Elon Musk "Cis Is a Slur" Controversy

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Overview

The Elon Musk "Cis Is a Slur" Controversy refers to the backlash, viral debates and memes about the term "cisgender," meaning someone whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth, being considered a slur. The controversy was sparked by Elon Musk in June 2023 after he tweeted, "The words 'cis' or 'cisgender' are considered slurs on this platform," with the platform in question being Twitter.

Background

On June 19th, 2023, Twitter^[1] user @JamesEsses posted a tweet rejecting the term "cis" (shown below). The tweet gained over 14,800 likes in three days.

"I formally and publicly declare that I reject the label of 'cis'. I don’t believe in gender ideology. I don’t self-identify as 'cis'. Using this term makes me feel unsafe and is demonstrative of your hatred towards me. Anyone who uses the term “cis” to describe me is a bigot."

On June 20th, the same Twitter^[2] user posted a follow-up tweet criticizing the term "cis" again that garnered over 88,000 likes in two days, writing:

Yesterday, after posting a Tweet saying that I reject the word ‘cis’ and don’t wish to be called it, I receive a slew of messages from trans activists calling me “cissy” and telling me that I am ‘cis’ “whether or not I like it”. Just imagine if the roles were reversed.

On June 21st, 2023, Elon Musk then responded to the tweet,^[3] writing, "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" (shown below). The tweet gained over 244,000 likes and 47,000 retweets in a day.

Online Reactions

The tweet went viral and inspired numerous reactions on social media, some against Musk's deeming of the term "cis" a slur, while others supported Musk's opinion.^[11] It was reported on by numerous news media sites, including USA Today,^[4] Global News^[5] and The Independent,^[6] some offering history lessons and definitions of the term "cisgender."

J.K. Rowling's Opinion

On June 21st, 2023, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, posted a tweet^[7] voicing her opinion on the debate that gained over 180,000 likes in a day (seen below).

'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's tweet was met with backlash by some, including Twitter^[8]^[9] users @ThomasWillett9 and @tomcoates, whose tweets reacting to Rowling's opinion gained over 1,400 and 3,300 likes, respectively, in a day (shown below, left and right).

#CisIsNotASlur

Following Musk's tweet, some Twitter^[10] users began defending the use of the term "cisgender" using the hashtag "#CisIsNotASlur," with the hashtag also attracting users against the use of the term (examples shown below).

Memes

In the wake of the tweet stating the terms would be considered slurs, many users across social media platforms began posting memes referencing the controversy. For example, on June 21st, 2023, Redditor u/Euphoric-Beat-7206 posted a meme to /r/PoliticalCompassMemes^[12] that garnered over 4,600 upvotes in a day (shown below). On the same day, Twitter^[13] user @merrittk posted, "If cis is a slur why haven't I ever heard 8 year olds shouting it into their mics on Fortnite," garnering over 45,000 likes in a day.

Also on June 21st, Twitter^[14] user @OwenJHurcum posted a Don't Make Me Tap the Sign meme about the controversy that garnered over 9,300 likes in a day (shown below).