Posted in: NBC, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: cis, cisgender, elon musk, opinion, twitter

Elon Musk Schooled by Merriam-Webster Over "Cis"/"Cisgender" Ignorance

After Twitter owner Elon Musk announced "cis" & "cisgender" would now be considered "slurs," Merriam-Webster had to seriously fact-check him.

Published Wed, 21 Jun 2023 15:15:12 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Here's some advice, so start taking some notes… okay? In 2023, if you find yourself holding the same position on a topic as Twitter owner & CEO Linda Yaccarino's worst self-inflicted nightmare, Elon Musk, and "Harry Potter" author & Warner Bros. Discovery's worst self-inflicted nightmare, J.K. Rowling? You might want to take some time off the grid and seriously rethink your life choices. In case you missed the news earlier today, "Captain Freedom-of-Speech" arbitrarily decided to classify "cis" and "cisgender" as "slurs." In fact, you know what? Don't let me deny you the sheer pettiness of Musk's own words: "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." And yet, not a single whackjob conspiracy theory that Musk has peddled for months apparently doesn't fall under the "slur" category? How many times exactly did he temporarily suspend his own account? In fact, Musk's metaphorical shitting on the concept of "freedom of speech's" Corn Flakes was so bad that it forced a very unexpected player to enter the game.

The Dictionary. Seriously.

Because of how strongly "cis" and "cisgender" were trending, Merriam-Webster felt the need to enter the fray with a definition and clarification that proves Musk (one more time for the people in the cheap seats)… doesn't know what he's talking about. First up, the Merriam-Webster folks shared a definition for "cisgender" so that everyone was on the same page: "Cisgender (also styled as cisgendered and often shortened to cis) describes someone whose internal sense of gender corresponds with the sex the person was identified as having at birth." but here's the all-important question. Do "cis" and/or "cisgender" meet the criteria to be considered a slur? Of course not! And Merriam-Webster folks explain why: "A slur is a word or phrase that is intended to insult or disparage someone. A term that is neutral can become a slur over time, but our current evidence shows that cisgender and its variants are overwhelmingly used neutrally."

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