The LGB Alliance had some thoughts about Monkeypox, which they thought merited sharing to Twitter.
Twitter disagreed.
As we hurtle towards Pride Month 2022, and indeed an incredible 50 years of Pride in the UK, it is a great opportunity to remember the hard-won (over decades and by many) liberties afforded to some sections of the LGBTQ+ community, and one of the fundamental principals with which any of those freedoms has been secured: UNITY.
For those not in the know, the LGB Alliance is a trans-exclusionary group who form a relatively small but annoyingly loud (due to public support from the likes of JK Rowling) group of gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the UK, who have proven a controversial nuisance to the wider LGBTQ+ community for a number of reasons.
One such reason being that several queer activists and campaigners claim that many LGB Alliance followers… aren’t actually gay or lesbian or bisexual. They’re just really, really against Trans rights.
Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, however what is fairly transparent is that its agenda is very much not about helping advance trans equality – in any way, at all.
As as horrific videos like this show.
In fact, the Alliance has – several times and via many lesbian, gay and bisexual public figures – been referred to as an ‘anti-trans hate group’.
Although its official line is more, a charity whose objective is to “advance the interests of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, and stand up for our right to live as same-sex attracted people without discrimination or disadvantage”.
All while intentionally excluding (arguably, therefore, discriminating against) trans individuals and, in turn, attempting to segregate a community that has fought side-by-side for decades.
Anyway… what does all this have to do with monkeypox and Twitter?
Just last week, the United Nations’ Aids agency (UNAIDS) condemned some media handling of the monkeypox outbreak for being racist and homophobic in its messaging.
Obviously, straight off the back of COVID, everyone is quite appropriately going to be hypervigilant over the risk of another viral outbreak, but some of the specifics about the virus were being handled for headlines, rather than sharing facts.
For example, Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be transmitted through extremely close contact, which would typically occur during sex.
Given that a number of confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK have been identified among gay, bisexual and queer people who have sex with men, and given it can be transmitted through close contact… you see where this is going.
The UN sternly warned against the impact of adding fuel to unnecessary stigma, which would undermine the response to what was still a relatively small outbreak.
The UN also called for ‘more sensitive’ news reporting, in place of coverage that enables “homophobic” (comparisons to the HIV/ AIDS crisis in the 80s) and “racist” stereotypes over the recent outbreak.
Tonight (May 25), the LGB Alliance tweeted on the matter, in posts that have since been flagged and removed by Twitter, suggesting the UK Government should close gay male saunas and spaces.
Twitter disagreed. And so did many LGBTQ+ people, including the Alliance’s own followers, who accused them of targeting gay men, comparing the virus to HIV/ AIDS, and of being homophobic.
Some posts below:
🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/a8fpLXI4gB
— Owen Jones 🌹 (@OwenJones84) May 30, 2022
A since removed homophobic tweet by the disgusting LBG Alliance. They are a hate group. They do not stand for any Gay, Lesbian or Bisexuals people. Please do not follow or support them. pic.twitter.com/EHCQu8NfEW
— Andy (@andybitesdog) May 30, 2022
— Katy Montgomerie 🦖🦕 (@KatyMontgomerie) May 30, 2022
The ‘LGB Alliance’ has been spreading some vile anti gay and bisexual tropes. Thankfully this then happened pic.twitter.com/z9qaAH1tCt
— Benjamin Cohen (@benjamincohen) May 30, 2022
LGB alliance saying gay saunas and darkrooms should be shut down is how I know it’s run by cishets
— Fatinum Jubilee (@itsjacksonbbz) May 30, 2022