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The media company AfterEllen is receiving criticism after posting and retweeting numerous tweets perceived as transphobic.
AfterEllen, founded in 2002, focuses on representation of lesbian and bisexual women. It is not affiliated with Ellen DeGeneres, but the site name refers to her coming out in The Puppy Episode on ABC’s Ellen.
Over the past couple of weeks, other users have taken notice of the perceived anti-trans sentiment on the account’s timeline.
Below are several examples.
On 29 November, they tweeted out an article written by someone who was temporarily banned from Twitter for transphobic tweets. The remainer of the article calls out people who express anger at TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists).

A couple days later, the AfterEllen account tweeted a YouTube video addressing trans women and referring to ‘girl dick’.

In another tweet, the term ‘girl dick’ appears again, describing trans people and trans-inclusive activists as creating a ‘war’ on lesbians.

Then they retweeted this thread, in which a self-described ‘deviant lesbian’ descibes people who call out transphobia as ‘shit’.

The reactions
Numerous people called out the account for these tweets, referring to them as a TERF website.
Comedian and writer Rhea Butcher wrote AfterEllen ‘doesn’t represent me or my friends’. They also said the website is a ‘sham’.
You’re not a lesbian/bisexual website, you’re a TERF website
— rhea butcher (@RheaButcher) December 5, 2018
Other people similarly slammed them.
Gross. I'm a lesbian. This hateful ideology has no place in my life. pic.twitter.com/E73FavZjXf
— Mel ✨ (@melissavandew) December 6, 2018
So sorry to see this platform that was once about the community turn into an ugly space, we don’t want you anymore bye
— Karla (@mexcellentt) December 6, 2018
Trans women have bigger issues&are not pushing anything on anyone. A glut of murders within the community,being denied bathroom rights, being at the forefront of the BLM movement, and in general fighting the medical system to acknowledge them and you think they have time for you? pic.twitter.com/Y6DOl1jkDM
— Evan (@324_B21) December 6, 2018
It’s also not the first time the site has received such criticism.
In January 2017, Caitlin Logan wrote about the site’s ‘worrying proximity to anti-trans politics’.
GSN has reached out to AfterEllen for comment.
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