‘Cis’ and ‘cisgender’ slurs on Twitter: Is Elon Musk right?
Fact Box
- ‘Cisgender’ is described as people whose ‘gender identity’ match their birth sex.
- On June 20, 2023, after previously rejecting the term ‘cis’ on Twitter, social commentator James Esses’ tweeted that trans activists were calling him ‘cis’ “whether or not I like it.” The next day, Elon Musk responded “the words ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’ are considered slurs on this platform.”
- Controversial sexologist and physician Volkmar Sigusch coined ‘cisgender’ “as an antonym to transgender” in a 1991 publication. When asked in a 2011 interview what the biggest taboo in sexuality was, he answered, 'Clearly child sexuality, including everything that goes with it – pedophilia, pedosexuality.' Sigusch died February 2023.
- Google Trends’ Interest over time shows that ‘cisgender’ saw a US spike in searches in 2014.
- A June 2023 UCLA Williams Institute study estimates that 1.6 million US citizens, roughly 0.5% of the population, identify as transgender, including 300,000 youths (those aged 13-17).
- A PRRI poll found that as of June 2023, 65% of Americans say “there are two gender identities”—up from 59% in 2021. Of that number, 90% of Republicans believe in two genders whereas only 44% of Democrats do.
Curtice (Yes)
'Cisgender' is a term invented by a pedophilic sexologist to legitimize 'transsexualism' by reframing normal understandings of sexuality (that is, a person's sex is distinct and unchanging) as just a 'counterpart' to trans identification. The term is inherently ideological and deployed by trans activists to 'stigmatize' and delegitimize normalcy while denigrating natural sexual function and the traditional structures that undergird society. Calling people 'cis' forcibly places them on the Left's antiscientific, endless gender spectrum, implying that someone who understands biology to be real (and isn’t just a random 'guess' made by doctors) is just one possible gender variation among many others. It manipulates people into accepting the lie of there being many genders and that they must signal their allegiance to gender ideology—like putting pronouns in their bio.
It shouldn't be that Musk and Twitter would have to resort to such measures, but it’s apparent that Musk recognizes the power of language, which the Left frequently dominates. In effect, he is giving them a dose of their own medicine. Much of the LGBTQ community has attempted, with much success, to determine what is and is not acceptable by name-calling those with a different viewpoint as 'bigots,' 'racists,' and 'phobes.' Whoever controls language controls power, as George Orwell warned about in his books.
Perhaps Musk’s new policy will help those fully converted to the gender 'cult' come to terms with at least one reality: it does not control all aspects of someone's language or thought, much to its dismay. It's time for those marginalized by liberally-dominated elite institutions (such as much of the federal government, academia, the public education system, Hollywood, Big Tech, corporations, and the mainstream media) to reclaim some standing again in the culture.
Rob (No)
Elon Musk's decision to consider 'cis' and 'cisgender' as slurs on Twitter has sparked outrage among many people, and rightly so. Given his history of transphobic tweets, this revelation may not come as a complete surprise, but seeing such blatant prejudice on public display is still shocking. While it's true he owns the company and can establish his own rules as he wishes, he also needs to recognize that the platform has a huge influence today. What happens online is more than likely to permeate the real world, and hatred from behind a keyboard can manifest as unfounded violence against transgender people.
Musk appears to be ignorant or unconcerned about the fact that his decision could breed divisiveness and targeted hostility toward an already vulnerable demographic. Labeling these terms as slurs could also potentially send a message that being cisgender is somehow negative or derogatory, which undermines the worth of cisgender people's identities. Thus, the move could be interpreted as an attempt to suppress trans people and their sympathizers.
The word 'cisgender,' meaning 'a person whose gender identity corresponds to the sex with which they were born,' is merely an adjective. Calling it a slur only hinders the acceptance of the complexities of gender, a reality of today's world. According to a Twitter poll following the June 21st drama that asked whether the terms 'cis' and 'cisgender' are slurs, more than 51% of over half a million people have voted 'no.' This merely emphasizes the need for consistent moderation of protocols used to prohibit specific expressions based on their potential to offend or hurt if we're to avoid such irrational regulations in the future.
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