Online harassment and hate directed towards elected officials in Quebec
Woman? LGBTQ? How about both?
As the internet age of bots and anonymity marches on, few things have worsened quite so much as the treatment of women, LGBTQ, and racialized people online. So what happens when you’re both a woman and queer?
Roxane Milot, deputy for Québec Solidaire in the national assembly for Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques and president of the party, has faced many hateful comments because of her sexual orientation and appearance.
“Unfortunately, I've been receiving a lot of hateful comments (online) since I got involved in politics this year,” Milot said. Many of the comments have been focused on either her sexual orientation or her haircut. Milot’s haircut has become nothing short of iconic for people, in a way that isn’t dissimilar to Manon Massé’s moustache in previous years.
“It's a haircut I've had for ten years,” Milot said. “So I get comments about my appearance like: You're not fit to be an MP, you're a disgrace to Quebec, go wash yourself, or things related to my hygiene.”
Milot told On the Trail that her hygiene is above reproach.
Online activists
Many people online take issue with her pro-LGBTQ stances. She’s taken photos “with drag queens, with non-binary people, with trans people,” which has incensed a certain type of online activist to attack her. Milot said that these online commentators often indicate that gender diverse or queer people shouldn’t exist.
