Elon Musk declared that "cis" is a slur on twitter. The word is no more a slur than "straight" or "heterosexual," and it has over a hundred years of use to describe gender identity or presentation.
If "straight white male" has become a derogatory term, the people who are responsible for that are straight white males by virtue of their behavior. Regarding "cisgender," Mike Figueredo has it right - just using the descriptor, which is itself entirely neutral, prevents bigots from "other"-izing" trans folks because it eliminates a default position. That's what's behind the entire culture war.
Exactly! The objection to terms like "cis" and even - lord help me - "straight" is drawn from the (perhaps, in kindness, unrecognized) desire of those people to regard themselves as beyond definition, beyond the need for explanation, as the standard to which everyone else should aspire. That some prefer "normal" simply illustrates the point, although I have to say for myself that this old, straight, cis white guy has never found being "normal" a status to be desired.
I stayed on Twitter for awhile because I had connected with other Endometriosis advocates and didn’t want to lose those connections. Yesterday did it for me though. I did one last tweet calling Elon out and then I deleted the app.
I wonder if it’s genuine or accidental whataboutism - they’re basically ignoring actual hate speech and saying, “what about this term, it makes me uncomfortable”
Sure, it probably does for reasons outlined in other comments here - that it eliminates the default assumption (just like having everyone share pronouns does). But also it’s their default tactic. To put us on the defensive.
The only option is to stand by truth and fact and keep using cis on Twitter. Or better yet, delete Twitter. It’s a hate-filled place with no value.
I just can’t wrap my head around why Elon is constantly trying to tailor Twitter to cater to the biggest losers on the internet. Is this what being terminally divorced does to the brain?
Sometimes you have to just shake your head. I guess the theory is if you can deny that cisgender is a thing then you can deny that transgender is a thing. Or it just could be ignorance I don't know. But considering who it is makes it hard for me to believe that hate isn't involved somehow.
When I posted on my Facebook page what Erin reported on the courts that have pushed back on the anti-trans legislation, a liberal friend read 'gender dysphoria' as 'mental illness' and he said he agreed with that.
That is, he didn't get it.
Testing him on his misread, he confirmed he was stuck in an outdated paradigm. I was surprised and disappointed. I shouldn't have been. Even bright, usually sane and reasonably empathetic straights resist informing themselves on what they still think is a distant matter to them. It will take time to get through to these people.
This is exactly the calculation of the money guys behind this hate campaign: confuse and poison the public perception of a small, complex minority. We have a moral imperative to stand up against this evil.
Twitter has become a cesspool since Elon took over. I stopped using it months ago. I think he's hoping to turn it into the social media version of fox news to try and make it profitable. Yuck.
I can understand an ideological objection to the use of the terms "cisgender" and "transgender"; if you don't believe gender is real or can diverge from sex, than use of either term is effectively an affirmation of unreality. I think this is the basis for the objection of Walsh and Knowles.
But a slur? That seems a stretch. Have any of the people making this assessment explained why they think the way they do? Is it possible it's rooted in some sort of insecurity?
I guess it doesn't matter; Musk will do as he likes with Twitter. But it's not much of a free speech stance. If his real objections are ideological, I think he should say so, rather than appeal to something that does not appear to be reasonable.
I've never a twitter user but I do wish I could tweet "Dumbellius Silencia" at JK Rowling.
Denying gender identity is nothing more than science denial. These dopes are in the same boat s the Catholic church when they denied the heliocentric solar system. But science always wins. These people will tomorrow's laughingstock when we inaugurate President Zooey Zephyr.
This is just another way for transphobes to play victim while terrorizing trans people.
Bingo
If "straight white male" has become a derogatory term, the people who are responsible for that are straight white males by virtue of their behavior. Regarding "cisgender," Mike Figueredo has it right - just using the descriptor, which is itself entirely neutral, prevents bigots from "other"-izing" trans folks because it eliminates a default position. That's what's behind the entire culture war.
"eliminates a default position"
Exactly! The objection to terms like "cis" and even - lord help me - "straight" is drawn from the (perhaps, in kindness, unrecognized) desire of those people to regard themselves as beyond definition, beyond the need for explanation, as the standard to which everyone else should aspire. That some prefer "normal" simply illustrates the point, although I have to say for myself that this old, straight, cis white guy has never found being "normal" a status to be desired.
Twitter as one commenter here said “It’s a hate-filled place with no value.” exactly. The only reasonable thing to do is close and delete the app.
The best time to leave Twitter was six months ago. The second best time is today.
I stayed on Twitter for awhile because I had connected with other Endometriosis advocates and didn’t want to lose those connections. Yesterday did it for me though. I did one last tweet calling Elon out and then I deleted the app.
I wonder if it’s genuine or accidental whataboutism - they’re basically ignoring actual hate speech and saying, “what about this term, it makes me uncomfortable”
Sure, it probably does for reasons outlined in other comments here - that it eliminates the default assumption (just like having everyone share pronouns does). But also it’s their default tactic. To put us on the defensive.
The only option is to stand by truth and fact and keep using cis on Twitter. Or better yet, delete Twitter. It’s a hate-filled place with no value.
I just can’t wrap my head around why Elon is constantly trying to tailor Twitter to cater to the biggest losers on the internet. Is this what being terminally divorced does to the brain?
Elon sucks.
Sometimes you have to just shake your head. I guess the theory is if you can deny that cisgender is a thing then you can deny that transgender is a thing. Or it just could be ignorance I don't know. But considering who it is makes it hard for me to believe that hate isn't involved somehow.
This is what I think. They think there's no need for the word cisgender since transgender doesn't really exist. (And yes, it's hate).
Makes perfect sense to me.
How to ensure you're referenced as Cis more. Elon is dumb. First thing I did was call him a straight cisgender man on Twitter. Please ban me, Elon.
Mastodon is here waiting for you! Just saying... 😁
When I posted on my Facebook page what Erin reported on the courts that have pushed back on the anti-trans legislation, a liberal friend read 'gender dysphoria' as 'mental illness' and he said he agreed with that.
That is, he didn't get it.
Testing him on his misread, he confirmed he was stuck in an outdated paradigm. I was surprised and disappointed. I shouldn't have been. Even bright, usually sane and reasonably empathetic straights resist informing themselves on what they still think is a distant matter to them. It will take time to get through to these people.
This is exactly the calculation of the money guys behind this hate campaign: confuse and poison the public perception of a small, complex minority. We have a moral imperative to stand up against this evil.
I am coming to feel very strongly about Elon Musk, and the feelings are not pleasant.
I am about as "cis" as can be, but a few people I know, and care deeply about, are not.
I just don't get this obsession with other people's sex lives.
Continue to be brave and strong - I admire you.
Twitter has become a cesspool since Elon took over. I stopped using it months ago. I think he's hoping to turn it into the social media version of fox news to try and make it profitable. Yuck.
I can understand an ideological objection to the use of the terms "cisgender" and "transgender"; if you don't believe gender is real or can diverge from sex, than use of either term is effectively an affirmation of unreality. I think this is the basis for the objection of Walsh and Knowles.
But a slur? That seems a stretch. Have any of the people making this assessment explained why they think the way they do? Is it possible it's rooted in some sort of insecurity?
I guess it doesn't matter; Musk will do as he likes with Twitter. But it's not much of a free speech stance. If his real objections are ideological, I think he should say so, rather than appeal to something that does not appear to be reasonable.
They object to anything that normalizes being trans and doesn’t center them as the factory preset of being a human.
I've never a twitter user but I do wish I could tweet "Dumbellius Silencia" at JK Rowling.
Denying gender identity is nothing more than science denial. These dopes are in the same boat s the Catholic church when they denied the heliocentric solar system. But science always wins. These people will tomorrow's laughingstock when we inaugurate President Zooey Zephyr.
Man, that "I'm not cis, you are" Tweet Elon made a while back is really coming full circle, huh?
One thing I'd like to get straight is just how vile Musk is about this. He knows what he's doing.