Posts by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
(DIR) Post #AZhmWyvXhAaDTQL8Pw by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-12T18:06:44Z
2 likes, 2 repeats
"so you're suggesting that TheBadSpace needs to have receipts for every single instance?"yes. yes, I am. that's how you maintain accountability when you're developing a public list of accusations against people that you're suggesting other people adopt as a blocklist.hiding behind, "anyone who doesn't just blindly trust me is a bigot" is you evading accountability. nothing more, nothing less.
(DIR) Post #AZicsupumS7am1UIs4 by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-13T07:40:38Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
really, though, I've already made my choice in this fight months ago. kolektiva federates with the "problematic" transfem instances and is blocked by the HOA ones. and I prefer it that way. if my choice has to be between a bunch of weird little communities filled with my weird little sisters and siblings, and a gaggle of joyless, scoldy cis and TME radlibs, then I'll choose the former every single time and not look back. I just thought this place as a whole was better than that. that we were better isolated from the toxic stew of transmisogyny (and antisemitism, among other things) that eventually drove me off of twitter. but, I guess not. thankfully it's way easier to shield oneself from that shit when you're not being fed an algorithm designed to provoke outrage-fueled engagement, so the fediverse is, and will remain, my social media home on the internet.but fuck if today wasn't eye-opening in a really disappointing way.
(DIR) Post #AZjZ9wNu4XLfq7CyJc by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-13T18:57:22Z
3 likes, 1 repeats
why am I, as a transfem person, so up in arms about #TheBadSpace drama?let's chat for a moment about transfeminized debt.transfeminized debt is a term and concept originally created by transfem writer May Peterson based upon her experience in queer and social-justice-oriented spaces. you can read the thread on it here, and I've also screenshotted it with alt text below for reference. https://twitter.com/maidensblade/status/1490047073844178948?lang=en
(DIR) Post #AZjZ9xX9ncLRP6XsNU by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-13T18:57:29Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
now, I’d like to focus specifically on the part about deference, and how that relates to a project meant to keep marginalized people safe on the fediverse.The Bad Space disproportionately targets transfeminine people and spaces where transfeminine people congregate as “problematic” instances. and when one of us, and then several of us, and then a whole shit-ton of us, started speaking out to Ro regarding this issue, we expected to receive sympathy and a promise to swiftly and justly correct the issue.instead, we were met with hostility, doubling down and accusations of bigotry. by the end of the day, we had prominent cis accounts talking about the “trans fascist problem.” we didn’t receive sympathy or solutions. we received hostility and fashjacketing. all because we dared to speak up for ourselves.it’s not difficult to see how the above plays into the concept of transfeminized debt. it’s clear that the Fediverse HOA Club, of whom Ro is a part, and who - to my knowledge - are entirely cishet or transmisogyny-exempt, expected deference from transfem people. our needs aren’t important to them, because under the transmisogynist paradigm of transfeminized debt, we’re a privileged group. never mind the fact that the bulk of us are struggling just to survive in a world that wants us dead several ways. never mind that all we want is to not be isolated from the greater fediverse.we spoke up, and we were punished for it. we were treated as entitled, arrogant, privileged, even fashjacketed. all for daring to speak up en masse.all for failing to perform the labor of deference to cishet and TME people. so, yes. the drama over The Bad Space is grossly transmisogynist to its core. and the trans community here on the fediverse deserves not just an apology, but swift and unqualified restitution.
(DIR) Post #AZjZA13sgPIsLSsYIi by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-13T19:21:50Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
additionally, read the part again about how feminist, queer and social justice spaces will go to any lengths to find ways to frame transfem people as privileged.sound familiar? sort of like how our asking for access needs on the fediverse, from a project that's supposed to make fedi safer for marginalized people, was immediately turned back around on us to characterize us all as a bunch of racist miscreants for not asking politely enough, or in the right way, or even for asking at all?would any other marginalized group be treated that way if they asked for an access need in a similar way?I think it's obvious here that the answer is, "no."
(DIR) Post #AZkMvdWyMuRL1Hp5qy by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-08-01T18:03:55Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
it's been my observation that there's a toxic, "with us or against us" strain of thought running through many leftist circles. this tendency causes many leftists to treat anyone - even those who are currently more liberal/moderate in their outlook, but who might be convinced otherwise - as The Enemy, basically on the same level as fash.in most cases, this is a trauma response. when we don't manage our trauma, we start to see the faces of the people who hurt us, and who *are currently* hurting us, in anyone who doesn't demonstrate one hundred per cent alignment with our beliefs.and in a minority of cases, it's clout-chasing behavior - basically someone trying to platform themselves as Leftier Than Thou in order to build a following of the traumatized folks in the first category.in both cases, that attitude is counterproductive to any actual movement-building and agitating for radical change. the moment that we start treating non-fash like fash is the moment that we've lost the battle, because nobody will ever earnestly change if we're placing them on the defensive. we must always be listening, and we must always be talking and trying to convince others of the goodness of radical change. because you know who *is* listening to those people and talking to them like human beings? the fash. and they're never stopping, *and* they own all the lines of communication.
(DIR) Post #AZkMvega4figbNKHT6 by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-08-01T18:05:41Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
also, no, I will not stop relating things to trauma responses, because SO much of the toxic shit in leftist circles can be chalked up to trauma responses and maladaptive coping mechanisms garnered from living in our fucked-up world.that's why I earnestly believe that the single best praxis that any leftist can do is to learn about, and learn how to manage, their own personal trauma. you're not helping anyone if you're letting your trauma responses control your behavior.
(DIR) Post #AZkMvfG1ws4mNJuaiu by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-08-01T18:24:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
second clarifying post based upon the responses I'm getting:the thrust of my argument here isn't "work with the libs," but instead, "treat the libs like human beings who can be radicalized." the particulars of working in coalitions with libs/socdems/etc are beyond my meager knowledge, so I can't weigh in either way on that area, and I'm not trying to make an argument for that either way.
(DIR) Post #AZlT7FKkboktVcYu3s by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-14T16:45:19Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
to be clear, "failing to differentiate transfem people from cis men" is literally the root of all transmisogyny.dude said the quiet part out loud years ago, and now there's receipts. I think we can put this issue to bed now.
(DIR) Post #AZlwohB3rMowzI6GjA by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-14T22:25:36Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
pretty much the only good thing about drama like the past few days is that it makes it clear who will and won't show up for me when the transmisogynists eventually come for me, too, and has allowed me to cull my follows accordingly. like, this shit isn't about me in particular, and it sure isn't transactional. I don't stand up for my sisters and siblings because I expect anything in return. but if all it takes for someone to turn on one or more of my sisters and sibs is one or a few liberal transphobes throwing a temper tantrum, then that person sure as hell isn't safe company for anyone in our community, myself included.
(DIR) Post #AZns1OQCnG1T7yL488 by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-13T16:19:27Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
still reeling from the experience yesterday of waking up to, "hey, there sure are a lot of transfem people on #TheBadSpace, someone should do something about that" and going to bed to a handful of prominent cis people calling us bigots and fascists for stating an access need
(DIR) Post #AZns1PZ6XejefrVgdk by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-13T16:19:59Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
all it took was less than twenty-four hours for the simmering transmisogyny here to start violently boiling over the edges of the pot
(DIR) Post #AZqthlQYLrbm6jSJ4C by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-17T05:57:32Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
"fediblock! fediblock!!", i continue to insist as i slowly shrink and transform into a corn cob
(DIR) Post #AZtnrLoXxYdQRz6h4S by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-18T17:18:56Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I saw a mutual have the take "HRT should be OTC" over the weekend, and you know what? that's a fucking killer take. I couldn't agree more.the FUD over HRT is 99.9% cis people not being able to empathize with the trans experience, and 0.1% truscum being truscum. any amount of gatekeeping that we agree is "legitimate" is a concession that we're making to the cis. and if you're gonna come at me with "but but what about detransitioners/what if someone takes hormones for foolish reasons," then I don't want to hear it until you condemn with multiple orders of magnitude in veracity the diet programs, weight loss drugs and bariatric surgeries being sold to fat people en masse - and how those are creating a literal epidemic of regrets, complications and preventable illnesses. because that's not hypothetical - it's happening right now, as we speak.
(DIR) Post #AZtnrMuFtonNpymlbk by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-18T17:36:18Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
credit to @salad_bar_breath for the original take, by the way, since I saw she boosted this post ❤️
(DIR) Post #AZw10Ww88oNESg2Ttg by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-19T18:03:47Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
the trans girls have ceased seriousposting and have gone back to being horny on main.the world is healing.
(DIR) Post #AZwzPK5p1cdX7JE6ka by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-20T06:25:16Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
feeling Big Sads tonight 😟 I just chatted with a friend (transfem, to be clear) for the first time in a couple weeks, and found out that the reason I hadn't heard from them is that they're dealing with the fallout from a Hot Allostatic Load moment.shit just never stops for us. fuck.
(DIR) Post #AZwzPKqGExmdRKxC8O by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-20T06:29:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
they're disabled, can't work, and have been dealing with horrid chronic pain these past few weeks. they don't hold any real power, and they were just trying to do a bit of good in this fucked up world. and so much of their support network just fucking abandoned them at the drop of a fucking hat. I'm so sad and angry and uggghhhhh
(DIR) Post #AZwzPLXrcqf5cZM168 by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-20T06:35:09Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
all of this shit just reminds me of why I'm so cynical about "leftist organizing." there's just so many traumatized people who bring all of their anger and alienation with them into spaces and then lob it at the first tempting target (usually a transfem person when one's available, but almost always someone marginalized and effectively powerless), with predictably destructive results.
(DIR) Post #AZwzzyKEv29UJxRhei by YKantRachelRead@kolektiva.social
2023-09-20T06:51:27Z
2 likes, 0 repeats
@nyx it'll keep happening because, in the eyes of cishet and TME folks, we're "men" who are simultaneously proximal to the patriarchy, and unable to call on the patriarchy once we're threatened.we're "privileged," and deserve to be held accountable for our "privilege," and yet have little to no effective privilege in practice.so obviously we have targets on our fucking backs the moment we venture out of our communities.