(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that the words “cis” and “cisgender” are now classified as slurs on the platform.
Musk believed people who used the term often said it as a derogatory slur against straight Twitter users, according to the Post Millennial.
“Repeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions,” Musk said. “The words ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’ are considered slurs on this platform.”
Repeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions.
The words “cis” or “cisgender” are considered slurs on this platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
The sudden decision came after user James Esses faced harassment and doxxing for a tweet where he explained why he did not want others to refer to him as “cis.”
“I formally and publicly declare that I reject the label of ‘cis’. I don’t believe in gender ideology,” Esses said. “I don’t self-identify as ‘cis’. Using this term makes me feel unsafe and is demonstrative of your hatred towards me. Anyone who uses the term ‘cis’ to describe me is a bigot.”
I formally and publicly declare that I reject the label of “cis”.
I don’t believe in gender ideology. I don’t self-identify as “cis”. Using this term makes me feel unsafe and is demonstrative of your hatred towards me. Anyone who uses the term “cis” to describe me is a bigot.
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) June 19, 2023
Musk also called the man who coined the term, sexologist and pedophile Volkmar Sigusch, a “contemptible creep” and encouraged users to “ignore him.”
Before Musk took over the platform, “misgendering” someone was a violation of Twitter’s rules. Several users, such as commentator Meghan Murphy, lost their accounts over using a trans person’s correct pronouns.
Until now, there has been no consequences for referring to people as “cis,” even if they reject the label personally.
When Musk took over the platform he loosened the terms of service, allowing conservative users to have more of a voice on the platform without the worry of banishment or doxxing by other users
Along with the new Twitter team, Musk also discovered that the federal government spied on private messages, influenced the spread of information—such as the Hunter Biden laptop story—and censored users for denouncing masking and vaccinations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
