The Trans Content 80-20 Rule

On algorithmic media, TERF empathy, and the trans experience.

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The Pareto Principle, also known as the “80-20 rule”, states that 80% of outputs are caused by 20% of inputs. For example, 80% of a company's revenue might be generated by 20% of its customers (your most loyal customers end up spending the most money, etc.) It’s not necessarily a mathematically “proven” rule, but it’s a valuable idea because it’s worth remembering that not all inputs are weighted equally.

I think about principles like these a lot as a creator (and of course, consumer) of content, particularly one who offers written work in exchange for money. I have tens of thousands of followers on TikTok, but only a few hundred have gone onto also follow me on Substack. I put out dozens of videos per year, but only a couple of them ever “go viral”.

More so than raw numbers though, I think a lot about the types of content that “go viral”, or even get made in the first place, because of the incentive structures of the platforms on which that content is hosted. Which would attract more success in The Algorithm: a 7-minute-long nuanced perspective about gender from an experienced feminist, or a Gender War rage-baiting podcast interview clip?

In fact, I believe we can apply similar principles to content creation and consumption within specific communities. I have this hypothesis that 80% of content made by trans people is made by the bottom 20th percentile of trans experience. This is incredibly important for cisgender people who watch content from transgender creators to recognize, and here’s why.