Last week, Netflix fired the one trans Black person they employ.
This comes after they suspended – then reinstated – Terra Field, a trans woman who wrote a viral (and brilliant) Twitter thread about Chappelle’s The Closer.
I work at @netflix. Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness – all while trying to pit us against other marginalized groups. You're going to hear a lot of talk about "offense".
We are not offended 🧵
— Terra Field (@RainofTerra) October 7, 2021
Netflix claims to have done so because Field and others attended a director-level meeting they were not invited to. Per Vox:
The tweet thread went viral, quickly spiraling into a conversation about free speech and cancel culture. Netflix then suspended Field along with two other employees for trying to attend a director-level meeting they weren’t invited to. Another trans employee is quitting the company over how the special — and Field’s comments — were handled.
Wait, what?
If you’ve been hiding under a rock, I wouldn’t blame you. They do look rather cozy and far safer than a lot of spaces right now.
Dave Chappelle came out with a new special. Like most of his work, he leaned real hard into the transmisia. I’m gonna post some of the things he said below. It’ll be safe when the next picture pops up if you want to skip. You can catch up on more of the situation here and read trans comedians reacting here.
On gender:
Gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on earth. That is a fact. Now, I am not saying that to say trans women aren’t women, I am just saying that those pussies that they got… you know what I mean? I’m not saying it’s not pussy, but it’s Beyond Pussy or Impossible Pussy. It tastes like pussy, but that’s not quite what it is, is it? That’s not blood. That’s beet juice.
On JK Rowling:
Effectually, she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as shit, they started calling her a TERF. I didn’t even know what the fuck that was, but I know that trans people make up words to win arguments…This is a real thing. This is a group of women that hate transgender woman–they don’t hate transgender women, but they look at trans women the way we Blacks might look at blackface. It offends them. Like ‘Ugh, this bitch is doing an impression of me.’
On TERFdom:
I’m team TERF!
After sharing about Daphne Dorman’s situation:
until we are both sure that we are laughing together. I’m telling you, it’s done. I’m done talking about it. All I ask of your community, with all humility: Will you please stop punching down on my people.
I’m not the person to speak on this in-depth. However, I want to note that Chappelle also stated in the special that his issue is with white people. Fair! But then he goes on to equate all trans folks and other LGB+ folks with whiteness, ignoring that Black trans folks – especially women – are the ones who face the most violence from cishet men. Instead of listening to me, read the below from the National Black Justice Coalition:
Make no mistake: Black LGBTQ+ and same gender people exist – and have always existed. The fight against oppression is not a zero sum game, and the pervasiveness of white supremacy in the United States is not an excuse for homophobia or transphobia.
It’s important to note that queermisia and transmisia both are rooted in White Supremacy and colonialism. Embracing them to attack racism seems a little like a notable Chappelle Show sketch. It doesn’t work, as you’re propping up one side of the system to dismantle the other. If this were a tent, you’d never be able to take it down.
What’s Ted said?
The CEO Ted Sarandos backtracked from earlier statements, but not as much as he should have.
After denying that boosting anti-trans voices causes violence, Sarandos said “To be clear, storytelling has an impact in the real world…sometimes quite negative.” There are no plans to remove the special from Netflix, he shared:
We have articulated to our employees that there are going to be things you don’t like. There are going to be things that you might feel are harmful. But we are trying to entertain a world with varying tastes and varying sensibilities and various beliefs, and I think this special was consistent with that… sometimes inclusion and artistic expression bump into each other.
Things we don’t like is not a synonymous phrase for things that incite violence and prop up stereotypes against trans folks, Ted.
What Employees Want
Trans workers quickly began planning another walkout for today, October 20. Earlier this week, the trans employee resource group shared their list of demands, which I’m also sharing below. If you’d like to enjoy the song that went through my head as I read this, open this YouTube video in another tab.
Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that there are many places where Netflix still has to grow when it comes to content relating to the trans and non-binary community. The Trans* Employee Resource Group, which includes trans and non-binary colleagues as well as our numerous allies, wants Netflix to immediately take the steps below to begin to repair the relationship between the Company, our colleagues, and our audience.
Specifically, we want the Company to adopt measures in the areas of Content Investment, Employee Relations and Safety, and Harm Reduction, all of which are necessary to avoid future instances of platforming transphobia and hate speech, and to account for the harm we have caused and will continue to cause until the below measures are put in place.
Content Investment
Create a new fund to specifically develop trans and non-binary talent
○ This fund should support both above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) talent;
○ This fund should exist in addition to the existing Creative Equity Fund;Increase investment in trans and non-binary content on Netflix comparable to our total investment in transphobic content, including marketing and promotion;
Invest in multiple trans creators to make both scripted and unscripted programs across genres;
Revise internal processes on commissioning and releasing potential harmful (“sensitive”) content, including but not limited to involving parties who are a part of the subject community and can speak to potential harm, or consulting with 3rd party experts/vendors;
Increase the ERG role in conversations around potentially harmful content and ensure we have best in class regional support on complicated intersectional diversity issues;
Hire trans and non-binary content executives, especially BIPOC, in leading positions;
Employee Relations and Safety
Recruit trans people, especially BIPOC, for leadership roles in the company (Director, VP, etc.) and promote an inclusive environment for them;
Allow employees to remove themselves from previous company promotional content (e.g. allyship and diversity videos, etc.);
Eliminate references/imagery of transphobic titles or talent inside of the workplace, including but not limited to murals, posters, room names, swag;
Harm Reduction
Acknowledge the harm and Netflix’s responsibility for this harm from transphobic content, and in particular harm to the Black trans community;
Add a disclaimer before transphobic titles that specifically flag transphobic language, misogyny, homophobia, hate speech, etc. as required;
Boost promotion for Disclosure and other trans-affirming titles in the platform;
Suggest trans-affirming content alongside and after content flagged as anti-trans.
We are employees, but we are members, too. We believe that this Company can and must do better in our quest to entertain the world, and that the way forward must include more diverse voices in order to avoid causing more harm. The Trans* ERG looks forward to working with the Company to make this a better, more entertaining place for us all.
Sincerely-
Trans* Netflix
If you can avoid watching Netflix today, do so.
If you can support these employees by sharing articles and raising awareness, do so.
Together, we can work to help end the media propping up transmisia.