I think that, from the perspective of trans people, the word is deeply necessary. If we aren’t even permitted to have a neutral descriptor that describes everyone else, how can we even find ways to talk about our lives? Would you expect gay folks to never use the word “straight” when talking to straight people? Black folks never to use the word “white” when talking to white people? When a marginalised group is not permitted even to assign a name to the dominant group… yeah, there’s something very amiss. From our perspective, using weird circumlocutions like “non-trans” really isn’t okay. It becomes a tacit way to assert that there are “normal (non trans) people” and “abnormal (trans) peole”. The reason why we push for “cis and trans” as the terminology is that it’s… well, it’s basic fairness?
I think that, from the perspective of trans people, the word is deeply necessary. If we aren’t even permitted to have a neutral descriptor that describes everyone else, how can we even find ways to talk about our lives? Would you expect gay folks to never use the word “straight” when talking to straight people? Black folks never to use the word “white” when talking to white people? When a marginalised group is not permitted even to assign a name to the dominant group… yeah, there’s something very amiss. From our perspective, using weird circumlocutions like “non-trans” really isn’t okay. It becomes a tacit way to assert that there are “normal (non trans) people” and “abnormal (trans) peole”. The reason why we push for “cis and trans” as the terminology is that it’s… well, it’s basic fairness?