Trans content creators in the United States are sounding the alarm: Bluesky, the social-media platform touted as an alternative to large commercial providers, temporarily suspended several trans people for negative remarks about the transphobic author J.K. Rowling. According to the trans site “Assigned Media,” there were no threats of violence in these posts, and their tone was harmless by comparison to Rowling’s tirades.
The controversy began when trans YouTuber Jessie Earl (also known as Jessie Gender) was recently suspended for 24 hours for writing: “I wish J.K. Rowling ill, too.” Afterwards, other larger creators reported that they were briefly suspended for criticizing Rowling. Smaller creators, however, were largely not targeted.
Direct link | Jessie Gender on Youtube
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The trigger for the suspension campaign against trans people was a prior post by a trans activist who wrote that she wished Rowling’s skull would be split. That also led to a 24-hour suspension. This suspension is seen by many trans creators as understandable, since it involved a violence fantasy. However, it is unclear why gender minorities must seemingly wish Rowling well in order not to be suspended — especially given that Rowling on social media has disparaged trans women as “men” or “criminals,” for example as a “penis-holding person who raped you.” Recently, Rowling in the United Kingdom urged a boycott of a department store because it employed trans women (TheColu.mn reported).
Bluesky admits fault — after press inquiry
Finally Bluesky conceded that the suspension of Jessie Earl had been a mistake — but only after “Assigned Media” sent a press inquiry to the Seattle-based company. “We believe that our initial assessment was wrong and we have restored her post,” the company wrote in a standard note to Earl. However, the post — just as the post by a nonbinary creator that was also “incorrectly” suspended — had not yet reappeared.
According to the report by “Assigned Media,” the high standards applied to Rowling are not being applied in other cases. Earl also criticized: “In this matter, power dynamics and context are not taken into account. A trans person who says she wishes something bad for a powerful, wealthy, anti-trans fanatic is an expression of anger and frustration by a person without power,” Earl said. “If Rowling says the same about me, it would carry a completely different weight — that would amount to harassment and cause me real harm.”
In recent years, many trans people have migrated from Twitter, or X, to Bluesky because X owner Elon Musk explicitly allowed transphobic remarks on his platform (TheColu.mn reported). The backdrop appears to be that one of Musk’s children came out as trans and he condemned it harshly. Musk reportedly said she was infected by a “communist, woke virus,” and last year even proclaimed her dead.
