I'm enjoying mastodon so far but wow, all the comments about how white it is are extremely right. Almost all the other trans folks I've found have been white, and I know that isn't representative of the real world or even likely mastodon as a whole. I'd love to hear more from trans and queer POC (and POC all up, I've just been connecting with a LOT of trans folks).
Can anyone boost this to help me find more voices to listen to? Or recommend some hashtags? I don't even know how best to tag this.
@inherentlee yeah it defs does!
I'm sure there are clusters, I tried to find a few when i originally joined so hopefully they have grown and not left
I've found some black nerds who have been hiding here for years and I didn't know about them.
I agree. I found many #BlackNerds on #Mastodon . That said, I don't have any issue if #Mastodon #diversity increases
@futurebird @oluoluolu @inherentlee
I agree. I found many #BlackNerds on #Mastodon. Increasing #diversity on #Mastodon is ALWAYS good! 😊
#Follow those Hashtags too!
@inherentlee @DrVeronikaCH ah. Ok.
Well…..let’s change that.
@inherentlee I have to agree. I havent been able to tell if it is to do with the sector of the Fediverse that enters my timeline.... or if maybe Im not looking at the #BlackTwitter #BlackAcademics #BIPOC type hashtags enough.
I do think that one problem with so many people coming here from Twitter is....we tend to bring some of the bad habits (from birbsite) with us. That platform def felt "very white"
@Catwoman69y2k for sure, there is a lot of civility over content and other shit behavior.
I need to remember to follow more hashtags. That's still not default behavior for me 😅
@inherentlee to be fair, it isn't for a lot of people. Even when there was some visibility in the problem of birbsite's shadowbanning and algorithm tweaking, lots of people were not able to see the full power of hashtags.
People may still be used to Birbsite's search engine which allowed you to search for phrases and words
@inherentlee hey, Lee! We do a #transappreciationfriday thread every week where anyone who’s trans/non-binary is encouraged to join in.
I know I really try to use visibility to connect ALL people in our community, especially BIPOC, to find one another, connect and interact. Also, if you have more tips or suggestions as to how I can be more inclusive, please let me know. I’m open to learn. 💜
@AlyAlyOutnFree I am wondering if you thought about the fact that you replied to a post about someone seeing mostly only white trans people here with a hashtag full of almost only white trans people.
I know you say you want to learn but maybe start by thinking about why your trans community might be so white. A lot of trans community can be very focused on particular experiences that do not apply to everyone. For example, it may be even more unsafe for Black and brown trans people to be out in their daily lives, to use accounts that are not pseudonyms.
Is your default understanding of transness a white one? A lot of times white trans people end up being the most visible, to where white trans people don't even question why we mostly only see other white trans people.
And no the answer isn't to go find a few non-white people to pull into our white trans spaces, it's to deconstruct the whiteness of those spaces and to challenge the norms that place whiteness as the default
@RadiantEmber first- thank you for reaching out. I appreciate the response.
I reached out and mentioned the hashtag for a couple of different reasons:
1. I don’t own ‘the trans experience’ for everyone, nor do I represent it, but I’ve been doing TAF for almost two years now, though just recently on this platform, and I share it with as many people as I can so that it includes as many people as want to include themselves in it. That absolutely has to include black trans people.
@RadiantEmber 2. I am white and privileged. I will never know the experience of being black and/or trans, what that feels like, or how it changes the experience of being trans as a whole for black trans people.
I offered the hashtag bc it was mentioned by a follower to them, so I felt an open door to expand on what it’s about and how we’re trying to build upon it.
I’m lucky enough to have the chance to listen and learn. Thanks again for the feedback.
@AlyAlyOutnFree ah that does make sense and I can see why spreading the hashtag might help more people to hear about it, especially as it was mentioned already.
One of the big problems I have noticed is that as white people we often try to invite non-white people into our white spaces to make them more diverse. Rather than creating spaces with them, or joining spaces that they have invited us into, or even just supporting them in creating their own spaces.
The problem is that white spaces don't cease to be white spaces just because there are a few people in them who are not white. We've got to work on deconstructing the whiteness of those spaces at the root
@AlyAlyOutnFree ah I've thought of a practical application for this. There are Black trans people who are already on here creating hashtags used by lots of trans people! That's not to say that yours can't be used alongside theirs but you might want to look for example at tags like #FineFemmeFriday and get to know the Black and Brown trans folks that have already been creating communities here.
I hesitate to recommend to follow this person or that person because there is a real risk of treating people more as a resource than real people, and it's not necessarily helpful to Black and Brown trans folks to just have a bunch of white people following them
@AlyAlyOutnFree it is also a bit unfortunate but it seems like you aren't aware that Friday is widely used on Mastodon for BlackMastodon history and appreciation. Is it possible for you to consider moving trans appreciation to another day? I know you bring it here from previous work outside of Mastodon but it would help not to be obscuring that work with yours.
Fwiw, I'm trans and non-Black poc. And it seems a bit unintentionally rude.
"I'm enjoying mastodon so far but wow, all the comments about how white it is are extremely right. "
But that's not Mastodon's fault - nobody gets stopped at the door...
But it's - verbatim - what you *said*.
I'm just saying that if there's a problem *on* a problem, that doesn't mean it's a problem *with* the platform.
@inherentlee collecting people based on ethnicity is creepy when white people do it. Just imho.
I hope you figure out how to make genuine connections with people tho. Good luck! This guy above is a #newbie.
@inherentlee @Fayedray Lee, in my short experience on here, I've realized that you may realize that there are many people here who will tell you exactly how and what to do on here, often using the (flawed and self-excusing) reasoning of good intent (rather than actual effect) to attempt to police your words and actions.
Follow people and interests (hashtags) as you choose, the caveat being *how* you interact, not with who or what you interact, is often most important.
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