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.

Oh my! So much wailing and gnashing of teeth – not forgetting hand-wringing and general woe-is-me-ing over Twitter's long overdue decision to treat deadnaming and misgendering as a serious bootable offense. Forgive me as I wipe a tear from my eye. — Jane Francesca Fae (@JaneFae) November 25, 2018

.@Twitter now protects trans people from targeted misgendering and deadnaming 👍🏻 It also includes “Repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanize, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful steroetypes about a protected category.” 👏🏻https://t.co/s6VaxhVQOw — Mermaids 🧜🏻‍♀️ (@Mermaids_Gender) November 24, 2018

This is likely old news to most of the trans community by now, but for everyone else, you can now report someone for deliberately misgendering trans people (using the wrong pronouns) or deadnaming them (using their old name). GOOD. It’s about time.👍 pic.twitter.com/XYQ5zojZUY — Amanda Jette Knox (@MavenOfMayhem) November 24, 2018

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

.@Twitter responding to my complaint against the troll who referred to me as "QWERTY Guy." Really @Twitter? Is this how you protect #Transgender individuals against #misgendering? I guess we now know what your own TOS is worth too you.#WontBeErased pic.twitter.com/sh4Ouen08h — QWERTY Girl (@PiraatPedro) November 26, 2018

Conservatives don’t like it.

So Twitter is now banning people for stating the basic scientific fact that men are men and women are women, and that men cannot become women simply by thinking themselves so. Twitter vs. reality. https://t.co/Ur6ap8zNUN — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 25, 2018

This is straight-up dystopian, folks. Twitter may now *permanently suspend* people who use pronouns that correspond to biological sex. I don’t care what you think about gender, this is still an all-out assault on free thought.https://t.co/0f9zpCjsa7 — Brad Polumbo (@brad_polumbo) November 25, 2018

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