‘Drag Race’ Star Aja Was Just Banned From Twitter — And The Reason Will Infuriate You
Drag Race star Aja got banned from Twitter this week for slamming a user who insisted her identity as a non-binary person “wasn’t real.” The Season 9 queen, who uses “they/him/her” pronouns, revealed she had been barred from the platform in a Facebook post Wednesday evening.
“I got banned from twitter because I called a a girl from a group of Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists [TERFs] who were all saying my gender identity wasn’t real ‘a senseless cow.’”
I got banned from twitter because I called a a girl from a group of Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists who were all…
Posted by Aja Queen on Wednesday, August 1, 2018
In the original tweet, Aja called @radkween, whose account is now private, a “fake feminist” and a “senseless cow.”
“Shut the fuck up you fucking terf – calling me a misogynistic troll? You are a bitter-ass fake feminist. Real feminists support all women and all genders equality. Don’t misgender me. You senseless cow.” It’s not clear how long the ban lasted: Aja’s last tweet was sent on Wednesday around noon but it appears her account has been reinstated.
I’ve blocked like 200 people this morning ? who’s next
— Aja (@ajaqueen) August 1, 2018
On Facebook, the Drag Race all-star death-dropped on Twitter for not banning the many users who have insulted or invalidated her gender identity. “I might be blocked but, guess what, I still identify the same way, I am well-validated and alive and happy and nobody can take that [away].”
The fact that Aja got banned while her equally bombastic detractors didn’t is just the latest example of Twitter’s uneven application of its policy against hate speech.
Despite being repeatedly told she can’t be a feminist, and that trans women aren’t part of the feminist movement, she added that “feminism can be practiced by anyone who believes in equality amongst men and women.”
“A vagina does not make a woman and neither do breasts,” Aja concluded. “That social construct of an idea is extremely over. But hey maybe it’s just me.”
I am non binary. I am not male that is not my truth. I do not insult women. I insult ignorance and hate. https://t.co/TnyWaW9hca
— Aja (@ajaqueen) August 1, 2018
It’s hardly her first time tangling with anti-trans queers, though: Just the other week, Aja went off in a fiery Twitter rant.
“I read an entire thread of comments on my videos of me explaining why I didn’t want to be labeled as just a drag queen,” she wrote, “and honestly I wasn’t going to say anything but bitch, have y’all looked in the mirror?
“Y’all are still some soggy ass GAYS who are looked down at in society and bigoted against! Have you realized people still make fun of you and people still say your choices are not correct? That your lifestyle doesn’t MAKE SENSE?… When did it become your job to monitor or control anyone’s gender? Including saying that people are trans for attention, bashing femmes, enforcing social heteronormative constructs, etc. WTF? Really?”
While a minority, TERFs have been renewing attacks on the trans community of late: On July 7, a group disrupted the London Pride parade, which officials eventually let them lead.
