Elon Musk Criticizes Pronoun Declarations as ‘Virtue-Signaling’
In recent years, the ultra-liberal gender ideology has given birth to the trend of people announcing their preferred pronouns. This has been picked up by some businesses and until this week by social media platforms, that is until this week when Billionaire business tycoon and Twitter boss Elon Musk criticized this pronoun phenomenon as “virtue-signaling” and suggested that bad people use them as a “shield.”
Musk made his comments in response to tweets about a suspect in a child pornography case who recently committed suicide, who apparently included pronouns on his Instagram profile. “Pronouns are virtue-signaling, so inevitably, as with all virtue-signaling, they will be used as a shield by bad humans,” Musk tweeted. “In any event, good manners require using the person’s name, not their pronoun, when referring to them.”
Pronouns are virtue-signaling, so inevitably, as with all virtue-signaling, they will be used as a shield by bad humans
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2023
The issue of pronoun declarations has been a contentious topic in recent years, with some advocating for their use as a way to show respect for individuals’ gender identities. However, others have criticized the practice as unnecessary and potentially confusing.
Musk’s comments on the matter have stirred up a considerable amount of debate on social media, with some supporting his views and others arguing that pronoun declarations can be an important way to support gender inclusivity and respect.
It’s worth noting that Musk’s recent comments on pronouns are not the first time he has waded into controversial territory on social issues. He has also recently tweeted his opposition to child sterilization, stating that “Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life.”
Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2023
While Musk’s comments are sure to continue to generate discussion and debate, and many will argue that he is bringing some sanity back to the world, it’s clear that the issue of pronoun declarations is likely to remain a contentious topic for some time to come.
Watch what happened when Felix Fern, co-founder of Trans Activism UK, asked a fellow guest what their pronouns are.@VanessaTalkTV | @Felix_F_Fern pic.twitter.com/1xsvOeIMKB
— TalkTV (@TalkTV) April 18, 2023
Some users noticed Twitter had quietly removed language in its hateful conduct policy that explicitly protected transgender people from online harassment.
The social media platform had prohibited the targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender people since 2018. Some online noticed this month that the sentence had been plucked from Twitter’s section on slurs and tropes, while all other descriptions of policy violations remained intact.
Archives captured by the Wayback Machine showed the previous version still existed on April 7, the day Twitter announced it had updated its abuse and harassment policy to redefine “targeted harassment.” But by the next day, the line had disappeared.
It’s unclear whether the change in language constitutes any change in the policy itself. As of Tuesday, Twitter’s report function still allows users to report a tweet for “misgendering or deadnaming” a person or a group of people.
Twitter responded to a request for comment with the Pile of Poo emoji, an automated message it now sends as a reply to all media requests.
