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Sapphic.cafe is a private, social media platform for sapphics. It varies from its predecessor "Cliterati" in that it is not an explicitly feminist-adjacent space but designed to be a safe space for AFAB queer people who consider themselves exclusively homosexual and is intentional in respecting the label they most identify with. It is not limited to lesbians or those who identify with the term sapphic, but inclusive of all who feel like sapphic.cafe is the right fit for them.

The site offers a myriad of features out of the box and is customizable. For example, the current word count for posts is 500 but can be increased.

Themes are also customizable, with users able to pick from a list of 15+ themes. Fans of Myspace will be happy to know that you can also add your own CSS. Though so far this is only visible to the logged-in user, and not users who view their profile.

Another fun feature are the widgets that users can add to their interface when accessing the site from a Desktop browser. Features like a clock, a list of logged in users, a photo gallery, and server metrics for the website.

Countless other features currently exist, such as channels for posting about specific topics, direct messages, group chats, list creation, and the ability to quote users. Users can also upload videos and photos and suggest custom emoji. I'm looking to potentially add user Stories, and the ability to stream in the future.

Moderation features also exist and the site will eventually have a vetted, volunteer-run mod team once it grows. Mods will be required to follow the server code of conduct as well as a guidebook outlining standards for handling reports.

The server is currently private; you have to be logged in to interact with users or to even view user profiles and read posts. There is a possibility in the future of the site being made public if the userbase asks for it. This means that sapphic.cafe will have the ability to interact with countless other social media platforms that are part of the Fediverse, including other LGBTQ+ servers. This will require a hefty blocklist to ensure that our users are not targeted by platforms dedicated to exclusively spreading hate.

More people are familiar with Mastodon, which is a well-known open-source platform for decentralized social networking. The software I'm using is called Iceshrimp. Iceshrimp is based off of Misskey and both were developed with the intention of being decentralized and federated. That means that I'm going outside of the scope of its creation by utilizing it for a private safe space. I'm also the only one working on the project at the moment. After my first foray into setting up and managing an instance at 23 with Cliterati.club, I learned that many would like to have the title of being involved without actually doing the work.

Will there be an app?

Yes. The Android version will be released first because Apple likes to make things difficult for app developers to get their software on iOS.

Why call it sapphic.cafe?

Because as a GNC and transmasc lesbian, I like the term and feel like it's fitting for me and others like me. It's a site I'm working on refining, so it was ultimately up to me to pick a name for it. I'm aware sapphic as a term was first used to denote same-sex love between AFAB people and wasn't even exclusively used for homosexuals. There is evidence that Sappho herself may have been bisexual. That's fine - I still like the name I picked. If you don't vibe with that, or feel as if it excludes you, then it's not meant for you. Instead of asking me to change the name or pick something that you feel suits the project better, I advise you to look into the Bean Soup Theory.

You can also learn about open-source software, and set up an instance all on your own, call it whatever you like, and set whatever rules you like for it! I actually encourage you to do so. That way we can all stop relying on proprietary, heavily monitored social media platforms like Instagram. But I suspect if you're complaining that the site is too exclusionary it's because you hold privilege that would not permit you to access it, or the users there.

I chose sapphic.cafe because I feel like the label represents me, and I do not feel as if this would change if I medically transitioned. I wouldn't just give up the term sapphic, or my place in the lesbian community - it's the community I grew up being a part of, and sapphic representation shaped who I am today. Even if I were to live my life male presenting, my orientation would not change. I'd still be a homosexual and would be one of the trans men who choose to keep their place within the lesbian community. Instead of feeling like it invalidates me, I'd be focusing on where I feel I belong, the community I grew up in as a young queer person, and what my identity means to me without looking to others to validate my lived experience. Queer people are not a monolith.

Marginalized people making our own safe spaces to discuss issues that pertain to our lived experience is something others will just have to learn to live with.

If I were to create a space exclusively for queer people of color and a white queer person came along, threw a colossal fit over being excluded and demanded to be included, it would be seen as ridiculous to cater to them. But it happens. Just look at how the Ballroom scene and Ball Culture was slowly appropriated into a white-dominated drag scene where Black and queer people of color are often made to feel unwelcome. There's a reason white gay men and white drag queens have been called out for mocking Black women and appropriating AAVE - the culture originates from black queer people who often mirrored their femininity on the Black women around them and turned gender-bending expression into a creative art. The queer community as a whole was built on the labor of queer people of color. In spite of this fact, we don't have many of our own safe spaces and are still spoken over and underrepresented. That's why it's important to build our own spaces and stand firm on our right to find solidarity within community.

That is what sapphic.cafe is. A space meant for queer people facing specific marginalization who do not have their own safe spaces to gather and connect with each other. Where do you want us to go? Would you rather we all join radical feminist spaces that may or may not be homophobic? I did, specifically because I was made to feel unsafe within queer spaces. I know many lesbians just like me who joined around the same timeframe, as hostility towards homosexual AFAB queer people skyrocketed. Many were lesbians of color, and lesbians from the global south who were all too familiar with hatred towards homosexual women and girls. Lesbians like me will continue to do so, as long as we are made to feel unwelcome, harassed and further marginalized within our own community spaces. Just because you haven't seen or heard of it happening or have the privilege of not having had to endure this specific marginalization yourself, does not mean it doesn't continue to happen. This is not a new attitude.

I've been building supportive safe spaces since 2020, and it's been a constant struggle to prevent the following scenario from occurring:

Are you going to let radical feminists in?

That depends - are they homosexual and do they agree to follow the code of conduct the same as every other user and not call trans and gender-nonconforming users mutilated? The only people I know of who label feminists and feminism that is radical in nature as inherently evil on all accounts are incels.