Restless Violets

Reddit’s reputation has always been questionable, but over the years, their team have made many attempts to clean it up and turn a remnant of the internet’s Wild West days in to… well, something a bit less brutal.

They have removed many controversial and divisive communities, and seem determined to rehabilitate their reputation, so it is confusing, and concerning in equal measure, that they refuse to take action against the DykeConversion subreddit after repeated campaigns to have it removed by the userbase.

DykeConversion is a community that is obsessed with raping lesbians. They try and soften this reality by stating that their content is “fantasy”, but frankly, I don’t think that distinction matters.

Rape is one of the most horrific things a person can experience, and unfortunately, corrective rape is not an unfamiliar experience to many within the lesbian community. 

The subreddit is filled with graphic descriptions from porn addled men who think that their penises are magic and will “fix” lesbians, as well as screenshots and clips from heterosexual porn, with corrective rape themed captions.

These men spend day after day, lost in their fantasies that any woman, let alone a homosexual one would want them. There are men who post there several times a week. There are men who are quite obviously digitally cosplaying as lesbians to roleplay with other men. There are men posting stolen selfies of unaware women to spice up their pathetic roleplays.

These men will all say that it is all a fantasy, but almost every lesbian can tell you about several times that men tried to push her boundaries, and it’s hard to believe that a community of men riddled with a paraphilia that revolves around breaching the boundaries of lesbians could resist doing so in real life.

The very few lesbian communities that Reddit permits us to have are inundated with members discussing the many men seeking them out to try and force unwanted advances on them. I have personally had several unwanted messages from men when posting to lesbian subreddits, and I know I’m not alone. 

The very few lesbian bars that still exist all have issues with men trying to force their way in, and this often leads to violence from these men. 

The very few lesbian dating apps that are left are swarmed with men, who openly label themselves as straight men, with no shame. 

Wherever we go, and wherever we try to make space for ourselves, men will quickly arrive to remind us that they do not accept our right to exist without them.

Are we ever allowed to be angry about this? 

Come on, girl. You already know the answer. 

Not only are we barely allowed spaces for ourselves, but the few we do have will never truly belong to us, and we are chastised and shamed if we raise even the slightest complaint. 

Lesbians who have raised concerns about this community have been shouted down for “kink shaming”, including lesbians who raised concerns in lesbian spaces in an attempt to protect themselves and others from harm.

We are now expected to put up with men openly fantasising about raping us, and continuing to propagate the incredibly harmful narrative that lesbians will turn for the right man, or can be “fixed”. Their “fantasies” are bleeding out into real life, and we are not allowed to say “No.” 

We must not stand in the way of men having their fantasies, even if these men often try to make their violent fantasies into a reality. 

Many outside of our community aren’t interested in the effects of these “fantasies” and even some of those within our community would prefer to be seen as a “cool girl” who won’t shame anybody, even if it means putting herself and others in danger.

Members of the Banfemalehatesubs subreddit have been tirelessly campaigning against a wide array of misogynistic Reddit communities full of violent, graphic and dangerous rhetoric about women, including content that involves minors and the involuntary sexualisation of unaware and unconsenting women. 

Reddit will not listen. 

Will they listen to me? I don’t know, probably not, but every time I think about that vile community, filled with potential rapists, and how many people think I should be okay with it, I feel physically sick, so I had to try and do something. 

I cannot be converted, and I will not stay silent.