In case you write the phrases “cis” or “cisgender” on X, you could be served this full-screen message: “This submit accommodates language which may be thought of a slur by X and could possibly be utilized in a dangerous method in violation of our guidelines,” the warning says. You possibly can proceed to publish the submit or delete it.
Cisgender is an adjective used to seek advice from folks whose gender identification corresponds with their intercourse assigned at start. Against this, the phrase transgender refers to folks whose gender identification will not be per their intercourse assigned at start.
These phrases are generally utilized in each social and medical contexts. The Canadian authorities makes use of these classifications — transgender, cisgender, and non-binary — in its census. The American Psychology Affiliation additionally consists of these phrases in its glossary.
Since final June, X proprietor Elon Musk has claimed that the phrases “cis” and “cisgender” are “thought of slurs” on the platform. However solely extra just lately have these phrases triggered full-screen pop-ups warning customers that their submit could be a violation of platform guidelines. In response to TechCrunch’s testing, this pop-up solely appears to look when utilizing the cell app. Whereas phrases like “cis” and “cisgender” are flagged, some slurs focusing on Black, transgender, and Jewish folks may be posted with out repercussions.
“Elon Musk has been partaking on this disingenuous and inherently bigoted effort to redefine this time period for practically a yr. The listing of his hate-driven rhetoric and conduct is simply too lengthy to even listing,” a spokesperson for GLAAD, a non-profit LBGTQ advocacy group, instructed TechCrunch. “This might look like one other of Musk’s limitless workout routines in catering to his new right-wing extremist person base of X — another coded, however very clear, sign from the corporate that transgender persons are not welcome on the platform, and one other robust indicator to advertisers that X will not be a secure platform for his or her manufacturers.”
A spokesperson for X didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Beneath Musk’s possession, the platform previously often called Twitter has change into actively extra hostile to gender-nonconforming folks. In November, X ran a “timeline takeover” advert selling an anti-trans movie from PragerU, a conservative media non-profit that has additionally been criticized for doubting local weather change and downplaying the realities of slavery. Final yr, X additionally eliminated a coverage that was put in place in 2018, which prohibited the focused deadnaming or misgendering of trans folks.
