Online activist Matt Bernstein on the US in the Trump era: “It feels out of control: like the guardrail is gone”
In a sharp manner, Matt Bernstein (@mattxiv) sweeps the floor with discrimination, conservative chatter, and other forms of narrow-mindedness. With Trump back at the helm in the US, this is more urgent than ever, he states: “This time it feels more out of control, as if the guardrail has been removed.”
In front of the webcam in his apartment in New York City, Matt Bernstein looks surprised when he hears that his posts are also very regularly shared in the Dutch lhbtiqa+ community. Bernstein has over 1.8 million followers; he knows he is speaking with a journalist from a Dutch magazine. Yet he finds it a strange realisation. He has never been to our country, he says with a certain humility in his voice.
Bernstein - cap, turquoise shirt, terracotta eyeshadow - jokingly calls himself online a ‘gay agenda evangelist’. He indeed dedicates many posts to the state of lhbtiqa+ acceptance, particularly in the US, but also talks about other matters: sexism, masculinity, inequality, and discrimination in the broadest sense of the word. He has been doing this since 2019. Back then, with messages written on his own face amidst extravagant makeup: Bernstein is, besides an internet personality, a makeup artist. Nowadays, he makes collages with photos and videos, one-liners, and eloquent explanations. This way, he has more space to elaborate on the point he wants to make, he explained in an earlier interview.
“many people are more open-minded than they realise”
It was not easy to get a chance to speak with him. Winq's first interview request dates back three years. Even then, it felt urgent: the Supreme Court in the US had abolished the national right to abortion, and in schools in Florida, a ban had just been imposed on talking about sexual orientation and gender identity in lessons.
Now, with Trump in power, the necessity is many times higher. On the first day of his second term as president, he announced that the US would only recognise 'man' and 'woman' as genders. Additionally, he rolled back the provision of information on gender and sexuality on American government websites, as well as financial aid for HIV and AIDS prevention in countries most affected by the virus. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs tightened the travel advice for lhbtiqa+ persons who want to travel to the US in March. They must take into account that 'laws and customs in the US may differ from those in the Netherlands' concerning lhbtiqa+ persons, as stated on the Dutch government's website. Dutch trans persons who want to travel to the US must fill in their birth gender when applying for their travel visa. For non-binary travellers, there is no option to choose 'X'.
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Was that urgency the reason you said 'yes' to the interview now? Because Trump's return has intensified everything? “No, that wasn't the reason. I just don't like talking about myself, so I don't often say 'yes'. I do like talking about the world, about politics. But the more followers I gained online, the more I started to shield myself. The internet is a ruthless place. That's why it can be scary to talk about personal things.”
You have regularly shared screenshots of the hate comments you receive.
“After all these years, I've developed a thick skin. People can come up with very little that really affects or surprises me. But the world has become very hostile, and all those nasty reactions clearly show that.”
You were twenty when you started speaking out politically. You did so at the time with impressive eloquence. How did you become wise so early?
Shy laugh: “That is very kind. Erm, I read a lot, but there are so many people smarter than me. I am good at internet communication: conveying a clear message to a wide audience in an efficient way. That is what it ultimately comes down to. I need to find a way to make people who scroll through Instagram and move on within a second stop at my post. And to make them agree with me.”
Trump was also the reason you started as an online activist, right?
“I don't like to call myself an ‘activist’, just call me a ‘political entertainer’. But that's right, I was studying during Trump's first term and was finding myself more and more as a queer person at that time. While I felt more queer than ever, a growing anti-queer sentiment emerged around me and online. That motivated me to delve into politics and speak out politically.”
Have you been busy figuring out how to reach more people?
“The goal was never to become so big. It happened gradually, a few followers always joined. Now I actually want to reach more people, because the right also reaches more people. Many of the most popular influencers in the US at the moment are conservative, like Logan Paul for example. It is my explicit goal to reach people on the other side. Many of my followers share my opinion, but they may have family members who think differently and who see my posts through them. Many people are more open-minded than they realise, they are just not very engaged. I need to reach them.”
You often refer to numerous documents, studies, and other sources to support your point. How much research goes into one post?
“That varies a lot. Sometimes I spend eight hours on one post, but there are also posts that I put together quite impulsively. As I grew larger, the pressure increased to get all the facts right. A justified pressure, by the way. I make sure I have all the information in order when I put something online.”
You have deleted some old posts. Do you ever disagree with what you posted in the past?
“Oh, absolutely. I was twenty! It's logical to question how you viewed things in the past. That's even good for you. Which I don't mean: if you were open-minded in the past, don't become narrow-minded now. But you grow if you can be self-critical and think about what could have been better.”
Does the pressure to post increase as your reach grows?
“No, not really. I have sometimes made the mistake of thinking I had to have an opinion on something, but that's not necessarily the case: sometimes you just don't know much about certain things and there are other people who have more sensible things to say about them.”
What about the pressure on your own well-being? Do you never get discouraged by all the bad news in the world?
“I am certainly not always positive or combative. I am hopeful, though. I know that is a privilege, because many people are currently going through a dark time where hope is taken away from them. But I have many friends who are in their fifties and sixties and have lived through the AIDS crisis. That was also a horrific period, but they fought through it. There are many more examples of times when the queer community had it tough. And look: we are still here.”
What is it like to live in the US at the moment? Does it feel different than during Trump's first term?
“One hundred percent. It feels more out of control, as if the guardrail has been removed. Moreover, numerous large companies like supermarket chain Target have started supporting Trump. Disappointing, but not surprising. Their progressive image was just that: an image, which could be discarded as soon as the cultural momentum changed. I was always sceptical of large companies that, for example, participated in a Pride parade. Ultimately, money is always their biggest driver.”
“i want a party that truly stands up for marginalised groups, i want to be able to proudly give my vote to a politician”
Even within the lhbtiqa+ community, there is a rise in conservatism to be observed. In your podcast A Bit Fruity you talked about makeup artist Jeffree Star, who claimed that non-binarity does not exist.
“Oh well, Jeffree Star, you don't really need to consult him for moral issues. But it's true, there are also lhbtiqa+ conservatives, even though it is often thought that one excludes the other. It should actually, but people can be selfish or greedy, putting their own whiteness or wealth above the rights of others.”
Do you think a divide is emerging within the lhbtiqa+ community?
“No, I don't think so. In general, we are a progressively voting community. Lhbtiqa+ conservatives sometimes like to pretend there is conflict within the community to strengthen their own points, but that's not the case: they form a small minority. A loud one, though.”
A difficult but logical last question: how do you view the future?
Sighs deeply: “That is indeed a big question. I just hope that people... do what they need to do. And that the Democratic Party gets its affairs in order, because it too has shifted significantly to the right. I want a party that truly stands up for marginalised groups, I want to be able to proudly give my vote to a politician, instead of having to choose between two evils. And I hope that we continue to give each other a lot of love in the lgbtqia+ community. Because we no longer get that from Target.”
