of hot debates here". Reddit, 5 Dec, 2021, https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbtmemes/comments/r8nk0n/spoiler_cishetero_people_can_be_queer_too_in_a/.
- ↑ NoPronounRequired. "Are polyamorous people considered queer?". Reddit, 12 Nov, 2023, https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLGBT/comments/17t6wqu/are_polyamorous_people_considered_queer/.
