Tag: Ask a Radical Copyeditor

Ask a Radical Copyeditor: What’s the Best Way to Refer to Everyone Who Isn’t Cis?

Posted on by Alex Kapitan
Word bubbles containing different terms used to describe everyone who's not cisgender and explanatory text
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A few months back I got a great question from some fellow trans writers who run a project that offers free support to other trans writers. They shared that they often struggle with what terms to use to let people know who can participate, and they asked if there is a single best term for everyone who isn’t cisgender.

The short answer was a big fat nope, but a longer answer feels worthwhile, because the question of how to best refer to everyone whose identities don’t conform to mainstream gender expectations/norms is a super challenging and multilayered topic. Language around gender is quickly evolving, so knowing which terms are most current and ensuring basic understanding across lines of difference is a real challenge.

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Ask a Radical Copyeditor: Are There Limits to Self-Identity Language?

Posted on by Alex Kapitan

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Are There Limits to Self-Identity Language?

Q: In response to your piece about person-centered language, my mind goes to difficult situations where I’ve interacted with marginalized people who use/identify comfortably with terms I understand to be oppressive, e.g., a trans woman using the term “tranny.”

In another more privileged direction, I’ve interacted with people who don’t identify with the term “cis” despite being cis, and have heard members of oppressed groups say, “you don’t get to choose not to be cis.”

So I guess my internal query is, how far does the agency of one’s identity go? And does language that marginalizes an oppressed group supersede the desire of an individual in their expression of identity through language?

Continue reading “Ask a Radical Copyeditor: Are There Limits to Self-Identity Language?” →