for bringing up the issue of all the transphobic nonsense that’s found a home on Substack - take a look at the Explore/Culture tab to see just how rife it is.
It sickens me to see our trans siblings as the latest banner scapegoat for the far right, and even worse that much of it is coming from within our own community.
Sound off if you want to vent, highlight organizations and links combatting any or all of the -phobias and -isms, organize an event, or otherwise weigh-in on this same old bullshit, different target.
I'm rather new to Substack and still testing the waters around here. I've been seeking out other Substacks that are queer-focused or queer-friendly to connect and improve my contemporary repertoire, so Qstack has been a big help on that front. Yet, since signing up, I've been inundated with transphobia and even racism both on my feed and in my email inbox. I report it. I block it. It feels like I'm being targeted by the platform with posts to denigrate my existence. On top of offline issues and mounting unease about the U.S. election, I'm not the most optimistic presently.
Sure, it's the same culture war crap the right has waged for decades, but it's horrible being a target on multiple fronts. It's scary how well-organized, well-funded, and, most astoundingly, well-respected they are and, no matter how misleading or disgusting, the power bigoted rhetoric and misinformation has on the populace. The LGBTQ+ community and people of color — rather the left in general — should be uniting to stand up against these assaults on our existence. Don't get me wrong, many are, but the division and hostility within our own demographics hurt us all. Many seem purposefully ignorant to the damage they are inflicting upon themselves and their kin.
We should be standing together in solidarity to make ourselves more resilient to the attacks against our existence and cull bigotry all together.
I hear you Alasdair, and agree 💯 - we must stand together, and that's why Qstack is proudly inclusive of all the different identities represented under the general term queer, and absolutely does not tolerate exclusionary rhetoric toward anyone. I hope that you will find a warm welcome among the subscribers and people listed on Qstack. This is a safe space, and hate will be quickly shut down, although there has so far not been any reports of unwelcome intrusions. I'm so glad you are here.
In the UK, the LGBT Foundation ( https://lgbt.foundation/ )is a very supportive charity based in Manchester. I was fortunate enough to do some volunteering with them and it was great.
I don't understand why it is so easy to hate and to support phobia of any kind but love and acceptance is seen as week and immoral. Our Trans brothers and sisters deserve love and respect and have a right to live in a world free of fear and hate.
Someone named Rene Jax added a truly horrible comment to a restock of my post about the anniversary of the Pulse shootings. I complained through Substack, but it's still there. What is WRONG with people?
Very sorry to hear that, Robin - on your original post, but gone now - I always wonder "Why go to the trouble of making a hateful comment? Why not just shut the fuck up and stew in your own bile?" Ugh.
We’re tugging at the frayed edges of the gender binary and it’s got the patriarchy a little on edge. It’s scary to hear whispers that the foundation your cage is built upon is crumbling. They think they’re projecting strength, but their suffering shines through. Compassion and love can feel like the harder path, but hopefully more folks will find their way to it as time goes on. Ultimately we’re all trying to find happiness and peace, and respecting everyone’s right to their own authentic existence is essential to finding your own relief from suffering.
Wise words - and you're absolutely right that love and compassion, even in the face of all that, is the strongest position. Personally, I'm able to do that privately, when it's not actually in my face, but when it spills out publicly and it's Right There, I'm always wishing I had the perfect rejoinder that always seems just out of reach. We live, we learn. ;) Thanks QL!
It’s so sad - I just do not get how people hate others for being themselves in such awful ways. We are all human. We all suffer. We are all just doing the best we are able to try and be happy. Why does anyone think hating on others is going to bring them more happiness?
It's in the DNA of our culture - to the spoils go the victor - there are real if evil benefits for oppressing people, even though it's mostly just a psychological trick to make yourself feel better rather than do the work of enriching your own life without victimizing others. Thanks Elly.
There's not a whole lot that I find more heartbreaking/chilling/sickening/caustic than the metastasized malignancy of internalized oppression among the oppressed. And yet how could it not, the way culture ruthlessly and relentlessly pounds in the rhetoric of hate? I still struggle with the sticky residue of my own trans and queer phobia, 23 years after coming out and 7+ years post-transition. Sending big love to - and tears for - all the hurt queer folk who are hurting other queer folk.
Yes, thanks to @Addam Ledamyen! Haters gonna hate, and hate, and hate. We all need to have each others backs, and we do, most of the time. It's one of the things I love most about the queer community. And we make mistakes too, but I do think we examine ourselves in order to grow and do better. Open minds, open hearts. We can't expect the outside world to accept us if we can't accept each other.
Quite right - I've severed friendships in the gay community with people who were transphobic. Silly me, I thought we were all supposed to support each other - it truly was a wake-up call when I realized there was a contingent actually mad that the T was included. One guy in a gay book group actually said, "Why would you intentionally hurt me?" when I picked "The Danish Girl" for my selection. Hate gets inside and twists everything.
Someone (two accounts but I suspect same trash) commented on one of my posts that talked about body positivity, and was fat phobic and transphobic/transerasing. Even subscribed, I suspect so they could easily know when to spew their garbage. De-listed and reported all comments. I do not understand how queer folk can turn on each other like this.
So this is totally crazy but I was thinking of some kind of guerilla post where it's just a headline with "TERFs Suck!" or whatever, and then all of us pile-on with a like and a restack and it shoots to the top of the Culture charts and they lose their minds... 😂🤪🖖
As a cis, straight and generally rather dull and uninteresting person, I probably don't have a voice here, but I would be sorry to see this happen. I don't imagine the attackers will think, "Actually, they make a fair point. We must reconsider." It seems much more likely that they will take it as an opportunity to be even nastier in future.. Intolerants gonna intolerant.
(Disclaimer: I know you weren't being entirely serious. Being British, I shall now apologise for taking up too much of your time, and wander off somewhere else.)
"Same old bullshit, different target." That's exactly it! I have spent a lot of time studying racist media in America and I can prove this across the board.
I'm rather new to Substack and still testing the waters around here. I've been seeking out other Substacks that are queer-focused or queer-friendly to connect and improve my contemporary repertoire, so Qstack has been a big help on that front. Yet, since signing up, I've been inundated with transphobia and even racism both on my feed and in my email inbox. I report it. I block it. It feels like I'm being targeted by the platform with posts to denigrate my existence. On top of offline issues and mounting unease about the U.S. election, I'm not the most optimistic presently.
Sure, it's the same culture war crap the right has waged for decades, but it's horrible being a target on multiple fronts. It's scary how well-organized, well-funded, and, most astoundingly, well-respected they are and, no matter how misleading or disgusting, the power bigoted rhetoric and misinformation has on the populace. The LGBTQ+ community and people of color — rather the left in general — should be uniting to stand up against these assaults on our existence. Don't get me wrong, many are, but the division and hostility within our own demographics hurt us all. Many seem purposefully ignorant to the damage they are inflicting upon themselves and their kin.
We should be standing together in solidarity to make ourselves more resilient to the attacks against our existence and cull bigotry all together.
I hear you Alasdair, and agree 💯 - we must stand together, and that's why Qstack is proudly inclusive of all the different identities represented under the general term queer, and absolutely does not tolerate exclusionary rhetoric toward anyone. I hope that you will find a warm welcome among the subscribers and people listed on Qstack. This is a safe space, and hate will be quickly shut down, although there has so far not been any reports of unwelcome intrusions. I'm so glad you are here.
In the UK, the LGBT Foundation ( https://lgbt.foundation/ )is a very supportive charity based in Manchester. I was fortunate enough to do some volunteering with them and it was great.
Thank you for posting this, Arch!
I don't understand why it is so easy to hate and to support phobia of any kind but love and acceptance is seen as week and immoral. Our Trans brothers and sisters deserve love and respect and have a right to live in a world free of fear and hate.
Gorgeous, smart, kind - how did I get so lucky? P.S. Happy Birthday!! 💜🎊❤️🥳🧡🎉🩷
Sheer dumb luck!! ❤❤
Thanks for the birthday wishes! To infinity and beyond!
Someone named Rene Jax added a truly horrible comment to a restock of my post about the anniversary of the Pulse shootings. I complained through Substack, but it's still there. What is WRONG with people?
Very sorry to hear that, Robin - on your original post, but gone now - I always wonder "Why go to the trouble of making a hateful comment? Why not just shut the fuck up and stew in your own bile?" Ugh.
Love to you 🩷
We’re tugging at the frayed edges of the gender binary and it’s got the patriarchy a little on edge. It’s scary to hear whispers that the foundation your cage is built upon is crumbling. They think they’re projecting strength, but their suffering shines through. Compassion and love can feel like the harder path, but hopefully more folks will find their way to it as time goes on. Ultimately we’re all trying to find happiness and peace, and respecting everyone’s right to their own authentic existence is essential to finding your own relief from suffering.
Wise words - and you're absolutely right that love and compassion, even in the face of all that, is the strongest position. Personally, I'm able to do that privately, when it's not actually in my face, but when it spills out publicly and it's Right There, I'm always wishing I had the perfect rejoinder that always seems just out of reach. We live, we learn. ;) Thanks QL!
It’s so sad - I just do not get how people hate others for being themselves in such awful ways. We are all human. We all suffer. We are all just doing the best we are able to try and be happy. Why does anyone think hating on others is going to bring them more happiness?
It's in the DNA of our culture - to the spoils go the victor - there are real if evil benefits for oppressing people, even though it's mostly just a psychological trick to make yourself feel better rather than do the work of enriching your own life without victimizing others. Thanks Elly.
Truly pathetic. And, of course, come November, it could get worse.😫
There's not a whole lot that I find more heartbreaking/chilling/sickening/caustic than the metastasized malignancy of internalized oppression among the oppressed. And yet how could it not, the way culture ruthlessly and relentlessly pounds in the rhetoric of hate? I still struggle with the sticky residue of my own trans and queer phobia, 23 years after coming out and 7+ years post-transition. Sending big love to - and tears for - all the hurt queer folk who are hurting other queer folk.
Thanks Keith, you're right, the internalization is so hard to spot, and so hard to heal - and ultimately, everyone suffers from the cancer of hatred.
Yes, thanks to @Addam Ledamyen! Haters gonna hate, and hate, and hate. We all need to have each others backs, and we do, most of the time. It's one of the things I love most about the queer community. And we make mistakes too, but I do think we examine ourselves in order to grow and do better. Open minds, open hearts. We can't expect the outside world to accept us if we can't accept each other.
Quite right - I've severed friendships in the gay community with people who were transphobic. Silly me, I thought we were all supposed to support each other - it truly was a wake-up call when I realized there was a contingent actually mad that the T was included. One guy in a gay book group actually said, "Why would you intentionally hurt me?" when I picked "The Danish Girl" for my selection. Hate gets inside and twists everything.
Someone (two accounts but I suspect same trash) commented on one of my posts that talked about body positivity, and was fat phobic and transphobic/transerasing. Even subscribed, I suspect so they could easily know when to spew their garbage. De-listed and reported all comments. I do not understand how queer folk can turn on each other like this.
That sucks, I'm sorry. I suppose the whole honeymoon phase of Substack has been over for awhile. Boo. 💜
So this is totally crazy but I was thinking of some kind of guerilla post where it's just a headline with "TERFs Suck!" or whatever, and then all of us pile-on with a like and a restack and it shoots to the top of the Culture charts and they lose their minds... 😂🤪🖖
As a cis, straight and generally rather dull and uninteresting person, I probably don't have a voice here, but I would be sorry to see this happen. I don't imagine the attackers will think, "Actually, they make a fair point. We must reconsider." It seems much more likely that they will take it as an opportunity to be even nastier in future.. Intolerants gonna intolerant.
(Disclaimer: I know you weren't being entirely serious. Being British, I shall now apologise for taking up too much of your time, and wander off somewhere else.)
p.s. Cis and straight are welcome here!! 💜
Only in Britain is "totally crazy" called "not entirely serious." 😘 Just a joke to get the balls rolling. Thanks David!
I was hoping I hadn't expressed myself too vehemently :)
😂 Adorable.
"Same old bullshit, different target." That's exactly it! I have spent a lot of time studying racist media in America and I can prove this across the board.