Elon Musk sparks backlash by claiming the word ‘cis’ is a ‘heterosexual slur’

The prefix ‘cis’ has been part of spoken English since the 17th century as a dichotomic descriptor

Elon Musk has sparked backlash after claiming the word ‘cis’ is a ‘heterosexual slur’. (AFP via Getty Images)

Elon Musk has sparked backlash after claiming the word “cis” is a “heterosexual slur”.

“The word ‘cis’ is a heterosexual slur. Shame on anyone who uses it,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Cis” is short for cisgender, meaning someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth, and is a counterpart to “transgender”.

The ancient prefixes cis-, literally translating as “on this side of,” and trans-, translating as “on the other side of,” have been part of spoken English since the 17th century as a dichotomic descriptor.

For example, the prefixes are used to describe location relative the the moon (Cislunar, meaning this side of the moon, and Transatlantic, meaning other side of the moon).

The prefixes then began being used to talk about gender and sexuality during the 19th century when academics began exploring the vast range of ways people expressed gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual identity.

Mr Musk has previously claimed that the words “cis” and “cisgender“ are slurs.

In June, he threatened to ban the terms from X, with anybody who used it to harass other accounts receiving a temporary ban from the platform.

The tech mogul made the proclamation in the replies of James Esses, an Irish right-wing media figure, who was complaining that commenters on social media were calling him a “cissy.”

Mr Musk and others have claimed the origins of term “cis” can be traced back to a 1991 paper by the late German sexologist Volkmar Sigusch, who has been accused by anti-trans activists of promoting sex between children and adults.

“The contemptible creep that manufactured the term ‘cis’ has serious problems. Ignore him,” Mr Musk wrote in a previous tweet.

But in defending his dislike of “cis” and “cisgender,” Mr Musk is leaning on decades old bigoted ideas that LGBT communities and ideas are deeply infected with pedophilia.

His most recent tweet prompted major backlash, with one Twitter user pointing out “It does not read as a slur by definition.”

“Cis is a Latin word. If you are cis male, you are ‘on the side’ of the male gender. If you are cis female, you are ‘on the side’ of the female gender. It is not a slur by any degree,” another Twitter user clarified.

“You should learn what words mean before you tweet them to the entire world,” another person said.

“He must really be hurting for engagement,” another person added.

Other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, do not define “cis” as a slur.