Why Does the Web Revival Movement Attract a Large Queer/Trans Community?

[Seraphim]

Everyone's already hit on all the major points on why there are so many queers folks in the web revival movement, but I think one small thing I want to add is that in my experience, communities on the fringes of society also tend to be the origin points of new trends in fashion, tech, culture, etc. Heck, I was encouraged by a queer member of the indie game dev scene in my city to go exploring the old internet, eventually landing me here in Melonland. And web revival definitely feels like the next logical step for mainstream existence on the internet. Social media and these mega sites can only go so far, and every person on social media already feels that fatigue. I very easily envision a return to this style of digital existence for the masses, which has in the past, currently, and always will have queer people in it.

[worldleaderpretend]

in my experience seeing these kinds of lists on tumblr, instagram, twitter, etc, thats exactly what happens. they use these lists to find eachother and it can help them establish a community if there isnt one already or find a community if they haven't found one already. ive seen terf accounts with less than 10 followers at the time a post was made launch up to a few hundred followers soon after. it tends to give these people far more exposure and exposes more queer people to their hatred than if a list was never made at all

i think a list of things to watch out for, dogwhistles, terms, etc, would be far more helpful to help us identify bigots as we see them rather than a list of bigots a lot of us probably wouldn't have even known about otherwise that would give them exposure. a list of hateful people only goes so far and only lasts so long before quickly becoming outdated(domain changes/deleted sites/etc) and a list of bigots is really only going to be a fraction of the amount of bigots there really are in reality, but knowing the dogwhistles and terms and rhetoric they use can help us identify any bigot we find ourselves

agreed. maybe something like shignami eyes (i cant spell), but there's problems with that too, and privacy concerns...

[PurpleHello98]

agreed. maybe something like shignami eyes (i cant spell), but there's problems with that too, and privacy concerns...

Indeed, I found quite a few inaccuracies when I used Shinigami Eyes, though I can't quite seem to remember them now as it's been quite a while.

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

The big social media sites, have - to more or less extend - all problems with discrimination. The algorithm often support this (by prefering "controverse" content over "friendly" content), and the right wingers (who have made, among other groups, trans people to one of their bogeyman) have usually stronger financial support, meaning they have better means of organizing, networking, and getting visibility. Not only is this nasty to people who are victim of their hate postings, it also makes attacks on these people more likely on the affected networks - sometimes with terrible results. Thus minorities are pushed into the safer smaller networks (the more vulnerable, the stronger is the push-factor away from the big, hate infested sites) that are neither algorithm-controlled, and aren't such a lucrative target for the right-wingers as the networks and pages with a large range, since their propaganda will reach fewer people.

Your best approach to keep this is positive networking: Do link exchanges to pages that you find good and supportive, help each other out, and keep your community positive, welcoming, and strong. Tutorials about how to spot problematic content will surely help to do so, too :).

[Capybara]

For example, people new to the small web might not know about Stormfront. Nor might they know that sites like Land Chad and Based Cooking are operated by Luke Smith, a neo-reactionary tech influencer who has received crypocurrency donations from a now-deceased French white supremacist according to the Guardian.

Holy shit! I knew about Stormfront because it's been around since the late-90s, I had no idea about the other sites. I've seen unknowing (or maybe not) people link to them and I thought they were just basic resources with a cringey vocabulary. Thanks for this.

Perhaps it's also time to put up a little site that lists sites that should be avoided for various reasons while providing evidence.

OTOH, I'm not sure about this for the same reasons other people have posted. It'll just draw attention to like-minded people instead of casting them out. I've noticed a decent amount of fascist-adjacent and people from a certain [auto redacted] board/spinoff on Neocities, but I know some kind of public callout will make them more notorious and embolden people with similar politics to jump into this sphere instead of staying on their niche Fediverse instances. (And even then, when sites make a list of banned instances, they censor the URLs so onlookers can't find them.) They've always been around and always will be, unfortunately.

For better or for worse, being able to make your own space where you self-define yourself appeals to all kinds of people.

[starbreaker]

Holy shit! I knew about Stormfront because it's been around since the late-90s, I had no idea about the other sites. I've seen unknowing (or maybe not) people link to them and I thought they were just basic resources with a cringey vocabulary. Thanks for this.

You're welcome, and I'm glad I could help. I should mention, however, that the sort of chanspeak you see on sites operated by Luke Smith is popular among adherents of the alt reich.

[virtue]

As a rule, indie scenes have always largely been made up of or strongly attracted marginalized groups. By their nature, they are against the mainstream, the "majority". There are also numerous other reasons, like the fact that queer communities have always wanted to find people like themselves and gravitated towards spaces where they could be expressive, and the early internet was an enormous example of this. TikTok is as much an example of this as the indieweb.

The most important reason, though, is that queer people have always better aesthetic taste. /j

[Memory]

Hello everyone,

I've been noticing that the web revival movement has significant number of queer and trans individuals actively involved. As someone who identifies with these communities, I got really interested in this. Why do we think this is?

From my perspective, one reason could be the search for community. Also the mainstream commercial web, much like the offline mainstream commercial world, can be unsafe and hostile to queer individuals, so people may more actively search for alternatives. This might drive the need to find safer, more inclusive spaces online. Also for those whose online life is separate/anonymous from their real life it could allow for a safe space in which to publicly identify one's gender/sexuality before "coming out", or if coming out irl is not an active (or safe) possibility.

What are your thoughts? Why do you think the web revival movement is particularly resonant among queer and trans users? It has definitely helped me find affinity and feel more comfortable in my identity. Any insights or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

I think conservatives don't really have interest in web-revival so it feels like a safe space for the queer community. But this is just an observation and I could be completely wrong.

[Junebug]

I have noticed there's very few cis gay men in the web revival scene. It's curious to me how some parts of LGBTQ is highly represented while other parts are not. From what I've seen so far, it's mostly the L, T, and Q in terms of what most webmasters describe about themselves. Cis gay men and cis bi men are basically unheard of.

[cynderthekitsune]

from my perspective i think it's mostly since social media just plain isn't safe for us anymore. don't get me wrong - some people use it still and find it good, but to me it's more an echo chamber than it ever has been before.
i think online, there's a good lot of people that can be pretty dangerous, and especially since social media can be very lively it can get overwhelming at times.

i think especially since i'm also queer (and trans) the indie web in general feels safer and less exhausting, but especially for my own identity, it feels a LOT safer than say Reddit or Bluesky. i don't use social media much anymore    and really the indie web felt like i can finally breathe!!

i guess the unsafe part is one side of it all, but especially with how more younger people are more progressive in general, it's fair enough that there's a large portion of us are queer 

[nobo]

I think conservatives don't really have interest in web-revival so it feels like a safe space for the queer community. But this is just an observation and I could be completely wrong.

yeah... this isn't really true. you probably just aren't looking in the right places. 

[crazyroostereye]

I think it lies in part because Queer Folk can't freely express themselves as easily in most places of the World. And look for Creative outlets that are Friendly to them. And the Indie Web specifically the Web Revival corner of Melonland is very expressive. So they naturally feel more drawn to such places. And the more of them Join the Community becommes Friendlier and Opener and that attracts more again, and it creates a feedback loop.

I think conservatives don't really have interest in web-revival so it feels like a safe space for the queer community. But this is just an observation and I could be completely wrong.

No there a defiantly Conservative people in the Indie Web, just the corner of Melonland is a bit less so. There defiantly corners that are bit more on the Conservative side.

[Gizmo]

I think it lies in part because Queer Folk can't freely express themselves as easily in most places of the World. And look for Creative outlets that are Friendly to them. And the Indie Web specifically the Web Revival corner of Melonland is very expressive. So they naturally feel more drawn to such places. And the more of them Join the Community becommes Friendlier and Opener and that attracts more again, and it creates a feedback loop.

No there a defiantly Conservative people in the Indie Web, just the corner of Melonland is a bit less so. There defiantly corners that are bit more on the Conservative side.

100%, I'd also add that Melonland / Neocities in particular seems to trend pretty young, and young people are both typically more accepting of LGBTQ+ people and have more need for creative outlets like webmastering because they can't escape unaccepting environments as easily (eg: even if various factors may make it easier said than done, an 18+ gay person in rural Tennessee could theoretically save up and move out, but a 14yo gay person in rural Tennessee is just SOL 99% of the time).

[cynderthekitsune]

yea i definitely agree with that~!

well, i had a... fairly crappy father, to put it bluntly - and it's not like i can move out yet either. and plus my country in general costs more than just a fortune to move out! (even stats say that!  )

and definitely Melonland forum does feel more vibrant, so does Neocities as well. Nekoweb too i guess, i only moved cuz others like me are already there. it just feels a hell of a lot nicer and more free than something else might be.
"whomever controls what you see controls your mind" (if you know where that's from lol)

there's definitely some conservatives no doubt, though.