Using the internet as a trans person in 2018 is exhausting at best, and a form of self-harm at worst. Why jokes like this matterįor transfolk on the internet - and especially in the gaming community - the sequence of events surrounding the CD Projekt Red controversy are much too familiar. CD Projekt Red was stuck in a situation it couldn’t win - people were going to be upset not matter what it did - and it was all due to what was likely a thoughtless tweet.īut this isn’t about one company, this is about why transphobic jokes upset people, and why the situation is bigger than each company that gets “in trouble” for sharing them.
Whatever the content of the apology, it sparked what might have been an even bigger uproar, with Twitter users raging at the “SJWs” for censoring the company. However, it was followed with a classic non-apology, referring to “all those offended” by its choice of words, rather than taking responsibility for the transphobic joke or showing they understood why people were upset. To its credit, CD Projekt Red quickly responded to criticism and took the tweet down. Has anyone, ever, actually laughed at this joke? Or has the meme just become so ingrained in online culture that people recognize it and repeat it without thought? It doesn’t make any point aside from pointing out a stereotype that only existed in the heads of people who already didn’t like the groups being mocked.
Rather, the phrase “assuming someone’s gender” has become a way to make fun of how one group imagines another group speaks. This isn’t as simple as one group poking fun at how another group speaks. Think about what the “joke” actually says, though. It started out in places like 4Chan and among “anti-SJW” crowds, but now can be found all over the internet. But the “Did you just assume my gender?” meme has been thrown around for years, a dog whistle designed to paint transfolk as overly aggressive, anal and shrill about wanting their gender expression to be respected. On its face, this reply may not seem like a big deal to some of the audience. The game’s official account admonished a fan for stating that they wanted to see more at Gamescom from the “guys” at CD Projekt Red, the studio developing the game. 21, the official Twitter account for Cyberpunk 2077 was criticized when it sent out a tired joke as a reply to a fan. The memes we share hold power, and that power can be, and has been, exploited. If our lives are toxic, it’s unlikely that we’re going to make online spaces more positive. When online culture becomes toxic and regressive, so do our lives, and that works in the other way as well. For better or worse, our culture is shaped and molded by what’s happening on social media. What happens on the internet does not stay on the internet.
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