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A social media activist addressed the “transmediation” of online communities as anti-transgender laws take hold in the United States and around the world. Human rights organizations are concerned about the safety and future of trans communities as the “gender critical” movement grows.
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Matt Bernstein, best known for his educational Instagram posts and the “A Bit Fruity Podcast,” has recently infiltrated online anti-transgender communities. They found that anti-trans activists accused dozens of cisgender celebrities of lying about their gender when transgender celebrities like Elliot Page and Laverne Cox became more comfortable openly sharing their identities.
In the format of her typical Instagram posts, Bernstein shared this reel about his findings:
This is your brain on transphobia
In several Facebook groups, users analyzed the physical characteristics of celebrities such as Henry Cavill, Margot Robbie, Kristen Stewart, Anne Hathaway, Farrah Fawcett, Marilyn Monroe, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ryan Gosling and accused them of lying about their gender and gender identity. Group names include “Transvestigation Disclosure NOW,” “FAMOUS TRANSGENDER DISCLOSURE TRANSVESTIGATION TRANSHUMANISM TRANSFORMERS,” “TRANSvestigation: Hollyweird,” and more.
“It’s like a transpocalypse, and they’re the only cis people left,” Bernstein said.
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Some in the groups expressed strained marital and family relationships due to their obsession with the transvestigation conspiracy theory.
Although the groups are predominantly conservative, Republicans like Donald Trump and Caitlyn Jenner were not safe from cross-dressing. (Jenner is openly transgender – but a social media post suggested she was born a woman, transitioned to a man, then became a woman again.)
“This is the bottom line of assuming that you can just assume someone is transsexual by looking at them, right?” Bernstein concluded. “Underlying all of this is the idea that there is a unique biological standard for being a man or a woman, and that anyone who doesn't fully conform to that must be lying about who they really are. This is what we mean when we say that transphobia also affects cis people.”
It's best not to assume a person's gender based on their appearance. Asking a person's pronouns is the easiest way to properly address a person.
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