cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/12273255
I've only been on Lemmy a few days and I've already witnessed a lot of thinly veiled transphobia, anything from people dismissing the existence of trans people, to trying to claim we are predators. I've also seen people downvoted in the general communities for expressing trans support, or seemingly for no reason other than simply being openly trans or visibly queer. I know it's an ongoing effort to moderate transphobia on Lemmy, and the fediverse as a whole. We have to also address mentions of thinly veiled transphobia and transphobic users. Transphobia isn't just a differing opinion, it is a dangerous hateful sentiment which causes harm to vulnerable people and it needs to be addressed, at the instance and community level. We need to put in the effort to identify transphobic dogwhistles and language used by transphobes to eradicate this type of behavior from our communities and servers alike.
Some people will argue that the light stuff isn't something to worry about, but that's not true. This is a tactic they use to blend in with normies and make them think that nothing they are doing or saying is wrong. It's what transphobic right-wing YouTubers and Facebook users do to avoid being banned for hate speech. We are better than these corporations though, Fediverse is run by communities and for the users, we should not let these things slide as easily as Corporations do, they're in it to make money, we... We're in it to create a community for the users. Part of that means kicking out those who don't have all our best interests at heart.
You just highlighted a transphobic dogwhistle, where people claim to be "just asking questions" and their questions are by nature invalidating or attempting to be invalidating towards trans people.
if you want to know what I meant by downvotes in the thread, many people who are transphobic aren't bold enough to express it directly, they do it indirectly claiming they are just asking questions or that they just don't support that one basic things that trans people expect to receive. Some are even more less direct, lurking and hiding but they still express their distain and transphobia through downvotes. On Reddit they were practically anonymous. The fediverse though allows votes to be seen by instance admins, so it's really easy for admins to find the ones doing this and give them the boot. Votes aren't anonymous.
I already did provide you with criteria for what counts as transphobia, though from what you've said here you sound like a typical apologist and discussion will likely not go anywhere.
I honestly still don't get what is meant by downvotes in this thread. To me this comes off as any opposition/critique is transphobic by default; not a viable perspective in my humble opinion.
Apologist of what? Transphobia? You are not justified in making such a statement.
By the same logic, would I be justified in labelling you an orientalist; a bearer of the "white [person's] burden" (in the metaphorical sense)?