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Twitter took a huge step to protect trans people from harassment on the platform

Keyboard with various logos of social media platforms on it
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/todaytesting.com

Image credit: TodayTesting.com

Twitter has taken a giant step forward to protect transgender people on social media by banning deliberate misgendering on its platform.

In an update to its “Hateful conduct policy,” the social media giant added tells users that misgendering and deadnaming of transgender people is considered a slur.

Repeated and/or non-consensual slurs, epithets, racist and sexist tropes, or other content that degrades someone

We prohibit targeting individuals with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.

“Misgendering” is when one person refers to another with the wrong gender, like calling a woman “he” or “a man.” “Deadnaming” is using a trans person’s former first name.

Related: Activist spray-paints hateful tweets on Twitter’s doorstep

While misgendering can be accidental, Twitter banned misgendering with the intent to demean trans people. That’s because intentional misgendering is a tool used by transphobes to insult and silence transgender people.

The new policy was welcomed on Twitter.

Others pointed out how Twitter should have already been doing this.

Conservatives don’t like it.

Pink News reports that the change in policy was actually made in October, but no one noticed it until this past week.

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