Home › Projects › Alfabetbende.nl
Alfabetbende.nl
Questions pushed aside elsewhere, addressed explicitly here — a counter-voice in the LGBTQ+ debate.
Visit the site: alfabetbende.nl
What is Alfabetbende.nl?
Alfabetbende scrutinises the LGBTQ+ discourse. The name is polemical: a reference to the ever-lengthening string of letters (LGBTQIA+, LGBTQIA2S+, …) and to the way that acronym functions as a 'gang' that, according to its creators, restricts free discussion. The site collects questions, definitions and qualifications that receive little space in mainstream media and from advocacy organisations.
What is on it?
The site is built around three main sections:
- Eight thematic dossiers on cancel culture, pronouns as ideological battleground, trans women in women's sport, medicalisation of children, and related topics.
- 25 gender identities described with critical qualifications — comparable to (but more concise than) the terms overview on this site.
- 42 abbreviations from the LGBTQ+ context: from LGBT and LGBTQ+ to LGBTQIA2S+, with explanation of what the letters mean and how the acronym has evolved over time.
For whom?
For readers who do not feel at home in the mainstream LGBTQ+ discourse and who need a counter-perspective — journalists looking for context, parents with questions, readers who want to judge for themselves. Alfabetbende positions itself as a defender of free speech against what its creators experience as ideological conformity.
Tone and approach
Direct and polemical, with terms such as 'silencing' and 'medicalisation' that make the site's position unmistakable. That distinguishes Alfabetbende from sister sites with an academic angle (such as Transgenderidentiteit.nl and Genderrisico.nl). Readers looking for scientific substantiation or clinical figures are better served there; Alfabetbende mainly offers a cultural and political reading direction.
Place within the network
Alfabetbende focuses on the cultural and discursive side of the gender debate. For specific sub-themes the site refers to sister projects such as Genderballast (social costs), Genderellende (harm reports) and this site, Genderinfo.nl.