Sex-education vlogger Laci Green has gone through a change of heart recently. In recent months, she’s grown more skeptical of third-wave feminism, attacking the movement’s community as too extreme. She’s also grown more critical of gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and transgender activists. But now it seems Green has crossed a line by attacking a prominent trans activist.
In a two-part video series, “HOW MANY FREAKIN GENDERS,” Green hops down “the feminist rabbit hole” to talk about nonbinary and genderqueer gender identities. In the first half of the video, Green breaks down the difference between trans-inclusionary and trans-exclusionary feminism decently enough.
But in one portion of the video, she begins criticizing transgender activists, arguing that science on trans biology is misogynistic “psuedo-science,” and that trans people are ultimately censoring The Vagina Monologues.
To demonstrate how out of control the trans community has become, Green states that transgender YouTubers are forcing people to sleep with trans women. In one case, without referencing her name, Green states that trans rights blogger Zinnia Jones advocates “rubbing her dick and balls all over a straight guy’s face until he’s into it,” which she calls “gross or creepy.” And to make her point, Green pulled a tweet from Jones’ Twitter account, censoring out her name and implying that Jones is telling all trans women to force cisgender people into having sex.
Except there’s one problem: Jones never actually said that. The tweet Green cites was taken out of context from Jones’ page. In reality, Jones was providing a witty response to a transphobic user’s tweet.
“I don’t see a problem with telling straight guys who are exclusionary of trans women partners that they should try to work through that,” Jones originally stated. In response, user Count Slambo implied that having sex with a trans woman is gross, asking Jones “How does THAT work exactly?” So Jones replied with a comeback.
“Have your trans girlfriend rub her balls and dick on your face until you realize how awesome it is? I don’t know dude,” she said. Jones was never telling trans people to force themselves onto cis people. She was just defending herself from an internet troll.
Trans activists have since turned to Jones’ aid, who sharply criticized Green for Jones’ portrayal. They believe Green is purposefully taking information out of context to make a point that isn’t grounded in reality.
https://twitter.com/ZJemptv/status/884964123670458368
https://twitter.com/ZJemptv/status/884965143758688256
https://twitter.com/H_Bevs/status/885255170183106560
Laci Green shitting on lesbian trans women now. She’s a great example of why we should expect sex educators to have, oh I dunno, educations?
— Find me on B L U E S K Y :) (@ADubiousPronoun) July 12, 2017
But instead of apologizing, Green has chosen not to back down, painting herself as a victim.
https://twitter.com/gogreen18/status/884998158283100161
https://twitter.com/gogreen18/status/885552028088389632
Meanwhile fans have since come to Green’s aid, defending her treatment of Jones. Some responses are outwardly transphobic. Others, such as Heat Street writer Ian Miles Cheong, have depicted trans activists as “unhinged” in their response. Many have since called trans feminists cult-like, calling on alt-right phrases used against the LGBTQ community.
“Let’s kill her instead.” Yes, let’s kill @gogreen18 because she says there’s two sexes. That’s not unhinged at all. Not at all. pic.twitter.com/u32IOwimV2
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/Actually_Kat/status/885182946906427395
https://twitter.com/PhototohP/status/885307554397552641
Green remains a polarizing figure in the YouTube and Twitter feminist community. The Establishment’s Katelyn Burns has called her a “feminist hero turned anti-feminist defender,” pointing to a larger problem with online harassment that Green is partly enabling.
“In any case, that someone so influential in the progressive online space could make such a complete 180 has shaken the social justice community to its core,” Burns says. “How could a defender of equality change so much, so quickly?”
The answer remains as murky as ever.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated for clarity and context.
