I’m back from my impromptu summer vacation! I know it’s been a hot second, but it’s been one hell of a summer.
I’ve developed a bit of an unhappy relationship with social media - shocking for a journalist, I know. It’s fantastic at finding stories, promoting my work, sourcing case studies, and bigging up my friend’s articles as well.
But recently, I’ve been getting some difficult DMs, usually when I post queer content and articles. A simple explainer on what bisexuality is for an LGBTQ+ organisation called a bunch of TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) into my Twitter DMs. They all thought they knew better than me about what my own sexuality was. I won’t share the poisonous things they came out with, but it did make me think twice about writing queer articles.
Although I love writing for LGBTQ+ pubs, interviewing LGBTQ+ people, and engaging with LGBTQ+ stories; as a queer person, knowing that there seems to be a 50:50 chance of having vitriol pour into my DMs makes me hesitant to continue working on those topics.
It almost seems like a cop-out, as if I’m ‘letting them win’. But over the last month or so, I’ve realised there’s no shame in taking a step back from writing about topics you find difficult.
We’re taught to write what we know, especially as young freelancers. It’s good advice and journalism sorely needs more minority voices to speak about their experiences. Still, there comes a time when we also need people who aren’t so emotionally close to the subject to take the brunt of some of the harsher responses to articles.
If you’re a young journalist who feels a responsibility to write about certain topics, perhaps that relate to you personally or that you have some experience with, that’s certainly your prerogative. You should also know, though, that you don’t have to be limited to that, or stick with those topics when they’re no longer serving you.
Your entire identity doesn’t need to become your job. You are allowed to step away from topics that you find too difficult to write about and no one else should be pushing you to write about topics based solely on your personal experience with them. Ultimately, you and you alone have the autonomy to choose your own niche.
Has anyone else ever felt pigeonholed into working on certain topics? It’s something I still grapple with myself, so I’d love to hear from you on how you dealt with it!