Now Curating LGBT and Transgender Tags

in lgbt •  7 years ago  (edited)

Now that I'm a Dolphin,
I can do something about it.

Being transgender myself, I have a personal interest in seeing the #LGBT and #Transgender categories build up here on Steemit.



Even more exciting is that I'm finally in a position where I can start doing something about it. I know I'm not the biggest Steem Power holder, but I do have enough to start making a difference. For some weeks now I've already been curating these two tags myself, trying to add to payouts of posts I found touching, interesting, etc in there. I do view my upvotes as a message of 'I want to see more of this."

To take this a step further, two days ago I delegated 500 each to two different Steemians that are going to help me watch these types of posts and upvote accordingly. While a $5 payout may not look like a lot, with the Steem Dollars still selling around $8...the author would be getting at least $15 just from their SBD part.

I have also begun asking for new authors in various large, closed LGBT and Transgender groups on Facebook (many with 20,000 or more members) with this message, hoping to get some of them to start posting here on Steemit.

In case you're curious, this is my introduction post that you see included in the Facebook message: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@sykochica/my-transgender-journey

Q: How can I help?


    1. If you would like to delegate and Steem Power toward curating these communities, it would be very appreciated. However right now I do feel an impact can be made without this...for now.
  1. Post good content and comments in the LGBT and/or Transgender tags. I guaranty I will be going through every new post that is made.
  2. Promote discussion and understanding between differing views. But remember some people are just looking to fight versus learn.
  3. Check out, read and maybe even vote for a post you find worthy in the LGBT and/or Transgender tags. It doesn't matter if we differ on what we find worthy!

A few important points:

  • While I may not personally upvote things that I disagree with, I CAN guaranty you I won't be flagging these posts or comments.
  • Everyone is more than open to be giving their opinions and what research they have gathered together. I'm not wanting to silence differing views, in fact I want to promote them and their ensuing discussions. However, I WILL tag abuse!
  • With the LGBT and Transgender tags having few posts being created, I do feel I can keep up some decent curation as it stands. However if there is an influx of news posts in these categories, some things may get missed or have smaller upvotes given across more posts.

Q: Why not include the Gay and Lesbian tags too?



Because there is lot of NSFW in both of those and while I don't have a problem with it being there, I prefer to not have to sift through that myself. I'll likely revisit this should things grow, but for right now, having limited resources, I'm start with just the two tags.

[UPDATE: LGBTQ tag WILL be included in this initiative too.]

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Awesome! I write LGBTQ romance and am pansexual/genderfluid myself. Am excited to see this initiative in promoting the community!

Well if your gonna be courageous enough to go all in I guess I might as well join the club so to speak. Thanks a million for the reminder that I'm not alone in this world. Dealing with be transgender for me at least has been a lonely path and I'm still not certain who or what I am other than just a human being, feeling, loving, and being... Me. Bravo. Keep fighting the good fight and maybe one day we may all rise above our self and find harmony.

@sykochica, you're doing something I think is very important here.

I believe that the early movers in cryptocurrency will become the new ruling elite of the world. This is somewhat troubling, because the cryptocurrency landscape is dominated by the garden-variety cisgendered male libertarian. Cryptocurrency appeals to libertarians above all due to its decentralised nature and ability to remove power from the government. For one reason or another, however, most "libertarians" I know are right-leaning or just plain bigoted on many social issues.

It's a double-edged sword of sorts because on one hand, they are more likely to "live and let live" due to their political ideology, but on the other, they are more prone to make memes about how "there are two genders" and other things like that. Many are hypocrites who are okay with the government taking people's freedoms as long as it doesn't affect them.

I think the best way to combat bigotry is to break down barriers of communication. I was raised in a quite conservative and religious family. I always avoided gay people. I was taught to be polite to them, but to avoid befriending them and (by example) to discredit and illegitimise them behind their backs. When I went to university, I met and befriended a lesbian, though neither of us knew it at the time. When she came out to me, I had two choices-- lose a friend, or accept that these people I had avoided all my life were living, breathing people with lives to live, love to give, ideas to share, and feelings.

I am not a perfect person. I look back on my old views now with embarrassment. It was even a long time after that until I finally let go of the idea of homosexuality being "wrong". It took a longer time, but I eventually came to accept the transgendered as well. I see it as a part of my "growing up" that I had to do. I had to declare independence from the lies I was taught as a child.

However... after that first transformative experience, there was no going back. The seed was planted. I had seen the person behind the label.

Satoshi Nakamoto opened Pandora's Box when he created Bitcoin. With provably untraceable currencies like Monero in the mix, I believe the days of forcing people to be "kind" to one another are numbered. Most of the social protections enforced by government power will erode away over time. What we can do, however, is try and make people want to be better.

This is why what you're doing is so important. By onboarding LGBT people onto the Steemit platform and empowering them through your votes, you'll potentially be enabling so many of those "moral crisis" moments like I had... where someone's mind begins to change.

Lets be real. You could literally do anything with your time, your words, and your crypto$$$. You could be happily swimming your way to whaledom without this. But you have taken us under your beautiful sykochika butterfly wings. Not only are you helping members og the greater lgbtq community but you are also helping steemit --- of course not to mention #teamgirlpowa soecifically. Your joy, love, and energy are infectious. I hope you know how much you encompass GIRLPOWA!!! So here i am giving you and this post my official #humancertified originsl works of #girlpowaness!!!! Ps also i bisexual soo ;)
GirlPowa--250.jpg

P.s also note that if you click this image you will find my personal curation mission as a #humancertified OW curator and a curie curator. Scholarly articles and indepth and engaging fiction pieces about feminism, bucking gender roles, and/or lgbtq nb living and issues should be dm'd to me! Steemit.chat lima.being discord limabeing#2123

Agsin thanks to sykochica for her amazing heart and skills!!!!!!

agreed, AND this place is so not the same without her comedic style on some of the podcasts, e he
and thanks to you @limabeing, you are strong, and brassy...the right people will be our vibe tribe , plus I like your purple hair, maybe I dye mine orange, I actually did, like flaming orange las tyear,

It’s the little things that leave the biggest imprint , that’s what I love about this community that gives back to others

Oh that's soooo true! And with as well as Steemit has treated me, this is one of the ways I truly want to try giving back! :D

I like how you're curating these tags, I think this way you will grow a different community and you might bring in new people into steemit overall. It's definitely not something that a lot of people would do! Taking part in curating specific tags is making the future of steemit seem even brighter :)

WELL SAID

Thank you!
I have seen some content to through there since I've started, but I have felt them to be under-served tags.

Just with conversations I've had with a lot of users here, I do know there are LGBT members and allies here..but I do know how it is writing for areas that just don't have the higher SP votes behind them. My fingers are crossed that this can start to change this and be helpful for everybody. :D

Yeah, I guess it can be quite hard for people to write in these areas if not enough upvotes are coming in and is not seen by anyone...

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LETS STAND TOGETHER

Good work

Great step by you!! Really appreciate your work!! BTW can I join those groups on steemit chat?

Thank you..and thank you! Lol
There actually aren't any LGBT or Transgender specific groups I know of on steemit.chat or Discord (at least among the Steemit channels.) The ones that I mentioned I've been members or for years on Facebook. But If you're interested in these FB groups, I can see what I can do to get you list, get invites, etc. :)

oh okay!! thankyou for the info @sykochica and you are building a great community on steemit, thanks for that too.

any help needed feel free to ask im gay and think we should spreed LGBT WIDE AND FAR :-)

I'll def let you know...much appreciated! As I get my SP built up I hope to delegate some more to people...especially if we start seeing a lot more posts going in those tags. Also, I can't personally speak too much about being gay...always preferring to let those with the 'real life experience' do that instead. :)

Awesome! I definitely plan to share more of my work on Steemit (new here but been writing and publishing LGBT content for 15 years). From stage plays (which I was only waiting to build a following before releasing videos) to fiction and children's books, I have a multi-faceted library of work to share --and I am looking forward to consuming and learning from others as well. I neglected to tag some of my poetry with Lgbt but will do so going forward!

Nothing beats being "yourself"...Wish you the best

glad to see a community like this growing, as an INTJ woman it's been a ton of fun (NOT), constantly being mistaken for a man (not that I mind), because of the way my brain works. I hung up trying to fit into what my family wanted to be years ago and feel that life can be very very short and just be happy and be you.

Great stuff! Gave ya my upvote - i'd love for steem to have a community for everyone especially the lgbt community!

Cheers!

This is a great project by you and I’m sure it will really start to encourage users to submit content for those tags! Although I support equal rights for all, I can’t say I’m an expert enough to write anything about the topic besides my support so I’ll leave the authorship to other Steemians :).

Great way to use your power as a Dolphin!

Thank you! I really hope it helps to get some more content going into those areas.

While I can understand not feeling 'expert enough' on something like this...I personally find even more value with people simply sharing their own experiences, thoughts, or even just asking good questions!

In fact last year, I felt that having this "Ask Me Anything" session was quite helpful, just to be able to ask things since they'd often worry about offending somebody. Even though I don't talk about it a ton...I do try to be a very calm, open book to help people know where I'm coming from. :)

That is very true about sharing experiences even if we aren't "experts". One of my coworkers actually came out at trans a few months ago, and until then I didn't know anyone in my life that was trans. I guess we all have some experience to an extent.

I support you until the end very nice post @sykochica

Yeah I was confused at first not to see an LGBTQ tag on here until I realized it just wasn't popular enough to make the "see all" list. SO glad someone is running with this and I am excited to be a part of the steemit queer community!

Thank you for your support. We try not to make a big deal of this on steemit, because we see see so few others on here that talk about gender. We love our homesteaders as they live the same way we do, yet we are who we are. Can’t change that. Again thanks. 🐓🐓

amen to that, I admit to having to fit roles at times and do it in a tongue in cheek way but yes, cheers to all of this....maybe I can finally talk about all the crap I catch for coming across androgynous

You are one of my hero’s on here. Sassy, brash, way cool! Extremely creative. Long as you’re happy! 🐓🐓Glad you are curating. Couldn’t have been a better choice.

Wow so happy that you're doing this. LGBT members on here doesn't always get that much upvotes on LGBT related content because there isn't a big LGBT community here. Love your work!

💓💙💚💛💜

I'm straight, but I do have a lot of friends who are members of the LGBT community and I want them all to enjoy the same rights that I do. :) I have an LGBT friend who I just encouraged to join Steemit. I will tell her the wonderful news :)

And you did! And I tapped that follow button right away! Thank you, @zeppelin.

And thank you, @sykochica for curating these tags! This is a big step for us, LGBT people, to be more visible here in Steemit and be able to help each other out. It really does mean a lot for our community and I support it all the way. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😘

Steemit has always attracted me by the freedom of speech and openness to all social groups and the lack of boundaries for discussion. You are doing a wonderful job by supporting new tags which will expand and support the audience.

Great stuff @sykochica . I will be voting on the tags for you. Hopefully that will help.

Good stuff. I hope to see these tags grow like the diversity rainbow tree! I will come back to upvote your post tomorrow when I'm at 100 percent. With the high steam I have a shocking high (for me) 29 cent vote.

055bbd8aa7d9a5bb5e37e3275c18396e.jpg

Great initiative and good luck on it!

Nice work this is all about developing and helping community :)

clapping
Now that's how you use your powers for good - supporting a good cause which you relate to!
Thank you for being a charitable person!

It looks like Oznog just turned Lgbt.

Nobody tell @cathi-xx, because I am not sure if she is willing to convert and I am afraid they might not have that in Britain, I seriously can't even find a Hersheys Bar or Graham Crackers.

Nice work sis....keep it up

i really appreciate this step :)

you are making a great decision thanks for helping all :)

wishing you all the best keep spreading love :)

You really have a great heart Sykochica!! I've loved your initiative, it's beautiful what you are doing!

It's really great that established steemian like you would use your influence in the community for a cause. It highlights how great this community can be.
Keep up the good work and support what you believe in.

Very good!, i am not lgbt but i think its great that you can find a place in steemit, this shows steemit have room for everyone and that's awesome, go for it!

Im super excited to see you step into this role more!! I have felt very at home here mainly because of how welcoming you are! I hope to add to that end of content as well🦄👑🖤Love ya!!🖤🖤🖤💋💋💋

Great of you to blaze the path! I do hope this encourages more people from the LGBT community to stand up and be recognized. Hopefully one day there wouldn't even be a need to have a community like LGBT and just have everyone integrated into the same community without fear of discrimination or negativity.

So nice to put faces to names and so nice to meet you Corey aka @sykochica! The beauty of Steemit is that you can be/say/do things that show the true you! Love, love, love that!

You wanna know what I thought when I met you?

“What a cool person You have been so kind and helpful. Thanks for that! :)