Trans* Lesson Plan - Podcast Rankings and reviews

This is one of those great podcasts that introduce a topic in a bite-sized way that makes you think, “I should look that up” or “Cool, I didn’t know that”. Mari obviously cares deeply about making these topics available and approachable for a wide audience, which is so necessary, especially now. I’m glad this show is out there.

The reviews of this podcast have become a flashpoint for many opportunistic bigots, allowing them to openly (yet anonymously) declare their hate for someone living life in a way they don’t personally approve of. This is the legacy of America’s long love affair with racism, miscegenation, misogyny, homophobia, anti-semitism, and other forms of intolerance and hate.

However the moderators may personally feel, allowing such comments to stay posted is tacit support of bigotry and the denial of the lived experience and history of millions of people worldwide (.5-1.5% of the population). There is no need for Apple to keep openly intolerant content up in the interests of “fairness”, unless this same standard is applied unilaterally to all forms of bigotry—which I think we can all agree is untenable.

It’s not “fairness” to allow people to use this review interface to spread their small-minded, transphobic opinions and contribute to the marginalization and actual harm (direct and indirect) of other human beings. Opinions are not facts, and not all opinions are created equally, nor do they all deserve to be given space or attention beyond pressing delete.

Apple, you have power over what sorts of public messages you allow a place on this platform. Either you care about your users and their well-being, or you don’t. You can create a space for people to share their specific opinions associated with this podcast and its content without it becoming an opportunity for trolls to “debate” whether or not the group featured in this podcast has a right to even exist. This company and its employees can afford to do the decent thing here and maintain a review section that is free from hate speech.

Having a trans view of history is indeed something lacking and needed. Thank you for the educational series, it’s like being back in my gender studies class in college! These are things that have been hidden from history and deserve to be told just as much as the straight colonialist versions.

I am a cis het woman and I’m grateful this podcast exists. It’s expanding my understanding and empathy for the LGBT+ community. Thank you for putting yourself and this valuable information out there.