Hey everyone, my name is Riley, and again, just like in my last video, I am so sweaty.
That's why I'm not wearing makeup, that's why my hair is in a ponytail.
I just -- if I put on makeup, I would immediately sweat it off. So this is the face you're getting today.
Because it's summer in Australia and like 95 degrees Fahrenheit in Sydney, and I can't deal with that.
So anyways, today I want to tell you about some great websites for finding queer content
that are fully inclusive of trans women.
Because there are organizations out there
that say they’re for “LGBT” people when
in reality they’re just for cis gays or
cis lesbians, and they often have an outright
hostile view of bi people, trans people, and other more marginalized members of the queer community.
That’s not who should be representing us.
That’s a small, hateful part of the community.
In reality, we are much larger and more diverse than that, and the world should know that about us.
And for all queer people, I think it’s important
we show solidarity with each other.
Like we’re all different, we all have different
identities and lead different lives, but at
the end of the day, we’re united in our
differentness, our queerness.
And I think that means we should be supportive
of everyone under our umbrella, not just the
cisgender gay people.
Because cis gay people are a welcome and loved
part of this community, but they’re not
the only part.
So I think it’s important we celebrate the
LGBTQ+ organizations that do their best to
be inclusive of all queer people.
This video specifically is going to be about
trans women, and that’s because of a lot
of transmisogynistic stuff that’s been happening
recently that we’ll get into later, but
in general, it’s really important that we
support all of the lesser-talked-about identities
in the queer community, like trans people,
nonbinary people, bisexual people, asexual people, etc.
So if you strive to be inclusive and supportive
of all queer people, hopefully this video
can point you in the right direction towards
some platforms that have that same goal in
mind, because I’ve often found that how
a person or organization feels about trans
women is a somewhat decent litmus test for
how they feel about other more marginalized
members of the queer community.
I think that’s why, for example, you’ll
often see a lot of solidarity between cis
bi women and trans women, because they face
a different-but-similar struggle in which
their identities are often questioned by cis
gay people.
So if you find an organization that supports
trans women, it’s more likely -- even if
it’s not guaranteed -- that they’ll support
other more-marginalized members of the queer
community as well.
So, with all of that said, let’s talk about
the open letter that was published last week
by some of the world’s largest publications
for lesbian, bi, and queer women.
The letter was titled “Not in our name,”
and it was signed by DIVA, Curve, Autostraddle,
LOTL, Tagg, Lez Spread The Word, DapperQ and
GO Magazine.
I just wanna go through the letter and talk
about each paragraph piece by piece because
I think it’s really important and it can
help illustrate exactly why so many major
publications for queer women felt the need
to come together and say something.
After this, I’ll tell you a bit more about
each publication so you can maybe have a new
place to look up some great articles.
So, the letter starts like this:
“Following further vitriolic attacks on
trans people in our media, the world’s leading
publications for lesbians are coming together
to send an unapologetic message of support
and solidarity to the trans community.”
That, I think is a really powerful message.
Because, unfortunately, there have been a
lot of really loud anti-trans voices in the
media recently, and some of that has been
led by transphobic cis lesbians who claim
to speak for all lesbians.
And by opening up their letter by addressing
the fact that they’re the world’s leading
publications for lesbians, these organizations
are stating immediately that transphobic cis
lesbians don’t speak for all lesbians and,
in fact, they’re in the minority and going
to be left on the wrong side of history.
“DIVA, Curve, Autostraddle, LOTL, Tagg,
Lez Spread The Word, DapperQ and GO Magazine
believe that trans women are women and that
trans people belong in our community.
We do not think supporting trans women erases
our lesbian identities; rather we are enriched
by trans friends and lovers, parents, children,
colleagues and siblings.”
So the two first phrases there, saying that
“trans women are women” and that “trans
people belong in our community” -- those
are two major pillars of trans rights, and
it makes me really happy to see them say that.
But they go even a step further in the next
part by saying that they’re enriched by
trans people, and that’s an even bigger
deal because it’s not just “Oh, we tolerate
trans people in our community,” it’s actually
“Trans people make our community better,”
which is a big deal.
And specifically by saying that trans people
can be lovers, they’re fighting against
this transphobic notion that trans people
are unlovable or undesirable, and so it’s
really just a thorough support of trans people
in all aspects, which is above and beyond
just a basic “we accept trans people”
statement.
“We strongly condemn writers and editors
who seek to foster division and hate within
the LGBTQI community with trans misogynistic
content, and who believe ‘lesbian’ is
an identity for them alone to define.
We condemn male-owned media companies who profit from the traffic generated by these controversies.”
This part is important because it goes beyond
just saying that they support trans people,
it acknowledges that there are people and
publications out there actively working to
harm trans people, and they condemn that.
That’s important for trans people to see
because when these anti-trans pieces are published,
trans people can feel like the world is against
them.
But to then see these major publications directly
condemn that, it can give us back a sense
of hope that actually the community is on
our side.
And then by saying that the word “lesbian”
isn’t for those anti-trans writers and editors
to define, they support the fact there are
trans lesbians and there are cis lesbians
who are attracted to trans women, and “lesbian” as an identity can’t be defined by a small hateful group.
It’s not for transphobes to take and co-opt.
“We also strongly condemn the current narrative
peddled by some feminists, painting trans
people as bullies and aggressors – one which
reinforces transphobia and which must be challenged
so that feminism can move forward.
We are really concerned about the message
these so-called lesbian publications are sending
to trans women and to young lesbians – including
trans lesbians – and we want to make it
clear this is not in our name.”
This part is where the title of the letter
comes in, “Not in our name,” and it makes
a really good point.
These transphobes can have their opinions
and they can spout them off, but they are
harmful, they are widely opposed, and they
do not speak for the rest of us.
They are not associated with us.
They are their own hateful TERF corner that
is shunned by the rest of the community.
Because transphobes can claim to speak for
all feminists or all lesbians, but they don’t.
And even here when they talk about young lesbians,
including trans lesbians, it seems like just
kind of a casual mention, but it’s meaningful.
Because usually when people think of queer
people, we get one letter.
We’re the L or G or B or T. We’re never
more than that.
But then what about trans lesbians?
Where do we go?
Which label do we choose?
Usually we’re sorted into the “trans”
pile, but then we get this false dichotomy
where people think they can pit lesbians against trans women, when in reality, some of us are both.
A while back you might remember that there
was some anti-trans nonsense at a Pride parade
in the UK, and a bunch of lovely people responded
with the hashtag #LwiththeT and I thought
that was really sweet and supportive and kind.
It was cis lesbians saying that they support
trans women, and it was amazing.
But the hashtag was also kinda funny to me
because it was like, “Well, yeah, obviously
the L is with the T because lots of us are
both.”
There are even bi, pan, and ace trans people
because trans people can have any sexual orientation.
And so I just appreciate the acknowledgement
in this letter that young trans lesbians exist
and fall under the umbrella of talking about
“lesbians”.
Because when publications like Diva or Autostraddle
talk about lesbians, they mean cis or trans,
and I just really appreciate that.
“As the leading publications for queer women,
we believe it is our responsibility to call
out scaremongering conspiracy theories levelled
at the trans community, and make it clear
that DIVA, Curve, Autostraddle, LOTL, Tagg,
Lez Spread The Word, DapperQ and GO Magazine
will always be safe spaces for the trans community.”
When they say “scaremongering conspiracy
theories,” that’s not an exaggeration.
To harm trans people, transphobes often just
make up baseless claims about trans women,
claiming that they’ll attack cis women in
bathrooms, or that they want everyone to sleep
with them, or some other nonsense.
And none of it is based in reality.
It’s just talking points that are cooked
up out of thin air to demonize the trans community.
Like the “bathroom bills” that you may
have seen discussed on the news at some point.
I’m glad this letter addressed that and
called it what it is: scaremongering conspiracy theories.
“Forty years ago, to be a lesbian was to
be questioned and persecuted.
Today things are better for cis lesbians but
there are still places where to be a lesbian
is impossible.
So it is for trans men and women, as well
as non-binary people, many of whom identify
as lesbian, bisexual, gay or queer.
We know something of these struggles.
And just as they and other allies have supported
us, so we must support those among us who
are trans, or risk ending up on the wrong
side of history.
The sooner we stop focussing on what divides
us and instead focus on our commonalities,
the stronger we will be to confront the other
injustices imposed on us.”
So that’s the final part of the letter,
and I think it does a good job of bringing
it all back with the message of togetherness,
because we all struggle under cisnormativity
and heteronormativity, and in that struggle
we should find solidarity with each other,
not look to throw each other under the bus.
And it reminded me a lot of a Twitter thread
I saw recently from a cis lesbian.
I’m going to paraphrase it but I’ll also
link it in the description so you can see
exactly what she said.
But basically, she said that it wasn’t that
long ago that people were saying cis lesbians
shouldn’t be allowed in women’s bathrooms
or locker rooms because they’d be predatory
or abusive, and now it’s just the same argument
but for trans women.
And she’s mad that some cis lesbians have
so quickly forgotten what happened to them
and are now happy to turn around and make
those same claims against trans women.
I’m gonna quote her last tweet word for
word because it’s really good: “Transphobia
sucks no matter who it's coming from, but
cis gays should know better.
Everything u do to trans people was being
done to u yesterday.
You're not getting points from the straights
for doing their bidding.
When they're done with trans ppl they'll be
back to hurting you.”
And that seems to be the same point that these
lesbian publications were making with this
concluding paragraph.
They were saying that while cis lesbians still face a lot discrimination today, it was much worse before.
And now, it’s still really bad for trans
people, and it’s important that cis lesbians
don’t leave trans people behind just because things in general have gotten better for cis lesbians.
And not only that, but they mention that trans
people have supported lesbians throughout
history, and now it’s time for cis lesbians to help out trans people and other more marginalized queer people.
The struggle for queer rights has always been
led by a mixture of people from different
marginalized genders and sexual orientations,
and it’s important that we don’t forget
that, and that we continue to support each
other.
So yeah, that’s the whole letter and why
its contents are so important.
I’m just really glad to see all of this
happening and to see so many cis people voicing
their support for trans people.
It means a lot to me and to a ton of other
trans people.
If you’re cis and just wanna do a quick
tweet or instagram post or whatever saying
that you believe trans women are women, I
think it’d go a long way in helping people
see that supporting trans people is a good
and positive thing.
There are also some publications that are
infamous for being awful to trans people,
but this video really isn’t about them.
I don’t need to give them the attention.
They’re clearly on the hateful side here,
and if we continue to show love to publications
that voice their support for trans people,
hopefully the hateful groups will just fade
into irrelevancy.
And if you’re wondering why all of this
seems necessary all of sudden, it’s because
of a lot of anti-trans messages that have
been gaining traction for years.
One of those is the “trans people in bathrooms”
thing that we talked about earlier, but the
other one that’s been more specific to queer
women’s spaces, has been the “I don’t
want to sleep with trans women, therefore
trans women can’t be lesbians” argument
that some cis lesbians have been peddling.
But, obviously, you don’t have to be attracted to trans lesbians for their identities to be valid.
And you might see this in some form or another
eventually, and so I just want to give you
a little background on it.
Transphobes will try to make it sound like
trans lesbians demand that cis lesbians be
attracted to them, but that’s just not the
case.
In fact, like every trans lesbian I know is
overly cautious around cis lesbians and tries
really hard not to come off as predatory.
Lots of trans lesbians even date other trans
lesbians.
But at the end of the day, there are some
cis lesbians are who attracted to and date
trans lesbians.
When transphobes claim that trans women can’t
be lesbians, they work not only to harm trans
women but also to harm any cis lesbians who
are attracted to those trans women.
So really, claiming that trans women can’t
be lesbians seems to be the real anti-lesbian
position, because it invalidates not only
trans lesbians but also some cis lesbians.
And really, if you believe that trans people
exist and you want to support them, you should
believe that they can be lesbians too.
Because not all trans people are going to
be straight.
That just doesn’t make any sense.
Why allow cis people to have any sexual orientation
but limit trans people to only being straight?
I’m a trans woman, and I’m attracted to
women.
I couldn’t change any aspect of that about
myself even if I wanted to.
So yeah, that’s why these publications decided
to come together to voice their support for
trans women -- because unfortunately there
is a vocal minority of cis lesbians who want
to tear down the queer community.
And I’m really thankful that these publications
did this, because it can be hard as a trans
person to see your community relentlessly
attacked.
It’s a beautiful thing to see the larger
community come around in support of trans people.
So remember to check out all the publications
who signed on to this letter.
I know Autostraddle the best because I’ve
seen a bunch of their articles, but all of
them have something great to offer.
DIVA is a UK-based site that has a monthly
physical magazine.
LOTL, which stands for Lesbians On The Loose, is owned by the same company that produces Curve.
LOTL is the leading lesbian magazine in Australia,
and Curve is one of the leading lesbian magazines
in the US, with both magazines putting out
4 issues a year.
Lez Spread The Word is a Montreal-based website
and magazine that also hosts events and puts
out a web series.
Tagg is a great website that has a bunch of
different kinds of content, and they have
a print magazine and a podcast.
DapperQ is a queer style website geared towards
masculine-presenting women and trans people.
And GO Magazine runs a website and a print
magazine that is one the most popular lesbian
magazines in the US.
So if you’re interested in print magazines
or online articles or just following these
publications on social media, I hope you show
them some love in one way or another.
And just remember that I’m not saying these
publications are infallible or perfect.
All publications make mistakes or have areas
where they could improve.
And things might change, a site might get
a new editor or get bought by a different
site or something, so this list might not
be as relevant a few years down the line.
But as of right now, I’m really proud of
these organizations for defending trans people.
So check out their links in the description,
and follow them on Twitter, and all that.
Anyway, that is all I had for you today.
If you would like to help me keep making videos
like this, I could really use your support
over on Patreon.
You can check out my Patreon by clicking over here, or you can subscribe by clicking up here.
Thanks so much for watching, and I’ll see
you next time.
I am so sweaty!
