# Do the existing rules prohibit people from debating the gender of people who identify as transgender?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-existing-rules-prohibit-people-from-debating-the-gender-of-people-who-identify-as-transgender/927272>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [December 5, 2020, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-existing-rules-prohibit-people-from-debating-the-gender-of-people-who-identify-as-transgender/927272 "2020-12-05T05:45:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 451

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**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-existing-rules-prohibit-people-from-debating-the-gender-of-people-who-identify-as-transgender/927272/451 "2020-12-10T02:02:40Z")

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…from the Elliot Page thread:

> [@Ellen Page is trans/nonbinary now, name is Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ellen-page-is-trans-nonbinary-now-name-is-elliot/926940/234):
>
> I’d like to remind you that this is Cafe Society, and casual swipes at trans people, like what you just wrote, are absolutely not appropriate here. You could easily have expressed your opinion on awards without that.
> 
> Just a note, but please don’t do it again.

The kind of “casual swipe” that was moderated here in this instance was the kind of casual swipe that had been normalized to a great extent here. Making this sort of thing no longer acceptable is definitely the way for the boards to go IMHO. I do have my opinions on the general debate (about what should be allowed to be debated), but I don’t want my voice to drown out the opinions of the transgender posters here, who I think really need to be heard on the subject.

I personally would like to see (at least) this sort of moderating applied throughout the board. Thank you puzzlegal for the moderation and Whats\_Exit (and the rest of the moderators) for facilitating this discussion here.

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