=AtG=

Content Notice: Virulent transphobia.

Cathy Brennan mentions on her Twitter that she identifies as a goth. Brennan also thinks trans women are “fake,” so someone eventually picked up on the fact that she has goth on her profile and asked Brennan if she’s a “fake goth.”

I’d include the links, but apparently, Brennan has apparently got Facebook to ban anyone who so much as states the message in a status update.

Just so we’re clear, Facebook considers this an offense of its user policy:

But considers this to be perfectly fine:

I’ve reported comments that literally called trans folk “freaks” who “need to be locked up.” I’ve reported comments that say it’s okay to murder trans women. Not to mention all the people calling us perverts, psychos–the list goes on. And sweet fuck all happens when I report them. The Orbit’s Luxander corroborates my experiences:

By now, we’ve probably all seen something that’s obviously hate speech get reported, and Facebook does nothing. Occasionally, they do take action. For example, apparently at one point I reported the page “Gender Identity Watch Reloaded” and it was removed. But it seems like that only happens a fraction of the time, and is the result of coordinated efforts to have as many people as possible report the hate speech.

Meanwhile, you have private individuals, making innocuous statements and observations, being put in Facebook Jail and threatened with a permanent account ban.

I don’t really need further evidence to suggest Cathy Brennan is a colourful character who would benefit from an abrupt loss of internet access. But the real question is:

Is Cathy Brennan a fake goth?

I don’t know. What I do know is my irony meter popped so aggressively it’s probably somewhere in orbit.

-Shiv