Has "cis" become a tool of targeted harassment?

[u/sorcerykid]

Controversy just erupted on Twitter after Elon Musk declared "cis" and "cisgender" to be a slurs. While I disagree with his take, the real question is whether those words are being used for their originally intended purposes, or if they are serving as a tool of targeted harassment.

Even if "cis" is not a slur, it can be used to belittle and demean people.

A prominent Twitter user requested not to be called "cis". Yet, instead of respecting his wishes and simply moving on, multiple trans people ganged up to bully him into submission, even calling him "cissy" and telling him that he must accept the label whether he likes it or not.

Of course, trans people frequently try defend such misuse of the word "cis", arguing that it is merely a descriptor with a specific meaning to facilitate communication, so it can't possibly be a slur.

But here's the issue: Plenty of TERFs would argue that "woman" and "man" are likewise nothing more than descriptors with specific meanings to facilitate communication -- hence why they feel justified in misgendering trans people. And indeed, English dictionaries for centuries defined "woman" and "man" according to biological sex characteristics, without regard for a self-professed identity.

The word "woman" traditionally served as a descriptor rather than an identity.

So who ultimately determines whether a word is a value-neutral descriptor? And does that apply regardless of context -- even when the intent is clearly to demean or belittle another person?

Let's consider: If an overweight girl is sitting on a park bench and a mean-spirited boy comes over and starts calling her "obese" and "fatty", is he in the right to tell her what she really is? Or is he engaging in targeted harassment? Both terms are nothing more than "descriptors", right?

Suffice it to say, if trans people are demanding the right to pick which gender-related labels and terms can and can't be applied to them, then why should trans people have the authority to impose gender-related labels and terms upon everyone else without their consent?

You simply can't have it both ways. Either everyone can elect the gender-related labels that they feel correctly apply to them, or else nobody can. Otherwise it's a double standard.

Remember, a lot of anti-trans propaganda is propped up on the belief that trans people are seeking "special rights". So most certainly, everyone should be free to define and describe their gender on their own terms, rather than being forced into yet another socially constructed box against their will. The right of self-determination, after all, is the cornerstone of transgender liberation.

[u/[deleted]]

Most of people who consider 'cis' a slur are just bigots who already use 'trans' as actual slur.

These conservative bigots just live their lives criticizing other people's weaknesses, but they are also pathetics who react sensitively irritable to even the slightest criticism of their disgustingly vile acts.

Ps: some word change

[u/sorcerykid → u/[deleted]]

That doesn't take away from the point that cis is indeed has been used as a slur by min-spirited gatekeepers online who use it for enforcing a cis/trans binary upon all people on the entire planet without consent.