So, I can see 2 worlds I could approach that take with: the world of the ideal we could work towards, and the world of the reality we have to adapt to.

In the ideal world, we all would be ready and able to have queer youth mingle freely within our spaces, to be able to mentor them within a community without fear.
(I think there are queer people who can and do take on this role, and we should champion more of them.)

In the even more ideal world we would make dedicated spaces appropriate for youth where they can safely interact with each other, and with responsible adults for guidance.

In the reality we live in, however, many queer people online are not comfortable taking the risk publicly associating with minors despite zero intentions or even statistical likelihood of hurting minors, because repressive leaders and governments around the world see queer people existing as inappropriate, harassment, dangerous, abusive for minors. The slightly less repressive ones take a "neutral" or disdainful approach to people being queer as adults, but they absolutely despise the concept of children encountering the concept of queerness, much less being queer.

I'm aware that at least one US state, likely in the tens, has made being a child predator punishable by death, while also making the act of being queer (especially transfemme) in the vicinity of a child chargeable as child sex abuse.

I have zero faith in these repressive systems distinguishing between a person, who may happen to be queer, seeking out inappropriate conduct with a minor, and a minor brushing up against a queer person and the system lunging at the chance to destroy them, regardless if any inappropriate conduct has actually happened.

Never mind that by the numbers, people (especially children) are statistically much more likely to be abused by the people in close proximity to them (parents, extended family, neighbors, educators, co-workers, church officials) rather than any stranger in the real world or online. Never mind that of the counts of those convicted of child abuse in any given year it is 95% straight white Christian men with power. Never mind that the (complete lack of) sex education in this country leaves youth in more danger and with less tools for how to identify and prevent abuse. The hegemon wants to drown queer people for the lavicious sins of its patriarchs.

In that light I understand why some queer people don't want to take that risk onto themselves, and it feels kind of like victim blaming for others to condemn them for not doing so.

By the way, as many trans women have pointed out, it's strange that the thread started pointed out at all queer people, then narrowed down to trans women in particular (some of, if not the most visible in the queer umbrella that the hegemon is brutally oppressing), while on the way making weird implications that the people using mdni are trying to do sexual acts to other users in general and just don't care about not involving minors? Bizarre outlook. Also weird is this focus on raising queer youth being a moral obligation after the thread's narrowing down to trans women. Does strike me as having a bit of transmisogynist implications.

For most these accounts are another persona they take on online as a way to express parts of themselves (in this case, parts they target at adults exclusively), they wouldn't show up to work as this persona (especially not in fishnets), it's reserved for a specific framing and place. I certainly would not expect to sign in to Microsoft Teams with my gamertag XX_BUTTSMASHER-GLORYKILL6969_XX#3492 or log onto Discord with @johnrealnamelinkedin with the gang. I also assume when they say "this persona is mdni" they don't walk around in real life with a forcefield that says "I hate kids, don't talk to me." It's fine to have different ways to present depending on what context you'll be in.

But the place where this should have ended is that "I am making a boundary where I do not feel comfortable interacting with minors in the context of this persona," regardless of the reasons why.

#mdni #minors-dni #3492