i do think it's really funny (sarcasm) just how quickly the fandom is rushing to defend dana terrace and accusing the people who are even the slightest bit annoyed with her behaviour of being 'against creative freedom' or (implicitly) basically calling them 'raging bitches' for getting in the way of their fun. meanwhile you see how dana and co are conducting themselves and:
the original tweet in which dana said frankie was cis was incredibly dismissive and outright hostile at the headcanon. people have explained this better than me, but the tweet itself is essentially just her saying 'why does everything need to be about TRANS PEOPLE why can't you let cis people have something for once.'
let's look at how she's informed people frankie/andy wasn't a ship, shall we?
the language is friendly, not dismissive, but accepting of the headcanon. it gently tells the audience that the ship isn't canon, but invites them to still engage in and enjoy the ship! it also, very importantly, explicitly warns against infighting in the fandom for the ship!
and now let's see how she responded to the question of 'is frankie trans?'
obvious difference, right? this reply is dismissive, cold, and ultimately serves to shut down the headcanon. we don't have dana asking people not to harass people who headcanon frankie as trans, or even accepting the headcanon as a valid way to interpret the media (such as in the tweet above). its almost hostile!
https://www.tumblr.com/squimbis/795698790434734080/neopolitanfox-im-making-this-a-reblog-because-i?source=share -> this post by squimbis is an excellent breakdown at just how different the two posts are, language wise. this isn't a case of people 'not getting what they want' from a character (which is a gross way to view someone who just wants to have a headcanon answered) its a case of people being dismissed and treated as crazy for even VIEWING the character as a trans woman (whether dana meant to or not).
dana then, after people- all of whom were trans women- expressed their disappointment in her curt reply and shutting down the headcanon, went on a blocking spree. 'but what if she was just protecting herself against harassment'-> none of these women were harassing her.
they were, at most, expressing their disappointment at being so quickly shut down. dana gave her apology and said that she approved of the headcanon....while still blocking trans women who acted even vaguely disappointed in how she handled the situation. she has not issued an apology to any of these women, or stepped in to defend them from being attacked by terfs- and now the fandom also at mass, attacks these women and blames them for 'dana being harassed'.
https://www.tumblr.com/original- username42/795776272631496704?source=share -> evidence of dana blocking a majority trans women for incredibly luke warm criticism and expressions of disappointment can be found in this post, as well as in the notes.
this fandom is not safe for trans women. dana, and the reaction to trans women criticising her, is proof of that. you head into the #dana terrace tag, there are ugly, mean spirited posts dismissing these womens concerns as being bitchy, as sowing discord in the fandom, and even outright radfems mocking the situation. the transmisogyny in this fandom runs deep, and each post is proof of that.
in a climate where the rights of trans people, particularly trans women, are quickly eroding and transfemmes are being harassed everyday, this is serious. this serves to actively make the fandom unsafe. these women are being painted as hostile and harassers, when that is the furthest thing possible from the truth.
just because dana isn't JKR levels of transmisogynistic doesn't mean that this behavior isn't deeply ingrained in transmisogyny. her behaviour, and those of her defenders, should be shamed and called out for what it is- an attempt to kick trans women out of the fandom and silence criticism.
