Last week an online star who emerged from Australia’s freedom and anti-vaccine movement dedicated an episode of her conspiracy internet show to a new target: the LGBTIQA+ community.
“They have openly stated they will come for your children and convert them,” Maria Zeee said in an opening monologue. “I’ll also show you how this is linked to a transhumanist agenda, and more importantly how it links to satanic practices of ancient times.”
Zeee’s episode is a sign of building interest in demonising trans people and the broader LGBTIQA+ community from the online anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine and conspiracy communities that grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the salience and interest in their cause nosedived in the early parts of this year, the major figures and groups have been branching out from their obsession with opposing COVID restrictions in an attempt to maintain waning interest from their shrinking audiences. This newfound fascination with the LGBTIQA+ community, trans people and, particularly, trans children has found currency within these online communities for a number of reasons.
Anti-vaccine activists have traditionally appealed to concerns over children’s safety; similar appeals can be made to fears of children being exposed or “groomed” by the LGBTIQA+ community. Many members of the community identify as Christian and incorporate explicitly Christian elements into their conspiratorial beliefs. This faith is often twisted to support anti-LGBTIQA+ views. Similar anti-vaccine conspiracies about “big pharma” and the medical community can be repurposed to also apply to hormones and puberty blockers used in transitioning.
Fuelled by their connections with the international online right who have recently intensified their opposition to LGBTIQA+ causes and events, Australian anti-vaccine groups and influencers have begun adopting similar rhetoric and tactics. Monica Smit, the leader of Australia’s most prominent anti-vaccine group, Reignite Democracy Australia, earmarked the issue as a future focus for the group at a rally a week before the federal election.
“We don’t want three bathrooms. We don’t want biological men playing in women’s sports. We don’t want a drag queen story, and we can define a woman,” she said to a cheering crowd. Former Neighbours star turned anti-vaccine campaigner Damien Richardson echoed the statements: “They’re going to divide us with gender as well.”
Other figures like former United Australia Party MP Craig Kelly, former One Nation candidate-turned-blogger George Christensen, and conspiracy influencer David ONeeglio have all posted anti-LGBTIQA+ content in recent weeks, as well as being an increasingly popular topic of discussion in online communities used to organise local anti-lockdown protests.
Much of it is sharing international content like news articles, images or video clips of US “drag bingo” shows or children transitioning, often containing misinformation. Increasingly, however, they’re tapping into this interest by localising it to Australia.
Beyond stories about children being taught about LGBTIQA+ concepts or companies giving gender leave to their staff, links and details of events featuring drag or LGBTIQA+ events are being shared to coordinate responses from angry members of online communities.
Earlier this month, Zeee shared the details of a Gold Coast family-friendly drag queen bingo event to her 50,000 online followers: ”They will keep going with this nonsense if we don’t speak up about how wrong it is.” Another user shared a queer market event from a Melbourne council into one of the biggest anti-lockdown protest groups, pleading people to work together to cancel the event.
The response is unanimous. Followers and other group members referred to them as “evil”, called it “grooming” and even threatened violence. One user responded to Zeee: ”If I see a vile creature like that near my g/kids school I’ll beat the shit out of it!!” Other users agree ominously about a video of pride parade participants needed to be “dealt with”.
In the US, this obsession with anti-LGBTIQA+ fear mongering has led to violence with a series of high-profile attacks against pride events this month, including a foiled attempt by white nationalist group Patriot Front.
Australia hasn’t reached this point. But this growing and warped fervour presents floundering groups with a new bogeyman to unite against: vulnerable, marginalised Australians who are already at risk.
Save this EOFY while you make a difference
Australia has spoken. We want more from the people in power and deserve a media that keeps them on their toes. And thank you, because it’s been made abundantly clear that at Crikey we’re on the right track.
We’ve pushed our journalism as far as we could go. And that’s only been possible with reader support. Thank you. And if you haven’t yet subscribed, this is your time to join tens of thousands of Crikey members to take the plunge.
Editor-in-chief
Leave a comment
The most infuriating aspect of this “evolution” of the anti-vaxx crowd is that the existence of the LGBTQI+ community is unlikely to affect them directly in any way, shape or form. At least with vaccines and lock downs they had something of an arguement. Going after these communities of already often marginalised people is purely about maintaining their own celebrity. It’s repugnant that they use hate and division as a tool for that purpose. Oh, and thanks Scott Morrison for bringing the subject into the spotlight – you cockwomble.
And that’s why no-one should ever have been conciliatory and said things like ‘at least with vaccines and lock downs they had something of an argument’. They were never really about vaccines or lock downs, and anyone with half an eye towards the development of these groups knew that. They have never had an argument that anyone with half a brain would accept, they have always been about hatred and division and far right issues, and they should be shut down wherever they raise their ugly little heads. There are plenty of them in Crikey comment forums, all swearing they are misunderstood and really left wing. Don’t allow them anything or give them any ground.
I’ll put aside the degree to which they believe what they say. I would suggest that if they weren’t earning money for this they wouldn’t volunteer their time. They will say and do whatever gets them views. They have become addicted to the easy money of clicks on youtube and being able to fleece their followers. And if encouraging violence against LGBTQIA people does it, they will say it. They have no morals, no scruples, and unfortunately no brakes on them except, in Australia, the fact that the vast majority don’t care about them or their infantile campaigns. Nevertheless, we need to be prepared to defend our LGBTQIA communities, and if that includes flooding events like drag queen bingo nights, I say we do it!
Probably unemployable and friendless.
Bet the drag queen bingo is a lot more fun than the usual kind!
It’s also not as new as these people think. I remember when I was but a wee tacker in the 80s that there was something similar at the local pub in the semi rural area where I grew up. A pub that was frequented by some pretty hoary old farmers, I might add, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.
What is wrong with these creeps that peddle hatred? Do they really believe what they are saying and can’t they see the damage their vitriol can cause to vulnerable people or do they just not care?
Easy. They make money from it, with YouTube and social media generally being at the front of the queue to hand them money for clicks and engagements.
Like too many other ‘influencers’, they will latch onto the free-floating grievance and anxiety of the right and those left behind by the impacts of neoliberalism and monetise it for their own greed. To answer your question, they don’t see or care about the damage their despicable bile does.
Good grief! These easily manipulated people quite obviously have such boring and empty lives that they must inflict their hatred and intolerance onto innocent people. Perhaps they should get a life instead of wasting the one that they have on hate.
Talk about hysteria? Will you stop tossing the words ‘hate’ and ‘hatred’ around with such lack of care? Because someone disagrees with your point of view does not mean they hate you.
It is hardly surprising that trans groups are getting some push-back. People do not want their children exposed to such concepts at a young age, perhaps when they are too young to process such information. The trans community have become particularly militant in recent times, bent on changing the world. Well not everyone wants their world changed. Are you really surprised at that? Seriously?
While a (very large) majority of people are quite happy to let trans people integrate into and within society, they have trouble accepting that trans people want to change rules around language and grammar to suit themselves. They have trouble with some of the “educational” material being pushed in schools around the subject of transsexuality. I suggest that if the trans and LGBTIQA+ communities weren’t so “in your face” about their differences and pushing their agendas, they would not be getting so much push-back.
So all of the right-wing kick back is because the trans community are agitating too much? Seriously?
That is not what I said. Not “all” of the kick-back, right-wing or otherwise, can be attributed to that. But some of it almost certainly is. And nor did I use the word “agitating”. Personally, I find much of the content of so called gay pride marches vulgar and offensive. I’m sure many others do too. But the LGBTIQA+ community seem to take pride (no pun intended) in “in your face” offensive behaviour. They get away with it, and because it’s a spectacle it is televised and publicised – but it’s still offensive to some. Vulgarity for its own sake is hardly clever or amusing.
I’m gay. I feel like Pride march, and Big Gay Day are typically more gratuitous than I’m interested in, so I don’t participate. You’re welcome to do likewise.
Your opinions are vulgar and Crikey is letting you stay. You’re offensive and you’re not being censored.
Why are my opinions vulgar and why am I being offensive? Saying it doesn’t make it so.
And is that your answer to things you don’t like to hear – censorship? Heaven help us if that day ever comes. I actually did try to offer a rational, considered opinion as to why the LGBTIQA+ community is getting some push-back. Obviously my opinion doesn’t align with your own, therefor you want to have me censored? Is that really how you think? If that is so I will resist and fight that to my last breath.
‘If the trans and LGBTIQA+ communities weren’t so “in your face” about their differences and pushing their agendas, they would not be getting so much push-back’.
So, you’re recommending they quieten down a bit? Not say quite so much?
Should they perhaps censor themselves in order to achieve a better outcome?
Perhaps it is worth remembering that the reason the trans and LGBTIQA+ community is now able to speak at all without the fear of being ostracised and physically attacked and sometimes murdered, is because they did have the courage to speak out and not cower in the closet.
No. The reason they have no need to fear is because most of us look past the particularity of this “community” and see individuals worthy of respect and inclusion in what ever true community they are part of.
It is not rational to call people hysterical because they are concerned about violent far right people targeting their community. It is extremely vulgar, to say nothing of truly hysterical, to make the absurd claims you made about the LGBTIQA community.
I’m not suggesting you should be censored. It’s good to see what sort of things are out there who think they should be taken seriously. But don’t whine when you get push back. I realise you normally operate in a feedback loop, but you’re out of it now, so stop whinging when people who don’t appreciate your abuse clap back.
How brave you are… come and sprout your ignorance to our community and see what happens. We are not weak, we are not afraid, we will not be cowed by your instructions to be less “in your face”. Cisgender heteronormative behaviour has been in our faces our entire life. Time to suck it up and grow up. Your narrow colourless world is gone.
Oh, balderdash. Ignorance? And you can keep your “cisgender” labels to yourself. Most of us just call it “normal”.
Yeah, but you call being full of hatred and suggesting that people be killed for their sexuality ‘normal’.
You sound a tad unbalanced. “Hatred” is a ridiculous word to use in this discussion. And suggesting people be killed? You’re kidding, right? I simply said that what the LGBTIQA+ community refers to as ‘cisgender’, most of us simply call ‘normal’. You apply your own labels as you will, but don’t expect me to accept or use them.
Actually it appears to me that all you’re doing is throwing a bit of a verbal tantrum because you’re not getting your own way.
You really are quite OTT, aren’t you? You come here and whine and whinge and then tell people who have the temerity to disagree with you that they are unbalanced. You made it clear in your initial comment that you approve of the actions referred to in the article. You called this ‘push-back’. It is clear from that article that the people involved are inciting violence against the LGBTIQA community. One can only assume that as you approve of their ‘push-back’ you also approve of their violent threats. Lay down with dogs etc etc.
Also, I’ll call you what I want. If I want to call you cisgender, I will. What are you going to do about it?
That’s because we’re not the ones who think they are something else. And yes we have been in your faces all of your life because we make up 99.95% percent of the population. The 2016 census said there were only 1260 trans people in Australia. Go and get some psychological help. Genders dysphoria is a psychological disorder. Go away.
I’d rather have 1260 trans people than hatred sprouting filth like you and emem48. Your views are repugnant and they are not shared by a lot of people. In particular, they are not shared by most of the people who are the next generations. So maybe just go into a corner and fade away quietly. You have no place in the world today.
Do you want people with albinism to go away, too, because they are only 0.17% of the population?
How about left-handers? Is 10% enough of a minority to live and let live, or should they go away, too?
Talk about hysteria. Trans people are a bit more obvious and people like you start screaming ‘in your face’ and ‘pushing their agendas’. You’re so addicted to your narrative that you actually excuse violent rhetoric coming from far right hate mongers. Did you read the threats of violence that were shown in this article? That’s ok by you, I presume? Maybe you’re one of the people attending Smits’ rallies. Maybe you are Smits. I don’t really care. Just take your filthy hatred and go elsewhere.
You are unbalanced mate. You need help.
Oh boo hoo. Your only answer to being challenged is that someone who challenges you is ‘unbalanced’. How incredibly pathetic. Straight from the far right handbook.
Furthermore, the they are threatening are drag queens, not trans people. If you don’t even know the difference, don’t try and discuss the issue.
Talk about hysteria?
“Militant”.