𝓝𝓪𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓮 𝓦𝔂𝓷𝓷  💎

I've been reluctant to do this so far because it necessarily involves saying things that will likely dig me even deeper into the hole.

To begin with: I sincerely do not believe that Jesse is a TERF. I would not consent to be profiled by someone I think is a TERF.

When I first started interacting with Jesse, several people warned me that he was transphobic. I looked up his articles and found some statements about childhood transition in particular that I found potentially problematic, but saw no sign of full-blown transphobia.

(I'm well aware that most of trans Twitter strongly disagrees with me about this).

I'm trying to listen to your criticisms and give them fair consideration. And I agree that Jesse has signal-boosted some problematic stuff, and that he has defensively lashed out at many of those who've pointed this out.

But the common sentiment that Jesse is a raging TERF who hates trans people is strongly discordant with my own take on his past articles and my personal interaction with him.

This is someone who never once questioned my gender identity, who immediately switched to the right name and pronouns when I came out, who's written one of the only articles about a trans person I've ever seen in a mainstream outlet that doesn't deadname the subject.

I deal with TERF harassment every day. I think I have a feel for what TERFs are like. And this is not it.