Folks often ask for shareable versions of the threads that I write on social media. In this new series, “Twitter Roundup,” I’ll be compiling threads worth saving! This thread focuses on the ways in which the social sciences are overlooked when talking about the existence of transgender and nonbinary people.
Hey, friend! Before you go…
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It’s funded by readers like you via Patreon!
Every donation counts. Help keep resources like these accessible to everyone that needs them! And help buy me a cup of coffee, because I write a lot of these blogs after work, late at night, so I could definitely use the caffeine.
Let's Queer Things Up! 
Sam, you can pack a lot of truth into that limited number of characters. Bravo!
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Reblogged this on cabbagesandkings524 and commented:
Sam Dylan French presents a new series feature at Lets Queer Things Up
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God bless you ❤
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Hi, Sam.
First let me say that I support you and what you are doing. But speaking of science…
I couldn’t help but notice the ads that accompanied the notice I received by email about your post. They are not based on science but lies designed to con your readers out of hard-earned cash.
“Drink this before bed, watch your body melt fat like crazy.” “1 brilliant tip to melt belly fat while you sleep!” “Drink this before bed, what’s your belly fat vanish“
These are not only misleading ads written by unscrupulous advertisers, they are also keeping uninformed but sometimes desperate people from getting the real help they need.
These ads do not help your readers lose weight — the only thing they will lose is money. I’m sure you don’t want that.
I encourage you to get rid of these ads because they are harmful. If you have no control of the content, I would then encourage you to find another way to monetize your writing.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
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Hi there! I’m going to respond to this as best I can, but bear in mind, this is a touchy subject for me so if I seem stern, it’s only because I’m passionate about this particular subject.
For starters, I am firmly anti-dieting. Period. A lot of the work I’ve done and articles I’ve published say as much. I just want to establish that upfront — I’m very, very aware of the implications of ads like these, especially as someone in eating disorder recovery.
WordPress controls the ads — I do not. As I note at the bottom of the article, I’ve monetized my writing through Patreon, not ads. I can look into seeing what I can do about them on my end, though, because I would rather they not be there.
I do want to emphasize that in media, though, “find another way” is really dismissive. I’ve worked in this industry for six years, and even major platforms — not independent ones run by a single person, like this — are going belly-up.
It is a phenomenally difficult time to monetize digital content, period, because the expectation is that this content will be ad-free and free to access. And often times, when writers do offer other ways of supporting our work (like Patreon or PayPal), readers do not follow through. When we have sponsored content, readers accuse us of “selling out.”
There is no winning.
And this often eclipses the very deep, difficult work we do to offer this content in the first place. At this particular moment, I lose more money than I make from this platform, but I continue writing here because I believe this content is important.
I would really encourage you to consider that independent content creators are all struggling across the board, and that as much as these ads are frustrating, misleading, and even downright terrible, the vast majority of us have no other option but to display them if we want to keep our platforms alive. And many of us, if not all of us, have already tried NUMEROUS other ways to monetize our work.
Unfortunately digital content is prolific, and readers do not expect to have to pay for it, and as such, getting financial support for this work seldom happens. It’s not so simple as “find another way.”
I will look into what I can do about the ads, but I want to encourage anyone who appreciates the work that I or any other creator does to recognize the immense privilege it is to access content like this for free.
Please consider supporting creators (not necessarily me — ANYONE you appreciate that does this work) so that they aren’t put in the impossible position of having to choose between monetizing their work through ads (likely ads that they themselves don’t want), or ceasing content creation altogether because they simply cannot afford to create it.
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I also want to add, I say this with the utmost respect for what you’re saying, because I agree — these ads are atrocious, and the diet industry as a whole is destructive and unconscionable.
I just also know what the media landscape is (I’ve worked for three publications now that have shut down in the last two years alone)… and I think a lot of readers fail to appreciate how tremendously difficult it is to do this work sustainably. The publications I worked for were much larger than mine, with entire teams devoted to monetizing them, and those publications still failed. The landscape is desolate.
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First of all, thanks for taking the time to reply.
I, too, am a writer but have not had the pleasure (!?) of trying to monetize my work on the Internet. Thankfully, apparently.
Many years ago, I “sold out” by getting out of journalism and going over to the dark (corporate) side. I had a family to feed and it turned out to be the best move I ever made.
Writers with something to say have always struggled. It seems the people we need the most—writers, teachers, firefighters, cops, nurses and on and on—we pay the least. It’s a shame.
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The only way to get rid of the ads on WordPress is for the writer of the blog to pay for their WordPress site. So if you want Sam to get rid of the ads, may I suggest forking out the cash for him to do so. I got rid of the ads on my WordPress blog by doing that, so I know. It also gives me the ability to post videos.
But rest assured that blog writers are not making any money off the ads. It’s how WordPress make money from offering “free” blog hosting.
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