If you are on Twitter and see someone kill or mislead someone else, you should report it. It will take minutes, which is really important.
Malicious anti-LGBTQ aggression known as homicide (the practice of using the birth or previous name of a transgender or non-binary person who has changed it) can happen accidentally. But sometimes it is used maliciously with the intentional intent to harm trans and non-binary people – especially online.
Words matter. Writing for Mashable, Alison Furman described it perfectly, “For many, unconscious biases infiltrate common vocabulary by subtle assaults, behaviors that subtly or indirectly convey a degrading or hostile message to the recipient. The receiving party feels socially or culturally uncomfortable in the other place or even physically unsafe.”
“Micro-aggressions have the potential to make those on the receiving end feel socially uncomfortable, culturally out of place, or even physically insecure.”
You can also report when you see someone on Twitter misunderstanding someone else – using the wrong name, pronoun, or title form that doesn’t reflect the person’s gender. It’s really important.
“Whether disinformation occurs as an innocent mistake or a malicious attempt to invalidate someone, it is extremely painful and can even jeopardize a person’s safety if they are revealed to be transgender in a non-tolerant environment,” Trevor Project notes.
“Deliberate misinformation is not acceptable, and you can be a good ally by advocating for others if you witness someone being harassed because of their gender. If you misunderstand someone by accident, apologize quickly without making an excessive display of fault or guilt, which can create More annoyance to the person who has been mistreated. Show that you care by better moving forward.”
Being an ally for trans and non-binary people means educating yourself (instead of constantly relying on trans and non-binary people to share their living experience), escalate and call it that – and that means online. You may be able to be discriminatory to yourself, perhaps unintentionally, but just be aware of how neglectful you can be to others.
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Some online platforms, including TikTok and Twitter, make connecting with them a little easier. In 2018, Twitter updated the Obnoxious conduct policy To include a ban on murder and misrepresentation on the platform. Here is the policy:
We do not target others with repeated slurs, metaphors, or other content intended to dehumanize, degrade, or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes the targeted disinformation or murder of transgender individuals.
We also prohibit dehumanizing a group of people on the basis of their religion, caste, age, disability, serious illness, national origin, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
So, if you see someone doing that, it’s really easy to report them.
How to report a Tweet to kill or mislead someone
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Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the Tweet you want to report. Select “Report a Tweet”.
Credit: screenshot: Twitter
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When asked about the identity of the report, select “Another person or certain group of people” unless you are named or misidentified your gender in the tweet, in which case, select “Myself.”
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When asked for more information, select “Attacked because of his identity,” as this is the section that covers “Insults, misinformation, racial or sexual stereotypes, encouraging others to harass, and sending hate images.”
Credit: screenshot: Twitter
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On the next page, you will be asked how the Tweet does this. You can select the options that you think apply, but more importantly, select “mislead or kill”.
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Twitter will then ask you which part of the person’s identity is being targeted. Select “Sex/Gender Identity”.
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You’ll see several more screens that check everything (it should say you’re sending a ‘obnoxious behavior report’). Keep clicking continue if all is well, and you’re done.
Twitter will then notify you that your report is in a queue for review (the company says it takes “a few days”), and that the reported Tweet will be hidden from your timeline. You will be notified if there is indeed a rule violation, and Twitter will detail the actions it is taking in a message.
It will take two minutes which is really important.
