Elon Musk is taking a stand against a specific set of “slurs” that he says are no longer welcome on Twitter. The slurs that he was referring to are “cis” and “cisgender.”
“The words ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’ are considered slurs on this platform,” Musk tweeted on Wednesday. “Repeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions.”
Musk’s comments came in response to a tweet from conservative commentator James Esses.
“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 tweeted.
The term “cisgender” has become increasingly popular in recent years and refers to a person who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth. German sexologist Volkmar Sigusch is credited with creating the word in 1991 in a book about transgender people, according to a user responding to Musk’s tweet.
“If there are transsexuals, logically there must be cissexuals,” Sigusch wrote in his book. “One is not to be thought without the other at all. I have allowed myself to introduce the terms cissexualism, cissexuals, cisgender….”
Responding to the tweet, Musk said that the term had serious problems behind it, taking a shot at Sigusch.
“Yup, the contemptible creep that manufactured the term ‘cis’ has serious problems. Ignore him,” Musk tweeted.
Several others responded to the tweet from Musk, calling it an “extreme” move, with some asking why words like the “N-word” weren’t banned.
Twitter’s policy on slurs says that “tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes” are not allowed on the platform. There is no clear list that says which words fall into this category.
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