The final straw for me leaving the bird site was Musk declaring 'cis' to be a slur.
There are multiple things wrong with this, not the least of which is that it's transphobic bullshit; and it's also a great opportunity to throw a miniature linguistics lesson out there for anyone who needs it.
The word 'cis' is a Latin prefix. It means "on this side of [object]". It's used in descriptions of space, time, & a few other concepts.
Source: 5 years of Latin plus the Lewis & Short Latin Dictionary (the best there is): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text
The antonym of 'cis' is 'trans', meaning "on the other/opposite side of [object]". It works more or less the same way as 'cis', describing objects in space or time, etc.
That's it. That's all 'cis' means.
In Latin, you might find Caesar describing different parts of Gaul using these prefixes, as an example: "Galla Cisalpina" refers to Gaul that was on the same side of the Alps as Rome, while "Galla Transalpina" referred to Gaul on the opposite side of the Alps from Rome.
Again, just an example of how the prefixes worked in the original language.
The only reason why someone would object to being called 'cis' is because they think that being 'trans' is something bad, they think 'trans' is a slur, they don't believe gender is mutable or fluid, they have a very rigid binary idea of sex & gender, & they don't want to be described in contrast to a concept or people they despise.
The very idea that gender is fluid is deeply offensive to these people; it literally disgusts them. Here's a paper on that, about the influence of moral frameworks; check the links to other papers for more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6562335/
Declaring 'cis' a slur is also a kind of DARVO, which stands for Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender - something abusers do in order to deflect focus & blame away from themselves & turn it onto their targets. In this case, the targets are trans people & those who support them. Transphobic bigots turn 'cis' into a slur because they're pretending THEY are the victims, not the aggressors.
Here's a bit about DARVO. I've also been informed that my Lewis & Short link didn't work, so give me a sec to rustle up a better one & I'll post that, stay tuned. https://dynamic.uoregon.edu/jjf/defineDARVO.html
OK see if this link works. There should be a box somewhere on the right side of the page labeled "Dictionary Entry Lookup"; put the term 'cis' in the box and see what comes up. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text
Dangit, that didn't work either. Um...
Well, crap. Okay, until I get this figured out, go out there & Google any good Latin dictionary, find it, & search within it for 'cis'. Lewis & Short is the best one, but there are other good ones out there as well.
WHOLE POINT IS. 'Cis' = not a slur. At all. Ever. If someone's saying that it is, they're lying. They're lying, & they're trying to manipulate language in such a way to make themselves a victim.
News flash: they're not a victim.
They're not a victim. They're just cis, & their gender ID matches their sex as assigned at birth. If they act like there's something wrong with being that, then you might consider what their agenda is. But don't buy their bullshit, in any case.
I'm guess you need to put a
/nosanitize
tag in your posting to keep the link from being stripped.
@mcfate Oh! OK. Any particular spot in the link? Like at the end, or somewhere else?
@Impious_Jade
True.
We are long past the point of looking for reasonable justifications of Musk's statements and actions.
All people can use a little constructive criticism once in a while. He's powerful enough to ignore or insulate from that.
Combined with an autistic person's single mindedness and rejection sensitive dysphoria (I'm sure he is ADHD from what he's said) and it can lead to worrying results. We need more Gretas and fewer Elons.
@Impious_Jade A tragedy about this is that if he would allow himself, he would have more empathy with his child than anyone. Autism is hereditary. Autistic people worry less about social conventions. Therefore more identify as Trans. This leads people like Rowling to suspect a targeted effort to "convert" "impressionable" autistic people. Lack of concern for peer pressure is why they are more likely to publicly identify. It's hardly likely Musk's child was "converted".
@DanielCoopreal YES. This is indeed another tragic thing, that it both hits Musk personally, & likely impacts a lot of families with similar qualities.
I am NB but not trans. I can only imagine that every time a trans child hears "cis is a slur" from their own parents, it's yet another rejection or denigration of what they are themselves, in a backhand way. It's a parent stating indirectly that they don't think "trans" is OK, whether it's the word or another person's lived existence.
The terms were never used by the Romans as a slur, they were just descriptive. Today, they're used in chemistry, math & biology to describe things like molecular structures; and of course they're used in human biology to describe whether or not someone's gender ID matches their sex as assigned at birth.
In no case are the terms 'cis' or 'trans' slurs in the least. They never have been. They are only descriptors.