A trans YouTuber is using her platform to bring awareness to an uncomfortable, prejudicial, and, quite frankly, unnecessary situation she was subjected to via an Airbnb chat.
Sophie from Mars, a popular gaming streamer and social commentator with over 100,000 YouTube subscribers, booked an Airbnb for an upcoming trip with two of her friends. The trip revolved around a medical procedure Sophie was set to undergo while in the area. When Sophie received a message from the host, surely she couldn’t have expected to be subjected what the letter demanded.
The host, Albert, asked Sophie whether she and her friends are “girls or boys,” asserting that the apartment is a “family unit.”
Before allowing her to reply, he drove the point home that the location isn’t a hotel; it is, he emphasized again, a family apartment. Sophie handled the conversation respectfully, as she informed Albert that she was staying in the apartment with two female friends.
Albert’s response was, of course, less than stellar. His transphobic attitude quickly took over, and he seemed almost fearful that Sophie would be in his apartment.
“do you have foto? vats up. just watch transgender gays i don’t give an apartment please answer.”
Sophie continued to receive messages from him without sending a response back, and the messages, which didn’t start with much substance to begin with, quickly became overbearing, exclusionary and outright transphobic.
The Twitter account for Airbnb responded with a pretty universal reply, and they’ve yet to connect with any of the other comments in the thread started by Sophie. The main point of their response was that they do not condone discrimination; however, it didn’t feel like they were doing much to back that up.
Several other Twitter users jumped to Sophie’s defense, some even saying that if the situation wasn’t handled, they would be happy to cancel current reservations and find new places to stay in the future.
Someone also noticed that Airbnb is responding to several other conversations and Tweets directed to them, but they’ve remained largely mute on Sophie’s thread.
Someone gave Sophie advice on the Airbnb terms and said that she should report the account. They also pointed out that it was inappropriate to ask for photos of guests, which is extremely accurate.
At the end of the day, the disturbing behavior is the problem, and Sophie deserves better. Everyone should be able to feel comfortable in their skin and not pressured because of someone’s negative behavior, much less denied access to accomodation. The trans community, especially, is frequently subjected to negativity and discrimination, and it’s heartbreaking.
If you want to show support for Sophie, you can check out her YouTube channel and the linktree she provides that gives you access to more of her social media platforms.
