Yesterday (8 Oct) was International Lesbian Day. The annual celebration is an opportunity for the lesbian community and allies to celebrate all things sapphic.

The official United Nations Women X account (with 2.2 million followers) marked the occasion yesterday by posting a couple of images and messages. The first tweet featured illustrations of lesbians of different ethnicities and abilities. Its caption said, “Lesbians have always existed – in all countries and cultures – and today we’re celebrating them in all their amazing diversity. Let’s remind ourselves there’s no one way to be a lesbian or express womanhood!”

That tweet prompted a few hundred likes.

However, a subsequent tweet quickly went viral and prompted a tsunami of hateful comments. The image posted said, “Trans lesbians are lesbians.” The accompanying caption stated, “Remember, trans lesbians are lesbians too. Let’s uplift and honour EVERY expression of love and identity!”

Matt Walsh, the right-wing podcaster who made the anti-trans What Is A Woman documentary, was among those to respond.

Matt Walsh reply to United Nations Women
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Walsh was one of many to point to the explosion in violence and hostilities in Israel over the weekend, which have left hundreds dead.

“Women were just kidnapped, raped, murdered and paraded around on camera as trophies. UN Women has said nothing at all about it. Instead they’re tweeting their support for pervert men with autogynephilic fetishes.”

If Walsh had checked the UN Women X’s account, he would have seen that although not posting its own tweet, the account had reshared another tweet about the hostilities in Israel. It also reshared or posted messages about threats facing women in Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

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Many others joined Walsh in lambasting the UN Women’s account for its tweet.

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Many appreciated United Nations tweet

At the time of writing, the United Nations Women tweet had 14.6k comments. The majority of them criticized the message. However, it also had 15.4k likes, suggesting many supported it. Some even suggested it was a useful way to add anti-trans accounts to your blocked list.

It’s unclear when International Lesbian Day started. Many believe it began in 1980 in New Zealand when a Lesbian Day March took place. Australia followed suit with its own event ten years later and the date spread internationally.

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