Open Letter: 200+ Trans Women and Transfeminine People Stand Against Calpernia Addams and Andrea James

We, the undersigned trans women and trans-feminine individuals, are appalled at recent attacks on trans woman journalist Parker Marie Molloy published by Calpernia Addams and Andrea James on the Huffington Post and Boing Boing. Addams’ and James’ hit pieces exhibit a pervasive hostility to young, queer trans women, and indeed any trans woman who is uncomfortable with the use of transmisogynist slurs by cisgender drag queens like RuPaul. They display homophobia, transphobia, ignorance, dishonesty, and hatred throughout.

We believe that these pieces should not have been published, and that they are not representative of the views of trans women as a community. Calpernia Addams and Andrea James do not speak for us.

1. Absence of good-faith arguments

 James variously describes trans women who take issue with RuPaul as “hecklers”, “shut-ins” who “spend their waking lives online”, “victim cultists”, “self-haters” engaging in “attention-seeking behavior”, “elitists”, “the language police”, “finger-wagging schoolmarms”, “fucking stay-at-home transactivists”, and “trans separatists” with “internalized transphobia” who “transition from male to female with the zeal of a religious convert.” Unlike James, we do not believe that objecting to transmisogynist slurs makes someone any of these things. We also find it doubtful that James genuinely seeks to “resolve this dispute like professional journalists”, as her column exhibits very little sense of professionalism at all. If, as James says, “experienced activists seek to build bridges and establish empathy”, we are skeptical of her experience.

 2. Misleading personal attacks

 Addams and James have chosen to focus on an individual trans woman and personally attack her at length. In doing so, they give the impression that opposing the use of transmisogynist slurs by cisgender drag performers is an isolated and marginal position held by, as Addams puts it, “nutty trans hacktivists”. In reality, the conduct of RuPaul and others has been widely criticized by vast swathes of trans women. This is not a new critique that has only arisen due to a lack of experience among young queer trans women. It is a long-standing and well-supported objection, one which has been articulated by trans women of all ages and sexualities. Addams and James ignore this in favor of needlessly inflammatory rhetoric, a regressive defense of gay and lesbian transphobia, and unmitigated contempt for the gender and sexuality of queer trans women. Their columns do not contribute to this discussion in any meaningful way.

3. Traditionalism and ageism

We reject Addams’ portrayal of young trans women like Molloy as “newcomer[s] to transition and lesbian/trans issues”, a description which suggests young trans women are less informed, less competent, and less qualified to argue their viewpoints on these topics. To the contrary, young trans women can offer a fresh and contemporary perspective to balance the traditional and stagnant views of those like Addams and James. Whatever decades of experience with trans issues that Addams and James have had, it has not served them well in these recent columns.

 4. Misgendering and accusations of “privilege”

 We find it completely unacceptable that Addams would accuse queer trans women of being “conditioned to bully and take by a lifetime of white, heterosexual, male privilege”, using “the gains and habits of this privilege”, and having “lingering ‘cis-het privilege.’” It is baffling and incomprehensible to imply that an out queer trans woman is somehow capable of wielding heterosexual, cisgender, male privilege to her advantage. This isn’t a new tactic – it is commonly used by transphobes to misgender trans women and dismiss anything we say as coming from a place of supposed “maleness”. Here, Addams has done exactly that. This is not a meaningful argument; it is only more of the same classic transmisogyny.

 5. False hierarchies of trans women

We oppose Addams’ and James’ oversimplification of queer trans women’s sexualities, unique personal histories, intersectional experiences, and self-understandings. Addams describes her own “feminine and soft nature” and experiences of being “rejected from participating in heteronormative culture”, while claiming that queer trans women “presumably lived most of their lives with the tacit approval and support of a society that viewed them as heterosexual, white men”. Her presumption is unwarranted, as is James’ description of these women as “newly-minted queers”.

If a trans woman is attracted to women, this does not mean that she always lacked a “feminine and soft nature” (whatever Addams thinks this means), that her sexuality was never called into question by others, that she was not “a participant in LGBT culture”, or that she was never attracted to men. Many queer trans women who are attracted to women share these experiences – their queerness is not “newly-minted” by any stretch of the imagination. Addams’ and James’ false dichotomy uncomfortably echoes the long history of straight trans women being judged as more legitimate in their womanhood and more “feminine” than queer trans women. This constitutes the same kind of implicit misgendering as Addams’ claim that queer trans women possess “lingering” privilege, while Addams herself supposedly does not.

 6. Hypocrisy and feigned offense

While any use of “drag queen” to deny or delegitimize a trans woman’s gender is obviously unacceptable, we decry James’ hypocrisy in taking offense to the accurate description of Addams’ history as a drag performer. James herself notes that trans women have a history of “working alongside drag performers”, and that there “was no separation of drag and trans” in “pre-Stonewall Manhattan LGBT social life”, but then claims that “drag queen” is a “transphobic slur” when referring to Addams’ involvement in drag performance. This is, at a minimum, inconsistent. It is absurd that James would denounce this accurate statement of fact as “transphobic”, while she and Addams promote false generalizations about queer trans women and implicitly misgender them with accusations of “male privilege”. We particularly note the hypocrisy of Addams’ call to defend “trans people who choose to… associate with gay and lesbian people”, given her own hostility toward queer trans women.

 7. Siding with mainstream prejudice

Contrary to James, we do not accept that drag performance is itself a valid excuse for cisgender people to use transmisogynist slurs. James believes that “taboos around language” – language such as “shemale” – are “practically begging drag queens and kings to violate these taboos”, and that drag is an “art form with countercultural subversion at its heart”. Such a rationale is nonsensical. When a word becomes so closely associated with open hostility toward a marginalized group that it is widely considered a slur by the group it targets, this is not itself a justification to continue using this word. It is rather obviously a compelling reason not to use it.

Cis people using transmisogynist slurs are not violating a taboo when the use of such slurs is already broadly accepted among cis people. Most of society does not consider it taboo to refer to trans women in these terms – there is no taboo to break. Repeating a one-word distillation of a culture’s hostility to trans women is neither countercultural nor subversive. It is mainstream. In light of this, James’ commitment to “siding with offensive artists” is hardly a laudable choice.

 8. Disingenuous conflation of “transgender” with drag

We reject James’ classification of RuPaul as transgender, as well as any implication that cisgender male drag queens are therefore entitled to use transmisogynist slurs. Cisgender male drag queens are assigned male at birth, and they neither consider themselves to be women nor live as women in their everyday lives. Unlike trans women, they are not the ones who regularly face the consequences of widespread transphobia and transmisogyny, and they are not confronted with the fallout of normalizing transmisogynist slurs. Likewise, Addams’ statement that she “hate[s] the term ‘cisgender’” shows a lack of understanding of the importance of this distinction.

9. Hiding behind “homophobia” to defend transphobia

We further reject Addams’ argument that trans women’s criticism of the use of transmisogynist slurs by cisgender drag performers is a form of “homophobia” or “hatred or derision for gay and lesbian culture”. Trans women’s objections to transphobia do not become any less legitimate when that transphobia comes from “gay and lesbian culture”. This transphobia is no more excusable – it is equally deserving of scrutiny. While Addams recognizes that “being trans is not a free pass to be transphobic or homophobic”, she appears to believe that being gay or lesbian is indeed a free pass to be transphobic. We do not share this belief.

10. Elitism and exclusion of queer trans women from queer culture

Addams attacks trans women who object to RuPaul’s slurs as “hate-filled, angry and inexperienced folks” who “hop the fence at this late stage and try to dictate our culture rather than learn and build and participate in it”. We believe that trans women have every reason to be angry at the mass media legitimization of transmisogynist slurs by cisgender men, and we question the value of learning from this culture or participating in it, let alone building upon it. It is no point of pride to tolerate a transphobic culture. Accusing young queer trans women of trying to “dictate our culture” implies that they have less of a claim to gay and lesbian culture than Addams, and lazily dismisses legitimate objections to the harms of this culture and the attitudes it has normalized.

Our aims

We ask that Calpernia Addams and Andrea James refrain from publishing further columns exhibiting this variety of homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, misgendering, ageism, and unwarranted hostility toward other trans women. We further ask that Huffington Post, Boing Boing, and other outlets refuse to give a platform to any columns endorsing such prejudice, whether by Addams and James or by others. As Addams notes, “you choose your community’s voices and heroes.” We reject Calpernia Addams and Andrea James as voices of our community.

SIGNATORIES

  1. Lauren McNamara, defense witness, United States v. Manning
  2. Amelia June Gapin, software engineer
  3. Thorin Sorensen, activist and writer
  4. Katherine Prevost, software developer, Carnegie Mellon University
  5. Anne Cognito, activist and author
  6. Kat Haché
  7. Andrea Borquez Brito, law school graduate
  8. Sarah Brown, politician and trans woman
  9. Kristina Foster
  10. Teri Dawn Wright, student, activist
  11. Lauren Voswinkel, software developer
  12. Bobbi Joseph, activist
  13. Dr. Mirah Gary, physicist
  14. Vivian Doug, public speaker and systems analyst
  15. Breanna Clayton, web content strategist
  16. Danielle White, SAS Platform Administrator
  17. Rachel Ripstra, software engineer
  18. Jessica Reardon Smith
  19. Kimberly Horne, software developer
  20. Josephine Doggett, artist
  21. Dr. Aoife Emily Hart, lecturer
  22. April Daniels, writer
  23. Morgan Smith, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies student and activist
  24. Sabine, activist
  25. Chelsea Tera Boyhan, field support engineer
  26. Fallon Fox, Mixed Martial Arts fighter
  27. Sophia Banks
  28. Sarah Foreman, activist and software developer
  29. Josefina Vineyard, graphic designer
  30. Rebecca Hargate, software developer, University student
  31. Schell Carpenter, Vice President of Engineering
  32. Kayley Whalen, trans activist
  33. Carol Holly, Scientist and Global Business Development Manager
  34. Erika Sorensen, software developer
  35. Laurelai Bailey, journalist for TransAdvocate.com
  36. Emily L Kwolek, activist
  37. Adele Sheffield, social media manager, web editor
  38. Winter Hardin, student
  39. Skye Arixe
  40. Melissa Savage, activist
  41. Dana Lane Taylor, TransAdvocate.com, University of Pennsylvania
  42. Rhianne Stevens, lecturer, activist and Transgender Support Group Officer
  43. Willow Dobmeier
  44. Katie Anderson, software engineer
  45. Chelsea Richards, emergency medical responder
  46. Emily Prince, Esq.
  47. Morgan Rose, artist
  48. Casey Coughlin, student
  49. Zoe Gagnon, software engineer and activist
  50. Kathryn Anna Fortunato, IT systems administrator and activist
  51. Rebecca Putman
  52. Ellie Green, artist
  53. Coda Gardner
  54. Jayska Teag
  55. Eleven, filmmaker and writer
  56. Alisha G, information technology
  57. Greta Gustava Martela, software engineer and TGSF board member
  58. Nina Chaubal, software engineer
  59. Annetta Gaiman, trans feminist
  60. Diane Tejera Monaco, scientist and educator
  61. Alex Ray, web admin
  62. Claire Siegely
  63. Ally Clarke
  64. Aria Smith
  65. Devi Smith
  66. Bethany Turner, market researcher and webcomic author/artist
  67. Cristan Williams, Senior Editor for the TransAdvocate
  68. Madison Turner, singer/songwriter
  69. Rabbi Emily Aviva Kapor, author and activist
  70. Amy A. Dobrowolsky, trans feminist geographer
  71. Autumn Sandeen, Editor for The TransAdvocate
  72. Christina Ann-Marie DiEdoardo, Esq., criminal defense attorney
  73. Melissa Jensen, sex worker
  74. Octavia Reising
  75. Naomi Ceder, IT director, Pythonista, advocate
  76. Kris Simon, disability, gender, and sexuality activist
  77. K.L. Tremaine, author and publisher, Artemis Flight Books
  78. Kelli Anne Busey, contributor TransAdvocate, blogger planetransgender, activist
  79. Serana Storey
  80. Kylie Brooks, gender, disability, race and sexuality activist
  81. Amber Dawn Redman, International Media / Commercial Aviation / Communications / Equality Journalist
  82. Reverend Erin Fish, Professional Twitterer
  83. Sarah Noble, transgender and equality activist, university student
  84. Paige Sullivan, software engineer, trans* activist, wife, and parent
  85. Amélie Erin Koran, Executive Office of the President of the United States (Detailee) & President of U.S. Department of the Interior GLOBE
  86. Morgan Mullaney, software engineer
  87. Lisa Harney
  88. Meryl Scarlett Fortney
  89. Dani Pettas, videographer/advertising creative
  90. Forth Sadler, queer transwoman
  91. Ayasha Pope, writer and musician
  92. Sara Ross, activist and game developer
  93. Kylie Jack, ux designer, activist
  94. Kathryn Long, technical artist and software engineer
  95. Kaitlyn Richardson, system administrator
  96. Hannah Cutler, archaeologist
  97. Miranda Lukeman
  98. Karin Engström
  99. Harriet de Kok, student, aged care personal care worker
  100. Freja Falson, student, writer, and trans feminist
  101. Shadi Petosky, creative director
  102. Jennifer Kitney, student chef
  103. Megan Danielle Turcotte, software developer
  104. Annie Mei Shen
  105. Lauren Moffatt PhD, Professor of Physics
  106. Rani Baker, destroyedforcomfort.com, noise musician/freelance artist
  107. Amy Wilhelm, trans activist, network engineer
  108. Amoreena Crees, interior design
  109. Zoey Marie Bedenbaugh, student, writer
  110. Dominica Deal
  111. Eva Odland, IT worker/author
  112. Mara Emily
  113. Phoenix Lee
  114. Katherine Cutting
  115. Cassidy Drake
  116. Drew Stroud, web and game developer
  117. Amara Sugalski, geneticist
  118. A.J. Hunter, activist and writer
  119. Rhea Vichot, graduate student
  120. Trinity Pixie, blogger
  121. The Right Honourable Max, Lairde Harmony
  122. Dr. Myriam J. Johnson, physicist
  123. Charley Matz, trans lesbian artist
  124. Jess Rowbottom, IT consultant
  125. Zoė Alexandra Adams, physics student and trans woman
  126. Frida Viñas, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya architecture student
  127. Sabrina Kane, Elections Project Officer
  128. Maria Ramnehill, transfeminist
  129. Addie C.
  130. Rebecca Turner, software engineer
  131. Colin Sandel, indie games developer
  132. Anathema Jane McKenna, journalist and poet
  133. Stephanie Springflower, self-employed bookkeeper
  134. Michelle Emily Cloud, student, poet & lyricist, musician
  135. Julie Rei Goldstein, Actress / Voice Over Artist
  136. Samantha Llywela Thornton, photo technician, student
  137. Alice Wilde, drafter
  138. Erin Susan Jennings, trans liberation activist
  139. Jessica Ferguson, Sr. Information Security Manager
  140. Alison Chan, advanced networks researcher, uni student, LGBT student leader
  141. Jessica Fay Speed, artist/postwoman
  142. Henry-Katherine H., student
  143. D.J. Freedman, MSW, queer social worker
  144. Michelle Spicer, BA, Writer/Activist
  145. Jennifer Lavender Winn, seamstress
  146. Alyssa C. Smith, student, activist
  147. Alice T., comedian
  148. Aurora Michelle Danes, activist and nursing student
  149. Jenna Stewart, student
  150. Jennifer Caitlín Eller, English teacher and writer
  151. Sarah Spohn, system administrator
  152. Jasmine Erricka Glenn
  153. Alexie Scanlon, activist 
  154. Christina Kahrl, sportswriter and activist
  155. Amy Rebecca Boyer, Software Architect
  156. Dee Emm Elms
  157. Androgyne Partridge, noise musician, graphic designer
  158. Emily Joh Miller, student/writer/musician
  159. Chloe Skedgell, web developer
  160. Stephanie Wilson, retired, civil engineer, program manager
  161. Natalie Roman, web developer, LGBT youth mentor
  162. Rowan Davis, student
  163. Chris Malarky, IT professional
  164. Laine DeLaney, transwoman, author, columnist, activist, and community organizer
  165. Maddy Love, podcaster and clinical laboratorian
  166. Marja Erwin
  167. Danni Shochet, Director of Information Systems, Vice Chair Raleigh Transgender Initiative
  168. Clare Davis, bookkeeper
  169. Jane Natoli, Financial Crimes Consultant
  170. Amy Roberts, writer, game designer, software QA
  171. Danielle Burgess, web developer
  172. Sophie Taylor, aerospace engineer
  173. S. Allen, charity worker
  174. Elizabeth Rossiter, software engineer
  175. Emilie Geary, trans advocate
  176. Sarah Savage, activist and writer
  177. Julie Harper Lynch, registered nurse
  178. Roberta Joanna Manners, software engineer
  179. Rachel S. Adelhyde, writer and activist
  180. Cadence Valentine, board member of Transgender Leadership Council, co-chair and lead organizer of Transgender Leadership Summit, Program Coordinator for Transsafetycounts, secretary of Transgender Service Providers Network
  181. Johanna Wolf, game developer
  182. Alexandra Robin Clodge, software engineer/activist
  183. Juli-Ann Richmond, Kind Hearted House Sitting, pet and plant services
  184. Abby Malson, software developer, transgender woman
  185. Allison Lara Keene, software developer
  186. Janet Logan, software engineer and transgender woman
  187. Katherine Norcross, molecular biologist and artist
  188. Alison Edwards, writer and educator
  189. Rachel Determann, musician, data journalist and engineer
  190. Nicole “Nicky” Roberts, activist, 2013 JCF grantee
  191. Jamie M. Kerrigan, Sales Associate
  192. Kara Johnson, animal rights activist
  193. Inga Hensing, Research Analyst
  194. Margaret Laughlan, Residential Social Worker
  195. Harper Sylvia Sanford, software QA
  196. Victoria Solís Quintillá, student, activist
  197. Alexandra Pitchford, writer, game designer
  198. Skyla Marchel, activist
  199. Ashley Wells, library technician and artist
  200. Zoey Bartlett, research chemist and legal activist
  201. Gemma Seymour, Sorciére Itinérant, Writer, and Activist
  202. Jennifer Mason
  203. Donna Levinsohn, attorney and activist
  204. Elizabeth Flanagan, Trans/Geek Feminist
  205. Madison Rae, HIV Outreach Educator of the Transaction program
  206. Kelley Sullivan, Sales Representative
  207. Nina Yorty, freelance caregiver
  208. Tommilynn Janelle Travis, Customer Support and Sales
  209. Jessica Ottowell, software engineer, small business owner, PR officer for the British Liberal Democrat party
  210. Rye Silverman, comedian and writer
  211. Christina W., Software Engineer
  212. A. Mani, Researcher (Math, Logic, Rough Sets), Trans Feminist
  213. Sara Hughes, college student information systems analyst and project manager
  214. Erica Jones, software developer
  215. Michelle Jené Wedge, Writer / Activist
  216. Danielle Newberry, author, culinary engineer
  217. Nuala Shields, retired network engineer, trans activist, human being
  218. Lily Connor, Pagan priestess and nursing student
  219. Miranda Radik
  220. Charlie Hale, student and author
  221. Aisling Fae, college student, physics
  222. Gina Grahame, businesswoman
  223. Laila Villanueva, United States Army Nurse – currently silently serving on Active Duty
  224. Ellen Faye Harvey, Sales Specialist
  225. Mica Hind, storyteller/historical interpreter
  226. Claudia Jean Adams, Online Community Manager
  227. Nancy Scott Burke Williams, Associate Professor of Chemistry
  228. Kelsie Brynn Jones, ILGA Advocate
  229. Lara Boons, Belgium, a little bit a solo activist on disability, hit by PTSD
  230. Allie Andrews, software engineer
  231. Aleshia Brevard
  232. Anne Rowlands, librarian and pagan
  233. Alena Bruening, model
  234. Eli Erlick, student, activist, and director of Trans Student Equality Resources
  235. Vera Vartanian, writer
  236. Alex Sennello, student and cofounder of Trans Student Equality Resources
  237. Tina Kent, truck driver
  238. Dawn Alderman, systems engineer
  239. Lynn Cyrin, student, activist
  240. Nic Llewellyn, cleaner and musician
  241. Aubrey Schaefer, writer
  242. Bella Bellucci, writer, activist, entertainer
  243. Lilith Barri Routh, network engineer
  244. Lilith Annabelle Rios, Customer Service Representative and Trans Feminist/Activist
  245. Laura Watson, Singer/Songwriter/Musician
  246. Kathryn Isaacs, software developer
  247. Jena Lewis, trans* diversity educator, community activist, feminist
  248. Jade Juhl, trans advocate
  249. Lily Wolf Solomon, owner of Greenpath Transcripts
  250. Gwyneth Yeh, Artist at ArenaNet
  251. Samantha Hypatia Thompson, librarian
  252. Dr. Joelle Ruby Ryan, Women’s Studies Professor
  253. Veronica Garrett, Nuclear Professional
  254. Emma Bready Larson, student, library worker, and activist
  255. Morgan Sea, Tranzister Radio
  256. Sierra Kinney, owner of Lone Star Laser
  257. Sena Riley, blogger/programmer
  258. Caitlin Howarth, student
  259. Christina Williams, IT manager and newbie trans advocate
  260. Kendall Cunningham, pastry chef
  261. Miranda Rae Lunabel, barista and musician
  262. Alexandra Bard, medically retired Marine
  263. Chelsea Allens, Artist/Student
  264. Drew Deveaux, queer porn star, feminist, sex educator
  265. Julie Danielle Barnett
  266. Coraline Ada Ehmke, Software Engineer and Activist
  267. Isabelle Jones, law student
  268. Gwen Carlson, student and activist
  269. Lisa Severn, IT Architect
  270. Helen C. Walther, Chat Administrator, Susan’s Place Transgender Resources, Executive Director, Southern Tier Trans Network
  271. Jody Toomey, sci-fi author and musician
  272. Eleanor Amaranth Lockhart, university lecturer and researcher
  273. Cristin Meravi, student
  274. Alys Elbe, student
  275. Erin Dean, queer trans* woman of color and radical intersectional activist, blogger at Glitter of Revolt
  276. Ellie Morris
  277. Crystal Frasier, author
  278. MC Tanuki, musician
  279. Eva Allan, Revolutionary socialist and Trade Union Activist
  280. Elizabeth Izatt, software engineer
  281. Bitmap Madelyn Prager
  282. Veronikka Edmunds, Waste Management Consultant
  283. JoVan Wilson, Healthcare CommunicatorNatalie Russell, civil engineer
  284. Ellie Howard
  285. Eleanor Robyn Carson II, author, photographer, video game reviewer
  286. Tylyn S. Anson, filmmaker and MFA student
  287. Alex Richards Childs, student of Metallurgical Engineering
  288. Bobbie Jo Conner, maintenance worker
  289. Jessica K. Nichols-Vernon, writer
  290. Rachel Evil McCall, writer
  291. Sophia Gold, performance artist
  292. Kathryn Cowie, writer and editor
  293. Johanna Marseille, graphic designer
  294. Kori Evans, student
  295. Morgane Oger, small business owner
  296. Amanda Melody Barna, student and pizza delivery driver
  297. Rachel Collier
  298. Michelle Jane Perez, writer
  299. Lauren Gartrenlaub, Case Manager at a social service agency
  300. Robyn A. Montgomery, student
  301. Vikki Valimir
  302. Alyson McManus, Staff Writer at Persephone Magazine
  303. Ryder Goodwin
  304. Ash Shields, artist, student
  305. Stephanie Wallace, Wine Professional, Software Developer
  306. Johnnie Ramona Peel, College Instructor and Blogger
  307. Rebecca Dobie-Watt, Helpdesk Analyst
  308. Sarah Robinson, IT Tech
  309. Bridgett Josephine Waxman, student
  310. Dana Ashleigh Goodyear, LPN
  311. Tali Gaither, trans*femme Disability justice activist, feminist, queer writer
  312. Trina Hanson, IT support/web developer
  313. T. Walpole, trans officer, Goldsmiths LGBTQ
  314. Maya Martinez, US Army Infantry
  315. Christina Lynn Johnson, studying for a Paramedic certification
  316. Jasmine Doherty, Air Traffic Controller
  317. Cheryl Ann Davidson, advocate/hotel front desk clerk
  318. Jacquelyn Kjar-Meyer, student
  319. Corinne McCreery, Customer Service Representative
  320. Tara Franks, student
  321. Joli Shempert, university student
  322. Antoinette Coles, Information Technical Professional
  323. Julia Kreger, systems engineer, photographer, support group meeting facilitator, retired alternative lifestyle community leader
  324. Mackenzie Jade Compton, artist
  325. Vanessa Kindell, IT support
  326. Tori Amanda Foote
  327. Lily Lambda, leathergirl
  328. Jayna L-Ponder, Podcaster, Educator