A trans-identified male recently selected to be a political candidate for the UK Green Party has prompted backlash after describing himself as a “proud lesbian” and accusing critics of “transphobia.” Melissa Poulton, previously known as Matthew Viner, has a disturbing history of sharing pornographic “sissification” content on social media.
On December 2, Poulton announced his candidacy for the Bromsgrove Constituency in a post he shared to X. Over the next two days, as word of his bid for office spread on social media, critics responded to his post with disbelief, accusing the Green Party of having lost credibility.
A biography of Poulton describes him as a “proud lesbian” who has been involved with the Green Party since 2020. He is also a member of LGBTQIA+ Greens, Green Party Women, and an Equality and Diversity Committee Member since October, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Reactions across X ranged from disbelief to anger, with some responses particularly critical of his claim to be a lesbian.
Following the significant backlash, Poulton locked his X account.
Some critics also pointed to Poulton’s 2019 run for the Wyre Forest Council Elections while representing the Conservative Party. During his campaign, he did not yet describe himself as transgender, wore a suit, and still used his birth name, Matthew Viner.
On December 9, Conservative Party MP Rachel Maclean was slammed by her political opponents after she shared a post from Reduxx co-founder Genevieve Gluck which referred to Poulton as a “man who wears a wig.” Maclean commented on the post, writing: “While the Greens don’t know what a woman is, my Worcestershire neighbours, the people of Bromsgrove certainly do.”
Poulton was given a platform on BBC to complain about Maclean, stating: “Without a shadow of a doubt it is a transphobic comment.”
While Maclean ultimately deleted her post, she stood firm on its contents after GB News alleged she had “apologized” to Poulton.
“In fact I did NOT apologize for my comments relating to the Green Party’s extreme policies on gender and self ID ideology and am happy to come on to your program to explain my position in more detail. As Deputy Chair for Women, I am clear that the law allows me to say what a woman is and the difference between a woman and a trans woman. Both deserve respect and freedom to live their lives but it is not transphobic to say they are not the same thing,” she wrote in a multi-part thread.
Reduxx has now discovered a Pinterest account believed to belong to Poulton. Within his Pinterest board, populated when he still “identified” as male, Poulton had saved images related to sissification pornography, a genre which involves men being transformed into young women or even into little girls.
Several images saved by Poulton under a collection titled “AMAB” were sourced from sissification and forced feminization pornography blogs hosted on Tumblr.
One animated gif shared by Poulton depicts what appears to be a young man in a blond wig and a pink high school chearleading uniform, sitting seductively on a bed covered with rose petals. The text written across the photo reads, “Is there any doubt left sissy? Go full time.”
In another image shared by Poulton, “instructions” were provided for men who identify as women to follow, including always smiling at males who make eye contact with them in an apparent show of submissiveness.
Another post shared by Poulton reads: “Femininity is more than appearance. It’s an air… composed of starched petticoats, a ribbon or two, and an indefinable plus. And how do you do it? It doesn’t matter. You’re a woman now, so make the most of it. Apply your makeup with a delicate hand. Let your clothes reflect your womanliness.”
Accounts followed by Poulton on Pinterest similarly share fetishistic content, including images of the BDSM practice of sissification in which men wear highly sexualized maid uniforms and perform degrading tasks. In other instances, a type of content known as sissy captions are shared. The images are of women posed in a pornographic fashion alongside text intended to encourage male viewers to begin taking estrogen.
This is not the first controversy involving trans-identified males in the UK Green Party.
Just months ago, Heather Herbert, a trans-identified male currently standing with the Green Party, came under fire on social media after uploading photos of himself using a bathroom intended for women with disabilities to “dilate” himself.
Herbert posted an image of himself lying on the floor the bathroom, which was at Gatwick airport, captioning it: “Found a disabled toilet… not the most fun I’ve had.” Dilation refers to a process in which trans-identified males insert a rod into their surgically-constructed genital hole, often referred to as a “neo-vagina.” Dilation is often done for the rest of a patient’s life following “gender affirming” genital surgery.
In 2019, the party was accused of not properly vetting Aimee Challenor prior to allowing him to run for the position of Deputy Leader. Challenor, who was the party’s “equality spokeswoman” was a top contender for the position until it was learned he had hired his pedophile father to serve as his election agent.
At the time, Challenor’s father was out on bail after being charged for the rape and torture of a 10-year-old girl. Challenor nevertheless hid his father’s past from the public before it was discovered in what the party would later call a “major safeguarding risk.” David Challenor was ultimately sentenced to 22 years in prison for the horrific crime.
While under scrutiny, Challenor’s romantic partner was similarly embroiled in controversy after netizens discovered he had admitted to becoming aroused while fantasizing about children being sexually abused.