SUBMISSION: Grammatical analysis of Die Cis Scum
THe issue i have seen with the “die cis scum” concept is a perspective being created by the words themselves. When the user of the term is attacking cis scum, they mean cissexist scum, like the radfems, WBC, etc. They are attacking all the people who are attacking trans* folks, all of the “scum who are cis.”
However, there are people who read the words” die cis scum” and read it as “die cisgender scum,” or ” die people who are scum because they are cisgender.” Because the term cis often means “cisgender” (much as trans often means transgender), there is a lot of confusion, as well as hurt feelings.
Obviously (as evidenced by the thousands of posts saying “FUCK YOU FOR CALLING ME CIS SCUM” “NO FUCK YOU I MEANT THE OTHER CIS SCUM” etc, there is issues with the wording. If only tumblr could make the changeover to “die cissexist scum” and set an example for thee rest of the world….
Or you know, stop the cycle of hatred and not wish death upon any individual. That’d be cool too.
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(TW: anti-trans* violence, hate crimes, murder)
Thank you so much for sharing this. You bring up several good points here.
However, I do believe that the wording of ‘die cis scum’ is fine. The main reason for the controversy is folks misinterpreting or misunderstanding the wording and refusing to acknowledge their privileges. I have been privy to some cis folks who get even more upset when these things are explained to them politely - which is not anyone’s place to do so in the first place. Often times, they turn the issue around so it is about them - cisplaining all over the place. They do not know what it means to have the privilege and power that they do. While I wish that everyone could get along, that is just unrealistic. Some folks do not want to educate themselves. Some folks do not want to get along or be respectful. Moreover, some folks just WANT to hurt others and bring them down any way that they can.
(Just take a look at various religious right groups, radfems, hate groups, etc. who particularly target queer and/or trans* people.)
There was once a time when I was a pacifist, but that time has long since passed, because - quite frankly - pacifism does not work in the fight for human rights. We live in a world where folks are governed by oppressive laws, taught to follow strict rules and guidelines for what is or is not ‘normal’, and generally led to believe that anything less than what society deems normal is some sort of threat or even inhuman. Trans* folks - especially trans* women of colour - are literally being beaten, killed, and/or imprisoned for protecting themselves with little to no media coverage or care from cis folks. And what’s more? They are BLAMED for what happens to them.
Whether cis folks mean to do so intentionally or not, hatred upon the trans* community exists. It exists in our own houses, in our families, in our circles of friends, in the streets, our schools, our churches, our advertisements, our stores, our public spaces, our media coverage, everywhere. Cissexism takes many forms. Incorrect pronoun use. Othering. Public outing. Misgendering. Trans* misogyny. Hate crimes - verbal, physical, sexual. Discrimination involving life-saving healthcare, protections, housing, etc. Exclusion from organisations, groups, and media coverage within the queer and/or feminist communities. Etc. Many cis folks and institutions also still consider being trans* a mental illness. This all needs to stop.
By saying ‘die cis scum’, not only do trans* folks who are being preyed upon have a way to describe their feelings and vent, but they also are letting cis folks know, “Hey, I know what you are doing, it is wrong, and I want it to stop. I am prepared to stand up for myself.”
We are not ‘stooping to our oppressors’ levels’. We are calling out oppressive behaviour. We are standing up for ourselves, because WE are the ones who are actually threatened day in and day out. WE are the ones who just want to live our lives and not worry about being assaulted or murdered, because of how we look and/or identify. WE are the systematically oppressed. And WE should not have to live this way. No one should.
When folks take a look at trans* issues, so many cis folks are willfully ignorant, misinformed, discriminatory, and unfortunately - many folks just do not care.
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