Shefali O'Hara
1 min readJan 5, 2020

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I find the term “cisgender” to be weird and I don’t care for it.

I don’t see why there needs to be a distinct word for people who choose to remain the gender they are born. For them, no change has occurred.

From a scientific perspective, a new word is needed for a new construct, not for something that remains the same.

When a trans woman transitions, it’s like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Two words are needed because change has occurred. But even in that case, we can use words that are already present in the English language — women and men.

I don’t like the word trans woman. Women who have transitioned are women. They used to be men, now they are women. That’s it.

I don’t want to be referred to as a cis woman. I’m a woman. And if you used to be a man but now you are a woman, I’ll refer to you as a woman as well.

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Shefali O'Hara
Shefali O'Hara

Written by Shefali O'Hara

Cancer survivor, Christian, writer, engineer. BSEE from MIT, MSEE, and MA in history. Love nature, animals, books, art, and interesting discussions.

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