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samanthawrites.net
samantha riedel
@samanthawrites.net
1.6K followers 600 following 1.2K posts
very tired freelance word girl | member, @transjournalists.org
pic by @phobia.bsky.social | banner by @jukeboxcomix.bsky.social

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samanthawrites.net
samantha riedel @samanthawrites.net · Aug 14
hi freaks! I'm Samantha Riedel. after writing about transgender politics, art, & culture for over a decade, I almost have the hang of it. thanks for reading!

website + portfolio : samanthawrites.net
irregular newsletter: samanthaistyping.beehiiv.com/subscribe
tip jar: ko-fi.com/samanthariedel
samantha riedel is typing...
The online home of journalist and essayist Samantha Riedel. If you're reading this, it's already too late.
samanthawrites.net
samanthawrites.net
NEW TIGER JUST DROPPED AAAAAAA
September 17, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
juliaserano.bsky.social
I wrote this yesterday shortly before Bsky declared that these "camps" comments don't count as "threats". I cannot tell you how common they are these days, especially if you're a trans person writing about this particular issue
juliaserano.bsky.social Julia Serano @juliaserano.bsky.social · 1d
...also flabbergasted than many cis ppl can't see how contradictory Assumptions #7 & 8 are. didn't get into it in the piece, but the absolute glee with which some ppl say #8 ("well, enjoy the camps Republicans are going to put trans ppl in") is bone chilling... juliaserano.medium.com/on-democrats...
screenshot from linked-to essay that reads: Assumption #7: Trans people are selfish and only thinking of themselves Assumption #8: Trans people will be way worse off if the Republican wins I am grouping these together because they are both common responses, sometimes espoused by the same person, even though they are inherently contradictory. The former tacitly recognizes that protesting the Democratic candidate in question is in trans people’s best interest, while the latter suggests that it’s not in our best interest. So which is it? It can’t be both! While contradictory, Assumptions #7 and 8 can both be used toward the same end goal, namely, dismissing trans people’s perspectives. They are both “polite” ways of telling trans people to “shut the fuck up.”
September 17, 2026 at 3:03 PM
samanthawrites.net
relevant to this, I have resurrected my porn alter ego @transamus.bsky.social for my fellow depravity enjoyers 😌

can I get a *sensual moan*
samanthawrites.net samantha riedel @samanthawrites.net · 14d
announcement time:

I've joined @vanniall.com's production team! I'm ludicrously excited about this, especially as we're gearing up to launch her new site StudioVanniall.com later this month. I hope all you beautiful perverts will join us!!

(I helped out on this shoot for XBiz earlier this summer!)
Vanniall, a Black trans woman with long dark hair, lounges on her left side in a forest with her elbow on top of a tree root, partially obscured by foliage around her. She gazes into the camera, wearing a set of black, rose-print lingerie.
September 16, 2026 at 4:51 AM
Reposted by samantha riedel
inyourculture.bsky.social
wait fr??
Governor Abigail Spanberger quietly ended a rulemaking process initiated in the waning days of former-governor Glenn Youngkin's administration. The rule would have limited transgender students' ability to play sports and use facilities. But Spanberger said over the weekend the rule is now dead. Governor Abigail Spanberger told a crowd at Virginia Pridefest Saturday she was moved by the story of a transgender child and the issues their families face. "And I tell you I burst into tears because of the fact that I want to make members of the LGBTQ+ community know that you have a governor that values your community," Spanberger said from the Pridefest stage.
September 15, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
phobia.bsky.social
LEGALLY DISTINCT ROAR
September 15, 2026 at 8:21 PM
samanthawrites.net
solidarity with all equalpride workers who just found out the company's newest board member is a MAGA ghoul; no solidarity whatsoever with Mark and the rest of the c-suite www.them.us/news/lgbtq-n...
Leading LGBTQ+ Newsroom Confronts Parent Company Over Board Member’s MAGA Support
Two weeks after equalpride CEO Mark Berryhill expressed “full confidence” in Jay Katari and told employees to prioritize meetings with him, the company halted those conversations.
www.them.us
September 15, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
lexmcmenamin.com
Thinking About This after days of watching pundits and posters downplay the risk of platforming anti-trans rhetoric in *any* state, and the inevitable consequences even in states where trans people have existing protections and popular support (see: Markey demolishing Moulton)
lexmcmenamin.com Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 12d
covering trans youth healthcare for years, I’ve known many trans youth and families who left states like Texas to preserve their child’s healthcare. some of those families have been left scrambling, shocked to see the admin’s anti-trans efforts reach them in Mass with its 14,000 trans residents.
Even in safe-haven Massachusetts, trans care is at risk. Young people are fighting to protect it
Activists are calling on the state attorney general to take action against hospitals that have ended gender-affirming care programs after Trump retook office
www.theguardian.com
September 15, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
sal.gay
Equalpride, which owns The Advocate, out, and Them (among other lgbtq outlets) just hired a maga guy
EqualPride Adds MAGA-Supporter To Leadership Team
Why is a Trump supporter suddenly leading the nation’s most prominent LGBTQ+ media companies?
hereswhykevin.substack.com
September 14, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
kissphoria.bsky.social
two years ago, i was allowed to use the women's room at the airport no problem. now, the texas state government can fine the airport thousands of dollars if i use the women's bathroom.
katelynburns.com Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 3d
One of the more insidious phrasings I've seen with the Dems/trans rights discourse lately is the idea that trans people are being greedy and demanding a "maximalist" approach to trans rights.

No, you cannot call the state of rights American trans people had as recently as 2023 "maximalist," sorry.
September 14, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
ket.bsky.social
can those of you mad because you think trans whining on microblogs will depress support for dem politicians please imagine for one second how dem politicians spouting transphobia on enormous mainstream platforms depresses support for trans people
September 13, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
daedsider.bsky.social
Trans people are facing a decades-long, escalating, international effort to drive them out of society supported by some of the richest, most powerful people AND governments in the world and you are right that a few of them being snippy with you on social media is, essentially, the same thing.
May 15, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
diplomatofnight.com
The former Special Assistant to President Joe Biden decided to throw a temper tantrum on Twitter, but I do think it is actually really good to have Biden alumna say this out loud.
Michael LaRosa @MichaelLaRosaDC ... Here's what I think @mehdirhasan doesn't understand: In the United States, polls don't make policy. Policymakers do. Screaming, shouting, and protesting are cute, and exercising all of your freedoms of speech in defense of the Palestinians is admirable. But Mehdi is just a spectator. He's a professional spectator, jawboner, and bloviator, so he has no idea how government, diplomacy, negotiation, or strategic alliances actually work. No amount of public support in polling or public protest will influence how or when those in power drastically change Israel policy. Mehdi can hate U.S. policy toward Israel all he wants, whether it's being carried out by a Democratic or Republican president. But public opinion polls don't dictate American foreign policy. Never have. Never will.
September 13, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
cara.city
for two months, I've been flying drones over Flock cameras to situation them in space and geography; I even got my commercial drone license in order to do it.

I'd like to share this project with you all: it's called Records Of Enemy Surveillance:

recordsofenemysurveillance.com
image of a residential intersection with one red car driving across it and a baseball field in the background black and white dithered image of two red squares around the flock cameras in the previous image, on either side of the intersection
September 13, 2026 at 5:36 PM
samanthawrites.net
Seeing some liberal revisionism that Obama c. 2008 was obviously lying about not supporting gay marriage in order to be more electable

I guess that means he was also lying for the entire decade before he ran for president time.com/3816952/obam...
See Obama's 20-Year Evolution on LGBT Rights
Here are the biggest decisions he's faced in his political career.
time.com
September 13, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Reposted by samantha riedel
prisonculture.bsky.social
REBUILD is doing much needed work. I hope that some of you might donate to keep it going: www.mightycause.com/story/Rebuil...
Informational flyer for Darkness RISING REBUILD, detailing therapy services for justice-involved people of color, program benefits, contact info, and impact stats, with green and yellow accents and a woman giving a thumbs up.
September 12, 2026 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
davidforbes.bsky.social
We have an example of this right here in NC, where Dem Rep. Don Davis spouted anti-trans bs on sports, supposedly just to win a conservative district.

In office he...got even worse, backing MTG's bill criminalizing trans youth healthcare and lock up anyone who provides it.
September 12, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
davidforbes.bsky.social
Bigotry among politicians *always* escalates if it's not stopped. They're elites steeped in a highly bigoted culture already. Giving them more power doesn't make them better.

Transphobic rhetoric to supposedly win one election cycle inevitably becomes supporting transphobic laws to win the next...
September 12, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
wcwit.bsky.social
"They're not misunderstanding the film; they're co-opting a message"
Screencap from the interview linked in the quoted post Marlow Stern (the interviewer): You have one of the most renowned replies in Twitter history. Elon Musk tweeted out, “Take the red pill,” then Ivanka Trump enthusiastically wrote, “Taken!” to him, and then you replied, “Fuck both of you.” I’m curious how you feel about the co-opting of “The Matrix” by those on the right who don’t really seem to understand its messaging. Lilly Wachowski: I mean, I can’t sit in a room and explain the movie to every single person who watches it. Even if I did sit in a room with Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump — yikes — it doesn’t matter. They’re not misunderstanding the film; they’re co-opting a message. And that’s what fascists do: They co-opt the messages of progressives and use it to their benefit to confuse and obfuscate what is going on and the intention of their ideology. They do it with everything. They do it with Martin Luther King Jr. Look at how they’ve changed the idea of what antisemitism is.
September 11, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
sal.gay
it's a relevant time to revisit some of @samanthawrites.net's 2024 stories about the spinelessness of election szn dems:

"Democratic candidates are dodging the question at the heart of right-wing anti-trans discourse: Will you protect trans rights or not?"
The GOP Is Doubling Down on Anti-Trans Ads. Democrats’ Rebuttals Are Abysmal
Democratic candidates are dodging the question at the heart of right-wing anti-trans discourse: Will you protect trans rights or not?
www.them.us
September 10, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
juliaserano.bsky.social
I hate that I have to re-up this today. as I detail in this piece, abandoning trans rights is not only immoral, but it's also BAD POLITICS for Dems, as it will turn away their own pro-LGBTQ base without winning over a single new voter: www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
Trans rights aren’t tanking the Democrats.
Julia Serano responds in a forum on “How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism.”
www.bostonreview.net
September 10, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
sal.gay
since it is world suicide prevention day I want to tell journalists who may not know this that there are guidelines for ethical reporting on suicide and you should really familiarize yourself with them before you do any

ANY

reporting on individual suicides

I am literally begging u
September 10, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by samantha riedel
punishedreplicant.bsky.social
[insane] girl who doesn't say a word for 17 years finally speaking and it's to talk about her vore fetish is the most transgender Samus has been since the devs called her a newhalf in the 90s
September 9, 2026 at 3:53 PM
samanthawrites.net
gfdi now I have to try again and actually beat metroid dread ig
September 9, 2026 at 2:33 PM
samanthawrites.net
new oot link looks great
DJ Slime Time from Monster Factory, an elderly green Qunari with pointy ears and shiny skin
September 8, 2026 at 7:16 PM