Musk invokes TRANS fury after wading into culture war by branding gender pronouns an ‘esthetic nightmare’
Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk has invoked the ire of the alphabet people once again by tweeting an edgy meme poking fun at those who share their personal pronouns in their Twitter bios.
“I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare,” Musk tweeted in response to an article titled ‘Real Friends Interrupt You When You Are Making A Mistake’, which criticized his penchant for edgy memes.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2020
Displaying personal pronouns on Twitter bios is often seen as a form of virtue signaling by those in online conservative communities, and as a means to show solidarity with trans and non-binary people among liberal circles.
Members of the LGBTQ community weighed in with a variety of takes, both supportive and critical of Musk.
Trans guy here and you owe me money for making me read this tweet with my own two eyes. Also, how 'bout donating some of your literal millions to trans orgs/policies/people? Since so many of us have been homeless, abused, or suicidal. :)
— your local catboy! (@whiten0iz) December 16, 2020
As a member of LGBTQ I actually agree. I dont think that we need extra pronouns for people to make them different. If you don't have a gender, then you simply cant be human because thats what defines you. That being said, I wish the best for anyone that wants to be themselves. ❤
— Jack 🛰️ (@Xellitron) December 16, 2020
Amidst the drama, others started examining Musk’s own record and began mocking his choice to name his child X Ӕ A-12, after “a wifi password.” The billionaire’s own esthetic credentials were also called into question, with the Tesla Cybertruck held up as proof that he shouldn’t be considered an authority in the field.
guy who named his kid X Æ A-12 cannot fathom using 3 different pronouns https://t.co/jhyaYq6Q9O
— manny (@mannyfidel) December 16, 2020
The nerve to use 'aesthetic nightmare' when this shit exists lmao pic.twitter.com/1UxbyOZQTz
— PokyGem (@PokyGem023) December 16, 2020
Others still called for calm, and for people on all sides to put down their digital pitchforks.
IMO, the only people offended by Elon's meme were:1. Professional victims 2. Professional virtue signalers3. Well-meaning people who mis-judge the intentions of other well-meaning peopleLet's move on.
— stevenmarkryan (@stevenmarkryan) December 16, 2020
Musk previously tweeted“pronouns suck,” to the chagrin of many – including his girlfriend and mother of his child X Ӕ A-12, Canadian songstress Grimes.
He apparently learned from the fallout of his last pronoun protest, as he immediately had a response for the backlash to his latest meme, showing off his company's equality credentials by posting Tesla's 100/100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQ corporate equality index.
Oh and umm … https://t.co/jtg944ERCy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2020
Naturally, this too was criticized, by none other than the Human Rights Campaign press secretary, activist and writer Charlotte Clymer, who scolded Musk and reminded him that points can be deducted for behaviors like offensive tweets from company CEOs.
Not sure what made you wake up today and think "you know what, I'll shit on people's pronouns", but that's kinda the opposite of LGBTQ inclusivity. Thank goodness you apparently have HR personnel in place who know what they're doing. You should ask them to brief you.
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) December 16, 2020
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