Last week, a firestorm of controversy erupted over a string of transphobic comments uttered by Suzanne Moore after she carelessly (if inadvertently), framed cisgender and transgender women as adversaries by stating that "[Women] are angry with ourselves for not being happier, not being loved properly and not having the ideal body shape – that of a Brazilian transsexual.” Moreover, her statement trivializes the plight of Brazilian trans women, who are frequent targets of assault, rape and murder. The situation became compounded when Julie Burchill wrote a blatant hate letter in Moore's defense, which completely distorts the concepts of privilege and oppression, not to mention free speech with hate speech.
It would appear as if the controversy does not end there. Trans advocate Janet Mock discovered yesterday that her image has been used in a WordPress.com blog to spread misinformation about transgender identity. Not only does the blog mislabel her and other trans women by dividing them into "heterosexual males" and "homosexual males," it makes a number of inaccurate sweeping generalizations by connecting sexual desire to transsexual identity. It also attempts to frame all white trans women with an attraction towards females as racist, violent and hostile towards cisgender women and trans women of color, specifically those who are attracted to males. Like Moore and Burchill, in its bizarre attempt to defend the rights of women and minority groups, this post utterly perverts the concepts of privilege and oppression, in addition to confusing sexual orientation with gender identity.
Mock has stated that she have filed complaints with WordPress.com over the use of her likeness, but so far, no action has been taken by the online publisher to rectify the situation. Her followers on Twitter have stood with her in solidarity, asking WordPress to remove her image as both a copyright violation and as a statement to end transphobic hate speech.
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