‘I was punishing myself by being hooked on it’: Megan Jayne Crabbe on social media and queer gatekeeping (EXCLUSIVE)
The bestselling author, podcaster and social influencer appears on the latest episode of the 'Attitude Presents: Out with Suzi Ruffell' podcast
By Dale Fox
Megan Jayne Crabbe has appeared on the latest episode of Attitude Presents: Out with Suzi Ruffell, talking social media addiction, queer identity, and the pressure queer women face to “prove” their sexuality.
Best known for helping people feel more positive about their bodies, Crabbe is a bestselling author, podcaster, presenter and award-winning content creator with over a million followers online. She released her second book We Don’t Make Ourselves Smaller Here in 2025.
“I was punishing myself by being hooked on it,” she said of Instagram. “And yet I couldn’t seem to stop myself.” She’s since stepped back considerably, describing herself as a “reluctant influencer”.
“I don’t think it’s good for any of us, really. You are not meant to view your life through the lens of what will strangers on the internet think about this.”
“She point blank refuses to ever move out of the way of a man” – Megan Jayne Crabbe on her girlfriend
She also talked about the ways women are taught to shrink themselves in everyday life, including apologising to her microwave after slamming the door. “That is womanhood,” she said.
Her girlfriend, she added, takes a different approach: “She point blank refuses to ever move out of the way of a man and literally gets bashed into sometimes. That’s her micro act of feminism on a daily basis.”
On coming out, she said it was the scrutiny from within the queer community she anticipated most – particularly the pressure on women to “prove” their sexuality. “I think I was worried more so about the kind of gatekeepers of the online queer community,” she said. “There was quite a lot of backlash towards bisexual women, especially – the invalidating and the ‘prove it’ kind of thing.”
New episodes of Attitude Presents: Out with Suzi Ruffell are available every Friday on the Attitude YouTube channel and on all major podcast platforms.