“Sing Us A Song You’re The Piano Cisgender Male”

I’m down with your pronouns — can I still use my noun?

About three years ago, I was having lunch with a female friend, discussing all things gender related. She’s bisexual, so it’s always intriguing to get her perspective on sex and gender-related topics.

In the middle of a sentence, she said, “…like you, a cisgender male.”

I said, “Wait…a what? A sisss…what?” Trying to talk with a mouthful of meatball sub or Italian cold cut — or some manly sandwich.

I had to admit I had never heard that term before.

She explained what it meant, and I could paraphrase, but here’s the Google definition instead:

Cisgender male: a man who was assigned male at birth (AMAB) and identifies as a man. The term “cisgender” describes people whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

So…like…a man?

For the first 50 years of my life, that 3-letter word always worked so well.
It was short and to the point, one syllable, and almost impossible to misspell.

I never got a notice in the mail, and I don’t remember registering, but apparently, now I’m a “cisgender male.”