Common Patterns of Cisgender Use in Public Health Articles and Their Implications for Gender Inclusivity Efforts, 2013‒2020

Abstract

Objectives. To identify how “cisgender” has been used in public health articles in recent years relative to the historical origins of the term to mark normative gender and describe systems of social power. Methods. I analyzed 352 US-focused public health articles (2013–2020) using a summative content analysis approach. I traced cisgender use by year and compared it by sample population (cisgender-only, mixed, not cisgender). Results. I identified 4 interlocking and mutually reinforcing patterns of cisgender use: limited and narrow use, undertheorized use, use as the default gender, and reinforcing binary categorization. These patterns largely result from the narrowing of cisgender to a demographic label. Conclusions. Cisgender is primarily used to categorize individual research participants as not transgender rather than to reflect participants’ actual identity and experiences within gendered systems of power, which undermines cisgender’s potential to support gender-inclusivity efforts and deepen understandings of gender-based health disparities. Public Health Implications. Two paths for creating more robust use of cisgender are (1) supporting gender inclusivity by clarifying and standardizing how and when the demographic category is used and (2) expanding the analytic potential of cisgender by returning to its historical origins as a framework for exposing and explaining patterns of power. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 26, 2023:e1–e7. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307441 )