Editing Sissy (section)

==History and usage==
The term ''sissy'' has historically been used among school children as a "relentlessly negative" insult, implying immaturity and gender or sexual deviance.<ref>Thorne, B. (1993). ''[[iarchive:genderplaygirlsb00thor|Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School]]''. Rutgers University Press, pp. 115-116. {{ISBN|978-0-8135-1923-4}}.</ref> It has been identified as [[sexist]] in guidance issued to schools in the United Kingdom<ref>Goodfellow, M., [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/new-guidelines-released-to-counter-gender-stereotyping-in-uk-schools-a6699881.html "New guidelines released to 'counter gender stereotyping' in UK schools"]. ''[[The Independent]]'', 19 October 2015.</ref> and described as "just as unacceptable as racist and homophobic language."<ref>Institute of Physics, [http://www.iop.org/publications/iop/2015/file_66429.pdf "Opening Doors: A guide to good practice in countering gender stereotyping in schools"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214065121/https://www.iop.org/publications/iop/2015/file_66429.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.iop.org/publications/iop/2015/file_66429.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=2020-02-14 }}. ''www.iop.org'', 2015.</ref> The terms ''gender creative'',<ref>Duron, L. (2013), [http://raisingmyrainbow.com/ "Raising My Rainbow"].</ref> ''pink boy'',<ref>Hoffman, Sara [http://www.salon.com/2011/02/22/son_looks_great_in_dress/ "My son, the pink boy"]. ''Salon''. February 22, 2011. Retrieved 10-Mar-2016.</ref> and ''tomgirl''<ref>Jeremy Asher Lynch. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160311124226/http://www.tomgirlmovie.com/about-tomgirl/ "About Tom Girl Movie"]}}. ''www.tomgirlmovie.com''. Retrieved 10-Mar-2016.</ref> have been suggested as polite alternatives. The Japanese word ''{{lang|ja-latn|[[bishōnen]]}}'' (literally "beautiful youth") and the Korean word ''{{Lang|ko-latn|[[kkonminam]]}}'' (literally "flower boy") are also polite terms for a man or boy with gentle or feminine attributes.

The word ''sissy'' in its original meaning of "sister" entered American English around 1840–1850 and acquired its pejorative meaning around 1885–1890; the verb ''sissify'' appeared in 1900–1905.<ref>''Random House Dictionary'', p. 1787.</ref> In comparison, the word ''tomboy'' is approximately three centuries older, dating to 1545–1555.<ref>''Random House Dictionary'' p. 1993.</ref>

By the 1930s, "there was no more damning insult than to be called a ''sissy''" and the word was widely used by American football coaches and sports writers to disparage rival teams and encourage ferocious player behavior.<ref>Oriard, M. (2001), ''[[iarchive:kingfootballspor0000oria v3n3|King Football: Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels]]''. University of North Carolina Press. {{ISBN|978-0807855454}}.</ref> The use of the word ''sissy'' was "ubiquitous" among delinquent American youth of the 1930s; the term was used to provoke boys to join gangs, demean boys who violated group norms, force compliance with the mandates of masculinity, and justify violence (including sexual violence) against younger and weaker children.<ref name="Grant, J. 2014 pp. 143-144">Grant, J. (2014), ''[[iarchive:boyproblemeducat0000gran|The Boy Problem: Educating Boys in Urban America 1870-1970]]''. Johns Hopkins University Press, New York, pp. 143-144. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-1259-7}}.</ref> Good students were taunted as sissies and clothing styles associated with higher social classes were demeaned as ''sissified.'' Among members of a [[Detroit]], Michigan youth gang in 1938–39, ''sissy'' was "the ultimate slur" used to tease and taunt other boys, as a rationalization for violence against rivals, and as an excuse for not observing the dicta of middle-class decorum and morality.<ref name="Grant, J. 2014 pp. 143-144"/>

By the late 1980s, some men began to [[reappropriation|reclaim]] the term ''sissy'' for themselves.<ref>Pronger, B. (1990), ''[[iarchive:arenaofmasculini0000pron y1k3|The Arena of Masculinity: Sports, Homosexuality, and the Meaning of Sex]]'', New York, St Martin's Press. {{ISBN|978-0312062934}}</ref> The spelling variation ''cissy'' was used in British English, at least prior to the mid 1970s.<ref>''[[iarchive:webstersnewworld00gur lvw|The World Book Dictionary]]'' (1976 Edition), Chicago, IL, Doubleday & Company, Inc., pp. 376 and 1951. {{ISBN|978-0-5290-5326-8}}.</ref> In the United States, the Comedy Central television series ''[[South Park]]'' inverted its meaning in a 2014 episode titled "[[The Cissy]]", which lampooned the controversy over [[Bathroom bill#By location type|transgender students' use of school restrooms]];<ref>Steinmetz, K. (2015). [https://time.com/3974186/transgender-bathroom-debate/ "Everything You Need to Know About the Debate Over Transgender People and Bathrooms"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.</ref> in the episode, a restroom initially designated for use by transgender students is later re-designated as "the cissy bathroom" for use by transphobic [[cisgender]] students.