Tesla CEO and entrepreneur Elon Musk designated the terms “cis” and “cisgender” as slurs on Twitter Wednesday, sparking a wide array of responses from Twitter users.
Musk’s statement came in response to James Esses, commentator and co-founder of the Thoughtful Therapists organization, saying that he had been harassed on the platform by transgender activists after saying he didn’t want to be referred to as “cis.”
“Yesterday, after posting a Tweet saying that I reject the word ‘cis’ and don’t wish to be called it, I receive a slew of messages from trans activists calling me ‘cissy’ and telling me that I am ‘cis’ ‘whether or not I like it,’” Esses said in his Tweet. “Just imagine if the roles were reversed.”
Musk later responded to Esses, speaking out against the agitators and emphasizing Twitter’s policies against harassment.
“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,” Musk’s statement read.
People on Twitter had a lot to say in response to his designation of the term as a slur, both in support and opposition.
Related: Dems Re-Up the 'Equality Act' To Force Americans To Accept Transgenderism
“So Nazis and racism are permitted under free speech, but a scientific term is a slur? I have never seen someone tank their image so quickly and intentionally,” one Twitter user said.
“MAGAS can gang up and bully anybody. Even make death threats. But when anyone pushes back the MAGAS cry victim. And @elonmusk swoops in to protect them,” another user said.
“Thank you. I am a woman. I don’t need any slur added to that to determine what and who I am,” one user responded.
According to Twitter’s “Hateful Conduct” policy (updated as of April 2023), using slurs on the platform may result in a tweet being taken down or having its visibility restricted. The policy states that users “may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease,” but does not at this time identify any specific words that are explicitly banned on the site.
Linda Yaccarino took over for Musk as Twitter CEO earlier in June, but Musk still maintains ownership of the company and has previously said he intends to remain involved with how the platform operates.
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