Truth coming out of her well to shame the bullsh*tters
News about zines, classes, and paperbacks, followed by a rant about spreading misinformation.
Today I have a rant/reminder that had me dusting off all lecture notes in my google drive, but first, let me put down some actual news:
ZINES ARE COMING! I’ve partnered with Back to Print, run by my old friend Liz, to create two zines. If you’re in NYC, we’re doing a little release party and zine open mic at Astoria Book Shop on October 10. If you’d like to pre-order the physical copies, I’d added some links on my ko-fi page. These will probably ship mid-October. Once the zines are finalized, I’ll add the digital versions as well.
I’m teaching a horror class in person! If you’re in NYC (or know people who are), and want a cheap horror writing class just in time for Halloween, sign up through the Queens Collaboratory. All levels welcome.
Dead Girls Dn’t Dream is coming out in paperback in November. Here’s an affiliate link to order from Bookshop.org, and here’s the link to order signed copies from Astoria Bookshop.
Okay, promo over, here’s the thing I need to yell into the ether today:
We need to get better at not spreading doomer bullshit. Especially regarding the relentless assault on the civil rights of trans people.
From 2016 – 2019, I taught freshman composition classes that focused on critical reading and writing. My first unit was always about bullshit: its meaning, purpose, spread, uses and misuses. (It also taught the wee 18/19 year olds that yes, they were adults now and adults were allowed to swear, at least in my classroom.)
Unfortunately, our daily bullshit intake has only increased since I left academia. I think that we—LGBTQ+ people, trans folks, leftists, whatever—have gotten better at critically reading mainstream media as it’s become more right-leaning. But we continue to be awful at noticing when bullshit is coming from people we politically align with. We fall for outrage bait. We forget logical fallacies. We look at statements and numbers that affirm our values or view of the world and go “yep, seems valid.”
This is not actually helpful.
I’ve had to mute a couple of popular trans accounts on Bluesky over their tendency to 1) post EVERY BAD THING and 2) post those bad things as if they are all imminent and inevitable. Is this on the same level as the lies that rightwing, fascist movements spread about trans people? Or as bad as centrists acting like we should meet the people advocating for death and annihilation halfway? Obviously fucking not. But what it does do is:
Adds a lot of static, making it harder to find news that’s important and actionable
Burdens readers overwhelmed by the news, which encourages them to disconnect from it totally
Demotivates people. The assault on our rights is relentless and on all sides, therefore fighting feels pointless
It turns us inward, focusing solely on our own problems instead of building solidarity across communities—which is how we actually build powerful movements
I don’t want to assign motivations to folks doing this, even if I’m side-eyeing their business model. But the entire US news ecosystem is bad right now. It’s fractured and swampy and off the rails. I am instead going to remind YOU—the people who signed up to get my opinions in your email inbox for whatever reason—to stop falling for and spreading bullshit, the same way I forced my students to.
With bullet points and bold font for emphasis!
Do not trust anonymous sources. Yes, even “anonymous sources with knowledge of the issue.” Especially if they are the only or main source of info.
Do not trust articles that only repost and/or summarize others’ reporting. Go to the source, especially if that source is geographically closer or doing primary reporting.
Is what you’re reading making you feel strong emotions, such as panic or outrage? Maybe don’t trust it! The truth with its full context is usually more boring—this is most helpful to remember when reading about random bills being introduced into congress that sound REAL BAD but are very likely to be dead on arrival once they’re in committee. But nuance doesn’t sell subscriptions or make people click through to an ad-laden page.
Is what you’re reading making you feel numb, nihilistic, or doomed? Like there’s no point in fighting, or like nobody else is doing anything so why should you? Definitely don’t trust it!
Finally: please stop boosting posts and newsletters that do this stuff, especially if they’re framed with manipulative calls for action like “re-post to save a trans life!” Go put $5 in a trans person’s crowdfund instead.
Here are few trans-led writers and journalists that I consider trustworthy, and who I look to first to see when I should be panicking.
Katelyn Burns: Patreon, newsletter, and podcast. Katelyn does a mix of on-the-ground reporting and analysis. Very very worth a follow on Bluesky as well.
Imara Jones’ Translash: podcasts, newsletters, and resources that focus on news and stories for and about trans people.
Chase Strangio: I follow him on Instagram, and always look for his segments on Democracy Now! to help explain the latest SCOTUS dumpster fires. He’s the only person on this list who’s not a journalist, but is excellent at communicating and explaining legal decisions and their ramifications.
Tuck Woodstock’s Gender Reveal podcast does in-depth interviews with trans activists, writers, thinkers.
I also found Annalee Newitz’s book Stories Are Weapons (affiliate link, FYI) to be really helpful in learning about the long American history of weaponizing narratives. (Also, I love Annalee’s writing! It’s always a joy to read.)
This is not an all-inclusive list, just the folks that I personally like and see doing quality journalism with a focus on current events.
Right now, trans people in the US are very scared about the deteriorating political situation. Unfortunately, this also makes us perfect marks for bullshit, especially when it’s being spread by our own community. Please stop contributing to it.
Thank you for reading! Here’s a cat pic for getting through all that. Stay safe out there. <3
