After Elon Musk declared that the term “cisgender” and the accompanying abbreviation “cis” are counted as slurs on Twitter, Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri pushed back, asserting that the term is not a slur.
“‘Cisgender’ is not a slur. It is a term used used in scientific, legal, medical, and everyday contexts. The attempt to make ‘cis’ a slur is a blatant attempt to erase trans identities from a supposed ‘free speech absolutist.’ Trans people exist. Cis people exist,” tweeted Bush, a left-wing lawmaker who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021.
Musk had indicated that there will be consequences for tweets that use the term.
“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 noted. He also stated that those who use the term “won’t get suspended unless they do an egregious coordinated attack, but their post will see much less reach, as it will not be recommended to others.”
When someone asked Musk whether the term is a slur if people self-identify as cisgender, Musk replied, “Call yourself anything you want.”
“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has also weighed in on the use of the term.
“‘Cis’ is ideological language, signifying belief in the unfalsifiable concept of gender identity. You have a perfect right to believe in unprovable essences that may or may not match the sexed body, but the rest of us have a right to disagree, and to refuse to adopt your jargon,” Rowling tweeted.
“Exactly,” Musk replied.
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