autumncityqueen:

Recently a post (made by exposingalex) has made heavy way concerning tumblr user zubat and a project they started, coined as “The Leelah Project”.

This is a post made to offer some light into the situation. Please be aware that this is all I can offer in terms of details concerning the Leelah Project. Also, please be aware that my mental health will stop me from following up with reblogs that aim to pursue conflict. I can, however, answer legitimate questions concerning finer details I may or may not have posted here.

I was a helping hand at the Leelah project. The original aim of the project was to help a few thousand trans woman– at most. Instead, orders arrived daily; the inbox of the both the Leelah Project and the email being used to process orders were quickly rising beyond what was planned. I must repeat this:

The number of requests outnumbered the original goal.

This was a project being ran by only two people. Alex was attending school during the lifespan of the project. I was busy looking for a steady place to stay and finding a job. I could only help every other week; two days at most if things were looking well. During the end of February, I moved again and was incapable of helping Alex, thus leaving only one person to handle the Leelah Project as well as their academic and personal life.

On top of all this, money was being sent. This money was being used to pay for the packages that were being shipped. Aside from this, Alex was spending their own money our of pocket to purchase make-up for each package. IIRC, people have claimed some (usable) 15k was raised via paypal. Even though the make up purchased was Elf, there was lipstick, eyeliner, foundation, eye shadow, and mascara. And even though the product itself is only $1, there are five items I have listed: that amounts to $5. Combine that with the number of requests being made– a mere 1,000 requests would place the total at $5,000. Only 15k in donations were made. Shipping still needed to be paid for.

Each package was not simply filled with random clothing. Instead, we sat down and made full outfits trans women could wear. We also adhered to requests concerning things such as prom dresses, casual clothing, dresses, skirts… the sheer focus on making sure each request was taken with care also slowed down the rate at which packages could be shipped.

But I must repeat this; several thousand requests that easily surpassed the original goal vs two people who could not dedicate themselves to the project 24/7.

While some anger can be justified (as a black trans woman, I understand that our demographic is a target for quick money), it must be made clear that two people could not fulfill the sheer volume of requests being made; especially seeing as that each request had personal time and effort being placed into it.

The Leelah Project was not a scam. It was a project aimed at helping. But it lacked a proper amount of helping hands and funding. With a post placing a critical eye upon the project and the project itself falling behind in fulfilling orders, things have taken a turn for the worse.

I ask that this is signal boosted as fast as possible. Alex/zubat is mentally ill and still dealing with personal stuff. There are people threatening to take legal action against them. This type of stress is a lot to place on someone because of a major misunderstanding.

There is still some information I myself must confirm, but I will be creating a follow-up post soon. Until then, please spread this post.