At a time when the rights of trans people are under historic levels of attack across the U.S., an event like Trans Day of Visibility can feel like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s more important than ever that trans people feel seen and supported. On the other hand, becoming more visible in society too often means having a target placed on your back by people in power.

That’s part of why Mercury Stardust, the Madison-based social media influencer, home repair superstar, and author of “Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair” known as the Trans Handy Ma’am, and Jory (aka Alluring Skull), a trans artist and activist, set out to do their annual TikTok fundraising campaign on behalf of Point of Pride, which is a trans-led non-profit that provides funding to trans and non-binary people in need of gender-affirming surgery and other care. 

Last year, the dynamic duo set out to raise a whopping $1 million to support Point of Pride’s efforts. Over the course of three days of live-streams, Mercury and Jory’s online community rallied together to not just hit, but shatter that goal, raising a total of $2,250,000.

This year, with the help of an all-star lineup of support from trans and non-binary creatives like Dylan Mulvaney, Ve’ondre Mitchell, and Zaya Perysian, Mercury and Jory set their sights even higher, with a goal of $4 million.

That dream faces a serious barrier, though, after trolls reported and got TikTok to ban Mercury and Jory’s accounts nine times in the first 10 hours of the livestream event. As of Saturday afternoon, March 30, Mercury and her team have been able to get their accounts restored, but have also begun streaming on a backup account and on YouTube, “in case we get interrupted again,” Mercury reported.

The setback wasn’t enough to shake their resolve, however. Instead, the team decided to extend the livestream event through the end of Trans Day of Visibility on March 31, and go continuously (instead of in 10 hour stretches, as previously planned), to help make up for the lost time.

The fundraiser is live now at Point of Pride’s donation site.

“Jory and I are not gonna give up,” Mercury said. “We are a group of trans people…we believe very strongly that gender-affirming care saves lives. No matter what people say to us, we know what this is about and what this [fundraiser] can do for people.”

The incident is just one of many examples of tech platforms failing to adequately protect LGBTQ+ content and content creators. In some cases, LGBTQ+ creators have found their content effectively “shadowbanned,” falling victim to algorithms programmed to auto-detect and suppress any content deemed “offensive” or “sexually explicit.” What qualifies often depends on subjective, biased, and/or outright bigoted standards imposed by the programmers or by the politics of their home countries, as is the case in places like Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia.

Further, according to GLAAD’s annual Social Media Safety Index, as of 2023 all five major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter/X) continue to fail to keep LGBTQ+ users safe. 

“The SMSI found that the platforms continue to fail at enforcing the safeguarding of LGBTQ users from online hate speech, fail at providing transparency in the use of LGBTQ-specific user data and fail in expressing commitments to protecting LGBTQ users, specifically, policies and commitments to protect transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming users from being targeted.”

One way that failure manifests is when attacks are launched by anti-LGBTQ trolls who submit false reports that target LGBTQ creators’ accounts, often leading to bans like the one that impacted Mercury Stardust.

While much important work remains to be done when it comes to corporate and political policies to make online spaces safer and more affirming for LGBTQ+ people, grassroots efforts like Mercury and Jory’s fundraiser continue to make a real difference in people’s lives.

According to Point of Pride, the $4 million goal will support access to gender-affirming care for nearly 30,000 people. That includes, 28,575 people who will receive gender-affirming garments (chest binders and shapewear), 400 people who will receive permanent hair removal services, 290 people who will receive one year of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with all lab work, transportation, and telehealth subscription fees covered, and 80 people who will receive life-saving gender-affirming surgical procedures. 

To date, Point of Pride has awarded $1,049,000 in financial aid and provided gender-affirming support to 19,500 people in all 50 states and around the world.