Bluesky and transgender people

Bluesky is a social media platform. From its founding it has been a service of choice for trans people and their supporters.

Background

In 2019, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced the Bluesky decentralization initiative. The goal was to create protocols that allowed users to filter content in tailored ways, to avoid dealing with the expenses and controversies involved in content moderation.

In August 2021, Jay Graber was hired to lead the $13 million development plan. It was incorporated as a standalone company in October 2021. In March 2022 they hired their first employees. Bluesky Social developed the AT Protocol, widely considered a promising tech development.

In April 2022, Elon Musk made plans to acquire Twitter, and Twitter cut all ties with Bluesky. After Musk’s acquisition was completed in October 2022, Bluesky opened up a waitlist for users. In February 2023, Bluesky launched an invitation-only beta.

Many user communities left Twitter/X once Musk took over and began a series of changes that negatively impacted their reach and experience on X. Bluesky became the service of choice for many communities, including journalists, black people, artists, progressives, transgender people, sex workers, scientists, and furries. Bluesky worked on developing a core group of power users, many of whom were from these communities, with a focus on people active on Twitter and Substack.

Bluesky opened registrations to the public in February 2024. In May 2024, Dorsey resigned from the board and signaled support for competitor Nostr. Bluesky saw significant user increases from Brazil in August 2024 after X was temporarily banned there, and signups saw another surge following the November 2024 election of Donald Trump. User activity on the platform slowed during 2025, stabilizing at around 10% of activity on X.

In April 2025, Bluesky added support for account verification.

Usage in the trans and gender diverse community

Bluesky has a significant user base of trans and gender diverse people, many of whom were former heavy users of Twitter and/or prominent Substack posters. In its first year, Bluesky was largely seen as a supportive and welcoming alternative to Elon Musk’s X.

Because users can implement and create tools to control their experience, a number of blocking and labeling lists developed.

Users interested in topics about gender identity and expression can use Bluesky’s Starter Pack feature to find and follow trans/gender diverse people and their supporters.

Bluesky griefers, trolls, and critics

Critics of Bluesky consider it a toxic online community and closely watch activity there. Right-wing, anti-progressive, and reactionary centrist writers are particularly focused on Bluesky, probably because they feel unwelcome or excluded. Critic Nate Silver described the platform’s ethos as “Blueskyism,” outlining three characteristics:

Smalltentism: Aggressive policing of dissent, particularly of people “just outside the circle” who might have broader credibility on the center-left. Censoriousness, often taking the form of moral micropanics that designate a rotating cast of opponents as the main characters of the day. Self-reinforcing belief in the righteousness of the clique, and conflation of its values with broader public sentiment among “the base”.
Credentialism: Appeals to authority, particularly academic authority. Centering of the suitability of the speaker based on his or her credentials and/or identity characteristics (standpoint epistemology) as opposed to the strength of his or her arguments, accompanied by the implicit presumption to claim to be speaking on behalf of the entire identity group.
Catastrophism: Humorless, scoldy neuroticism, often rationalized by the view that one must be on “war footing” because the world is self-evidently in crisis. Sublimation of personal anxiety as a substitute for political activism or material solutions to the crisis, with expressions of weariness and pessimism signaling virtue and/or savviness.

Because of its high proportion of trans and gender diverse users, Bluesky has become a target for anti-trans trolls and griefers.

When anti-trans troll Jesse Singal joined Bluesky in December 2024 to troll its userbase, a “Jesse Singal follower” label was created to label accounts following Singal. Many users found the labeler illustrative of how anti-trans networks operate on social media. Singal also quickly became the most-blocked user on the platform, and a petition requesting that Singal be banned reached 28,000 signatures. Conservative trans podcaster Brianna Wu, another prominent troll on X, also was among the top five most-blocked users. Singal held the top spot until Vice President JD Vance joined in June 2025 to troll the trans user base, making a series of posts about the anti-trans Supreme Court decision in United States v. Skrmetti.

Singal and Benjamin Ryan began screencapping Bluesky posts to generate outrage on X, similar to other X “drama” channels like Libs of TikTok. Trolls like Singal, Wu, and Ryan create “drama” by posting something inflammatory and then quoting the most toxic responses, a practice they developed on Twitter. By commenting offsite about Bluesky, they skirted rules about conduct on Bluesky. In October 2025, Jay Graber responded to repeated calls to ban Singal with “WAFFLES,” internet slang referring to a 2017 Twitter post that said in part “You can say ‘I like pancakes’ and somebody will say ‘So you hate waffles?'” Many Bluesky users were disappointed in Graber’s response.

In October 2025, several Trump Administration official government accounts were created to troll Bluesky users, including The White House, Homeland Security, Department of War, State Department, Department of Health & Human Services, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, Customs & Border Patrol, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and the Small Business Administration. They quickly became many of the most-blocked accounts.

References

Li, Katherine (November 30, 2025). Meet Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, who is building a ‘billionaire-proof’ and decentralized social media platform. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-jay-graber-ceo-bluesky-who-wants-change-social-media

Holt, Kris (November 19, 2025). Bluesky revamps its moderation and reporting tools with transparency in mind. Engadget https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-revamps-its-moderation-and-reporting-tools-with-transparency-in-mind-193629692.html

Perez, Sarah (October 31, 2025). Bluesky hits 40 million users, introduces ‘dislikes’ beta. TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/31/bluesky-hits-40-million-users-introduces-dislikes-beta/

Sheffield, Matthew (October 7, 2025). User ban controversy reveals Bluesky’s decentralized aspiration isn’t reality. Flux https://plus.flux.community/p/banning-controversy-reveals-blueskys

Mara-McKay, Nico (October 6, 2025). Bluesky’s CEO meltdown: How leadership continues to fail its most marginalized users. Medium https://plutopsyche.medium.com/blueskys-ceo-meltdown-how-leadership-continues-to-fail-its-most-marginalized-users-8bfa7a8824b4

Silberling, Amanda; Corrall, Cody; Stringer, Alyssa (September 23, 2025). What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the X competitor. TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/23/what-is-bluesky-everything-to-know-about-the-x-competitor/

Read, Max (September 5, 2025). Why are pundits obsessed with Bluesky? And why is Bluesky obsessed with pundits? Read Max https://maxread.substack.com/p/why-are-pundits-obsessed-with-bluesky

Goodrum, Justin (September 2, 2025). Bluesky Draws Backlash for Suspending Trans Authors Over J.K. Rowling Criticism. OFM https://outfrontmagazine.com/bluesky-draws-backlash-for-suspending-trans-authors-over-j-k-rowling-criticism/

Lieberman, Tucker (October 4, 2025). Is ‘Waffles!’ a New Anti-Trans Dogwhistle? Explaining the new Bluesky phrase. Prism & Pen https://medium.com/prismnpen/is-waffles-a-new-anti-trans-dogwhistle-63f484234216

Monteil, Abby (June 20, 2025). JD Vance Joined Bluesky and Immediately Became the App’s Most Blocked User. them https://www.them.us/story/jd-vance-bluesky-ratio-skrmetti

Adamczeski, Ryan (June 20, 2025). JD Vance becomes the most blocked account on Bluesky after anti-trans post. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/politics/jd-vance-bluesky-blocked

Plummer, Kate (June 20, 2025). JD Vance Becomes Most Blocked Person on BlueSky Days After Joining App. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-bluesky-blocked-social-media-2088432

Hansford, Amelia (June 20, 2025). JD Vance immediately becomes the most blocked man on Bluesky after trans post. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/20/jd-vance-bluesky-most-blocked-man/

Owen, Greg (June 20, 2025). JD Vance joined Bluesky & posted an anti-trans message. Users immediately paid him back. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/06/jd-vance-joined-bluesky-posted-an-anti-trans-message-users-immediately-paid-him-back/

Klee, Miles (June 19, 2025). J.D. Vance Joins Bluesky, Immediately Becomes Most Blocked Account on App: The vice president trolled users of the left-leaning platform about the Supreme Court blocking gender-affirming care for trans youth. Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/jd-vance-blusky-trans-rights-blocked-1235368373/

Morley III, James (June 18, 2025). Bluesky Suspends/Reinstates VP Vance’s New Account. Newsmax https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/jd-vance-bluesky-social-media/2025/06/18/id/1215579/

Ha, Anthony (October 5, 2025). Waffles eat Bluesky. TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/05/waffles-eat-bluesky/

Gibbs, Aly (September 26, 2025), TWIBS: Don’t Believe Jesse Singal’s Lies. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/twibs-dont-believe-jesse-singals-lies

Factora, James (August 21, 2025). Bluesky Suspended Various Trans Authors Over Anti-J.K. Rowling Posts. them https://www.them.us/story/bluesky-moderation-suspension-jk-rowling-jessie-earl

Stillman, Andrew J, (August 20 2025). Bluesky silenced trans voices over J.K. Rowling, here’s why. Pride https://www.pride.com/culture/bluesky-jk-rowling

Connell, Adam (February 11, 2025). Bluesky Statistics For 2025 (Users, Demographics, Growth). https://adamconnell.me/bluesky-statistics/

Taylor, Mike (January 15, 2025). A first look at Altmetric insights from Bluesky. Allmetric https://www.altmetric.com/blog/a-first-look-at-altmetric-insights-from-bluesky/

Perez, Sarah (December 13, 2024). Bluesky at a crossroads as users petition to ban Jesse Singal over anti-trans views, harassment. TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/13/bluesky-is-at-a-crossroads-as-users-petition-to-ban-jesse-singal-over-anti-trans-views-harassment/

Kirkland, Colin (December 13, 2024). Bluesky’s Safe-Space Reputation Threatened By One User’s Views On Trans Issues. MediaDailyNews https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/401891/blueskys-safe-space-reputation-threatened-by-one.html

Messman-Rucker, Ariel (December 13 2024). Bluesky faces its first LGBTQ+ safety test as users call for anti-trans podcaster Jesse Singal ban. Pride https://www.pride.com/trending/news/bluesky-jesse-singal-controversy

Reed, Erin (November 24, 2024). I’m a Leading Trans Journalist—Here’s Why I’m Leaving Twitter for Bluesky. Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/im-a-leading-trans-journalistheres

Mallapaty, Smitri (November 22, 2024). ‘A place of joy’: why scientists are joining the rush to Bluesky. Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03784-6

“Molay, Jack” (November 20, 2024). The rise of queer and transgender Bluesky. Medium https://jackmolay.medium.com/the-rise-of-queer-and-transgender-bluesky-1d8c922eb5a0

Maskell, Emily (November 18 2024). Is this finally the end for X? Users flee Elon Musk’s chaotic platform for Bluesky – but what is it? PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/11/18/bluesky-social/

Oremus, Will (November 14, 2024). Liberals are fleeing X again — this time for Bluesky Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/11/14/x-social-media-bluesky-threads/

Gerken, Tom (November 15, 204). X users jump to Bluesky – but what is it and who owns it? BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dm0ljg4y6o

Baker, Sasha (November 18, 2024). ‘Go back to the sewer’: Bluesky users fight to keep the worst posters on Musk’s X from joining. Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/viral-politics/bluesky-transgender-new-users/

Tolentino, Daysia; McCorvey, J.J. (May 4, 2023). Black Tech Twitter, trans users and more marginalized groups flock to Bluesky. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/black-tech-twitter-trans-users-marginalized-groups-flock-bluesky-rcna82442

Reber, Dylan (May 4, 2023). Bluesky May Be The Twitter Alternative LGBTQ+ Communities Need. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/business/bluesky-lgbtq-twitter-alternative

Klee, Miles (May 3, 2023). ‘It’s a Huge Relief’: Trans ‘Shitposters’ on Bluesky Feel Safer Away From Twitter. Rolling Stone https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/trans-cluesky-safe-fun-twitter-1234728106/

Coverage in anti-trans press

Colombo, Madison (October 18, 2025). White House taunts liberals with provocative meme-filled debut on Bluesky. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/white-house-taunts-liberals-provocative-meme-filled-debut-bluesky

“Dee, Katherine” (October 7, 2025). Bluesky civil war shows free speech is harder than it looks. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/bluesky-civil-war-shows-free-speech-is-harder-than-it-looks/

Smith, Noah (September 13, 2025). The Bluesky-ization of the American left. Noahpinion https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-bluesky-ization-of-the-american

Silver, Nate (September 5, 2025). What is Blueskyism? And why is it so toxic for political persuasion? Silver Bulletin https://www.natesilver.net/p/what-is-blueskyism

Caralle, Katelyn (June 19, 2025). JD Vance suspended from Bluesky for bizarre reason after posting transgender views. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14828437/jd-vance-bluesky-social-media-transgender-views.html

McArdle, Megan (June 6, 2025). The Bluesky bubble hurts liberals and their causes. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/08/blue-sky-twitter-liberals alt headline Bluesky’s decline stems from never hearing from other side.

Meigs, James B. (April 2025). Bluesky: The Online Cone of Silence. Commentary https://www.commentary.org/articles/james-meigs/bluesky-progressives-social-media/

Mounk, Yascha (December 21, 2024). The Cruelty Is the Point: A blowup on Bluesky reveals what drives those who are most keen to say that they stand for the oppressed. Persuasion https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-cruelty-is-the-point

Schorr, Isaac (December 16, 2024). Progressives flee X for Bluesky, where they can harass others in peace. New York Post https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/opinion/progressives-flee-x-for-bluesky-where-they-can-harass-others-in-peace/

Smith, Ben (December 17, 2024). Cloudy skies at Bluesky. Semafor https://www.semafor.com/article/12/15/2024/cloudy-skies-at-bluesky

Bickerton, James (November 21, 2024). Conservatives Join Bluesky, Face Abuse and Censorship. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/conservatives-join-bluesky-face-abuse-censorship-1988883

Singal, Jesse (December 17, 2024). Jesse Singal: Bluesky Has a Death Threat Problem. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/jesse-singal-bluesky-has-a-death-threat-problem

Ryan, Benjamin (December 13, 2024). It Is Wrong to Call For the Murder of Journalists. Hazard Ratio https://benryan.substack.com/p/it-is-wrong-to-call-for-the-murder

Media

The Hill with Robby Soave (October 7, 2025). Bluesky users bash CEO for not banning journalist Jesse Singal | RISING +. https://thehill.com/video/bluesky-users-bash-ceo-for-not-banning-journalist-jesse-singal-rising/11144878/

WIRED (May 21, 2025). Bluesky CEO Jay Graber On Building A Better Social Ecosystem | The Big Interview | WIRED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD7-4LODb2E

SXSW (March 10, 2025). Bluesky’s CEO on the Future of Social Media | SXSW LIVE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7OwcXCE5Rg