Story at a glance
- Billionaire Elon Musk made disparaging remarks about the use of pronouns, which is considered an LGBTQ+ inclusive practice.
- Musk’s own company, which employs LGBTQ+ people, has been recognized for being inclusive of self-identifiers such as pronouns.
- Musk’s remarks reach millions of followers on social media and raise questions about his company’s policies.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk doubled down on disparaging remarks on LGBTQ+ inclusivity while touting the practice on behalf of his own community.
Oh and umm … https://t.co/jtg944ERCy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2020
The company did in fact score 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s yearly report, which noted workforce protections for sexual orientation and gender identity or expression — which would include the proper use of pronouns — as well as inclusive benefits and culture of corporate social responsibility.
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In the company’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Impact Report for this year, Tesla mentioned efforts to allow LGBTQ+ employees to self-identify, including adding non-binary and gender-nonconforming options in their people management system. It’s unclear whether Musk is aware of these policies or will seek to prevent use of self-identified pronouns.
Musk’s tweet drew ire from members of the LGBTQ+ community, including Charlotte Clymer, former press secretary for the HRC.
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
The comment came after criticism of Musk’s tweet of a meme that said “When you put he/him in ur bio” above an image of a soldier with blood on his hands and a hat that says “I love to oppress” with the dead and dying in the background.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 14, 2020
While not all LGBTQ+ people wish to share their pronouns, some are forced to as a result of misgendering and other discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming people. On Twitter, some users responded that the inclusion of pronouns in a bio is a “small gesture” of inclusivity.
That’s exactly it, that’s all there is to it. It’s a small gesture on our part that means a lot to people who are vulnerable. I do not understand people getting all pressed about it. Making a little bit of room to help vulnerable people feel welcome shouldn’t be controversial.
— Matt (@Meeeeeeeeeks) December 16, 2020
Other Twitter users called out the hypocrisy of criticizing the “esthetic” of pronouns after Musk gave his son a rather unconventional name, “X Æ A-12,” for which he and his wife offered differing pronunciations..
Dude you named your kid “X Æ A-12”https://t.co/luWiHqIlCZ
— Jeff Yang (@originalspin) December 16, 2020
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