#ARE WE NOT SUPPOSED TO UPLIFT WOMENS VOICES?

[lesbiradshaw]

trying to convince the people who followed me for writing a mlm pairing to also read my fics where two women kiss

[decolonize-the-everything]

"the revolution isn't real"

There are people setting themselves on fire on major streets. These are real pictures from the DNC today (convention where Democrats officially name their presidential nominee).

This is what US democracy looks like. This is what our lesser evil is. This is what Kamala's "democratic" nomination looks like after a year of protests.

"The revolution isn't happening"

It is, you just aren't participating in it.

You probably think if the revolution was Really happening, you'd be on the right side of it. So that means this can't be it, right?

Wrong.

What do you think a revolution looks like if not the people facing off with the government? Where were you when this was happening?

You think being on the Right Side looks like supporting the prosecutor who's aides says things like "the presidential candidate would not support an arms embargo on Israel," while the DNC is swarmed with police, people are getting arrested for exercising their 1st amendment rights against genocide, and women are being forced into birth?

That's not even getting into the fact Harris is also Actively aiding in genocide either.

"what am I supposed to do vote trump" is such a dishonest reaction to have and it only serves to reinforce your denial so I don't wanna see it in the notes of this post. Both trump and Kamala can be awful for the planet, it doesn't need to be one or the other.

"what am I supposed to do then."

Be the revolution.

Join a protest and show up extremely prepared. They couldn't arrest everyone in a crowd of 30k people, you know?

You don't have to pick Kamala.

We don't have to do anything we don't want to if there are enough of us in one place.

We protect us

So start showing up.

Esp if you're a white ally, you should absolutely be showing up to help keep others safe and uplift their voices. There's a lot of fucking cops around, you see those pictures of the DNC? Cops don't protect us. They protect the status quo. I couldn't find a more accurate representation of that if I tried.

[mlmshark]

I know we’re supposed to be proud of being trans but god it’s so fucking tiring sometimes. Alongside dealing with transphobia from outside of the community, there’s so much transphobia on the inside too. I feel like as a trans man I have to put up with so much shit, and the people who should be my allies tell me to get over it. Transmasc voices and experiences are constantly getting put down to uplift transfem voices, and every time me or any other transmasc points it out we immediately get called transmisogynistic. Like every time I talk about the stuff I experience as a trans man there’s ALWAYS someone ready to jump to tell me how much trans women have it worse and it’s tiring. At one point one of these people actually started comparing the murders of trans men and trans women to prove a “who has it worse” point. It’s so fucking tiring. When we’re not being silenced in our community then we’re being made fun of. Genuinely how often do you see people making fun of transmascs and perpetuating transmasc stereotypes? It’s a lot. There’s always a new trend every month making fun of us like right now it was fem trans men but before that it was “sad transmasc ukulele music” and before that it was how we dress, etc. Everyone is ALWAYS looking for any excuse to shit on us. I thought basic trans guy name jokes were funny at first but now people genuinely make fun of me for using the name Oliver or act as if that’s some point in an argument to use against me. I have to specify to people that I’ve always liked the name Oliver and that’s why I chose it “prove” that I’m not faking it. I feel embarrassed to tell people my name because of how bad it’s gotten. Every time I try to talk about issues I always get people saying that I’m a “privileged man trying to make everything about himself” because their brains are too fucking small to comprehend the fact that I was born and raised a girl and am legally, medically, and socially seen as a girl. People don’t understand intersectionality AT ALL anymore. Being a trans man or transmasc at this point, and generally for all of history, has been so fucking tiring and now it feels like I don’t even have a community that’s going to listen to me and is just going to make fun of me or put me down instead. I don’t like you guys anymore.

[menalez]

what are white women supposed to do?? don't say some stuff like "uplift our voices be allies" be specific. like how are they failing you specifically? whats the solution?

i very clearly outlined how white women fail us numerous times but ill repeat myself for the 400000th time:

listen to women of colour. share what women of colour are saying. stop speaking FOR us, let us speak, we have our own voices and you literally do not have our experiences for you to be able to be speaking on our behalf.

realise that you are not the only group of people with diversity of thought and nuances and complexities. stop grouping our demographics by viewing us as the absolute worse case possible and realise that, like you, we also have some more & less progressive countries. like you, we also have some poorer and richer countries. like you, we have some feminist & anti-feminist women. we are not a monolith

stop treating being racist as something that is justified once you direct it at men specifically. do you think the racist rhetoric you repeat isn't then used against us? you don't think it harms us? you're wrong that it doesn't, it does cause us harm when you perpetuate racism and i don't care what your reasoning or justification for it is.

maybe get it through your skulls that reverse racism is not a thing and how tonedeaf and ignorant it is to claim otherwise. your race is literally viewed as superior and given privileges over us, even in our own countries you gain benefits that no one else does.

stop pretending like you have superior cultures. the fact that so many of yalls counrties exploited, stole from, colonised, and otherwise harmed ours to the point where we were unable to progress because of it doesnt mean you have some cultural superiority. you are one step away from reiterating white supremacist rhetoric.

enough with comparing us to animals & beasts & talking about how horrible immigration is and how we are replacing the white race by escaping our countries. stop pretending like we are not also humans trying to seek better lives.

actively speak against racism when you do see it.

keep an eye out for racism, stop expecting us to be hypervigilant on your behalf on this.

while we're at it, stop demanding we repeatedly hold your hand and teach you how to not be racist to us. maye listen the first 4000 times, or damn maybe at least ask politely and consider we are not your servants who exist to teach you how to be decent human beings to us!

these things, in my opinion, aren't even difficult or deep things. we are literally at a surface level here. im asking you to stop being so blatantly racist.

[00-oh-yanno-00]

it’s three in the morning and i can’t sleep because tomorrow we may wake up to find that Rafah is gone.

i lost my job on march 31 and the whole time i’ve been fighting with unemployment all i can think about are the fact that houses in Gaza are rubble.

i forget to eat and the hunger reminds me of Palestines that are starving, and have been starving for months. i go grocery shopping and wonder how many died while i was getting deodorant. i clean my house and think about the sewage piling up. i get my period and cannot fathom how Palestinian women are continuing

i watch as many videos as i can, i share information, i try to uplift their voices, i mourn with them and pray for them and plead with anyone who has the power to liberate them

we watch college students brutalized (again) as they are screaming in the face of militarized police who have been sent by our own government to oppress them. we see celebrities that could evacuate thousands with the wave of a hand dress up in clothes that cost more than most of us make annually.

our government officials are cohorts, sponsors, defenders, friends, and enablers of those who are literally drawing out innocent people with the sound of crying children to murder them. iserali soilders have literally posted war crimes on their social media accounts, iserali citizens have been invited to their bases to watch the torture of Palestinians. they sign american made bombs and take pictures around it before dropping it on homes with sleeping families.

we’ve seen mass graves, people stripped with their hands tied behind their backs before they’re killed. we’ve seen a child surrounded by her dead family, trapped in a car while iserali soilders kill anyone who attempted to help her

and all of this is happening while i’m trying to get a job so me, my roommate, and my cats don’t starve or end up homeless. i don’t have money to pay rent, i only have groceries because i have a sister willing to share resources with me, i have to pay a late fee on three bills because i’ve been fighting with unemployment for a month, i’m now late on renewing my car tag because i can’t afford it without a job, and i’ll be so real

i don’t care. i don’t give a fuck at this point. i don’t want anything to fucking do with a country that has commited this absolute bullshit. i don’t want to work for or with a zionist. i would rather punch their fucking teeth out, and that wouldn’t be a fraction of the violence they’d wish on me for simply saying that Palestinians deserve liberation.

how the fuck am i supposed to look for a job when my country is supporting a genocide? how the fuck am i meant to keep trucking along in day to day life when infection and disease are being purposefully spread through Palestine? why the fuck do you expect me to give a shit about bills when we are murdering an entire people

i want every missile launched to backfire. i want all iserali weapons to malfunction. i want to grab every zionest and scream to get the fuck off Palestain land. i want to break down the doors of every politician who would dare to support a genocide and impact a sliver of the fear Palestinians face every day

i am so sick of living and participating in a system that has consistently fucked so many people, throughout so many generations, all in the name of keeping the rich comfortable. i am so tired of the endless ways america specifically has fucked the entire globe. i am so tired of being forced to grow up watching as people everywhere suffer so the wealthy can be comfortable. - and do not forget that the end goal of this does benefit the rich.

do not forget that they are committing a genocide for a land grab. do not forget that there are plans for beach resorts on Gaza strips. do not forget about the canal project, about the oil, about all the resources the greedy fuckers controlling the world are already planning to rip from Palestine

and i know this post is, a, long, but b, very whiny. this is not to say that there isn’t hope. this is not to say that we shouldn’t keep fighting.

this is to say that it’s now four in the morning, and tomorrow i could wake up and Rafah could be gone, so i am still not asleep, because the only thing i can offer right now is my words, and my time, and my sleep, and that is such a little price to pay if it means someone reads this and thinks of Palestine

this is to say that despite everything, despite all the bullshit and how insane it is to continue, i will; because there’s no other choice at this point.

if we want to see the revolution we have to continue. if we want Palestine to be free then we have to continue. if we want better for our future, if we want better than what history has to offer, we must continue

and i hope, if nothing else, there is solidarity in our shared anger, action in our outrage, and results in our resistance born of love and compassion for a nation that our ancestors have failed

may Allah protect Rafah, may my Goddesses protect Palestinians, may our people liberate the world, and may we see the end of global tyranny that has oppressed the working class for centuries

[urprinceoflove]

Part I: Introduction to the Death Clock

Pairing: Nash Wells x GN!Reader, and mentions of EoWells x GN!Reader

Summary: You have eight days to live. You have settled on spending those eight days with your favorite people in the process of trying to redeem yourself and your actions. But will it be enough?

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, a cocky reader, Nash being bullied

Word Count: 1,403

A/N: here we go, part one finallyyy. i hope to get this series going as i already have the ideas and whatever its called im blanking. YES.

-> Prologue | Part II

H.E.L.P. Master List | The Flash Master List | Full Master List

—

You were on your evening walk through the streets of Central City. You hadn’t told anyone on the team that you would be out, which you weren’t quite sure if it was a good or bad idea. You didn’t care either way.

At least, that was until you ran into a metahuman.

“Y/N L/N, I have been looking all over Central City for you.” The voice rang throughout the alleyway that you were cutting through to try to head back towards S.T.A.R. Labs. Obviously, you will not be going back anytime soon. “I don’t know where you have been hiding all of this time, but I suppose tonight is the night for you to repent.”

“Repent?” You asked. “For what?”

“For your crimes! The sins you have committed upon this city.”

“Look,” You sighed, crossing your arms over your chest. “To be honest, you sound a lot like the Green Arrow. To which, I don’t mind, of course, but I don’t think he would be too happy knowing that someone is going around pretending to be him…”

“Silence!” The voice called. The person from above the alleyway dropped down in front of you. You weren’t very surprised at their invincibility. The being uplifted a hood that appeared to be over their face. More Green Arrow references. Although, the figure happened to be a woman.

Your eyes widened. “Wow, I honestly didn't expect you to be a woman. Not in a sexist way… women could be vigilantes and Green Arrow wannabe’s as well.”

“Gosh, do you ever stopped talking?” She asked.

“Not really.”

She groaned. “Let me just finish my speech at least…”

“Go ahead.”

“I know of your villainous ways and the crimes you committed are too many times for me to count. The most important to me was you robbing the bank that my father worked at. He was severely injured in that interaction. I will never forgive you for what you did as he has been confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”

“Is your father Dr. Wells?”

“What?” The woman stared.

“Harrison Wells, I mean. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Actually, I didn’t commit that action the particle accelerator did—”

She cut you off. “That’s besides the point! There is no talking to you…”

“Sometimes.” You admitted. “But I will have you know that I have changed my ways and I am no longer the criminal I used to be. That’s what I have been told anyway…” You trailed off.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I didn’t hear any sincerely in your voice nor did you take this whole interaction seriously.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you left me with no choice.”

A battle? In this alleyway? It was bold, but you were sure that this woman standing before you was a normal civilian. Well, besides her dropping down from a high building and not feeling any pain in her legs. Okay, maybe not a normal civilian so much.

“Okay,” You weren’t a metahuman yourself, but you had some training from your past criminal life as well as Nash as a way to defend yourself. Although you were against fighting, it seems that now was the only time you will allow yourself to. “Bring it on, I guess.” You mumbled.

Though, it was not a battle you expected.

Instead of fighting, the woman’s figure almost seemed to teleport from side to side. You felt her coming up behind you, so you swiftly turned around only to be met with the woman’s hand on your chest.

The world around you had gone dizzy almost as if Rosa Dillon, also known as Top, hit you with her vertigo inducement. Above all, a clock with red numbers making out the time showed.

You woke up in the medical bay in S.T.A.R. Labs.

The heart monitor beeped loudly as you sat up from the hospital bed you were laying on. Nash ran into the room first, making his way to your side.

“Hey, hey,” He set a hand on your chest. “You need to calm down, we are trying to figure everything out.”

His hand on your chest gave you anxiety. You pushed him away from you. Nash stared at you, confused. Caitlin came in shortly after.

“Glad to see you are awake.” Was all she could mutter as she walked over to the heart monitor, disregarding Nash’s existence for now. “We found you in the alley way close to S.T.A.R. Labs. Well, Nash did. Somehow.”

“I was busy with excavation work.”

“You always say that.” Cisco mentioned as he walked into the medbay. “But yeah, he found you.”

“What about the metahuman?” You inquired.

“What metahuman?” Cisco asked, almost failing to hide his excitement.

“I don’t really know who they were. She was wearing a hood and she could teleport. She touched my chest and then I saw a timer in red.” You explained.

Cisco ran out of the medbay to grab his metahuman binder before returning immediately. He flipped through the cards.

“Ah-ha!” Cisco pulled out one of the cards from the binder. “Lifespan, also known as Theresa Vences. She uses her powers to set a death timer on her victims.”

“A what?” Nash stared at Cisco.

“A death timer.” Cisco repeated. “What did the time say when you saw it?”

You shook your head. “192 hours?”

“That’s eight days.” Caitlin confirmed.

“Wait, I only have eight days to live?” You asked. Your heart monitor started to beep faster.

Nash came forward to calm you. “I know that we will find a cure for this. Don’t worry about it, Y/N…”

“Don’t worry about it? How would you feel if you were on a timer, Nash!” You snapped.

The mythbuster took a step back. You were pissed off at your shortened lifespan, sure, but he felt there was no need for you to get mad at him as he was not the one who planted the timer on you.

“Nash is right. There’s no need to start a ruckus.” Caitlin chimed in.

“Oh, whatever.” You muttered under your breath. You removed the heart monitor off your finger as the beeping noises became almost obnoxious for you. You removed yourself from the room and walked down the hallway away from the medbay and most importantly the cortex. Nobody had said a word to you as you were leaving. There was no point. The only person who followed you down the hallway was, of course, Nash.

You had a hand on your head as you stopped in front of the Time Vault.

“What do you want, Nash?”

“I just want to help you out. I know the stuff that you are going through right now is difficult.”

“I am sure you do.” You mocked, not bothering to turn around to see the man. You put a hand on the Time Vault, opening the secret door.

Nash opened his mouth to speak, but shut it immediately. There was no point.

The Time Vault door shut in Nash’s face as you were already comfortable in the room.

Day one began.

“Going down this path will bring great darkness into your soul.” Eobard warned. “The negative speed force may entice you now, but I am a prisoner in this cell.” He put his hands on your shoulders. “Please promise me that you won’t make the same mistake I did.”

“I can’t promise something I know I won’t keep.” You admitted.

“At least you are honest.” Eobard removed his hands off your shoulders and took a few steps away. He sighed. “Won’t you just run away with me instead, Y/N? We could both run away from this villainous path, for all I want is to be with you.”

You were silent. You loved the man, but you couldn’t help but just walk away from your life. The life that you wanted to live. You loved the thrill and adventure of the crimes that you committed. Giving all of this up for him just seemed absurd to you. Yes, love may make you do crazy things, but in this case it seemed love was only affecting the mind of Eobard Thawne; not you.

Eobard stared into your eyes for a short moment. And in that moment he realized; he lost you.

[sunieepo]

honestly, if i may, all of this talk about the way people treat trans women has reminded me of an experience i still remember vividly back when i was peripherally part of the tumblr / twitter mfrp community. which please note i was never a very active participant, i personally found mfrp very boring and so i was never really fully integrated into these communities - but while i was in them i did befriend a few trans women and i noticed a very persistent pattern in these supposed LGBT-friendly spaces regarding the moderation of trans women.

there was a persistent issue in multiple different mfrp communities i was peripherally involved in, in which trans women would always be regarded as "abrasive" or "aggressive", for making the same kinds of comments and jokes that tme people were making. and the (majority tme) moderation teams would almost always rule against trans women, silencing them or labeling them as deviants / weirdos for behaviors that they would be much more forgiving towards tme people for.

as a sort of bystander i didn't really have a leg in to comment on the actions of moderation teams, i could only offer being a friend to trans women as i watched them be ostracized from these spaces by the very same people who would plaster "terfs dni" all over their bios. i'm not saying this to pat myself on the back, there is definitely more i could have done in those situations, but i do want to call out why all these "fuck terf" type posts just never really resonate with me, seeing them be rbed by people who i know would just jump at the opportunity to demonize a trans woman again (and i just saw it happen earlier with that stupid shit slinging post falsely accusing a trans woman of something she didn't even do regarding cohost...) (i'm aware op of that post apologized for their behavior but what occurred is what occurred)

it's not enough to say "fuck terfs" and i hate that people always center on the buffoonery of terf behavior instead of centering and caring for and supporting the trans women in their lives. it's really frustrating for me to watch as a staunch feminist to continually see the way the lgbt community has let down trans women. the recent wave of discourse regarding "transandrophobia" is also extremely worrying to me - i have seen a non-insignificant number of posts made by certain people in that community that claim that the lgbt community is Too centered on trans women: as if it's a competition, and as if the visibility of trans women is somehow a boon to them rather than a consequence of people using their cause to simply be performative instead of genuinely uplifting and loving.

sorry this isn't the most well thought-out post, i'm just rambling and i have a lot of complicated feelings on this. i don't want to derail what's happening right now too much by bringing up other topics, but i will say i do think it's inevitable that at some point we do need to confront some of the "transandrophobia truther" type sentiments i've seen lately, because they absolutely are damaging to trans women and lead to situations exactly like this.

please, if nothing else, i really hope everyone takes this as an opportunity to be kind to the trans women in their lives. the least you could do is offer them your support. reblogging posts dunking on transmisogynists is not enough. we need to make our communities safer for trans women, and that doesn't end with car hammer explosion memes.

rbs off because i'm not interested in centering my voice as a tme person and this post isn't really something polished i want escaping from my social circle. if you're a mutual of mine and you're feeling unsure about my stance on some of the topics mentioned above, my DMs are open and i am happy to discuss, but at the very least all i ask is for us to be better to trans women. that's all.

[sunset-synthetica]

I think there's a lot to be said about TFP's portrayal of gender and stereotypes related to it, because it seems to be trying to do something... groundbreaking, while also missing or outright turning down every opportunity it has to actually say something meaningful and challenging.

The show might do very well with a certain topic, until the time comes to actually have a deeper conversation and make a statement, in which case, the show just digs its heels into the ground and refuses to go any further.

We see it with Knockout, who's very obviously queercoded, yet in the most stereotypical manner possible, we see it with Arcee, who's presented as somewhat masculine, but still within "acceptable" range. Starscream is a completely different story that I could spend hours explaining.

When characters like Bulkhead express fear, or love, it's shown as positive. But it has to be manly. When Bulkhead lets out a high-pitched, "girly" scream because he thinks he's about to be eaten alive, it's made the butt of a joke.

When Starscream expresses fear, usually in a cowardly, pathetic manner, it's funny and weird, because look at her, crawling on the floor and screaming with that weird, high-pitched voice. That's funny. That's funny, right?

The characters are still shoved into the same boxes of what masculinity and femininity should be, and how deviation from either should be treated, but the show tries to (very poorly) cover it up.

If we take Arcee, she's portrayed as more violent, masculine, tougher than her G1 incarnation. It was specifically stated by the character designer(s) that the point of these changes was to make her less feminine. She couldn't be pink, god no. This is clearly placing masculinity in women above femininity, which is portrayed as somehow less, worse, weaker.

But it also only uplifts masculinity to a certain extent. Arcee still has to be A Woman™, she's smaller and thinner than all the other characters, she has prominent lips and a clearly feminine figure.

In Starscream's case, her femininity- her high heels, personality, even voice if I remember correctly- are all supposed shown to be things you're supposed to laugh at. The show doesn't attempt a deeper look into the treatment of femininity vs masculinity, the border between them that's basically impossible to actually draw, the fact that masculinity has commonly been treated as superior, but when women express it, they're weird and disgusting.

There's a lot more to this topic, but I simply don't have the energy to put it into words right now. I'll possibly continue this in the future.

[togetherwithmistakes]

as someone who’s a cis woman, very much a fan of analyzing movies, LOVED playing with Barbie’s growing up and is a staunch feminist, I just have to say, I did not like the Barbie movie!!!!!

There I’ve said it! It was a mess! I hated the messaging at the end. And while I’m assuming they were going for the whimsy and unpredictability of a Barbie game, I think it was poorly edited in places. I think it was very second wave feminist, and honestly sometimes pretty cringy, and not in a funny self aware way. It just felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to say, so it said everything.

Honestly, it all came across as rich, older white lady feminism.

In my mind feminism has moved past “how would men feel if women ruled the world and treated men as poorly as they’ve treated us”. Because that hypothetical does nothing productive other than try to express the pain and anger and hurt we feel. And believe me pain and anger and hurt have their place for sure! But I don’t think this was the way to express it, it will never be that way and if it had been that way then women would be in the wrong in the same way men are now. A power imbalance between sex is not quirky and cute just because it’s women. Women are not innately better than men and vice versa.

I loved that Ken was exposed to the real world and his experience was drastically different than Barbie’s, I loved how he took the patriarchy back to Barbie Land, but everything after that was a MESS. Sure I laughed and I cried at small moments, but it just did not come together in a cohesive message. I honestly was really hoping that they would talk about how the patriarchy hurts men too, that stereotypes about sex, gender and gender expression limit all of us and that we only gain true freedom by listening to each other and uplifting each others voices. Instead they basically said, if the Ken’s want rights they have to fight for them just like women did in the real world and that feels icky. I did not get what the whole speech from Barbie about being “and Ken” was even remotely trying to say but by their reactions I think it was supposed to be important ??? It just fell so flat

And the whole thing about her wanting to be human????? Why, what was the motivation? She spent a grand total of one afternoon in the real world, all of which was being berated, ogled, assaulted, arrested and told on numerous occasions about how awful it is to be a woman in the real world. And then was like, hell yeah sign me up, I just watched a very poorly edited montage of women smiling by a tree or with a baby which is very clearly what life is like all the time ? Bad, bad, so stupid !

Maybe some of the messaging just didn’t land for me , idk but I have feelings about it

[pashterlengkap]

330 LGBTQ+ artists pledge not to perform in Israel until a Gaza ceasefire occurs

A group of 330 queer artists have signed a letter pledging not to perform or participate in public events in Israel until a permanent ceasefire is achieved in the Isreal-Palestine conflict in Gaza, and Palestine is “free.” The letter fits the massive number of Palestinian deaths and Israeli attacks on the country’s healthcare and public utilities. Over 20,000 Palestinians, Israelis, and foreign nationals have been killed in Gaza since the military conflict re-ignited on October 7, according to The Washington Post and Al Jazeera News. Many of the Palestinian deaths have been of civilian women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry of Palestine. Related: To end the cycle of violence between Israel & Palestine, we must impose a ceasefire on blame We must not use the past to justify surrendering to the supposed impossibilities posed by seemingly irreconcilable and intractable differences. “We were devastated to witness the loss of innocent Israeli lives on October 7th,” the artists’ public letter — located at QueerArtistsForPalestine.org — begins. “And we have been devastated, and called to action, watching Israel carry out its assault on innocent civilians in Gaza every single day since.” Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Promotions (occasional) * Week in Good News (one on the Weekend) * Week in Review (one on the Weekend) * Daily Brief (one each weekday) * Sign Up “The UN reports that almost 2 million Palestinians, 90% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced from their homes,” the letter continues. “They are living in unsafe shelters without access to food, water, or basic healthcare. As winter nights get colder, disease is spreading. Gaza is past the point of collapse – the UN has described its state as ‘apocalyptic.’ We say enough.” The artists say they wish to honor “radical histories of queer activism and self-expression, which stand opposed to violent systems like apartheid and military occupation” by challenging Israel’s “pinkwashing” of its “brutal” military occupation and policies against Palestinians. Pinkwashing, when applied to Israel, refers to the country’s representation of itself as a gay haven amid a dogmatically anti-LGBTQ+ Middle East. This representation often serves as a pretext for Western policies against Israel’s neighboring countries and domestic citizens. “Palestinians remind us that none of us are free until we are all free. That ‘queer liberation is fundamentally tied to the dreams of Palestinian liberation: self-determination, dignity, and the end of all systems of oppression.’ We will continue to speak out for Palestine, to educate ourselves, and to uplift Palestinian voices. Our queerness, and our humanity, demand that we do so,” the letter concludes. Some of the better-known performers who signed the letter include Angelica Ross, JD Samson, Hari Nef, Indya Moore, Sasha Velour, The Vixen, and Tommy Dorfman. It’s unclear how many of the artists have previously performed or were expected to perform in Israel. While 24 Democratic Congress members have also called for a ceasefire, a bipartisan majority of House members supported a late October resolution supporting Israel. President Joe Biden’s support for Isreal and continued funding of its military has caused him to lose support amongst progressive voters. http://dlvr.it/T0bWqv

[complhexspace]

Transphobia and homophobia, sex education, and the influence of allies

*from my perspective*

I feel so in debt to the lgbtq+ community it's insane. Before even being brave enough to explore my sexuality, they were always the only group that accepted me for who I was, without fail. I would always find myself friends with someone queer and would have some of the best organic friendships I’ve ever had, every time.

So before I even considered myself to be a queer woman, I considered myself an ally. And allies usually don’t know our place, it’s just the truth. And I think that’s the problem of allies just in general not only in this context. You have some that are outshining the voices they try to uplift (without realizing it in most cases) and then you have the allies that don’t do anything at all but post the quick text post on social media. And seriously the truth is that it really doesn’t matter, as long as the truth is getting spread. Andf its okay that some people just don't know what to do or (with the right intentions) end up doing the wrong thing.

Because, without the truth, we have people who deem transgender people, as demonic or perverted. And queer people as confused and tormented. Without the truth, we have things like the Institute of sexology in 1933 being demolished basically because no one bothered to just go in and learn…… without the truth we have no education about the sex that we are supposed to enjoy and have with the people in our human race. without education, we are taught that sex is supposed to be ritualistic and impersonal and fit to specific steps instead of an enjoyable, and vibrant experience.

It’s terrifying to believe that in the name of nationalism, the powers that people are willing to destroy real education to turn around and call it perversion after practicing it themselves. It’s terrifying they wouldn’t rather try to force such a strong arm of control over a group of people based on something so frivolous as who they love and want to sleep with occasionally.

To all of my trans men and women out there in the world that are scared of their future. As a persona of color, I definitely know how it feels to be treated as inhuman or worthless, but I couldn't imagine feeling like being who I'm supposed to be is wrong or somehow "demonic" just because they don't understand. I am so sorry. And I wish I could just hold all of you in my arms and keep you safe. Im not sure what Im supposed to do in this situation, but I will always stick up for you, just like I know you would (and some have) for me.

[bookish-brooklyn]

A poem I wrote for "International Women's Day" 2024, inspired by the prompt: "You Brew Like A Beautiful Storm", which was set by a friend of mine ❤️ I hope you'll enjoy my poem, and I hope that all women will continue to only look to uplift and anchor one another, as well as supporting one another and campaigning for those who can't use their voices currently! 💪

Image: Canva

“This is for any woman who's been dragged down, berated, to feel lesser than, for any woman who's been catcalled in callous cheek; urgh! The audacity honestly could simply make we weep! For how dare some men simply treat us as a mere feast for their eyes! Why, it's truly that behaviour, tinkling, toying, treating us like playthings, that I truly despise! Now, I don't mean to generalise, I know these actions don't pertain to all men, I'm not going to pretend that all women are perfect too, far from it, as sometimes we can fall askew, criticising one another, leering an eye, maybe judging someone's fashion sense- this should hold no pretence! As a group, we must anchor one another, we mustn't flounder, to this I will pay heed! I actually hate that we have to look over our shoulders when we're walking home at night, ingrained by disdain that we have to look over our shoulders for a predatory creature of the night, NO! We should not have to fear where we tread, how about men stop looking towards women as prey, instead?! Rather than scorn at our Sisters, all of them, I say, because - yes, I'm going there, ‘a woman is a woman,’ regardless of people's convoluted beliefs ‘I will not have other women made to feel lessened! The question I pose, I suppose, is why not just be kind? It's not hard to be a decent human being, since when has bigotry and perversion become superseding? This is for any woman, who's been trodden on, face falling in fractured forlorn; despair no longer, cast that withered stare into disrepair, hold that head up proud and for goodness sakes’, don't be afraid to be loud! Rise, together, be reborn, for you brew like a beautiful storm!”

[obabayangu]

Barbie

August 15th, 2023

Y'all, I don't know what happened with everybody else but, I LOVED Barbie. I was picking up what God was putting down 😂 Y'all just missed it lol. It was the message about self worth for me chile! Towards the end, there was a whole message about being whole with Ken & Barbie.

So for anyone who HASN'T seen it, Ken was an incomplete and insecure man who sought validation from Barbie to determine his self worth. But Barbie was SECURE 👌🏾 However, she lowkey played off of Ken's insecurities and undervalued him as a man. Chile, by the end of that movie, roles FLIPPED! Ken found security and validation in himself as a man but in turn, now undervalued women, which entail caused women to undervalue themselves. Now you gotta whole "Kendom" with women lacking their worth and seeking validation from men, smh.

This is the part y'all missed tho 👀:

At the tail end, Ken had a conversation with Barbie that MIRRORED one of my weaknesses in singleness. Ken was tryna tell Barbie "Look, now that I'm a real man and all, we supposed to be together BAY-BEE! It's supposed to be Ken AND BarBIE. We supposed to do this thang, together, us, as ONE, Frankie Beverly with it!"

My good sis Barbie quickly put Ken in check and reminded him that this ain't no 50/50 deal baby. It's not you AND I or nothing. Barbie let him know that she will STILL be Barbie WITHOUT Ken, and that that is okay. But she also esteemed Ken to let him know his worth as well. Rejecting him to uplift him in his OWN wholeness, rather than them, as an item, being a whole. Y'all, I'm so proud of my good sis Barbie tho. She chose to remain as one, a singleton, than to jump into a relationship. My good sis said a relationship sounds cute, but I'm good right now! Y'all, IT'S 👏🏾 THE 👏🏾WHOLENESS 👏🏾FOR 👏🏾ME👏🏾 I can not promise you that if I knew of a man, wanting me, all over me, like white on rice, that I would not jump at that opportunity. But see, I'm tryna get a comfortable point like Barbie where I can CHOOSE to be in a relationship or not. Right now, it feels more like a dire need, you know what I'm saying 😅🙃😂 BUT as God restores my patience each and every day, I will get to a point where a relationship is a cute accessory in my life where I can still choose to not wear earrings and still be bad! You know what I'm saying? Not too much, Aeriel? Okay 🤗 But you picking up what I'm putting down. We otw there sis, no worries 😂👍🏾

Just to drive it on home real quick:

Devon Franklin preached a really good message on 'Being a Good Single', where he really drove in this Barbie mentality of being whole. Y'all I really thought I was whole...until I saw Barbie lol. I just truly admired her exercising her voice in her singleness. A lot of the times, we can get so caught up in the lack that singleness can plague. But, Devon preached about admiring the power, choice, and strength of singleness. He made singleness look real sexy lol. So ima drop this shameless plug right here 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

and y'all go listen when you get a chance. And in the meantime, ima focus on my Barbie mentality sis! and pursue this wholeness that God has for me as a singleton!

[girlqueens]

Week 6

1. What are your thoughts about Darnella Frazier's role as a bystander who chose to document a crime and became a brave citizen journalist in the process? What would you do in a similar situation?

I think Darnella Frazier is a hero. Too often do we see people who turn a blind eye to the crimes that are going on around us in everyday life. Darnella realized that the damage that could be done to a whole population of people was was worse than the damage that could be done to her if she spoke up. Fear did not stop her from doing the right thing. This event, reminds us how important bystanders are how much of a difference we can really make. Our country is supposed to be a democracy, the people are supposed to monitor and speak up about the wrong doings of the government and its officials. If I were in Darnella's position or a similar one I wouldn't have done anything different. It's important to capture proof of these wrong doings and possibly interject in them to stop them from happening again.

2. Have you participated in Black Lives Matter marches and protests? Please share your experiences and your photographs in your post and in the thread below.

I have not participated in any BLM marches or protests due to the height of them being during covid lockdown, which hindered me from being able to participate but I did do everything I could to participate online. I reposted videos documenting injustices, spoke about them on social media platforms, I provided links and names/addresses of Black owned and led businesses and foundations for people to support. To this day, I still try and support as many black owned businesses as I can. Here is a list of Black owned businesses and black led-foundations you can support:

3. Choose one of the following young women BLM leaders who began their activism as teenagers and write a one-paragraph bio about them. Post a one-line summary in the thread: Zee Thomas, Shayla Turner, Brianna Chandler, Tiana Day.

Tiana Day, was just a normal teenage girl who had never been involved in any type of protest before and didn't consider herself an activist until she saw the George Floyd video. She then went on to organize many protests including the first ever Black Lives Matter protest on the Golden Gate Bridge. She also discovered that she came from a long line of activists within her family that were also apart of the fight against racial injustice and police brutality. In her quest for more youth to join her in the fight for racial equality, she went on to create a nonprofit, "Youth Advocates for Change", who's mission is to encourage and normalize youth voices and to help inspire youth to take action on different social injustice issues. Since, the organization's creation there are now more than 150 chapter members all throughout the U.S.

4. What is your assessement of Amy Sherald's portrait of Breonna Taylor and the ensuing exhibition held at the Speed Museum? Does it do her justice? (see video clip)

I found Sherald's portrait of Breonna to be extremely thought provoking and inspiring. It is a reminder of Breonna's story and that she would want us to keep fighting for what is right. The look in her eyes in the painting stares right into your soul. I find her eyes to be extremely uplifting, in a way saying "you know what you need to do now." The ensuing exhibition was also incredible. Watching that video clip brought tears to my eyes. You could feel the emotion of the space through the screen. It perfectly depicted how long this fight has been going on and makes whoever views it wonder when enough will finally be enough. When will the injustice be over? This space absolutely does her justice, I felt the emotion of the space and I wasn't even in the space.

[kthynes]

the caller you have reached (chris evans x reader)

pairing: chris evans x fem!reader

summary: chris was trying to drunkenly call the woman he loved and wanted to get back with but instead he reaches you, a shrink.

warning: swearing (sailor level), brief mentions of mental health

**IMPORTANT disclaimer: I won't be dabbling into the hard hitting topics of mental health in this short only because I'm not a certified health professional and so I can't be providing a written, unbiased, often characterized diagnosis towards any sort of mental health disorder because really, those types of sensitivities need proper care and output. With that being said, I do want to emphasize the notions of seeking help and not being afraid to seek help when needed. It's hard, but we all fight a battle and no battle is big or small or better or worse.

If my followers or readers do feel the need to privately chat with me, I'm here and I can you lend you an ear. Otherwise let's be kind and uplift another while we can. No harm in doing good and being better, that's for sure!

-end rant-

This short is dedicated to the following lovelies:

@princess-evans-addict

@mrs-djokovic

@slut-for-chris-evans

@saltyflowermakertaco

@bitchyslut99

@patzammit

@itskikiyooo

@maximeevansblog

Being a working adult is dreadful but the work you do is the most fulfilling kind of anarchy. You are a therapist, you work to heal and you work together with people who willingly reach out to you and your facility of care. There is that balance, the altering nuances in between that allows you to do what you do best. You advocate for good prosperity of mental health and accolade of teachable moments that fosters a safe space for your clients, not patients, but the people who deserve to be heard and not be medically categorized.

Your salubrious passion keeps you grounded. In your lifetime, you've seen the imperial impacts of poor mental health and it has been a detrimental drive in how you retreat and give back to a small found community.

"Okay." You exhale to yourself while leafing through another client chart. You're working off the clock, stuck in the renaissance of your homey office space while the outside world turns pitch black.

In the appropriate fields you jot down important takeaways from your last sit in session with heavy concertation and reasoning, you try to congregate a treatment plan all before you cellphone cries for you in venturous fashion.

"Hello?" You answer without checking the caller ID, tucking the device between your ear and shoulder so that way you could work and talk.

"Jenny!" The man boisterously shouts. "Jenny baby please talk to me! Let me make it up to you, let's just do this right, please. I'm fucked up here."

"I'm sorry but you have the wrong number." You infringe sounding like the posh, automated answering machine lady.

"Oh what the fuck Jenny — oh cah'mon don't do that, don't be like that baby." You re-verify a local number and it doesn't belong to anyone you know of. So you wonder who this man is but choose not to press further instead you tell him what is right from the knowing wrong.

"I'm not Jenny."

"Seriously?" He yells, forcing you to hold the phone away from your ear. "That can't be... This is—" He recites the number that is similar to yours but the last two digits are off.

"You got 42, not 53." It's an easy mistake to recall, a swipe of a drunken thumb could've mixed that up, so this time around, you're forgiving. Not that it happens often.

"Oh no. That's—" The mystery man trails, something about his voice discerns you, it's familiar but in a hindbrain way that you can't put a finger on. "Fuuuuuuuck."

"Wait hold on, hold up, is this Jenny's assistant, Nina?" You exhale sharply sometimes it takes more than one try and a side of convincing to get your point across and your passiveness was certainly to blame.

"No I'm not her assistant either."

"Then who the hell are you?" He exasperates. You make the snide mistake of telling him your name and he buffers for a bit.

"Oh. So you really aren't anyone of my concern then?"

"No." You mildly retort. "I wouldn't want to be anyways."

"Okay well I'm not sorry then because I'm here trying to reach my girlfriend and I can't get to her because I have you on the line being a smartass." With that accent of his you can tell he's a patriotic Bostonian. One of your own kind and that furloughs your need to engage in this mindless drivel, it wouldn't get you or him anywhere. At least that's what you tell yourself before shutting him down.

"Well then maybe you should learn to listen first, how about that?" You snap, dropping your pen before you note down angry nonsense into your actual work.

"Hey nowwww!" He yells as if he's trying to be Hank Kinsley.

"It's clear that you're drunk."

He brushes you off on the other end, enigmatic in what he wants you to know. "This is Chris Evans, you're talking to Chris-motherfucking-Evans, you hear?"

"I do now." You say tersely.

"Good." He huffs. "Good... Cause you know I'm in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and this is what I get. This is what I seemingly deserve, god you women I swear..."

Your face changes. You don't agree to be a lending ear but somehow Chris forces you to hear him out.

"I told her Y/N. I TOLD her that I wasn't ready to take the next step but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be with her. And now she throws it back in my face by getting with some other guy she once dated back in high school. And somehow, I'm supposed to be ok with it and move on, as she tells me. How the hell am I supposed to do that, huh?"

"I, um, I don't know what to tell you." You sigh somberly.

"Of course you don't!" His Boston twang begins to nerve you as there some remitting frequency of it. Hearing him obnoxiously go off, reminds you of all your shrewd New England exes who were his exact counterpart when soused. A ludicrous memory that you relive again with time and perfect harmony.

"Listen lady all I'm saying is that I fucked up. I know I did alright? I mean it doesn't take much denominational math and the plot of Lost in Translation to get that. I get it!"

Jesus. You whisper the lords name in vain as you lean your forehead against the palm of your hand while your elbow rested on top of the desk.

"So, let me get this straight, you think yelling at a random woman will help get further?" You question a little acutely for his liking.

"I don't know but it sure as hell takes off the heat, sweetheart." Something about a man calling you sweetheart grinds your gears and now your molars.

"Okay, alright, let's talk." You begin, sitting up a bit and tearing out a blank page from your memo pad; you were doing a late night consultation, a small hash out.

"Schuwaaaaa." Chris enunciates the word sure and to much of his mayhem, he’s sprawled out on the curbside, somewhere in the nowhere land of L.A. He contented but also upset and you were simply crashing his little pity party.

"What is it that you want from Jenny?" You professionally prod. "How about we start there."

"Wooooah, what is that we're doing here?” Chris gets mildly defensive with you. “I dunno you like that. If we're gonna talk then you'll have to get through my publicist first because right now I plead the fifth.”

You exhale a deep and fulsome breath. No one troubles you like him. It's sanctimoniously unnerving.

"I'm a shrink, my job isn’t meant to incriminate my clients well-being, or anyone else’s for that matter.” You address calmly. “So, if you do require some solicited advice then we can keep this call under strict confidence. You have my word, Mr. Evans and the paperwork that will follow shortly after this call.”

Silence. There is some shocking silence which is brief before you're catapulted with disbelief and more cackles. "Holy mother fucking shit. You're kidding me?"

"I can run you by my credentials if you’d like?” You mention stiffly.

"God I’ve reached a cuckoo hotline!" Wrong. That's a horrible thing to say and you'd think a man like him would've been more sensitive about his choice of words, inebriated or not.

"Far from it."

"Tell me something, alright? How many grown, adult men come crying to you?" Chris is edging with curiosity even though his eyes are betrayingly reddened after crying into a bottle of Dewars 18. He doesn't make that known to you and you never cared to ask.

"Enough to know that they cry." You simply state.

"Huh. So this is just another Tuesday for you then.” Chris scoff, the bottle making it to his lips and then swishing back down again.

"Comes with the territory except I don't tolerate drunkenness." You motely add. "Can you keep the bottle aside for the time being? Just until we're done here."

"That's understandable and oh yeah sure, sure, I won't touch it." You can hear the glass bottle 'clink' when coming into contact with the pavement.

"Now tell me about Jenny." You softly inquire.

"What do you wanna know? How we fuck or how we met?" Chris giggles like a naughty school yard boy.

"How did you two meet?" You slam the words urgently, nearly spelling out the cause.

"Oh! Oh. We met on the job." Chris chuckles punitively.

"Okay and did you guys connect instantly or was there a slow build up?" You involuntarily took notes for any PR rep of his that wanted solid evidence that would preside this call, cover your bases and your poor ass along with it.

"Instantly. Our chemistry read was off the charts." He explains with a slight hiccup. "Sorry."

"Great. So it was more so a work relationship that later grew into something more correct?"

"Pretty much."

"So when did you start developing feelings for her?"

"Um I'd say..." Chris tucks his chin, burps and then excuses himself before continuing. "Just before we wrapped up filming. But then I think somewhere in between all that I realized that she was my kind of girl, my... better half."

"And what made you come to that realization?"

"Well for one she has this infectious laugh that would have you laughing with her, there's that sound of beauty and pureness to it. And then with that, there were all the little things she'd do for me that made me think, like damn she's the one, she's it for me and that for better or for worse, I'd need her more than she'd ever need me."

Chris gets sad and you feel for him. Your pen stops moving when you were about to prescribe him some mind memory exercises. He was human. Humans hurt. Humans make mistakes. Humans stray but they also love. That's all Chris did. He loved with all of his heart to not expect the same love in return.

"You know Chris, we don't always get the love we deserve and sometimes its sucks. Sometimes you wanna kick it back with a bottle of Dewars 18 and shake your fists in the air." Chris quietly perks up at your choice of alcohol that you didn't know he was forcefully downing. He fashions a small half smile that you don't see but hear faintly. "But there's also a time and a place and things happen, people come apart, people get together, people do people and there's that fine line of letting life run its uneven course."

"I mean you sometimes have to not be okay to be okay again and I know that from my many years of helpful healing. It gets okay, never fully better and I think that's just how it is. You acknowledge your pain, your trauma and then you go on while being mindful of that transition."

"Wow."

"Hey, um, look, I actually have to get going. But if you can, just down the rest of that bottle and get yourself home."

"Are you sure?" Chris gawks.

"I mean you were already halfway through and it's not like I can physically stop you, right? And besides this is what I'm prescribing to you. I want you to acknowledge your pain, drink away your sorrows and then smash that bottle so you can be relieved from that trauma and hurt. After that you need to fix up and start new, have a mature conversation with her, if you can and then have your feet hitting the ground again. Don't fall into the routine of heartbreak even if it becomes too hard, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good." You sniff and start to put things away. "I know you're a good guy Chris, from how you are on TV and in interviews, I'm amazed by how articulate you are. You have the right mindset so I have no doubts that you'll fall back in any way. But if you do, please don't hesitate to reach out, I might have to hand you off to another cohort but nonetheless it can be worked out even if it does feel like you might be sparring on your own. You'll get the help you need."

"Great, thanks." Chris responds in his conscious state of thought. He feels pathetic with himself and that doesn't have you galling over the fact, instead you let him be.

"Do you need me to order you an Uber? Cab? Call a friend for ya?" You laugh easily and Chris hears it clearly, smiling in return.

"An Uber would be nice. I'll try to share you my location."

"Sure, on me and that'd be great."

"Thanks."

"No problem... And your ride should be here in two minutes, just look out for Raul in black Elantra." You inform him after checking your phone.

"Nice."

"You have a goodnight now Chris."

"You too." The line cuts and you're given a piece of your life back. You gather your belongings, flip off the light switch and make your way home. There's some truth and some brokenness in every situation. You knew Chris was going to be OK even if he didn't consult you afterwards. For you, there was no need. He's a smart man and he proves this over a prolonged period of time when he finally finds himself back on the market and then eventually in a relationship with a faceless and very loving woman from his own hometown.

He was finally happy, making you serendipitously glad that you were the caller he had reached.

[positivityforlesbians]

Thank you so much for this blog and for the absolutely wonderful stance you have on everything you post. We're a small, marginalized group that people love to rip apart and I feel that sometimes it's too easy to scorn one another and turn hostile towards ourselves because we are so used to have to defend ourselves from literally everyone else. But you're very drama free and always provide such good points and is just an uplifting, soothing voice. You are what the blog name is. And I love that. It's so rare in these days and so needed. Thank you again.

Thank you for saying all of this ! The part about being what the blog name is made me happy, I wish there was more lesbian positivity everywhere really, it is absolutely necessary and too often nearly inexistent in spaces that are supposed to feel like home. We are the solution, every time we show love to our community, to women exclusively attracted to the same sex. Xx