This page describes topics that may be uncomfortable or upsetting to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Avoid this page if you are sensitive to topics of a reclaimed slur.
Sissy is a term used to describe people who were assigned male at birth and embrace feminine roles and/or expression. A reclaimed slur, it retains connotations of censure that can be important to those using it as a gender identity label. The identity can fall under the genderqueer, gender-variant, transfeminine, gender non-conforming, or nonbinary umbrella depending on the individual’s identification with those terms.
When used as a gender identity, Sissy has overlap with some usages of the terms Androgyne and Epicene but is distinguished by its integral emphasis on gender privilege and power dynamics. Cultural diminishment of femininity, contempt for males who reflect it, and expectations of feminine deference to masculinity are all part of the point. A Sissy identity queers and subverts those structures while honoring the messiness and imperfection of individual humanity and identity.