Cis-Assumed / Defaulted

Cis-Assumed / Defaulted

(verb)

An alternative to “passing as cisgender.” “Passing” is generally an intentional move to be seen as a certain gender, whereas “assumed” refers to how others are assuming someone’s gender. Cis-assumed can be a way to refer to the experience of passing as cisgender when that might not be a goal for the individual being referenced. Defaulting is a version of non-binary and intersex erasure.

e.g. Ezak is often defaulted by others as being a cisgender man. Their outward presentation makes it easy for them to be cis-assumed, but they are actually non-binary. They finds being defaulted flares their dysphoria.

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