Welcome to #TransTuesday! This is DIRECTLY related to last week’s post, so much so you could even call it TRANS RAGE 2 (SUPER DEPRESSING BOOGALOO). It’s actually all part of the exact same thing, but this time we’re going to call it: CIS APATHY.
You NEED to have read last week’s thread first, because again these are quite literally the same topic. We just needed that one first, so you can see first-hand what I’m talking about. So if you missed it, get on that now.
Part of our thread on Trans Rage/Stop Forgetting About Us was my asking you, cis folks in particular, to retweet and share the thread so that more cis people would see it, because nothing will ever change if more cis people aren’t aware of things. And many of you did.
Well, for some values of “many.” I am writing this on Tuesday, July 4. Let’s look at the Twitter stats as of this moment. I presently have 2933 followers. (No alt text on the following pics as I will describe them as we go, but I wanted you to see I’m not making them up).
All of 110 retweets, 38 of them quote tweets. This makes it the most shared Trans Tuesday ever (outside of the Matrix trans allegory threads). But of course with the All Knowing Algorithm, there’s no way of knowing how many of you 2933 people actually saw it.
So let’s look deeper. Over 29000 impressions. Over 1800 engagements. Still only 110 retweets, and only 36 of you added your own thoughts to the thread to encourage your cis followers to read it (two of the quote retweets were mine).
This thread appeared on 29000 timelines, 31 cis people did the thing I asked (five RTs were from trans/NB people). Even if you count normal retweets, which is at least still spreading the word, that 110 amounts to… 0.11%, if my math is right. A. TENTH. OF. ONE. PERCENT.
I likely have more trans/non-binary followers than most of you cis folks, but even still the vast majority of my followers are cis people. Almost ALL of YOUR followers are probably cis people. Not even close to 1% of those who saw it spread the word.
For those of you who DID quote tweet, we have even more data to look at. We’re going to see how your followers reacted to your quote tweet.
Cis person quote RT one. 7 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT two. 5 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 3. 2 likes (one of them mine).
Cis person quote RT 4. 5 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 5. 9 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Trans/NB person quote RT 1. 5 likes (one of them mine), 2 RTs (one of them mine).
Trans/NB person quote RT 2. 2 likes (one of them mine).
Cis person quote RT 6. 12 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Trans/NB person quote RT 3. 12 likes (one of them mine), 2 RTs (one of them mine).
Cis person quote RT 7. 6 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 8. 13 likes (one of them mine), 2 RTs (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 9. 4 likes (one of them mine).
Cis person quote RT 10. 5 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 11. 3 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 12. 1 like (mine). (how depressing is this?)
Cis person quote RT 13. 6 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 14. 10 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 15. 16 likes (one of them mine), 2 RTs (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 16. 26 likes (one of them mine), 7 RTs (one of them mine), 2 replies (one of them mine).
Cis person quote RT 17. 3 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT.
Cis person quote RT 18. 8 likes (one of them mine), 2 RTs (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 19. 12 likes (one of them mine), 3 RTs (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 20. 1 like (mine). (sigh)
Cis person quote RT 21. 1 like (mine), 1 reply (mine). (demoralizing!)
Cis person quote RT 22. 1 like (mine), 1 reply (mine). (are you depressed yet?)
Cis person quote RT 23. 1 like (mine), 1 reply (mine). (what’s it going to take?)
Cis person quote RT 24. 3 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT, 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 25. 5 likes (one of them mine), 1 RT (mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 26. 2 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Cis person quote RT 27. 3 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Trans/NB person quote RT 4. 1 like (mine), 1 reply.
Cis person quote RT 28. 7 likes (one of them mine), 1 reply (mine).
Trans/NB person quote RT 5. 1 like (mine). (almost makes you want to cry, doesn’t it?)
Cis person quote RT 29. 13 likes (one of them mine), 2 RTs, 1 reply (mine).
You’re seeing cis apathy in action. You’re seeing how many cis people write this off as something they don’t care to learn about, or discuss, or tell others about. And you see why we’re in the situation we’re in.
Do you know what it’s like for trans/NB people to look at that and realize so many of you just don’t care? You can’t be arsed to click a button to help combat disinformation during a GENOCIDE. How do you even respond to that?
I linked to so many past threads last week where I talked about how important and vital cis allyship is. And now you’re seeing, in real time, how rare it is. If you won’t even hit the retweet button on social media, how can we expect you to stand up for us elsewhere?
How can we trust you’ll stand up to your transphobic cis friends, who will listen to you far more than they will listen to us? To your cis friends who are just ignorant of the issue?
How can we trust you’ll stand up for us at the ballot box? On the phone lines to your representatives to tell them what they’re doing to us is not okay? You have got to break your silence.
This isn’t about me (other than I am trans and this is about all trans people). I don’t care if you retweet MY thread specifically, there are tons of trans people talking about this. Have you retweeted them? Shared news articles? Made your thoughts clear to all your cis friends?
WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS. We deserve the same rights as you. But we’re not going to GET them until YOU (yes YOU. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU) decide it’s finally time to make sure it happens.
WE NEED YOU. Please stop leaving us to drown in a sea of hate.
Tilly Bridges, end transmission.
tillysbridges@gmail.com