'Free Speech Absolutist' Elon Musk Says 'Cisgender' is a 'Slur'
Self-described "free speech absolutist" Elon Musk declared that the word "cisgender" is a "slur" and will be considered as such on Twitter, the Daily Beast reported.
Musk made the announcement on the platform, which he purchased last year. The Daily Beast relayed that Musk "was replying to a user who claimed to have been targeted by trans rights activists after tweeting to say he rejected the word 'cis.'"
The Daily Beast went on to note that "The words 'cis' and 'cisgender' refer to someone whose personal gender identity matches their sex at birth, as opposed to someone who is 'trans' or 'transgender.'"
"Musk later commented on a Twitter poll asking if 'cis' is a slur in which 78 percent of respondents voted 'yes,'" the article went on to add, with Musk claiming that the word is an "obvious slur that bigots are trying to impose."
"It's not clear if he plans to impose penalties on Twitter accounts using the phrase, with Musk indicating that the platform may only consider the words offensive when used to describe others," the Daily Beast added. "He told someone asking if it's all right to self-identify as cis that they can call themselves 'anything you want.'"
It's unclear to what degree Musk's stance on the word "cisgender" stands in contrast with his decision a few weeks ago to allow Twitter users to misgender trans people. As NBC News reported, "In a tweet on the first day of Pride Month, Musk said he personally uses the pronouns that someone — including a transgender person — prefers because it's good manners, but that he wouldn't enforce that policy on Twitter."