Wikipedia:No queerphobia
This page in a nutshell: It is well within the scope of the disruptive editing policy to block editors for queerphobia per WP:HATEISDISRUPTIVE and WP:NONAZIS. This essay expands them by laying out common queerphobic beliefs and how to handle users who consistently express and advance them. |
Many are drawn to Wikipedia, mistakenly believing they are protected by the WP:NPOV policy, to promote queerphobic views. Whether it is homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, transphobia, acephobia, or all around queerphobia, expressions of these views damage the enclyopedia by propagating WP:FRINGE viewpoints and driving away LGBTQ+ editors.
While the essays WP:NONAZIS and WP:HATEISDISRUPTIVE lay out fairly clearly why the expressions of views denigrating minorities are not allowed on Wikipedia and result in blocking, this essay expands on them by outlining common queerphobic beliefs and disruptive manifestations of them.
Context of this essay
On the English Wikipedia, there have been many discussions about how to handle LGBTQ+ topics and people, from healthcare to history and from style guides to BLP issues. Currently, articles and discussions surrounding them are considered to fall under the WP:GENSEX CTOP.
There have been many editors who have been unable to set aside their beliefs about the LGBTQ community when editing and seek to promote WP:FRINGE viewpoints. Many, though not all, editors subjected to sanctions under the GENSEX CTOP were found to be doing this.
Not only does this compromise Wikipedia by increasing the risk of promoting misinformation or FRINGE viewpoints (particularly dangerous in medical articles), it also poses a risk to LGBTQ editor retention by creating an unwelcoming environment.
The purpose of this essay is to outline common queerphobic beliefs, misinformation about the LGBT community, and FRINGE groups to help admins and editors recognize and address them and show queerphobes the door.
Arbitration remedy history
A non-essential but enlightening overview of how the Arbitration Committee decisions on how to handle LGBTQ disputes.
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Queerphobic beliefs
The basic definition of queerphobia is belief that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer identities are deviant, amoral, inherently sexual, or should be denied rights and protections.
Common beliefs include:
- That LGBTQ identities are a "choice", "sinful", "amoral", or a "result of mental illness".
- That LGBTQ identities are inherently sexual (including proposals such as Blanchard's transsexualism typology).
- That the LGBTQ community is grooming children or otherwise dangerous to children.
- That LGBTQ children cannot know their identities and are LGBTQ due to "peer pressure" and "social contagion".
- That there is an LGBTQ/Gay/Trans "agenda", "ideology" (also referred to as "gender ideology"), or "cult".
- That efforts to change a person's gender or sexuality (commonly referred to as "conversion therapy") are effective and should be used on queer people.
- That cisgender or heterosexual people are either "more oppressed than" or "actually oppressed unlike" LGBTQ people.
- That government protections against free speech or the WP:NPOV policy means that it's okay to denigrate LGBTQ people on Wikipedia.
- That LGBTQ people have a WP:COI or are unable to be neutral on LGBTQ-related topics entirely because they are LGBTQ.
- That LGBTQ rights conflict with parental or religious rights. That transgender rights conflict with the rights of cisgender women and cisgender LGB people.
Common beliefs often include opposition to civil rights:
- That marriage should only be available to heterosexual people.
- That LGBTQ people should be unable to adopt.
- That transgender people should be unable to change legal gender, be excluded from public spaces, or restricted/banned from accessing healthcare.
- That LGBTQ people should be segregated from children.
- That LGBTQ youth should not be accepted at home or public institutions.
Possible manifestations
These beliefs may manifest in various ways that damage the encyclopedia. Below is a non-exhaustive list of possible ones.
- WP:TENDENTIOUS promotion of WP:FRINGE viewpoints about the LGBTQ community, commonly WP:SEALIONING and Civil POV-pushing.
- Incivility to other editors, such as regarding LGBTQ editors as inherently biased or refusing to use their pronouns
- Denigrating comments about the LGBTQ community in articles and talk space, particularly through the use of dog whistles
- Userboxes or userpages expressing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments
Aspersions
Casting aspersions of queerphobia (as well as -ist or -phobe aspersions) should not be used as a trump card in disputes over content or a coup de grâce on a noticeboard. They have the potential to permanently damage reputation, especially when the accused's account is publicly tied to a real-world identity. As such, unsubstantiated aspersions are a form of personal attack which may lead to the accuser being blocked.
Aspersions make the normal dispute resolution process difficult to go through and may create a chilling effect. Editors are encouraged to work through the normal dispute-resolution process when it comes to legitimate content disputes, such as disagreements on the interpretation or quality of sources.
What to do if you encounter queerphobia
It is always better to presume ignorance over malice. But assume good faith is not a suicide pact and there is a difference between editors here to edit neutrally and those here to promote fringe viewpoints.
If you encounter an editor expressing queerphobic opinions or promoting a FRINGE viewpoint, check their contributions and see if a pattern emerges. If it does, collect relevant diffs and report them to ANI or AE. The second is preferable as a more manageable format and deigned to deal with GENSEX. However, a contentious topic warning must be given prior to filing an AE case.
Groups known to target the LGBT community
Below is a non-exhaustive list[1][2][3][4] of groups known for spreading misinformation about and legislatively targeting the LGBTQ community. They, and affiliated groups, should be avoided as sources to keep articles up to code with WP:FRINGE, WP:DUE, and WP:RS.
- Alliance Defending Freedom
- American College of Pediatricians
- Family Research Council
- Genspect
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
- National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality
- Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine
- The Heritage Foundation
See also
- Sister essays
References
- ^ Wuest, Joanna; Last, Briana S. (2024). "Agents of scientific uncertainty: Conflicts over evidence and expertise in gender-affirming care bans for minors". Social Science & Medicine. 344: 116533. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116533. ISSN 0277-9536.
- ^ Caraballo, Alejandra (2022). "The Anti-Transgender Medical Expert Industry". Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. 50 (4): 687–692. doi:10.1017/jme.2023.9. ISSN 1073-1105.
- ^ ""Demons and Imps": Misinformation and Religious Pseudoscience in State Anti-Transgender Laws" (PDF). Yale Journal of Law and Feminism.
- ^ "Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience". Southern Poverty Law Center.