OUT Lodges SAHRC Hate Speech Complaint Against Transphobic YouTuber

A South African YouTuber has come under fire from OUT LGBT Well-being which has lodged a hate speech complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against his appallingly transphobic video.

On 24 April, OUT LGBT Well-being was notified by a distressed transgender woman about an offensive YouTube video created and posted by the South African account “Skidmarks aka Briekmerke”.

In the video, the YouTuber denigrates, dehumanises, and attacks the dignity of transgender people, suggesting that they need to be “cleansed” from the human race.

Posted on 22 April, the speaker in the video warns of “the satanic plans that are in place to destroy us.” He praises images of stereotypically masculine men who he claims “tamed this world… and civilised it” before comparing these to a photograph of male transgender model Casil McArthur, whom he describes as “sh*t like this.”

The YouTuber condemns racial integration in schools as “a big red light… that shouldn’t have been crossed” and attacks feminism for “convincing” women that they are equal to men.

He goes on to assert that trans men are not men but are “f**king monsters, creatures”, describes an individual wearing a rainbow top as “a f**king thing,” and rages that “a thing with a f**king dick wins women’s competitions – a thing with a dick is Miss Netherlands!”

The YouTuber asserts that this indicates “how sick this society has become.” Alarmingly, he goes on to advocate for a “really serious cleansing of the race.”

Sibonelo Ncanana, OUT’s Civil Society Engagement Officer, argues that the video contributes to an environment of othering and demonising the LGBTIQ+ community.

“This individual paints transgender people as a threat to humanity and society and describes them as less than human. These are dangerous and harmful hate speech narratives that have historically been used to persecute and justify violence against individuals and minorities,” said Ncanana in a statement.

He added: “Free speech cannot be an excuse to strip people of their humanity and advocate for their removal from society simply for being themselves.”

In its complaint, OUT is calling for the YouTuber, who has yet to be identified, to be compelled to issue a written and video apology for his comments, to undergo sensitisation training, and to pay a sum of R250,000 to OUT’s hate crimes programme.

The SAHRC has indicated that it will pursue an investigation into the YouTuber and his video. MambaOnline has attempted to contact the content creator for comment.