A chronic condition is one that usually lasts a long time and requires consistent treatment to mitigate. They are distinct from acute illnesses, like the flu or the common cold, which appear suddenly and last for relatively short periods of time. Many chronic illnesses start off slow with mild symptoms that get worse over time. Examples of some chronic disorders include cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and long lasting mental disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Cisgender is the term used to describe people whose assigned sex at birth is the same as their gender identity. For example, someone who was assigned male at birth and continues to refer to themselves as a man is a cisgender man. In this way, it can be described as the opposite of transgender. Cisgender is often shortened to “cis” for brevity in the same way transgender can be shortened to trans.
Being cisgender is not related to sexual attraction, meaning that someone can be cisgender and not straight, or straight and not cisgender. The purpose behind the term “cisgender” is to remove the notion that being cisgender is the “normal” way to interact with one’s gender identity. This does not serve the purpose of stigmatizing cisgenderism; it is simply categorizing it as its own identity for social purposes.
Consent is the active agreement between two or more parties to partake in sexual activity with one another. In a legal context, both parties need to express an explicit, enthusiastic, freely-given yes for it to be considered consent. “Freely-given” in this definition excludes uneven power dynamics, such as a teacher/student or boss/employee relationship, as these dynamics implicitly remove the refuse from the disadvantaged party. Consent cannot be given by people under the legal age of consent.
Consent can also be freely revoked if one party no longer wishes to engage in sexual activity for whatever reason. In these cases, it’s best to use verbal communication to express the withdrawal of consent, as nonverbal communication can sometimes be unclear or imprecise. Nonverbal communication is better for reinforcing previously expressed verbal consent as there is less risk of being potentially misunderstood.
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