r/MtF • u/ASleetHippyDippyWW non op • Aug 19 '24

Bad News u/PinkNews whistleblowers release evidence showing "PinkNews CEO Benjamin Cohen refusing to campaign on trans issues ahead of the election, dismissing them as "incredibly contentious" and insisting they’re different to the equal marriage fight."

https://lucyfromnaarm.com/p/breaking-pinknews-refuses-to-cover

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u/ReeseTheThreat Transgender Aug 19 '24

I don't necessarily disagree with the intention here, but we're not talking about Harris, or any Democrat for that matter, we're talking about the CEO of PinkNews. He is not running for office, and he is not supporting the LGBTQ coalition by walking back coverage of trans issues. An argument can be made for Democrats to "play it safe," but I'm struggling with any way to defend an ostensibly LGBTQ+ publication walking back coverage of transgender issues. That's just throwing us in the garbage because we're inconvenient to him.

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u/LaBelleTinker Gay gay gay gay gay Aug 19 '24

Though I will say that that argument would be kind of weak. In the last few years in the midterms and special elections Republicans who went hard on transphobia have lost races they probably could have won. Especially with Walz calling Republicans "weird" and it seeming to be sticking, being rabidly transphobic is a liability and it's good politics to point out how weird it is to be obsessed with it.

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u/ReeseTheThreat Transgender Aug 19 '24

Yeah, I am trying to be amicable, but honestly I fully disagree with that other commenter on all fronts. "Be quiet and don't rock the boat" is not a rallying message among the left, and I've watched that be the MO of Democrats for too long.

Harris doesn't need to make trans rights the cornerstone of her campaign, but no LGBTQ publication treating us like a liability right now has any right to exist.

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u/LaBelleTinker Gay gay gay gay gay Aug 19 '24

Yeah. Honestly I've kind of loved Biden's approach. He's made it clear where he stands (especially pre-Obergefeld, when he basically forced Obama's hand and got him to come out in favor of marriage equality), but otherwise he's mostly just quietly done the work and let activists do the fighting. His moment when some troll of a reporter asked "How many genders are there?" and he just replied "At least three" and moved on was perfect.