So, my last post was a complete shit show. I had no idea it would get this much attention. Not necessarily happy that it did.
First off, to the moderation team, please accept this hug from this trans bunny girl right here. Because damn it, do you deserve it. I'm so sorry for what happened, I do kind of feel responsible and I'm worried that by posting this, I'm going to make things worse.
Second, it is astounding the amount of entitlement that so many men feel. In this thread, I've seen lots of dudes being offended but what was more striking was: A bunch of guys being told about the rule, AND DOUBLING AND SOMETIMES TRIPLING DOWN!
When I wrote this post, I was thinking of adding a huge: "Please read the rules before commenting, this is a women only space" and I didn't do it, I didn't want to overstep the boundaries of the moderation. I would change that, looking back.
You know what kills me about all of this? It's that, as a transfeminine bun, the typical trans-misogynistic shit being thrown my way is that I'm just a guy disguising myself as a woman to invade "real women" spaces, to which of course, the answer always is: Guys don't need to put in this much effort to invade women spaces, they just walk in like they own the place and it's enough.
This post was yet another perfect demonstration of that. And men can't understand, they just can't, because they don't go through it, they don't know what it's like, they never even have to think about it. Women are being excluded passively all over the internet, but the second there is a women only thing, we have guys constantly trying to brigade it and to destroy it because taking all the space already isn't enough.
A woman can't express herself online without being bombarded with reply guys telling her that she's wrong, that she's exaggerating, and don't forget the usual dudes insisting that they're part of the good ones. And god forbid if you're expressing your frustration in a way that might be a bit too generalizing or angry, because of course "#NotAllMen", a guy will say proving exactly that yes, it is all men. It's not hating an entire group, it's not being misandrist, it's just drowning in misogyny and being rightfully pissed off about it, but we can't even have that.
We're never allowed to be ourselves, we're never allowed to be vulnerable as women, we're never allowed to vent or be upset at the shit that we have to endure from men all the time, we just have to take it. All because the average dude's ego is both so enormous and so fragile that he can't accept that it's not about him, or even begin to understand that he might be the problem here when he's been repeatedly told that this is not a space for him.
It's incredibly disheartening. Because when it works, I love this community, it's a safe haven on the internet. But the second we dare to talk about more than: "I love being a girl!" and go into something along the lines of: "Misogyny is crushing to deal with", things spiral out of control and we have to deal with yet another stunning example of men barging in, seemingly desperate to prove the point.
In the beginning I said this:
I'm worried that by posting this, I'm going to make things worse.
You see this? This is exactly what I'm talking about.
I didn't write it to prove a point, I wrote it because I'm genuinely worried about this. Because I have to actively be careful about what I do, what I say, what I wear, what I show, as to not attract the ire of misogyny. All the time. It's always in the back of my mind, it's a never ending anxiety. It's something that men, even the most well meaning ones, can't and will never be able to understand. I just wish they'd be able to accept it and to believe us.
EDIT:
IT HAPPENED HERE AS WELL! We had a guy come in, knowing full well he was breaking the rule, but he wanted to share his "personal experience", his opinion. In other words, fucking mansplain to us why this keeps happening. He couldn't help himself, he just had to share his unsolicited opinion because he is just that important as a man. I have people asking me all the time why I only hang out with trans people and women, and it's simple: They respect my fucking boundaries!
