I was appointed to political office while active on a porn site. Here are my thoughts on the Mark Robinson scandal.
I moved to California in 2010 to work for the state as a researcher. Between 2010 and 2013, I was a Senior Policy Analyst for a non-partisan research organization. This meant I had to disclose my salary on public databases and file “conflict of interest” forms annually detailing where and who gave me money, either personal or business-related. In 2013 I was appointed by the governor on the recommendation of an executive board to head the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. This is an independent state agency dedicated to improving the lives of women and girl. I was also active on the fetish website Fetlife.
For those unfamiliar with the website, Fetlife is basically a Facebook for kinky people. There is a thread where you can see posts from folks you follow and friend. Unlike Facebook, people post nudes, videos, and erotic writing along with political rants, events, and updates. My account contains a variety of different posts from writings about my healthcare journey to videos of me being spanked.
Like Robinson, my moniker on the site is the same as other social media (I am Auntie Vice everywhere). Like Robinson, I occasionally weighed in on political debate (and I still do). Unlike Robinson, I was not outed at the time of my appointment or during my tenure as the Executive Director. Additionally, unlike Robinson, I was not there for the porn.
Folks need a bit of cultural and political context to understand what being on a fetish site and heading an agency promoting the benefit of women and girls meant. In 2013, the world was just waking up to Fifty Shades of Grey. While the BDSM (Bondage, Discipline/Dominance/ Sadism/Sadomasochism/Masochism) world has been thriving for centuries in relative obscurity, mass public awareness of community groups and standards were unknown. We were largely considered “perverts” and “mental degenerates.” This stereotype was furthered by fetish and paraphilias being included in the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual (we still are, but there is a committee currently revieing this decision). Additionally, I engage in power exchange relationships as a submissive. This means many of my postings and pictures represent me in positions where I am giving power to partners of all genders and receiving a variety of painful (but desired) stimuli.
I knew that as the head of an agency dedicated to the betterment of women and girls, this would be deeply problematic if discovered. My research prior to the appointment to the Commission focused on the needs of women veterans in California. My work on women veterans had reached national prominence and I regularly testified on the problems of military sexual assault (MST), veteran homelessness, and the connection between MST and homelessness for women veterans. Had images of me happily being beaten with floggers and paddles while strapped to a cross appeared, I would hardly be taken seriously as an advocate against sexual violence. Even in the post- #MeToo era, having a conversation about a woman choosing to engage in masochism and the difference between domestic violence and abuse is nearly impossible in the political world.
With this understanding, I immediately contacted a media crisis law firm to create a plan in case images or writings were leaked. While all the activities I engaged in were consensual and desired, and all my political opinions expressed were in line with what I publicly posted under my given name, I recognized that there is an aversion to seeing any women actively engaging in consensual sexual activity AND maintaining any position of authority.
There are few major differences between my appointment in 2013 and Robinson’s election in 2024. Firstly, I was appointed, not elected. I underwent multiple interviews and had a public hearing prior to my selection. I also had a deep background check. Robinson is campaigning for office and must appeal to the public en masse, not just a board of directors. My background check included a publics record search, a credit check, a required disclosure about all debt I had, and an internet search. At the time, Fetlife was much less known (this is similar to the porn site Robinson’s account appeared on) and I was using a moniker I used on other non-work-related social media accounts. Robinson has a screen name he used on multiple sites on the account along with an email associated with his other social media. In this way, both of us are clearly connected with limited ability to deny the account is ours.
My account had pictures of my face and very identifiable tattoos. His did not. However, his included statements which are mirrored in social media posts known to be his and frequently spouted during campaign stops and the account holder shared significant biographical details with Robinson. My comments and writings never supported such grotesque views as his calls for reinstating slavery, his racists rants about Michelle Obama, and calling himself a “Black N@zi.”
Where we are similar is that our posts to porn websites are consistent with postings to other social media sites. People rarely change who they are and what they support when they go online for sexually oriented material. In general, we continue to be vocal about issues we care about, and vocal about things we hate or dislike. This is true about my accounts and appears to be true in the case of Robinson.
Additionally, when people go online to sexually oriented sites, we do so to connect – either in real life or on the internet- with people who find us sexually desirable. We present ourselves in a way we believe will be attractive to others. Promoting political views is part of how we display our desirability.
By 2010, prior to many of Robinson’s posts, the use of the term “incel” was in wide use. This term refers to (mostly) white, heterosexual men who are “involuntarily celibate” because women find their conservative political views off-putting. Robinson would have been aware that conservative views could be seen as off-putting to potential sexual partners. He would have also been deeply aware that the American Black community trends toward more progressive social views and many would find him calling himself a “Black N@zi” a turn off. Regardless, he continued to spout racist and antisemitic views.
Liking “tranny girl porn” is not supporting trans folks
What the original CNN article gets very wrong (and is repeated by other news outlets) is that enjoying watching pornography featuring trans women is not the same thing as supporting trans people. It is clear from other statements on the site that Robinson is not big on consensual sexual activity. His account contains explicit writing about peeping on women in showers without them knowing and how exciting that was, and still is, to him. It is very probably Robinson watched trans women in porn without ever supporting the rights of trans individuals. If taste in pornography translated into supporting the rights of the people featured in porn, lesbians and women with children would have more rights than any other group.
“But people can change!”
In several columns in the Washington Post, reporters note that current Robinson supporters have claimed that the accounts are old (comments were posted a decade or so ago). They claim that he is a changed man who no longer supports Nazis or reinstating slavery. Up until the data on his online Africa Nude was released, Robinson was still saying bigoted and racists things repeatedly in public. He has since attempted to distance himself from the more inflammatory posts on the site, but there is no evidence his opinions have changed.
For this essay, I went back to some of my early posts on Fetlife (over a decade old now) to see if I had significantly changed any of my political or social views. The answer is not really. There are some issues where I have gained a deeper understanding or where the culture has significantly changed in the past decade. When it comes to language used for gender nonconforming folks and transgender people, there has been an evolution in both language and cultural knowledge. However, my early writings (I am gender nonconforming) and current work still track to support bodily autonomy, socially and medically affirming identities, and talking openly about gender identity.
Many of my early writings posted to Fetlife also spoke extensively about how the kink world could better the general culture by loudly discussing and promoting our use and values around communication and consent prior to engaging sexually. With #MeToo, these positions have become more supported by the general culture and refined as we have conversations about rape culture and consent. While the views are refined, they have not changed. I have little doubt Robinson’s views fall into the same pattern as mine do.
“It’s Fake News!”
He and his supporters have claimed that this is all “fake news” and a plot by the Democrats to get him to step down from the ticket. There is no evidence that there is truth in his statement that this is made up. He continues to deny that the account using the screen name minisoldr is his.
This line of argument appeals to the conservative base. It is easier to believe they are under attack from Democrats and “mainstream media” rather than struggle with the fact that many still want to elect a man who had an affair with his sister-in-law, engages in racist rants, and thinks Mein Kampf is “a good read.”
For Future Politicians
I am still active on Fetlife. Since the 50 Shades boom, kink and BDSM have become exceedingly popular. The site boasts over eight million members. PornHub has more than 1.66 Billion visitors annually which is more than Twitter and just under the number of visitors annually for Wikipedia. While not every user will use the social features or post content to these sites, a percentage will.
Fetlife has evolved in the types of posts its users choose to add. While the majority remain sexual at some level (either in text or imagery), the political side of the site has exploded. Fetlife is a champion of limited regulation and moderation of its content. When it comes to hate speech and hate symbols, Fetlife limits it only if it is used to attack another individual “without consent.” They make an exception for “intellectual conversations” about hate terms and symbols. In this context, Mark Robinson’s calling himself a “Black N@zi” or saying Mein Kampf “is a good read” is perfectly acceptable. Similar postings appear on Fetlife all the time.
Individuals who have felt silenced on social spaces like Facebook and Instagram are turning to Fetlife and other sexually explicit sites to post about political opinions precisely because of the lack of restraint by the sites. We are increasingly going to see individuals who decide to run for public office 10, 20, or 30 years down the road confronted with what they posted to these sites.
As someone who uses these sites and has served in political office, I say believe what they say on these sites. Unless there is a clear change in their beliefs as evidenced by years of postings supporting a new and different position, it is unlikely that their views have significantly evolved. Yes, people can change. However, that will be evident in what they say repeatedly before their comments and images on sexually oriented sites are revealed.
I have little doubt that minisoldr is Mark Robinson. I have no doubt that Robinson still supports to views posted by minisoldr. There is no evidence he has significantly changed. Voting for him is voting for a racist and bigot.