#was more akin to a transgender man

[whitehairedanimeboyfriend]

I feel like even in trans positive spaces trans men are seen as less authentic than trans women, because we supposedly have something to gain by transitioning or wanting to be men. (social power.) It's reflective of how we look at historical people that by today's standards we would see as trans men (Joan of Arc) or fictional characters that live as men while secretly being women. (Naoto from Persona, Sheik from Zelda.) And this is going to be an uphill battle until we get rid of gender essentialism in our spaces completely.

#transandrophobia #thinking of a post that was talking about how all fictional femboys in anime are actually trans women and if you dont acknowledge that #then youre a transmisogynist and or chaser #but if the same was said about tomboys and masc crossdressers then there would be so much whinging about representation for women #and something something delusional cringe headcanons #if i say sheik is trans thats my headcanon #but if i don't see pre-strive bridget as intended to be trans then im a transmisogynist #bridget tbh is a bizarre case #because pre-strive their experiences (being forced to live female when they saw themselves as a man) #was more akin to a transgender man #theres an elden ring character with a similar backstory #where he was forced to present as female because the cult he was apart of and raised in was female only #because the people who create these characters are cis they dont really understand what makes a person transgender #so you get weird shit like this that doesnt make any sense #er not elden ring but its one of those games

[strawbebehmod]

Ok I've had enough of this "Alastor doesn't know about gay stuff" I keep seeing around. As a history nerd I honestly can't take it anymore.

Kiddos it's time to learn you a few things. First of all, compared to subsequent decades,

The 1920s were incredibly gay

Was it still illegal to perform homosexual acts, yes. Were gay people still abused and lost jobs for being gay, and were even socially excluded from cishet white society? Oh absolutely. Did most individuals have to stay closeted? Duh. But you know what wasn't a wide spread thing yet? The medicalization of homosexuality. Conversion therapy wasn't fully approved of by psychiatrists until the 40's. Crossdressing wasn't considered mental illness, scandalous, yes, but not mental illness. The haze codes were not implemented yet, and the combination of prohibition, the two decades prior of progressivism, and the horrors of world war one left the youngest generation with a rebellious spirit and a desire for breaking the law. And if you lived in a big city, being LGBT in the twenties was often better than being LGBT in the 30s, 40s, or even 50s.

Young rich kids would seek out queer cruising spots in cities as a form of tourism. Harlem was famous for it's yearly drag balls, and many of the most famous black artists at the time were infact lgbt. Broadway and Hollywood were full of individuals who people knew were not entirely straight. Hell, jazz was born in red light districts home to black queer people. In places like New York there were people famous for being openly gay and despite sodomy laws police would not care in the slightest about them.

And though the South was as fucked as it ever was with Jim Crow Laws and the race riots, New Orleans has always been one of the more progressive cities in the South and has always had a very large gay community. Between the inherit campiness and debauchery of Mardi gras to being the birth place of jazz, to new Orleans being the easiest place to get away with breaking prohibition laws in the south, Alastor as a mixed race black radio host playing jazz in New Orleans in the 20s ABSOLUTELY is familiar with the LGBT community of the time.

The thing is, the language used by the community at the time was so fundamentally different that alastor would not know what you are talking about if you spoke to him about modern LGBT issues. The pride flag did not even exist yet. Gay still meant happy to him in his age. "Bisexual" at the time was more akin to the term "trans" than being attracted to multiple genders, and transgender didn't exist yet as a word. But if you called yourself "a confirmed bachelor" he would understand you were a man who liked men. If you called yourself a "fairy" he would know you weren't cis. If you were a woman and told him you liked sapho or Peter pan, he'd know you liked women. And if you were wearing lavender, or a green carnation, a red bowtie, a violet (if you were a woman), or were a man with a peacock feather in your ensemble he would give you a knowing nod. He's not ignorant of the lgbtq. He's a man out of his time. He speaks a different language entirely to modern gay slang, so it seem he doesn't know anything about it. But he does. Gay and trans people have always been a thing and as a radio host, literally being on the forefront of mass media at it's beginnings, in arguably the best decade to be gay in the 20th century before the 60s, in a city so comfortable with what was considered debauchery that it gave birth to "devil music" and embraced it before anyone else, yes he knows what they are. He just doesn't have the modern language to express it.

#alastor hazbin hotel #1920s #lgbt history #rant #hazbin hotel #he would be confused as hell if you asked him where to find a gay bar to pick up twinks #but you ask him to take you to a saloon where all the fit young sailors hang out and he could instantly give you directions

[redditreceipts]

i feel like i do agree with most radfem stances but then some just don’t make sense to me

like stating that someone’s bf begging for sex or acting sad he isn’t getting any is akin to rape/coercion into sex? it just doesn’t sit right to me because i got assaulted and it was .. forceful, i didn’t get to decide ‘oh i feel bad for this person, guess i will just do it!’ i didn’t want to and i was forced to. i feel like the many posts about how having consensual sex you regret because you consented for bad reasons making it ‘rape’ are disrespectful towards anyone who actually got assaulted/raped.

then there’s also the thing where Tifs are treated like they are just harmless deluded girls, when most tifs are homophobic and gross- you constantly see them mocking gay men and talking about how they want to go ‘stealth’ and would be fine tricking a gay man into sex. but radfems ignore that and mostly talk about tims.

i also don’t get if most radfems are pro gay or not because i got told multiple times that women who have consensual sex with men or who got married (by their own choice) to a man and had kids with him are also somehow ‘lesbians’. it just sounds like they think lesbian = manhating bisexual with trauma. idk most radfems on here i agree with until it comes down to these 3 points.

hmmm, so I can't speak for all feminists here on tumblr, but I can just give my personal opinion on these points.

So I don't have much authority on the first point, because I've never experienced that (well, I haven't experienced it so far lmao). But I think that the problem is that we have very few words for very different experiences of sexual violence. We have "molestation", "rape", "sexual violence", "coercion", "sexual assuault", - and... well, I'm not a native speaker so I don't know all of the terms, maybe, but most of these terms are just polite descriptions of sexual violence. I think we should invent new terms to differentiate. Maybe one umbrella term like "sexual violence", and then a term for coercion with physical violence, coercion with verbal violence, coercion with manipulation, coercion with threats of taking important things away from a person, coercion from an authority figure via their authority, rape of an inebriated person... Like with violence via physical impact, where we have the terms "punch", "hit", "strike", "nudge", "slap", "beat", "smack", "thump", "pound", "smash", "slam", "hammer", "box", "bump", "spank", etc. Imagine there was just one term: "to hit". But if there was just this one term "to hit", one person would say "I was hit" when they have been bumped into, and you would say "I was hit" when you had been punched in the face. It would of course seem crazy to act as if these two experiences had been similar, but the problem is not someone appropriating someone else's terminology, but the problem is that there is just one word for violence via impact. Maybe that's the problem?

Second, I do think that there is a difference between TIMs and TIFs. 1. Men are more violent than women and there is no reason to think that this would change with transition. There are violent women, yes, but not as many as there are violent men, so violence in men is far larger problem. 2. Also, a woman who is violent against men is less likely to be able to do harm because she will be smaller on average. 3. The general attitude toward transgender people among gay men and lesbian women is very different. While lesbians and bisexual women tend to welcome straight TIMs with open arms (and get to feel the repercussions of that), gay men tend to be much more confident in excluding women from their sexuality. Almost every subreddit for gay men would be labelled as a "TERF"-subreddit if it was women behaving in the exact same way. While gay men have basically the entire internet to talk about how they hate vagina, lesbians have carved out this very little space to talk about how they hate dick. so that's why this is much more frequent, I guess 4. most people on here are lesbian and bisexual women. So I guess that venting about transbians is more common because trans gay men don't invade our spaces. If they do, that's shitty nonetheless of course.

And on the third point - well, many women get married to men they are not attracted to. So if you marry a man you don't like and you do it because of internalised homophobia, you would still be a lesbian. If you are genuinely sexually attracted to him, you would be bisexual. But I've not really seen that happening, but if it did, I'd be happy to get a link because that's of course nonsense, a person who is genuinely attracted to men is not a lesbian.

I hope this answered your questions a bit :)

[pigeonflavouredcake]

i'm so close to finishing the edits on my theory chapter so here's a extract about Terf witches

I'm directly taking this from my grimoire Book of Magic (BOM), literally just copy and pasted. I'm sharing this page specifically because I'm trans and I experience this everyday so understanding the signs of TERFism in the witchcraft community was something I had to learn.

All references will be at the bottom.

-Feminism Appropriating Radical Transphobes-

TERFism (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism) and gender essentialist ideology in spiritual spaces are a common sight but often overlooked as a necessary part of spiritual practice. They’re not. There are some well-known dog whistles used by TERFs that are very commonplace; “we are the daughters of the witches you didn’t burn” “divine feminine” “pussy power”. Many TERFs deal with misogyny or internalised misogyny disguised as "pussy power girlboss" feminism.

The idea behind TERFism is that gender is a patriarchal construct and that your sex assigned at birth is the only thing that can tell you if you’re a man or woman. (Wynn, N. (ContraPoints). 2019)

The problem with that is that because no-one is able to tell what someone’s sex is at a glance, TERFs use gender essentialism and white centric stereotypes to point out who they think is a man or woman and often getting it wrong which puts both transgender and non-conforming cisgender people in danger, more so if that person is also a person of colour. Due to the racialization of masculinity and femininity and the pervasive white standards of beauty it makes it near impossible for feminine presenting people of colour to be perceived as such without leaning into hyper feminine styles akin to Barbie or Marylin Monroe.

How one would recognise a TERF out in the wild may be tricky considering many of them are self-aware enough to never share their true feelings out in the open. Many of them use covert statements or gaslighting techniques in order to portray the narrative I spoke about in my previous section on cults, a narrative of heroism. A TERF isn’t spouting dangerous ideologies that put transgender people at risk of political, medical, and social discrimination, they’re just looking out for what’s best for you, they want to protect young gay men and lesbians from being influenced by a predatory agenda and to fight for the rights of women. 

A TERF will do a lot to portray themselves as the hero of an oppressive regime in order to experience the power and respect they may have been denied in life due to their own minority status as women.

Examples of Transphobic/Gender Essentialist Ideology

(primarily: Cambridge SU. 2021-22. Other sources as specified)

Refers to themselves as gender-critical, radfem, adult human female/male.

Refers to trans/nonbinary people as ‘TRA’ (Trans Rights Activists), ‘TIF’ or ‘TIM’ (Trans Identified Female/Male). (Stone, G. 2020) 

Refers to trans-feminine people as predators and trans-masculine people as victims of the patriarchy/woke agenda.

Conflates gender affirming care with gay conversion therapy aka torture, another method of attributing transgender people to confused children or victims of an agenda. (Corry, W (Sci Guys). 2020)

Refers to trans women as ‘transwomen’, the removal of the space is an intentional othering and separation from women and womanhood. (Mildred & Thorn, A. (Thought Slime. 2023)

Disagrees with the term cisgender or asking for pronouns saying “i don’t have pronouns i’m a woman/a man/normal”.

Believes certain traits are, by nature, more exclusive to men/women and believes women are inherently more powerful because of maturity, periods, childbaring etc…

Sides with LGB spaces or argues to “keep penises out of lesbian spaces”.

Uses the term ‘womxn’ referring to women as people with XX chromosomes exclusively.

Uses 1st/2nd wave feminism to exclude the transgender/nonbinary/intersex/bi/pan/poly community from feminist spaces (essentially excluding anyone that could potentially not not have a vulva/uterus or who interact with people who may not have a vulva/uterus).

Covertly refers to nonbinary people as women adjacent through women and nonbinary spaces and stereotyping.

Uses dinosaur emojis and/or the colours of the British suffragette flag (purple, white, green). (Stone, G. 2020)

TERFism in Spirituality

In the witchcraft and pagan communities TERFs abound spewing this kind of nonsense with a spicey, new age flavour masking the rotten fruit beneath. You can learn about how TERFism is portrayed specifically in Hellenism on another page but generally speaking a TERF witch is one who excludes the title of ‘witch’ to cisgender women, denying and demonising anyone adjacent to men and masculinity, including cisgender men and the whole transgender and nonbinary community citing the points listed above. TERF witches believe that this community is a super special ‘girls only, no boys allowed’ club which gives them power over misogyny and sexism that caused them so much pain and frustration in their life however they forget that everyone is a victim of misogyny and sexism, including men and trans people. 

I am using Lisa Lister’s book Witch as an -admittedly obvious- example of how TERF rhetoric is displayed in spiritual spaces. In their book, Lister outlines who is a witch and her power as a force of nature and a “creatrix” making constant references to “divine feminine” periods, wombs and using exclusively she/her pronouns.

The Introduction

“The part of us that was once anaesthetized, domesticated and kept numb by food (or by shopping drugs and media) is now awakening in each of us. It’s our wholeness, our intuition, our magic and our power - the power that lies between our thighs” (p xiii)

“Waking up and reclaiming the witch within us takes really big ovaries. It takes womb-deep recognition that you are: a woman who is powerful: you bleed for five days and don’t die. A force of nature who knows the ebb and flow of the moon, the seasons and mumma nature and her own body….” (p xiv)

The Witch Wound

“The pelvic bowl is a witch’s most powerful magic making tool, a place where we create, make life and connect directly to the source” (p 90)

Lister directly infers that the title of witch is exclusive to women and only the ‘working’ cisgender ones. This is dehumanising by reducing a person's power to their genitalia and only if it ‘works'. This correlates with the TERF belief that women are inherently more powerful because of a female reproductive system as opposed to women being powerful because of their autonomy as human beings. If the latter is the case, then what is stopping cisgender men or trans/nonbinary people from becoming practitioners? The answer is nothing. 

My thoughts

While a spell or task one may find in specific kinds of magical/holistic practices may call for the excrement produced by a specific genitalia -such as menstrual blood used as plant fertiliser- I firmly believe an individual does not need any specific anatomy or gender to practise witchcraft. However I also think that believing your magical power comes from your own sexual anatomy isn’t necessarily bad if that is as far as the concept is taken. As long as you don’t take it upon yourself to enforce that idea upon others and deny different concepts of power and magic, it’s harmless, even empowering.

I personally try to avoid any reference to power coming from genitalia as I find the idea redundant to my own practice. I believe power comes from individual autonomy and what the natural world provides but that does not make nature a mother figure in my eyes. Nature simply is, it is its own force, always creating, destroying and recreating itself, always demanding balance. It is sexless, genderless and bodiless but it is none-theless a god.

Finally I cannot emphasise this enough, you cannot ‘always tell’ when someone is trans. Butch cisgender women being perceived as predators and harassed for using the women’s loos is evidence enough. (Maurice, E.P. 2021)

References

Cambridge SU Women’s Campaign (2021-22) How to Spot TERF Ideology 2.0. Cambridge SU. [PDF] https://www.cambridgesu.co.uk/pageassets/resources/guides/spottingterfideology/How-to-Spot-TERF-Ideology-2.0-2.pdf

Corry, W. (Sci Guys) (2023). The Science of Conversion “Therapy” | Sci Guys Podcast #239. Youtube. [Video] https://youtu.be/sFI5Ycs-nig?si=NYVKe0YydykcWsTp&t=3359

Lister, L. (2017). Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. Hay House. London. [Book]

Maurice, E.P (2021). Butch lesbian harassed ‘tens of times’ in public toilets as anti-trans hostility spills over. Pink News [Web Article] https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/01/19/public-toilets-trans-bathroom-butch-lesbian-harassed-gender-critical-feminists/

Mildred, Thorn, A. (Thought Slime). (2023). Is This the Weirdest Transphobic Lie Ever? - Cringe Corner Ft. Abigail Thorn & Sophie From Mars. Youtube. [Video] https://youtu.be/EfzUtEcGluA?t=2039

Stone, G. (2020). A glossary of Transphobia. Medium. [Web Article] https://medium.com/@notCursedE/a-glossary-of-transphobia-a31a001d279

Wynn, N. (ContraPoints). (2019). Gender Critical. Youtube.com [Video] https://youtu.be/1pTPuoGjQsI

#grimoire #book of magic #bom #grimoire extract #grimoire reference #witchblr #witch #witchcraft #pagan #pagan witch #paganism #hellenic pagan #hellenic witch #anti terf #trans community #transgender #trans pagan #trans witch #nonbinary pagan #nonbinary witch

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 4, Poll 15

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Dezi-The Sunbearer Trials

Qualifications:

He’s Deaf and pansexual.

Propaganda:

Man I love him so much, having deaf queer representation in books is always something I really like, and he’s really neat. He’s the son of Amor who is the Diosa (sorta like a goddess) of love which comes with some fun powers. He’s one of my favorite characters in the book even though he doesn’t show up as much as some characters. Also the second book is coming out in September so that’s exciting.

T’Pol-Star Trek Enterprise

Qualifications:

She canonically has an addiction to Trellium-D, as well as a neurological disease that is an allegory for HIV/AIDS within the show. She is interpreted by some fans (including me) as autistic, due to her usage of nasal numbing medicine in order to handle living with humans, her insistence on only eating certain foods, her struggles with her emotions within Vulcan society, etc. What's more, she holds a woman's hand in one of the first episodes of the show! (In Vulcan culture, touching hands is akin to kissing, and this has been established since the 60's). Later, she mind-melds with a woman in order to cure her Space AIDS, and within the thematic framework of the show's AIDS metaphor, mind-melds are allegorically sex. Yeah! She also goes through Pon Farr at one point, a process which only happens to "male" Vulcans, meaning she is semi-canonically transgender.

Propaganda:

T'Pol is the best character in all of Enterprise. She used to be a bounty hunter, and has at least one confirmed kill. She has allegorical gay sex with Spock's grandma in season four. She leaves her position in the Vulcan government to join Starfleet, and then later temporarily joins a commune in the desert to fight corruption. She takes down a full grown Klingon warrior with her bare hands in five seconds flat. Her great-grandmother brought Velcro to Earth. I love her so so so so much.

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Leor Sapir

Published: May 17, 2023

On Tuesday, the ACLU tweeted an article written by one of its staff members and published by CNN. The author, Henry Seaton, a 24-year-old transgender man, is the “trans justice advocate” at the ACLU of Tennessee, one of the states currently passing restrictions on minor access to “gender-affirming” drugs and surgeries. The ACLU’s tweet said: “When Henry was 17, gender-affirming care saved his life.” It also quoted from Seaton’s CNN article: “To enact a sweeping ban on this age-appropriate, medically necessary care is akin to telling kids like me that their lives aren’t worth living if they decide to be true to themselves.”

This is one of countless examples in recent months of transgender activists and advocacy groups—of which the ACLU is arguably the most powerful—declaring that loss of access to hormones and surgeries will prompt transgender-identified kids to kill themselves. This politically potent “affirm or suicide” narrative has been marshalled at nearly every opportunity in public debates over pediatric gender medicine. It enjoys the endorsement of top-ranking officials in the Biden administration. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services called “gender-affirming care” a “potentially lifesaving” intervention.

On Thursday, in a debate in the Georgia House of Representatives over a bill that would impose liability on doctors who perform child sex-change procedures, state Rep. Karla Drenner, a Democrat, tearfully said: “To all the children in our state who are going to be negatively impacted, please don’t lose hope. Please don’t give up. Please don’t kill yourself.”

In February, in response to legislative efforts to ban “gender-affirming care,” transgender activist Erin Reed declared on Twitter: “I have had multiple calls—4 to be exact—of kids who have attempted or completed suicide because of anti-trans legislation. . . . These bills are killing our kids.”

By invoking the suicide trope, individual activists, organizations like the ACLU, and Democratic politicians are violating well-recognized, research-based guidelines on how to talk responsibly about suicide. That they do so with such consistency and despite evidence of the danger suggests two possibilities: they are either ignorant about suicide and its prevention, or they are invested in the suicide narrative and its political advantages more than in reducing the likelihood of suicide in vulnerable youth.

Decades of research suggest that suicide is a socially contagious behavior, especially in youth. In 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a document titled “Suicide Contagion and the Reporting of Suicide: Recommendations from a National Workshop.” In a section titled “Aspects of News Coverage That Can Promote Suicide Contagion,” the CDC cautioned against “[p]resenting simplistic explanations for suicide.” Suicide, it explained, “is never the result of a single factor or event, but rather results from a complex interaction of many factors and usually involves a history of psychosocial problems.”

Transgender advocacy groups acknowledged the dangers of speaking irresponsibly about suicide and agreed with the CDC’s guidelines—that is, until Republican-majority states started pushing back against medical associations and the Biden administration on the issue of pediatric gender medicine.

In 2017, the Movement Advancement Project (an LGBT advocacy group), the Johnson Family Foundation, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention coauthored a document titled “Talking About Suicide & LGBT Populations.” The nation’s leading LGBT advocacy groups officially endorsed it. These included the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, the Trevor Project (which focuses on suicide prevention), GLAAD, PFLAG, the Transgender Law Center, SAGE, the Center for American Progress, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. In a section titled “Guidelines for Talking About Suicide in Safe and Accurate Ways,” the document contains this recommendation:

DON’T attribute a suicide death to a single factor (such as bullying or discrimination) or say that a specific anti-LGBT law or policy will “cause” suicide. Suicide deaths are almost always the result of multiple overlapping causes, including mental health issues that might not have been recognized or treated. Linking suicide directly to external factors like bullying, discrimination or anti-LGBT laws can normalize suicide by suggesting that it is a natural reaction to such experiences or laws. It can also increase suicide risk by leading at-risk individuals to identify with the experiences of those who have died by suicide.

This recommendation couldn’t be clearer. Insisting, as the ACLU, CNN, and countless journalists, activists, and Democrats have, that a law restricting access to drugs and surgeries will cause kids to kill themselves is a perfect example of the kind of messaging that “Talking About Suicide & LGBT Populations” considers dangerous.

The document also recommends: “DON’T use social media or e-blasts to announce news of suicide deaths, speculate about reasons for a suicide death, focus on personal details about the person who died, or describe the means of death. Research shows that detailed descriptions of a person’s suicide death can be a factor in leading vulnerable individuals to imitate the act. Also, avoid re-posting news, headlines or social media content with this kind of information.” It adds: “DON’T idealize those who have died by suicide or create an aura of celebrity around them. Idealizing people who have died by suicide may encourage others to identify with or seek to emulate them.”

Pediatrician and “gender-affirming care” activist Morissa Ladinsky apparently did not get the memo about avoiding the description of “means of death” and not “creat[ing] an aura of celebrity” around those who kill themselves. At the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Anaheim, California, last October, Ladinsky told an audience of fellow AAP members about Leelah Alcorn, a trans-identified 17-year-old who committed suicide in 2014. To the horror of some of her colleagues, Ladinsky said that Acorn died by “stepping boldly in front of a tractor trailer.”

Ladinsky later gave what some would regard as an apology. “I regret my choice of words that has been interpreted to glorify self-harm.” But no LGBT advocacy group criticized her comments or expressed concern that they might contribute to self-harm among vulnerable youth. The ends of Ladinsky’s rhetoric—maintaining the legality of child sex-change procedures—were apparently enough to justify the means.

To be clear, evidence exists that youth who identify as transgender and feel acute distress over their bodies, especially around puberty, have higher rates of both suicide and suicidality (the latter referring to thoughts of suicide as well as nonlethal self-harm without an intent to die) than population-matched controls. Thankfully, however, actual suicide in this population remains extremely rare. A U.K. study found that the suicide rate among clinic-referred transgender-identified youth was 0.03 percent, or four deaths out of 15,000 gender-distressed minors.

In the United States, where between 2.1 percent and 9.1 percent of youth now identify as transgender; and where rates of diagnoses of gender dysphoria have skyrocketed in recent years; and where, so we are told, these numbers of “trans kids” have always existed, albeit “in the closet,” we would expect to have seen an epidemic of suicides among gender-distressed teenagers before “gender affirming” drugs and surgeries first became available 15 years ago. Yet no evidence of such an epidemic exists. Indeed, rates of suicidal behavior among youth have increased since 2011.

Claims about trans identification being a proxy for suicidality typically rely on apples-to-oranges comparisons. They compare rates of suicidality among youth with trans identification or gender dysphoria with rates among youth in the general population. An apples-to-apples study would compare suicidality rates in the first group with suicidality among non-gender-distressed youth with similar mental health comorbidities (e.g., depression). A recent study did exactly that and found that the disparities in suicidality between gender-distressed and non-gender-distressed youth all but disappeared. For example, in Canada, referred trans-identified natal males had almost 49 times more suicidal behavior than non-referred males but only 1.8 times more than referred (non-trans) males. Among females, the rates were 17:1 (referred to non-referred) versus 1:1 (referred to referred). Youth with gender-related distress are more or less in the same category of risk as youth without gender issues but with similar psychiatric problems.

Studies from multiple countries that offer “gender-affirming care” have shown that the majority of minors referred to pediatric gender clinics are teenage girls with no history of gender-related distress before puberty and with at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Typically, these diagnoses precede the advent of gender issues. Researchers in Finland found evidence of “severe psychopathology preceding onset of gender dysphoria” in 68 percent of patients seen in the country’s gender clinics. In the U.K., the review by physician Hilary Cass of the Gender Identity Development Service found that up to a third of the minors referred for services had autism or other neuroatypical conditions. In the U.S., one study found, 70 percent of pediatric patients are diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or some other mental-health problem prior to receiving a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

By now it is well-known that members of Generation Z—and young liberal females, in particular—are experiencing one of the worst mental-health crises on record. The crisis is strongly linked with smartphone and social media use, and the social isolation and lack of psychological resilience they breed. The extraordinarily high rate of comorbid mental-health conditions among teenagers who reject their bodies and their sex must be understood against this background. More importantly for this debate, the common comorbid conditions in this population—anxiety, depression, eating disorders, ADHD, autism, and history of sexual trauma—are independently associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Given the high rates of preexisting psychiatric comorbidities among referred adolescents and the fact that these comorbid conditions are independently linked to suicidality, the transition-or-suicide narrative is very likely a confusion of correlation and causation. It is more likely that teenagers with suicidal tendencies are gravitating toward a trans identity—perhaps believing that the fresh start promised by gender transition will solve their problems—than that some kids are born transgender and are suicidal as a result of being an embattled minority (the “minority stress” theory).

Worse, 20 states and the District of Columbia have enacted bans on so-called conversion therapy, a term misleadingly borrowed from research on homosexuality to mean any form of counselling intended to help youth come to terms with their bodies (or as activist-physician Jack Turban has put it, forcing kids to be “cisgender”). By promising a “quick fix” for a much more complicated and intractable problem, social and medical gender transition obscure the true nature of the current mental health crisis and put viable solutions even further out of reach.

When it comes to suicide, the ACLU and its de facto client, the American gender industry, are woefully out of step with a growing international consensus. In January, Riittakerttu Kaltiala, chief psychiatrist of the pediatric gender clinic at Finland’s Tampere University and the country’s top expert in the field, told Finland’s liberal newspaper of record that it is “purposeful disinformation” to say that denial of gender “affirmation” will result in suicides. Presumably recognizing the risk of inadvertently fueling suicidal behaviors among vulnerable youth, Kaltiala said that such messaging was “irresponsible.”

There is a reason why systematic reviews of evidence in Europe and Florida examined the link between suicidality and “gender affirming” hormones and found that the certainty of evidence for benefits was “very low.” Studies that purport to demonstrate benefits suffer from severe methodological weaknesses. One study from Sweden found that adult transsexuals who had undergone full medical transition had a suicide rate 19 times higher than population-matched controls, though the study’s design makes it impossible to say whether the high suicide rate was because of their transition.

Medical authorities in Sweden, Finland, the U.K., and (most recently) Norway are not indifferent to teen suicides; they have simply been able to put the problem in its proper context, avoiding moral panic or activist manipulations.

The ACLU’s irresponsible suicide rhetoric must be understood against the collapse of its historic mission as defender of civil liberties, a collapse precipitated by the infusion into the organization of a younger generation of activists schooled in academic “critical social justice.” The ACLU has become one of the most powerful forces driving the expansion of the “civil rights” state, often at the expense of civil liberties. In 2020, one of its star attorneys currently working on LGBT issues and representing the organization in the media, Chase Strangio, publicly declared that “stopping the circulation of this book [Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage] and these ideas is 100% a hill I will die on.” And this, to emphasize, comes from a lawyer at an organization that has defended the constitutional right of neo-Nazis to march through a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, where many Holocaust survivors lived.

The ACLU has gone all-in on illiberal trans activism, allowing young attorneys like Strangio to disseminate falsehoods about medical science and compromise an organizational reputation earned, lawsuit by lawsuit, over more than a century. It is time for ACLU leadership to hold its staff accountable—if not for defending medical practices other countries have recognized as harmful, then at least for talking about suicide in irresponsible ways.

==

We might well wonder about the mental health and capacity for comprehension of long term consequences in an individual who insists that if they do not get cosmetic surgery or cosmetic-enhancing drugs (hormones) they will unalive themselves.

We might further question the intentions of someone asserting that there are large swathes of such individuals ready to die for the lack of cosmetic embellishment. And further, where they are, both now and throughout history.

This is even more sickeningly predatory than the Church. When the clergy ask someone if they're afraid of going to hell, they're trying to manipulate the mark's own fear of death. When gender crackpots use "affirm or suicide" on a parent, they're trying to manipulate the parent, exploiting their instincts to do anything to keep their child safe.

That is, while the church goes after you, genderists go after your kids.

#Leor Sapir #ACLU #suicide #affirm or suicide #gender affirming #gender affirmation #affirmation model #ideological corruption #ideological capture #civil liberties #illiberalism #gender ideology #queer theory #genderwang #social contagion #cosmetic surgery #moral panic #gender activists #religion is a mental illness

[katyspersonal]

Transgender micolash

Valid, tho tbh I am not sure whether you sent it to ask my thoughts about it, or just informed me about what idea you like? Sorry it is just hard to say with ask lacking extra words to make it a statement or a question, hahah

I've shared my thoughts about Micolash's attitude to themes of birth and pregnancy occasionally, especially in this post ( x ), but yeah, it comes down to: no matter what Micolash is born with, he would LOVE to have an uterus. So imo, if he was born female, he'd come to lack genital dysphoria and even feel elevated during periods, however would absolutely dread being associated with femininity or motherhood as a role OTHERwise. Like... He'd love what his body allows him to experience, but in terms of gender identity absolutely be a man. And alternatively, as a trans woman, Micolash would definitely take advantage of weird eldrich powers gathered to be reborn in a new body - remember what kind of setting Bloodborne IS! Alternatively, his gender identity could stay male forever and he'd JUST want a type of body that can birth life. He admires this shit to a bizarre extent no matter what!

Again, you didn't specify whether you mean trans man or trans woman Micolash, but in Japanese original Micolash is referred to with the status more akin to king/lord (pretty masculine), not 'host'. So if you mean trans woman, that piece should be factored in. In my mind, Micolash is a man (or, as I like to say, 'my precious boy'), but yes if he is a trans man I can't help but feel like he would yearn to change many things about his body... but not That One. Deeper voice and no b00b tho? For sure. But besides personal dysphoria, there'd be added layer of wanting to become a 'perfect human being' - both male and female. However, that would turn out... well, not so perfect. I think we all can agree the only character in Bloodborne setting who changes the body with eldrich magic and gets the perfect result is Paleblood Hunter when they turn into a squid! (no, Val, you don't get to make the 'is that Patches erasure?!' joke fhghfutjh)

On the OOOOOTHER hand, notice how most of Great Ones are feminine figures? Oedon and Mergo aren't even gendered in Japanese original, and I for one only call OoK 'he' because he appears weirdly humanoid and resembles fishmen, while his mom (who also has human face) is more similar to snail/slug women (sex dymorphism strikes again)! You might want to say "but Oedon-" but holdup! Ebrietas is adult version of what Arianna's child is and is known in internal files as 'bastard of the Moon' so Flora, a feminine Great One, could impregnate mortal women too, you know? So it is possible that a man could get gender dysphoria induced by close proximity with Great Ones, rather than it occurring initially. Like what if Rom for example is only a she after being blessed by Kos, because apparently Godhood in Bloodborne is feminine.

That being said, trans woman Micolash is not necessarily excluded! Just not an interpretation I'd personally choose, because Micolash and Rom in my thing ARE 'brother and sister' mentioned in Brain Fluid description! My Mico is a man no matter with what body he was born! Also, now that I considered it, for trans man Micolash it could work that he used to have full on dysphoria, but it was after communing with Great Ones that he got appreciation for organs of birth that was stronger. Basically Great Ones can shift one's whole self-perception by being TOO much of moms?

(Fun fact, @saintmicolash did come up with an idea like whole three years ago - that Micolash, born male, is reborn with female reproductive system after weird eldrich s3x with Kos, but he can't birth a human and instead can only convert human sperm into her phantasms. I think this fits the character well too, but this idea is just change of the body, without any gender identity change, so I can't say how much it counts...?)

#bloodborne #micolash host of the nightmare #ask replies #whew sorry for the tangent i just have unnecessary amount of thoughts on how micolash- #-feels about various body parts and his desires regarding sexes and genders #'unnecesary' i say as this character is one of the most tied up to theme yeah #'school of mensis' more like 'school of MENSES' am i right dhfjgkkjjj #(okay sorry it was so bad) #no but seriously school of mensis is basicaly dudes going 'omggggg childbirth o:' #would only be natural if its founder had the most intricate and intimate experience with it #great ones snuck gender envy in everyone's brain eyes meal i guess? #a lot to think about #also you can tell i can't use my pc rn because of lack of pointless script screenshots

[desudog]

I feel like a lot of people who blurt "egg" at random people they don't really know don't really understand this very. Certain experience I and a lot of other people have. When I say I want to be a girl and I'm not trans still, I don't mean "I want to be female bodied" I don't mean "I'm a girl and something doesn't affirm that" I mean I've tried being a girl. And I'm not one. And I wish I was. I wish I was a boy too, but I'm not good enough of a boy to be one. I identify with what I'm given, and what I'm given is being told that I'm not even cisgender. Growing up intersex and autistic changes a lot about how you see gender. And people parrot that but I don't know if they get it. I'm too cis to be trans and I'm too intersex to be cis. I wish I had the strength of a woman. I wish I had some kind of pride in this space of me. It's why I so casually and without edge prescribe myself to the cisness of the boy-thing. I'm not a man, I grew out of being a boy into something else more akin to an animal of indeterminate sex. I wish it was as simple as realizing one day that I'm a girl. I wish I could graduate into something stronger than I am. I wish I could graduate into something which would render this past to nothing. But so unfortunately, this wrongness is home and it is too much a part of me. Less that, and everything else is wrong. All labels on my gender are wrong. One of them has been besides me sense childhood.

I hate discussions around cis-ness and trans-ness because I don't understand the so very perisex definitions I'm given. "To identify as your birth sex" nobody identified me with my birth sex, they told me I am something else. "To continue to identify as how you were told" I was told what I was, was "wrong". "To continue to identify as you had as a child." I still identify as nonbinary. I still identify as a wolf. Am I a cisgender nonbinary person than? Is my animal native cis? "To not change places or leave the binary" I wasn't put in the binary. I was only ever sorted as a boy because I certainly wasn't a girl. But I was too bad at being a boy to be one.

What does it mean? I'm sure it's familiar to all other failed boys and failed girls. What does it mean when you never were one? I have a hard time believing anyone grows up cisgender at all. So, is it about choice? What about those of us who never got to choose? To pin it on biology and sex only muddies it more. There's plenty of transgender people who identify with their sex, there's no cisgender men who identify with MINE. I'm wrong. I'm a freak. Not self depricatingly, not reclaimatory. It's my name. It's my house. It's my sex. I'm cisgenderly WRONG. I wish it was as simple as being a girl, because there is nothing I can do to be a boy.

[antiquery]

man, gender is confusing

if asked, I'll identify myself as a woman: a tomboy, sure, but a woman regardless. I don't experience discomfort with the gendered parts of my body...except when I wish my hips were narrower and my shoulders broader, because then I'd look more androgynous. but I've never thought of that as dysphoria in the classic sense, because it's not exactly that I feel like I should have a Man's Body, or that I'm a man in the wrong body: the version of myself with the modifications I want is still a woman, and still identifies as such.

at the same time: in a lot of ways my experience of gender is more akin to that of a transgender man than a cisgender woman. I'm familiar with the skills associated with passing for male, and I get a certain enjoyment out of it that goes above & beyond the simple privileges of being read as male in public (it's interesting; it's not like boy-me is any bigger than girl-me, but I don't feel nearly as physically intimidated when people read me as male)

I was reading the news the other day and I happened across a story about the bathroom bill recently passed in Florida, that criminalizes using the restroom that isn't the one associated with whatever gender you were assigned at birth. and as I read I realized: this applies to me, too! despite the fact that I have no interest in medically transitioning, and I have a fairly firm understanding of my own gender as female (albeit an...unconvenional flavor of such)

which begs the question: at this point, what does "cis" actually mean? often we use it as a shorthand to discuss power & privilege, and while that makes sense when applied to women who are very gender-conforming...what does it mean when applied to women like me? to many outside observers I imagine my experience would be legible as a trans-masculine one, despite my protestations to the contrary. does that imperil my cis-ness? and conversely, if I were to declare myself male but take no other steps to transition (a perfectly normal and common enough approach to changing one's gender, even in the age of widely available medical intervention), would that shift in (primarily internal) conception be enough to dispel that cis-ness?

I've no definite answers, to be sure, but I'm very curious about other perspectives on this if any of you are inclined to provide them!

#notebook #gender blogging

[sherrysicle]

Excerpts from my report on Mugler exploring the brand's marketing.

Muses

Who is the Mugler woman?

Mugler’s history is full of muses and celebrities, “it” girls who have donned Mugler’s work. From Diana Ross and Demi Moore in Indecent Proposal, to the supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and Cindy Crawford. 

“I want to dress the people who inspire me, and for them to be equally inspired by the brand.”   - Casey Cadweller

Walking down the runway swinging their hips and posing dramatically, these women exude attitude and confidence. They never look less than perfect, not a hair out of place, with makeup always done. They are always the center of attention, and they always get what they want.

Casey Cadweller has continued the tradition with the castings in his fashion shows and campaigns, people like Bella Hadid, Dominique Jackson, Lourdes Leon, Arca, and Megan Thee Stallion. Another interesting thing is that Casey often brings back models from different campaigns, which creates almost a mythology of muses.

This strategically builds upon celebrity culture, as well as diva culture, to craft an image of the Mugler customer, and having a consistent cast of collaborators also strengthens brand identity.

To wear Mugler is not just to wear clothes, it’s an entire attitude and lifestyle. It’s to be the Mugler woman (or man, or non-binaries, because that’s what Mugler is about too).

Inclusivity 

Even when Thierry Mugler was the creative director in the 80s, when fashion was exclusively cisgender white models, he championed diversity, with models of different ages and races, as well as drag queens, pornstars, and transgender women. His designs themselves are also largely inspired by gay culture.

“I want Mugler to be for many different types of women, of all ages, sizes, colours, and for any moment of the day.” - Casey Cadwaller

Today, Casey Cadwaller continues the brand’s history of inclusivity with his castings in his campaigns. Although the industry has become more diverse with more models of different races, it still remains very exclusionary.

Casey does not just cast a token plus-size model and a few people of colour, he takes it a step further, working with models of all sizes, ages, and gender. People like Hunter Schafer, trans actress, Shalom Harlow who is almost 50, basketball player Liz Cambage who is over 2 meters tall, Megan Thee Stallion, who is much curvier than most runway models, and Paralympic Medalist Madison de Rozario. This shows Mugler’s commitment to promoting diversity of all kinds.

However, the range of sizing on their actual garments is very small, only ranging from 34-44 French, so no one over a size large can fit in their clothes. The small size range might be due to the larger costs of a more inclusive one (Mcall, 2018) but when a large part of the brand identity is centered around creating clothes for every person they should try. This shows a lack of sincerity and a disconnect between what the brand presents and what they actually sell. This makes their brand appear inauthentic and undermines their supposed values.

Viral Fashion Shows

Although fashion shows are a physical touchpoint, Mugler’s shows are held in a way that’s specifically designed for them to go viral, and they do.

Their latest fashion show had big, heavy equipment and dolly cameras specifically there just to film the models, moving with them, capturing them at every angle imaginable. These clips are all edited together with trap music, sped up and slowed, zooming in and out. These clips are sliced together with fast transitions, providing different and new shots every second, which helps keep the viewer’s interest even with the ever-shortening attention spans (2019) which is essential in today’s attention economy of algorithms that value viewer retention (Kastrenakes, 2021).

Beyond the technical reasons, their shows are also very theatrical, sometimes even more akin to a performance than a runway, which translates very well to short-form video, the new big thing in social media (Kastenholz, 2022), making them especially prone to going viral. It is impossible to escape from clips of Arca snatching a bag from the front row and Dominique Jackson dancing downstairs on the for you page (Note: other brands like Coperni and (Di)vision have also done similar things, it’s becoming increasingly prevalent in fashion (Dazed, 2022)).

All this work has translated into many viral moments.

An example of this is in their Instagram reels of the shows, which do much better than both their feed posts and other non-fashion-show reels do, most achieving millions of views, with around 100-200k likes.

There’s also word-of-mouth and earned media contributing to increased exposure. There’s a lot of coverage from online commentators and reviewers, reuploads of clips from the fashion show (eg. i-D posted many) from other accounts, and even fan edits.

All this has paid off tremendously, and the numbers (SocialBlade, 2023) reflect this. They have reached a new peak in follower growth this past month, when many reels of their latest collections were posted, with 90k new followers. Other major peaks have been the second week of June 2022 and the first week of April 2021, which coincides with their fashion shows, held on June 8th and March 31st respectively.

Fashion shows have always been fashion houses’ biggest marketing event, but gone are the days of fashion shows being exclusive, held for journalists and buyers with a ticket, now anyone anywhere can tune in to watch them. 

It’s no longer enough to just have a fashion show, and Mugler understands that. They have planned the event to essentially be one giant photo op/hype machine.

Personal Tiktok

TikTok is the fastest-growing app (Koyak, 2021), and is especially popular with Gen Z, which makes up 60% of its users according to Forbes (Muliadi, 2022). Mugler is also a relatively early adopter of the platform, posting their first video in October 2020 and regularly posting since March 2021, considering how some big fashion houses like Chanel don’t have a page even to this day, and the ones that do not post consistently.

Other than the typical content also on their reels, most of their TikToks give a behind-the-scenes look to their photoshoots and fashion shows. 

The photoshoots themselves are very unique, with models falling back, voguing, or taking selfies on motorcycles, which will interest the viewers as they are intrigued.

The models are also scantily clad in skin-tight Mugler catsuits, or leotards with extreme cutouts, posing provocatively, kissing, and at the end of the day sex sells. Their most popular videos also feature famous celebrities and models like Rina Sawayama and Sora Choi.

Alex Consani brings viewers backstage while yelling slang like “cunt” and “slay”. They do plenty of transition videos, a staple of the platform, and participate in TikTok trends, like “Are you in Paris? Oui'' and the model walk trend, which is often seen in non-fashion brand pages but is less common in the luxury fashion brand space.

This is unlike other social media pages by luxury houses (even Mugler’s own Instagram page), which are far more serious, and feature extremely polished and professional videos. Their more organic approach appeals to the Gen Z audience, who values authenticity, (Schmidt, 2023). They’re speaking their language, listening to their music, and using their platform.

Their TikTok page does not feel like a brand pushing product, it feels personal and more organic. It has a voice of its own and speaks to the consumer as a friend.

Non-Fungible Tokens

Mugler has partnered with Marc Tudisco, a German 3D and digital artist, to create a set of digital collectibles called “We Are All Angel”. 

They have a profiler where people can answer questions about their personality to find their “Angel crew”. The animations are dynamic and 3D, however, this is more of a promotional tool as it does not have any effect on which collectible people receive. The collectibles were sold on OpenSea on 7th February 2023, and are assigned randomly. The collectible buyers received will be revealed on the 10th. They will also receive a metal print of the collectible.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) have a reputation for being cash grabs, but this foray into the metaverse is in line with their brand identity of always looking at the future, and they mention how Thierry Mugler himself has said that “the real world is not enough” to justify this project, writing “it's all about moving to the metaverse—a limitless virtual playground; a space to dream, escape, transform”. 

However, these words ring hollow in the face of the fact that the collectibles are just that- pieces to view, and they do not connect to any digital world. Their promise of empowering “all human beings to sculpt their own identity” is undermined by the random assignment of the collectibles. 

These concerns might leave a bad case in the consumer’s mouth, and turn people off from the brand. Perhaps due to people not liking NFTs, there has been little promotion on their social media beyond YouTube and Twitter (where NFTs are more acceptable), although it is all over their website where people cannot leave disapproving comments. The use of the phrase “digital collectible” instead of “NFT” also suggests a wish to distance the brand from its bad reputation.

In any case, the collaboration was successful, with all 300 collectibles selling out on the same day it was released. Sold at 0.2 ETH each, it has made close to 100k USD.

#mugler #2023 #merchandising #writing #marketing

[unadulterateddreamgiver]

Personal vent

TW ig? Like dysmorphia I think...

Okay. I officially hate myself. I can't find a name, and having to use my current name is so difficult but what else can I do. And the next school year is upcoming. So many introductions. So many forced strained stutters of a name i dont recognize.

I've been looking for over a year now and not really made any head way. I used to have a name for the brief time I came out as a trans man, of which I will refer to as 'J'. This name is connected to that time in my life, and as I am not transgender (I think) I dont really know how to feel about the name. It is also extremely close to my current uncomfortable name. Therefore, I feel as though this name is not a good choice for me although it encompasses what I would ever want from a name. Not to mention the confusion it provokes.

The confusion the whole ordeal provokes. When I say I dont like my name, people laugh and tell me it's a teenager thing, that I'll just grow out of it. They didnt like their names when they were younger, so automatically a phase they had in their life is what I am absolutely going through. It's not like that. My name feels detached from who I am, who I am becoming, what I am; its is not me. I almost choke everytime i have to introduce myself, although when using other names, i dont have any trouble akin to this. Maybe I'm being a silly little teenager. Or maybe I have the right not to be so easily dismissed. Who knows?

My friends are confused as well. The name thing is something I brought up publically shortly after coming out as trans (which I later retracted) and I have been talking about it since. I feel annoying to keep bringing it up, but it is so difficult. I dont know why, but my name just takes me to a bad place. They arent very helpful into the name department either, as I'm not even sure what I'm looking for. My name cant be shortened either. They've heard me vent so much about it, suggested names, done their best, yet nothing seems right. And I am exhausted. I am so, so sick of it. And I think they are too. I dont wanna be that friend. The one who never shuts up. The one who confuses the shit out of people. I've tried so many names that no one knows what to call me now. It's ironic. Ironic and painful.

In summary, I need a name. Desperately. And no one is helping. I dont even know what I'm looking for. Just a name that feels like me. I've been considering options, but the only names I like are male. When I have a boys haircut, and had a brief trans period, I feel like this could create so much more confusion for the people in my life I am too tired to deal with. Names are an uphill battle. I am going to try asking my mum again, and scrolling through dumb baby name websites from when I was born. All I have to go on is that I want something casual, and relevant to the years I was born. Nothing abstract nor too heavily gendered. Preferably a name that dosent make me sound like a rich brat (Elizabeth, Annabella, Theodosia, Edwordia, etc.) But also something I can write on books, unlike my current contender AJ. Overall confusing unisex and y2k. And I need it to fit me, while staying firmly away from my current name. Alot of things with very loose guidelines. A disaster. Dumpster fire. Whatever you wanna call it.

#tw self destructive behavior #dysmorphia mention #nameless ghouls #names #crying #sick of myself

[oilspillfan345]

i wrote this in a google doc

“ok carapacian gender meta time

i say meta like its overly intended or whatever this is all just my thoughts spilled onto the page of a google doc

so gender is treated as more of a title, a normal citizen is technically genderless because they dont have a particular titleand theres not an equivalent to being trans really. being transgender to them is transferring to a different position basically lols

like i think in the case of the mc, i think theyre referred to as like dames and men as more of a cultural thing akin to human noir gender norms. or whatever. i dont trust spades slicks view hes just weird and masochistic with his type of women also aside from gender, they dont have a concept of being gay or lesbian or whatever. it just happens and monogamy is also not the like. static norm or whatever. carapacians really read to me as people who believe the “it takes a village” mindset and “families” have no like gendered structure or like hte nuclear family shit. ok anyways its more headcanony ahead. i think that slick would consider himself a cis man if he knew what that meant. he doesnt think about his gender ever hes just a guy. boxcars too but he doesnt care either way if he was called a woman he thinks ladies are awesome. droog is technically trans i guess and isnt a fan of being considered a woman but not for any particular reason. deuce doesnt give a shit either way hes just there to live life“

#thoughts and words #gender

[mrmallard]

TW: FRANK DISCUSSION OF TRANSPHOBIA

I've been vagueposting about a user who, in the midst of Matt Mullenweg's meltdown, posted something akin to 'love how trans men talk about their issues and struggles and everyone listens to them because people are trained to care about what men have to say over women'.

It was none of my followers. It was none of my mutuals. But it was someone who I felt was very significant in what was going on, and while I'm still extremely steamed about it - now isn't the time to talk about who it was.

And like one day I will talk about who it was, but in the thick of everything that's happening, I don't think it would be appropriate. And when the day comes where I do talk openly about it, I hope that people can look back and appreciate why I'm choosing to be discreet. That's as much of a hint as you're getting.

But it doesn't change the fact that I'm fucked off about it. So once again, let me reiterate.

---

This rhetoric about trans men benefitting from patriarchy has already happened recently. This idea that trans men are accepted by a male-driven world, are seen favorably for casting off their birth sex to be One Of The Boys has already been discussed at length. And I'm of the opinion that this idea requires a series of leaps that people either fully buy into, or which people can be ignorant to the true nature of due to the way social justice rhetoric has traditionally been structured.

I think to believe that trans men are transitioning to benefit from patriarchy is an insulting, single-minded opinion to have in the first place. First of all, it implies that trans men transition to assimilate into a cisnormative power structure for their own benefit, which is inherently a bad-faith reading to have on gender transition. Assimilation is also rooted in passing privilege, so that's another layer to it all.

Secondly, it implies that trans men benefit from patriarchy over cisnormativity. Like, by transitioning into being a man, a trans man is going to be valued higher than both trans AND cis women by virtue of being a man.

Here's the thing, though.

Cisnormative society doesn't see trans women as women. Part of that is because women traditionally aren't respected as much as men in the world we live in, and in casting off masculinity trans women are seen as inferior men - much like how a non-straight man loses standing in society.

Cisnormativity still upholds that trans women aren't women. That framework still sees trans women for their birth sex, not their gender identity.

While men have traditionally been more respected than women, had a louder voice than women, had more rights than women etc. - to assume that trans men are Trading Up into patriarchy assumes that through a cisnormative lens, trans men are viewed as their gender identity, not as their birth sex. And I don't think that's how any of this works. I think cisnormativity, when confronted with a trans man - much like when it's confronted by a trans woman - sees them as an "inferior woman", someone "pretending" to be a man, not as actually being a man in any capacity.

To believe that trans men benefit from patriarchy is to believe that to transition to male is to assimilate perfectly into a cisnormative framework of gender and privilege. It also ignores that not every trans man can perfectly pass, and ignores the struggle of trans men who have trouble passing. But being trans will always be dangerous as long as cisnormativity is the norm, whether you're transmasc, transfem or non-binary. If the wrong person finds out, that puts any trans person in danger.

The way that femininity is revoked from a trans woman when a hostile person discovers they're transgender, masculinity is revoked from a trans man when a hostile person finds out they're transgender. Trans women face physical, emotional and sexual violence. So do trans men.

Being transgender offers different hurdles and challenges whether you're transfem, transmasc or non-binary. But being transgender also includes universal issues regardless of which identity you identify with. There is a shared struggle.

I will not predicate my support of trans women on the back of slagging off or attacking trans men for "exploiting male-passing privilege". I will not exemplify my values by going "well trans men are men and men are bastards so trans men are bastards". And my support for trans men and my insistence on defending them and discussing their struggles will never inhibit my ability to empathize with the issues and struggles of trans women.

And I'm endlessly disappointed that in the face of this current crisis facing trans women on Tumblr and the repeated mistreatment of them BY THE PLATFORM over the course of years, some people's idea of support is to go "well actually transmasc discourse has taken up space that transfem discourse could have been using, and that's men talking over women over issues that aren't as important as our issues because they benefit from patriarchy". Like fuck me, talk about reductive.

Maybe that's not the main avenue of discourse right now and I'm overreacting, but the degree of prominence via the platform I saw that opinion receive in the midst of photomatt's meltdown just really fucking rattled me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. So here's my thoughts on the matter.

My support for transgender women is innate. I empathize with the transfem experience, and I've seen the challenges that the community have faced for years. But I understand and respect the transmasc experience, based on the accounts that I've read, and I support trans men and their struggles too.

Right now, trans women are having a really hard time as years of mistreatment by Tumblr's staff have culminated in the CEO of the website going full mask-off. I don't want to exacerbate the volatile climate around trans women as empowered TERFs redouble their efforts to harass and mass-report trans women off of the platform. Nor do I want to wallpaper over what's happening to them right now.

But I also won't let trans men cop a flogging for taking up too much space, or for using "male-passing privilege" and patriarchy to be taken more seriously than trans women. I think that perspective is horseshit, I think it ignores how transmasc issues are often ignored or diminished by others, and I think it's the same sort of divisive intracommunity conflict that gets people labelled as being feds. It's the same reductive discourse as it always has been, and I'm not going to abide by it.

I won't split hairs about my support for trans women and trans men. Both identities are important to me. I won't abide by any attempt to turn them against each other, internally or externally. And shame on anyone who has done that, whether it be right now or at any point in the past.

#tw: transphobia #messyposting

[matchbet-allofthetime]

REMINDER GO EVERYONE LGBT OR WHO SUPPORTS US!! (I've gone through every letter in lgbt at least once on my neverending journey, I'm allowed to say this)-

words like:

Butch

Dyke

Bulldyke

Faggot/fag

Muffmuncher

Cocksucker

Fruity

Gay

Queer

Homosexual

Transvestite/Transsexual/transgender (all ways to refer to those with different genders at birth to what they are and they are NOT outdated because they are STILL used, primarily by older queer folks and they deserve to be mentioned! Sick of the fucking discourse.)

Stone butch

Bulldagger

Faghag

Munch

Down-low

Tranny

Betty/a Betty Boop (very similar to femme and other related terms. Also seems to be colloquial to my general area?? Not sure if it or similar is used elsewhere, colloquial and local differences change a lot that you don't realize until you come across what it meansssss elsewhere. Used to refer to lesbians that are very traditionally femme and have big eyes and short hair. Also refers to specifically red lipstick wearers.

Bisexual (those who like men and women/the definition of bisexual most know widely and ALSO someone who is BOTH A MAN AND A WOMAN/ANOTHER COMBINATION. it has been and STILL IS used both ways. Respect that. The older generations coined many of your terms. Things change, but you don't get to tell someone how they identify.)

Bent

Bussy

En femme/en homme

Molly/Tommy

Tomboy/tomgirl

Flower/floral

Friend of Dorothy

Twink

Twunk

Batty/batty boy

Bender

Fairy

Fruit loop

Pansy

Sod

Bambi

Boi (UK origin, akin to dyke, butch, and tomboy)

Rug muncher

Kitty/pussy puncher/muncher

Muff diver

Stud

Pack o' cigs/Pack o' fags (self explanatory, this seems to be a colloquial term in my hometown and surrounding counties. Pack o' cigs is a pack of, traditionally, butches/dykes. Pack o' fags is the gay male equivalent. I grew up hearing this one directed toward me a LOT lmao)

AC/DC (pan/bi, swings whatever way. US term.)

Lady boy/boy girl/girl boy (can be used in many ways, but typically refers to a boy who is also a girl, a femme boy, femboy, or similar concepts)

Femboy

Traggot (a combining of tranny and faggot)

T girl/t guy/t boy

Trap (widely used even now as a slur or derogatory word, but I have met many who this is their identity to some degree. Respect that. They're queer too.)

Cuntboy/pussyboy/dick girl/girl dick

Fag stag

Bear

Pup

Cub

Bull

Silver fox

...And about a million other words through thousands of other anguages across the entire world-

Are NOT dirty, filthy, disgusting, nasty, used incorrectly, or "aren't to be used by anything other than XYZ individual in the LGBT community and nobody else."

They aren't dirty words. They aren't disgraceful or filthy unless the user of the term says "yeah, I'm fucking filthy! I'm disgraceful! Fuck yeah!"

If someone says they're a dyke? They're a fucking dyke. If someone says they're anything on this list or use any queer term? Fucking let them.

Here's why:

Use LGBT people have used any words thrown at us, handed to us, words we've been beaten with, words we've held onto with our lives and anger and love, words that have been used for us, against us, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, BY US for decades and in some cases even so long as a a century or more.

A masc straight woman is still called a dyke. A faggot. Thus, if she chooses, she's still a fucking dyke.

What we're always called or what we find fits us will always become our identity in some way or another somehow sometime.

That happens.

I've had every fucking word you've got and I guarantee ones you've never heard of thrown at me since I was a toddler, running around in mud-stained blue and red converse and a Barbie dress with a mohawk in my hair. I've heard them since I was in an AC/DC band tee, sparkly shorts, galaxy leggings, and glittery roller skates.

I and MILLIONS OF OTHERS LIKE ME, lgbt or otherwise, those who "I just dealt with what they called me. I was gonna be called that anyways so I don't care anymore. I have no gender/sexuality/preference/label/etc but I answer to it all/it's a part of me now but I'm not lgbt in my own mind" are FUCKING VALID FOR THIS.

Stop fighting your own fucking community. Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop. I have been called everything on this list except for a few (because I am obviously not a bear when you look at me not a silver fox or whatever) my entire fucking life.

I am agender. I am aro/ace. I am also a faggot. A dyke. A butch. Nonbinary. Transsexual. Tranny. Pup. Boyslut. Fagdyke.

And so many others are like me like this. So many others consider these words a part of themselves.

These are OUR slurs to reclaim. These are words we made a d for the ones we didn't? We took them and wore them like fucking crowns. We wore them like they were our favourite collars, our favourite leather, our favourite words. We fucking own these words like we own ourselves and it is nobody's choice but your FUCKING OWN whether or not they're used.

Yes, there's nuance with some. I understand that. "Stud" for example is for lesbian OR "LESBIAN-APPEARING" BLACK AFABS! But I've been called stud and I am the whitest, pastiest bitch you'll meet. I continue to have black drag queens and kings and royalties and other black folk who are queer come up to me and tell me "oh baby you're such a handsome stud!" While at pride events.

I am and also am not a woman. Not a man but also I am. But I gleefully use the word dyke and fag and femboy and roseboy and pup and cub (my moddy's nickname for years was cub/cubby. Friends of theirs HAVE CALLED THEM THAT IN FRONT OF ME SINCE I WAS A BABY. thus I am called cub or cub's cub or similar.) And I use these words with nothing but pride and spite and joy and hate and love and fucking glee. Because they're mine. They're ours.

People of all kinds, all genders, all sexualities, all paths and walks of life, have been subjected at least a hundred times to at least one of these words if they're even slightly "not right" or different or weird or wrong in the eyes of whatever stupid ass societal expectations there are.

And they all deserve to use these words if they make them comfortable. These people KNOW they're lgbt terms. Fucking trust me. They learn from experience or get taught it by someone and either drop the terms or don't. That's their choice. And that choice is okay.

Stop attacking your own community. Stop attacking the "outsiders" because oftentimes the "outsiders" are part of us but don't feel like they can claim to be lgbt. Especially older generations. Older generations (which includes millennials and even a lot of older gen z and literally everyone alive) don't think they can consider or call themselves a part of us for numerous reasons.

These reasons can be it isn't safe for any variety of reasons, these people grew up being called these things and always claimed cis and/or get because the terminology at the time wasn't like it is now in the same way, certain genders were more accepted than others (IE bisexuals and lesbians and gays and straights was most of what you had, alongside men, women, and transgender man/woman, which were and still are seen as often groups, for better or worse.) And there wasn't fuck all else. Fucking nada. Zilch. Not in most cultures, certainly not in fucking America. These people are often part of us even if they don't consider themselves as being part of us.

Definitions have changed. Contexts have changed. You'll find that we (and this is ESPECIALLY going out to any gen z out here)- we have called ourselves whatever the fuck we have wanted to forever. And we always will. And we always should. We will reclaim terms/slurs and make new terms and shit, I love being called a slur, by my own people or people who intend it to hurt me. It's fucking funny.

It has all changed and will continue to. That's the way it is. Don't discount other people's experiences or histories or whatever else just because you don't know the full story or "I just don't like it". News flash- isn't your fucking life babes.

Anyways, long-ass rant over. Needs to be said. I'm sayin it.

Any beautiful, handsome, fantastic motherfuckers out there who wanna comment your identity, favourite terms for yourself, etc? Wanna call me a slur, regardless of which way, good or bad, you intend it?

Light me the fuck up, yo. Hand me the lighter and pass the weed, I've always liked playing with fire.

#lgbt #lgbtqia #gay #queer #lgbt terminology #queer history #kinda but i dont use sources really lmao #but yeah it is queer history so fuck off #please let this reach the right people #or at least educate some #eh here's to hoping #also yes i have been called nearly all of these things #i frequently use these terma to describe myself #there are many not listed but im running on fast thoughts and needed to get this out #add words or your genders or opinions or whatever #go fucking nuts loves #love you all #i do mean that #and for those of you who who don't like my opinion as a queer person who grew up with a queer parent with queer friends #i dont give a damn #you have your opinion #mine hasnt changed in nearly two decades #aint changin now #older queers i love y'all a little extra rn #dohma.rant #important shit. to me anyways. hopefully to someone else too. #vulgar but im not apologizing #fuck the government #acab1312 #blm/support bipoc and aapi. if you dont agree we're fistfighting in a Denny's and i have brass knuckles and i like hitting things

[latinenby]

This blog is supposed to be a place to express my sexuality, but you know what? I also feel like talking about gender, after all as my profile says, I aspire to be nonbinary (or perhaps genderfluid?).

So... for that reason I would like to keep a record of how I've felt towards gender, sexual orientation and how do I identify myself throughout the years.

For starters, I would say I'm a cis gay man (or at least that's how a terf would categorize me), was I born with a penis? Yes. Have I ever felt like belonging or compliant with the expectations of men in society? Surely not, and still struggling with it.

Since I can remember, I always felt outed from the typical distinction between boys and girls; physically, I was more akin with the boys, but for some reason interacting with them felt like being with an alien, never understood their interests, their way to think, nothing at all. With girls was different, I would go along with them, it felt easier to interact with them, but I was never treated like an equal as I wasn't really “a girl”. For them, I was the alien.

This difficulty to somewhat fit in the gender categories I noticed at school (and society in a larger scale) plus the way I knew since very early I was more “interested” in boys, made young me to wish they were a girl, because if the world were to notice and recognize me as female. Then, my slightly more flamboyant personality and my interest in boys would be perceived as “normal” and the way I was would've been considered as “valid” in a cis heteronormative way.

The idea to be female back them, made me happy, because I'd be free to be myself without judgement, without hiding parts of myself and who knows, maybe if I had known that transgender people existed back then. I would've considered myself trans as well.

But, then I somewhat thank not being introduced to the idea of transexuality, because now I can recognize that even tho I'm interested in experimenting with my gender presentation. I don't necessarily yearn or have ever felt that I would be happier if my body was female from birth.

Either way, that's how younger me used to think for a brief period of time. I still sometimes consider the idea of being trans, but till this moment, it hasn't felt like a viable answer to the issues I've been struggling with my whole life.

That being said, I've never felt quite comfortable in my body, in some capacity I have “accepted” that my physique is more masculine presenting for me and for society. But when I look in the mirror, I feel disappointed and disgusted, because I've never felt like my body really represents “me”.

For that reason, as a New Year's resolution, I want to look for ways to feel comfortable in my own masculinity, like: changing my hairstyle, use different clothes, do some workout and such. But now I'm confused, because I find it very hard to distinguish between which masculine traits I consider attractive and which ones I actually want in me.

And this frustrates me even more, because if I try to select which physical traits are pleasant to me, and then I look in the mirror, I see none of them and it's depressing. I see no value and no worth in working in my body.

I've been currently avoiding this issue with my therapist, because discussing this with someone else will make this issue feel even more real, than it has ever felt in all these years, and I don't feel ready to completely accept my body as it is.

_______________________________________________________________

If anyone reads this long banter, sorry for ending it in a somewhat sad note, but that's just how things are going right now.

#my thoughts #LatinEnby #Still don´t know how to use tags properly #English isn´t my first language so sorry for any misspelling #or any difficulty to understand what I´m trying to say #gay #queer #gender #gender discussion #long post

[writer59january13]

I, A. Robbie - Ham guilty for gobbledygook...

and ruffling turkey feathers! An innocent A1 miss steak kin kith once, a former main lion resident

living social where Tigress and Euphrates

converge and pool into Lake Wobegone

necessitate extensible claws

to CAPTCHA unsuspecting top notch praise

omnipresent among cat skills

hidden from public scrutiny

iz cow herd vegetarian boar

hoof faux whatever reason explore ring beak homing hootie and the blowfish foo fighting beastie boy

regarding akin getting turned into transgender

goo goo doll, who doth newt practice, what he/she preaches

nevertheless please befriend me a (goofball - gipper generic and gallant

aging baby boomer and

long haired pencil necked geek i.e.) your

truly audacious, efficacious,

judicious, and perspicacious

wordsmith, who though married

thwarts egg gone eye zing hen pecking courtesy unnamed ruler of roost.

Mystery man battens down amply spacious (think webbed wide wolf gang proof)

lot for free roaming chickens, who as little chicks respond courtesy peep so cute, I vowed to become vegetarian disassembled cramped coop hatches, though impossible mission

to swear off being craving meat

even if juiced a braised animal morsel

whets appetite of carnivore

so... call me galore re: us hypocritical plant dependent chap, this honest to dog omnivore – more accurately said buzzfeeding primate - Homo sapiens, he whelk hams adieu after quick bonjour hears ear splitting donkey hote tee mockery

analogous feat cheering despondent eeyore nudging deaf finning stubbornness quite a chore to motivate Jenny, she finally relents

and distills mine genuine goodness

qua gentle prodding unable to ignore, especially sensing favorite treat

which carrot and stick ruse admits transgression,

and slyness teasing out desired objective,

similar to wily, totally tubular quirky logophile

employing double entendres,

now wonders wherefore whether thou art still game to read remaining adore

hub bull poetry of mine understandable if ye deplore such tongue in cheek

atrocious, egregious, ingenious, opprobrious...,

(just shy violating ethical core

puss regarding straying) against dietary herbivore

rudimentary eel lamb ants (chocolate covered my dear Watson)

boot fault in the starfish...por

favor mice elf can oxe plain twittering like plover

with reasonable rhyme for sure

don't get doggy dimples in bunch

cause to skewer me but... but before...

sending killing squad to slaughter - this puppy, aye kindly honour

my wish and don me noggin with pompadour

as fetching drag queen

torpedo sized bosom

squirting parti-color

milk as self defense mechanism

averting casus belli, thus amidst melee I abhor

find self on horns of dilemma

life story of this poor

cooked goose flambé

caught between rock and trapdoor

special cannibal Buddha delight

where madding crowd chants "send him back" accursed unconscionable roar

ring anger, but lurch for eats,

an impulsive reflex courtesy extempore

rain nee yes unforgivable poor craven impulse to up peas hunger uncontrollably craving regarding carnivore

pang additionally not further injure

ring innocent animals plus more

to this fishy tail than meats the Wawa birdseye.