Jordan Budd, Executive Director of COLAGE, released the following statement about COLAGE’s presence on Twitter:
COLAGE will be taking a break from posting on Twitter until further notice. Our organization is committed to advocating for the safety and equal treatment of LGBTQ+ families and people, and we believe that Twitter is no longer a safe space for Queerspawn.
On Tuesday, April 18, Twitter discreetly removed the language that protected transgender people from misgendering and deadnaming from the Hateful Content Policy. The removal of these protections not only highlights Elon Musk’s transphobic mentality, it also plays into the national trend of targeted attacks on LGBTQ+ families and people. The removal also condones and promotes harassment, bullying, and violence against LGBTQ+ families and people, especially families and people who identify as transgender. Twitter receives money via advertisements every time we post on the platform, and COLAGE refuses to endorse people, organizations, or platforms that promote violence and discrimination against our families.
We demand that Elon Musk re-add the transgender protections back to the Hateful Content Policy, and amend the current language to specify that indirect attacks on other people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease will not be tolerated, not just direct attacks. Additionally, COLAGE would like to see more specific language that prohibits all forms of discrimination and hate speech towards people with LGBTQ+ families. COLAGE has no intention of posting on Twitter until these demands are met.
You can read Twitter’s Hateful Content Policy here. Learn more about COLAGE and our work, and help support us as we continue to provide community and empowerment for people with LGBTQ+ parents/caregivers.
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