# Ask the Left-Wing Alt-Right Prick **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 26, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383 "2017-09-26T23:59:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/41 "2017-09-27T14:46:38Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > Why do you object to “cisgendered” but not “heterosexual”? The context and history of both is nearly identical. > > It used to be, everyone was simply assumed to be heterosexual, so there was no need for a special word it. Then it became apparent that some people were different, so they got a special word to describe them. Then a word was coined to describe the people that were not homosexual. And that word was constructed by simply taking the opposite of the prefix. Homo -\> Hetero. > > It used to be, everyone was simply assumed to be cisgendered, so there was no need for a special word for it. Then it became apparent that some people were different, so they got a special word to describe them. Then a word was coined to describe the people that were not transgendered. And that word was constructed by simply taking the opposite of the prefix. Trans -\> Cis > > Why is it so offensive that people should want a word for “not transgendered”? What were people who were “not transgendered” called in the 1980s? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/42 "2017-09-27T14:56:26Z")
_Called it_ by post #5. Damn, I’m good. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/43 "2017-09-27T15:14:09Z")
You can’t be left-wing alt-right. I really think you just like to misuse terms to make yourself “special.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/44 "2017-09-27T15:18:34Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > What were people who were “not transgendered” called in the 1980s? You don’t need a term for something until you know that there is another option. Now that trans people exist, you need a word for those who do not fit the category. This is true for every single binary classification in existence. What is you’re guys’ problem with how language works? Cis- is a preexisting prefix that means the opposite of trans-. If you want another word, come up with one and try to get it used. This is like saying “I’m not heterosexual because I’m not different!” Hetero- is a preexisting opposite prefix to homo-. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/45 "2017-09-27T15:30:19Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > This question could be posed to ANY “ask the” thread. Sure, but oftentimes the person posting those threads have an interesting point of view or information to share with people who may not have been exposed to that kind of life. Like Ask the gay guy, or ask the woman in a wheelchair or ask the substance abuse counselor. This thread isn’t like those, it’s much more antagonistic and “look how controversial I am”. About the only interesting thing I could come up about the OP was whether and how an increase in awareness or concern for traditionally marginalized groups makes him feel somehow ignored or under siege. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/46 "2017-09-27T15:36:11Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > What were people who were “not transgendered” called in the 1980s? What were people who were “not homosexual” called in the 1880’s? As I said in my previous post, “It used to be, everyone was simply assumed to be cisgendered, so there was no need for a special word for it.” If you don’t recognize a distinction, you have no need for a word for that distinction. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/47 "2017-09-27T15:50:48Z")
What do you call someone who doesn’t have his ears pierced? What do you call someone who doesn’t have a cleft pallet? What do you call someone who doesn’t have 6 toes on his left foot? Not that I’m sympathizing with the OP, but the idea that you must have a term for the opposite of everything is silly. Language works the way it works. If a word is needed, people find a word. Certainly there are instances where certain people will need to differentiate between trans and non-trans. But most of us, most of the time don’t need to. I suspect most of us actually never need to. Personally, I can’t imagine any situation where I’d need to use the term “cisgendered to describe myself”, or that “I’m not a transgendered person” wouldn’t work. So use the term all you like, but I probably won’t. Mainly, I think, the idea is to avoid the word “normal” and imply a cisgendered normative viewpoint. Cis-boom-bah! ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/48 "2017-09-27T15:51:55Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You don’t need a term for something until you know that there is another option. Now that trans people exist, you need a word for those who do not fit the category. This is true for every single binary classification in existence. What is you’re guys’ problem with how language works? > > Cis- is a preexisting prefix that means the opposite of trans-. If you want another word, come up with one and try to get it used. > > This is like saying “I’m not heterosexual because I’m not different!” Hetero- is a preexisting opposite prefix to homo-. There were no transgender people before 1994? What do you call someone who is not a crossdresser? Is the opposite of transnational cisnational? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/49 "2017-09-27T15:52:17Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Oh, my. This thread is going to be the very definition of TL/DR. The OP was, and that’s a good start. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/50 "2017-09-27T16:34:59Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You can’t be left-wing alt-right. I really think you just like to misuse terms to make yourself “special.” Who are you to question his political identity? ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/51 "2017-09-27T16:39:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What do you call someone who doesn’t have his ears pierced? > > What do you call someone who doesn’t have a cleft pallet? > > What do you call someone who doesn’t have 6 toes on his left foot? > > Not that I’m sympathizing with the OP, but the idea that you must have a term for the opposite of everything is silly. Language works the way it works. If a word is needed, people find a word. Certainly there are instances where certain people will need to differentiate between trans and non-trans. But most of us, most of the time don’t need to. I suspect most of us actually never need to. Personally, I can’t imagine any situation where I’d need to use the term “cisgendered to describe myself”, or that “I’m not a transgendered person” wouldn’t work. So use the term all you like, but I probably won’t. > > Mainly, I think, the idea is to avoid the word “normal” and imply a cisgendered normative viewpoint. Cis-boom-bah! Sure, we don’t _have to_ have a word for every opposite. But there’s no reason to object to having words for opposites. Especially not **Zeke** , considering his points #3 and 4. If you never need to differentiate between trans and cis, then you never need to use the words trans or cis (or non-trans), so the existence of the words shouldn’t matter to you. Also, as far as I’m aware, there’s no single word to describe someone who does have their ears pierced, or who does have a cleft palate, so those aren’t particularly good examples. Polydactyly is a good example though. There’s oligodactyly but as far as I know there’s no single word for having the ordinary number of fingers and toes. But if someone coined one (mesodactyly, maybe?), it would be ridiculous to claim that that word is offensive, just because it applies to the majority of people. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/52 "2017-09-27T16:47:13Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > Polydactyly is a good example though. There’s oligodactyly but as far as I know there’s no single word for having the ordinary number of fingers and toes That’s strange. How do you distinguish between someone with 6 toes and someone with 5 if there is no word for someone with 5 toes? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/53 "2017-09-27T16:49:51Z")
Here’s a question for you, Zeke: Is your ire against the treatment of white males by not-whites and not-males based on treatment of you in real life, or just things you’ve heard on the internet? Is there any _actual_ harm you’ve experienced? Because I’ll tell you, as a white male who’s a complete lazy-ass and thus doesn’t bother to do anything to help my fellow humans (regardless of color or gender), I have somehow failed to develop a personal following of angry critics, in real life _or_ online. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/54 "2017-09-27T17:00:20Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > Sure, we don’t _have to_ have a word for every opposite. But there’s no reason to object to having words for opposites. Especially not **Zeke** , considering his points #3 and 4. If you never need to differentiate between trans and cis, then you never need to use the words trans or cis (or non-trans), so the existence of the words shouldn’t matter to you. > > Also, as far as I’m aware, there’s no single word to describe someone who does have their ears pierced, or who does have a cleft palate, so those aren’t particularly good examples. > > Polydactyly is a good example though. There’s oligodactyly but as far as I know there’s no single word for having the ordinary number of fingers and toes. But if someone coined one (mesodactyly, maybe?), it would be ridiculous to claim that that word is offensive, just because it applies to the majority of people. [Pentadactyly](http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Pentadactyly) ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/55 "2017-09-27T17:03:36Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Polydactyly is a good example though. There’s oligodactyly but as far as I know there’s no single word for having the ordinary number of fingers and toes > > That’s strange. How do you distinguish between someone with 6 toes and someone with 5 if there is no word for someone with 5 toes? Did you read the very next sentence after that? > [@Strinka](#): > > But if someone coined one (mesodactyly, maybe?), it would be ridiculous to claim that that word is offensive, just because it applies to the majority of people. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > [Pentadactyly](http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Pentadactyly) Oh, it turns out there is a word for it! Do you object to the existence of this word **manson1972**? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/56 "2017-09-27T17:03:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Personally, I can’t imagine any situation where I’d need to use the term “cisgendered to describe myself”, or that “I’m not a transgendered person” wouldn’t work. So use the term all you like, but I probably won’t. But if I’m talking about a group of people, and I want to talk about the subset of men who are the gender they were given at birth, what do I say? The point is that “man” and “woman” contain some important variations within them; “men” includes, among other subsets, “trans men”. If I want to talk about “men, but not trans men,” what word do I use? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/57 "2017-09-27T17:07:39Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > Oh, it turns out there is a word for it! Do you object to the existence of this word **manson1972**? I don’t object to the existence of words. I object to being labeled by other people. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/58 "2017-09-27T17:11:36Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > But if I’m talking about a group of people, and I want to talk about the subset of men who are the gender they were given at birth, what do I say? The point is that “man” and “woman” contain some important variations within them; “men” includes, among other subsets, “trans men”. If I want to talk about “men, but not trans men,” what word do I use? What if you want to talk about men, but not trans men or, to use your word, cis men? what word do you use? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/59 "2017-09-27T17:18:57Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > What if you want to talk about men, but not trans men or, to use your word, cis men? what word do you use? Neither trans men _or_ cis men? What’s that leave, again? ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383/60 "2017-09-27T17:20:49Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I don’t object to the existence of words. I object to being labeled by other people. Does that apply to all adjectives? Do you object if someone calls you “brown-haired”, or whatever color your hair is? If someone said, “You have five fingers on each hand, that means you’re pentadactyl.” would you object to being labelled? If someone said, “You’re attracted to the opposite sex, that means you’re heterosexual.” would you object to being labelled? If your answer to those questions is no, they why do you object to the adjective “cisgendered”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-left-wing-alt-right-prick/797383.md?page=4)