#advocacy artist

[de-mykel]

Andrea Bowers. Femme Trans-corporeal Fantasy (Remembering Joy + Re-enchantment), 2023.

acrylic on cardboard

[neuroticboyfriend]

if you can't push yourself past pain and fatigue to do the things you love, that's not your fault. other people may be able and willing to do so, but not doing that is a completely fair response to disability. it's kind of in the name - lack of ability.

you don't need to push yourself in order to love it. not doing it anymore doesn't mean it doesn't matter to you that much or you just aren't good enough at it. if you can find any way to make engaging in your passions more accessible, you have a right to do that. accessibility is a human right.

you are disabled. and disability is not a moral failing. this goes double when it comes to the things we love, the things that make us who we are.

[ashleymilesphil]

Hello world🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈❤️🙏

It has been a while since I last made a post here, but today, I’m here with a heavy heart and a message that needs to be heard: the lives of LGBTQ refugees in East Africa have not improved. Daily persecution is still the norm, and discrimination and hate have become the air we breathe. Each day, we face attacks physical, emotional, and systemic from both local communities and authorities.

So many queer personalities, community leaders, and advocates have fallen victim to death due to the rampant homophobia. We have lost friends, partners, and allies. Being LGBTQ is still criminalized, and that leaves us no room for protection, no opportunity for justice. When violence strikes, when our lives are endangered, any hope of legal recourse is nearly impossible.

I speak not just for myself, but for a community of resilient survivors who endure unimaginable hardships to simply exist. And yet, the world seems to have forgotten us. Our cries for help have too often fallen on deaf ears.

Let me take this moment, once again, to call for global solidarity. Stand with us the silenced queers of East Africa. Your voices amplify ours. Your support gives us strength. Together, we can keep the fight alive, even when everything seems hopeless.

With hope and resilience,

Ashley 🏳️‍⚧️

[inner-memoirs]

There has got to be nothing more soul-sucking and devoid of humanity than being a "money minded" individual. If all you care about is profit, you immediately lose sight of morality.

Why is it considered immoral for a poor person to refuse to work themselves to the bone, but it's not immoral for the wealthy to squeeze desperate people of every penny they have in order to hoard incomprehensible amounts of money?

Why are the poorest people expected to never treat themselves to a nice meal or something they want, while the ultra rich eat gold and take 15 minute private jet flights guilt-free?

Why are there income caps on how much money a disabled person can save, but not how much money a billionaire can have?

Why is it okay to value a dollar more than a real life human being getting food, clean water, healthcare, and shelter?

How are poor people the selfish ones, when our planet is poisoned and destroyed by megacorps in the name of what's profitable?

Even the most basic expressions of human emotion and experiences are being gutted and replaced by hollow machinations because it's cheaper than paying a real artist, writer, developer, or creative to do the job.

We have enough resources for everyone on this earth to have a decent lifestyle, yet when we ask for the bare minimum we get a finger wagged in our face and told not to ask for too much.

It's maddening.

[pileofpawns]

got some new stuff on my redbubble in case anyone wants some stickers n whatnot!

*Note for the last two: I am not an AAC user myself, just an advocate! The letterboard can be stuck to commonplace objects and be used as a form of low tech AAC in a pinch. The “This is my voice” sticker is meant to be stuck onto one’s AAC device and give reminders to the user and/or their support person, as well as letting strangers know what the device is!

As always, you’re welcome to print and cut your own stickers at home instead of buying them through RedBubble. I only make a small amount of money from each RedBubble sale, and I’m not in financial crisis anyway, so it’s not big deal, ehe.

[franki-lew-yo]

Still unemployed

Sorry as always for the open rant you all witnessed two nights back from me. I'm genuinely very stressed about money. In summer and fall 2023 my concern was just trying to make myself noticed somehow, bit-by-bit through social media and gaining a substantial following just to better myself as an artist.

Now, I need any income I've got just to afford my rent and utilities.

To put it into perspective (besides the Ko-fi produced Shelby-fund, which was successfully breached and will be used this coming week on her vet bill) my ssi income's been reduced to 530$ a month while my rent is 760$. My old job supplied at least 300$+ but I don't have any of that coming in now. The stimulus money I was given as a parting gift instead of a final paycheck can't be withdrawn from or transferred to my main bank. I have at least 140$ left on that stimulus just for other expenses like busfair, art supplies, dog and home care.

I'm INCREDIBLY grateful to have my EBT card covering my groceries, my jobcoaches assisting with printing out cardstock for any (eventual) upcoming events or cons and getting me a buspass discount, and of course the backers to my Shelby fund to cover that for the year (much love to Brandon, Misty and Cheatsy on Ko-fi). I will be receiving unemployment soon, though still not enough to cover my rent and utility cost.

But, I need to pay for services on Upwork, Linked In and Vograce, for sensitivity readers and animators and shipping costs for any physical Etsy merchandise, possible venue space for real-life events, professional art prints, computer and tablet maitanance, and that's not even getting to possibly subscribing to sites such as instagram or Facebook. I still have a lot to save up for and do WITHOUT being unemployed.

As a reminder, I need to take commissions especially at this time, both 'quick' ones and more complex pieces.

5$ USD for Sketches (traditional or digital) 

15$-20$ USD for Inked, flat colored art without backgrounds

30$ USD for complete pictures

3$ USD = specific medium (completely digital, colored pencil, ink/watercolors, chalk)

5$ USD = extra characters 

5$ USD = shading/lighting 

10$ USD = Physical shipping of the drawing if it’s traditional

This is also a reminder to please assist and support me however you can via my Ko-Fi, Etsy shop, Redbubble shop and my Patreon.

Thank you, everyone.

[schar-aac]

"I use symbol AAC"

image: two stylised blue hands moving around a yellow circle with a red rectangle in it. the circle with a green outline

[asthedeathoflight]

the extended Deaf staging post. under a cut cause um. oh boy. I got a little carried away.

First of all wanted to preserve @subwaylesbians 's tags about Deaf Swan for posterity:

#secondly! okay okay SO#teen swan#already sleeping rough#taking a bad blow to the head in a fight and coming out of it with sensorineural hearing damage#and you know that girl is not getting medical attention. so she just tries her best to adjust#to how it makes the isolation worse and threats harder to clock#cleon taking note of the scrappy kid sleeping under the boardwalk and sending cochise down to investigate. except the kid doesn’t notice her#coming until cochise has a hand on her shoulder. predictably this does not end well#obviously swan doesn’t win the fight - if you can even call it one - but cochise does come home with a split lip. at this point cleon#is definitely interested. so she goes down herself. this time swan sees her coming - barely - and she’s trying to talk her down from another#escape attempt when she realises the kid is desperately trying to read her lips. and so she tries signing. obviously swan doesn’t know#any ASL yet. but it’s enough for swan to realise that cleon’s Deaf. and the first moment in which she thinks that maybe she should trust#this woman#cleon teaching her ASL. and just being so proud to be capital D Deaf that it rubs off a little. and swan holds her head a bit higher#(also future swan teaching mercy. only to find out she’s been bullying the other vaguely-competent ASL users in the crew#into#also giving her lessons while swan’s back is turned. it’s 80% out of love for her girlfriend and 20% out of hating to miss the shit-talking.#she learns pretty quick)

I think Swan having acquired hearing loss is super interesting! Becoming disabled while she's out on her own would be super scary and isolating and she probably wouldn't have any sort of resources to learn ASL or anything. She'd probably be trying so hard to hide it too bc she thinks it makes her a liability to have on a crew. Also love Mercy getting the others to tutor her in ASL that's very sweet! Also kind of heartbreaking because to me the two hearing Warriors who were best at ASL were Fox and Ajax so whenever Mercy asks Cochise or Cowgirl a question about it they feel that little pang of loss.

Okay so for MY thoughts about this whole matter.

In terms of like fanfiction land I think Cleon is Deaf but she can talk so people don't always know. Despite being able to assimilate tho she's very invested in Deaf culture and disability advocacy. I'm not sure what the state of Deaf education was like in New York in the 70s but I think Cleon would like organize community ASL classes and stuff like that. Her and Ajax are childhood best friends in this au. to me.

Rembrandt's parents are both Deaf and they have a very like pearl-clutching Toph Beifong's parent's attitude towards her being in a gang even though shes like MOM 🙄 they're literally a Deaf gang. I think in this au she runs with the Warriors less out of like economic suppression and more because like her opportunities in life are kind of limited from being Deaf and queer so she'd rather hang out with the Warriors. Rembrandt can't talk but also like she's never wanted to learn to talk 'cause fuck hearing people. She doesn't have anything to say to them. New Warriors who didn't already know ASL are always really surprised by her because she seems pretty quiet and shy but then as they pick up ASL they realize she's always shit-talking everyone in the background. Real "they didn't know I knew their language" moments with her.

Okay but in addition to fanfiction land there is also hypothetical Deaf staging of Warriors land. And in theater land I have some different opinions.

Okay so like for those unaware in Deaf theater there's a practice of having Deaf actors signing their lines as Deaf characters and then having a hearing actor say those lines out loud at the same time. This hearing actor is a "voice" and they are of varying physical reality depending on the production.

Some Deaf productions are almost entirely presented in ASL as well as English but I think obviously most of the gangs are not going to be addressing the Warriors in ASL so this show would rely heavily on supertitles like opera-style. I think you could get really cool with it as a production design thing though like if you had multiple projection surfaces throughout the set. Moments like the crowd screaming in Derailed could get really cool. But anyways that's pretty minor.

So the important thing that's going on here is that Cleon has a voice and Rembrandt doesn't. Cleon's voice is not physically real tho she's just a voice. Maybe she's off stage or something. But what matters is that Cleon can make the Riffs hear her. Does Masai know ASL? Is he somehow metatextually hearing the voice? doesn't matter. That's simply Cleon's impact. Cleon's role in the story is already about speaking truth to power and making men listen to her as a woman so this is just adding a disability angle to that.

I think for the most part the other Warriors rely on the fact that Rembrandt can lipread so if they are using ASL for her benefit it's more simplistic and they'd still get supertitled. Except for Ajax and Fox who sign while they talk, and of course Ajax and Rembrandt's background entirely ASL running commentary.

So. Rembrandt doesn't have a voice. How does that work? Easy. With the help of my handy dandy word document of every single line of hers in the entire musical I can tell you who says every one of Rembrandt's lines.

The really handy thing about Rembrandt is like half of her lines she's saying at the same time as somebody else, so if she's speaking with someone else they're speaking for her. Very easy and fun.

In general if Rembrandt is speaking on her own Ajax is talking for her, with the assumption that this is like. Normal every day procedure for the Warriors. So like all her little haterly asides in the first half of the musical is Ajax talking. In general the delineation between whether Ajax and Rembrandt are speaking as a unit or if Ajax is talking for Rembrandt is whether Ajax is also signing.

There are a few moments where I think Fox would talk for her instead like I think Fox picks up the "what are we gon do?" in Woodlawn Cemetery for sure, and Rembrandt's first two attempts to get Ajax to back off of Barnes.

There are a few other moments though where I think nobody picks up Rembrandt's lines and they're only supertitles. Some of these moments are like just for fun like I think her finding Coney Island on the map doesn't get spoken aloud as like our lighthearted establishing use of the device. But nobody picks up Rembrandt's "where you going???" in Park at Night because she's only talking to Ajax. and Ajax doesn't listen to her anyways.

After Park at Night Fox picks up being Rembrandt's voice for Cardigans and We Got You 1. Then, in the reprise, Rembrandt physically grabs Fox to get her to act as her voice for her monologue. Fox speaking here is blurring the line between things that are really happening and things which are metaphorical but that's the great thing about theater because you can just stand right on the line and not pick a side. As Fox starts to see what Rembrandt means she starts to sign along with her, and then is on the same page as her to start giving orders to the other Warriors when they have to run.

Momentary note that we don't translate Rembrandt saying Fox's name in Reunion Square because by this time we've learned Fox's sign name bc we've seen it in the roll call a bunch of times so no translation necessary! I don't know enough about ASL to have any opinions about sign names but I think that getting to pick out sign names for the Warriors would be a very fun part of doing the translation for this musical and they'd add a little extra pizazz to the roll call. Cool projection shenanigans for the remix in Reunion Square too!

And then finally. Nobody picks up any of Rembrandt's lines after Fox dies. We let that last "What are we gon do?" just hang in the air.

[what-shitfuckery-is-this-ew]

i love base colouring my sketches

hopepunk flag on shirt by @chipbutbetter

pose by @kaosdisabledsupported on tiktok

[spookietrex]

Finally had a chance to post my customized mobility aids. First up, my cane!

Pictured: a foldable purple cane covered with stickers of cartoon ghosts, cats, spiders, and candy. End picture ID.

Next up, my found-for-free-on-social-media-that-I-painted-and-fixed-up walker! It includes my handmade glow in the dark dinosaur basket, custom made grippers, and a custom paint job. It is an electric blue base, accented with sky blue for the wheels and bottoms, with lime green accents around the rings in the middle. The basket and hand grippers are made from a Dollar Tree blanket with various dinosaurs that if left in the sun long enough DO glow in the dark. It is all made by me.

[cherry-pop-elf]

Happy Disability Pride Month!

I figured we can do a little thing together, and try and support fellow disabled content creators this month. Give em a boost! Help spread awareness of their works/content together! Along with bringing awareness the spectrum that is disability’s!

Reblog this post with YOUR Comission’s info/wishlists/kofi’s what have you!

I’ll go first!

Hi! I’m Belladonna. And I have Fibromyalgia

I have fibromyalgia, an autoimmune disease, along with issues with my spine. Causes me to be bed bound/in a wheelchair often. I use multiple types of mobility aids, and currently have plans for surgieres in the future to help make life not such a lonely nightmare lol

I have open writing coms

I have open art coms

These are my payment options

PayPal: FishyArtist

CashApp: BellaDonnaBucks

Kofi: CherryPopElf

This is my Amazon wishlist

Thank you for reading/reblogging!

[dreamdropsystem]

Pip says: your intrusive thoughts are not you!

very important to know cause sometimes you think those thoughts are you and think "is so horrible" but is not like that! they're called intrusive for reason! they are NOT you. they are UNWANTED thoughts - Pip

[the-golden-comet]

✨Thankful Thursday✨

Hello writers, artists, musicians, and creative minds alike! 💫

I want to take this day to give thanks to all you wonderful people. As artists, storycrafters, composers, and humans…it can be easy to lose sight of your love and passion when your brain is your worst critic.

I’ve been creating art and stories for a while now, but kept everything private because the Imposter Syndrome side of me kept saying: “I’m not good enough.”

I want to let you all know: That side of you is a bully, only existing to hold you back from your highest potential. For every self-critic your mind creates, manifest a self-advocate to shut them down.

“Yes, I AM good enough. I have important stories, art, music, and culture to share with the world, and I’m not gonna let you dampen my spirits.”

Life gets busy. That’s understandable. I had A LOT going on that kept me occupied since 2014. Now that I’m married, settled into a routine, and activities have slowed down a bit, I can focus on my hobbies again. And man, am I so glad I did.

You are all wonderful. I can’t ever thank you all enough for your kindness, your energy, and your imaginative spirits. Keep writing, keep drawing, keep composing, keep creating, keep inspiring.

The world needs more motivated minds. 💫

[ashleymilesphil]

Honoring Intersex Awareness Day: A Call to Support LGBTIQ Refugees in East Africa 🌍🌈

Today, October 26, we honor Intersex Awareness Day—a day dedicated to recognizing and supporting the intersex community around the world. For many, it's a day of visibility and celebration, but here in East Africa, for those of us living as LGBTIQ refugees, it's a day that highlights the harsh reality of our lives.

As a transgender queer refugee and a member of the broader LGBTIQ community, I’ve seen firsthand the struggles that intersex refugees face. We are often forced to flee our homes, escaping violence and persecution, only to find ourselves living in camps that offer little protection or acceptance. Many of us have endured a lifetime of discrimination, not just for our gender or sexuality, but for the simple fact of being who we are.

We Face Violence, Isolation, and Starvation

Here in the refugee camps, resources are scarce, and discrimination follows us even after we’ve fled our home countries. We lack access to basic needs like food, clean water, medical care, and safe housing. Medical treatment, especially for intersex and transgender individuals, is nearly impossible to get. Our LGBTIQ community faces daily harassment, violence, and the constant threat of starvation. We are isolated and often forgotten—our stories left unheard by the rest of the world.

A Call to the Queer World for Solidarity

On this Intersex Awareness Day, I’m reaching out to the global queer community with a plea: We need your help. As fellow members of the LGBTIQ family, I ask you to stand with us, amplify our voices, and bring awareness to the urgent situation we face. Your support can make a difference—whether it’s sharing our stories, advocating for our rights, or donating to help meet our basic needs.

How You Can Help

1. Amplify Our Stories: Share our struggles on social media, talk about the hardships LGBTIQ refugees face in East Africa, and help break the silence that surrounds us.

2. Donate: If you’re able, please consider contributing to our GoFundMe campaign, where every donation helps us secure food, clean water, medical care, and safer shelter. Every contribution, no matter how small, can save a life.⬇️🙏‼️

3. Advocate: Call for better protection of LGBTIQ refugees worldwide, and urge your local representatives and organizations to offer support and resources to those of us who have been forced to live in exile.

Our journey is a difficult one, and we can't make it through without the support of the queer community worldwide. You can be our lifeline, helping us survive and continue to fight for our right to exist in a world that too often tries to silence us.

Thank You for Standing with Us

We are grateful for every bit of support, solidarity, and care that you can offer. Together, we can ensure that no LGBTIQ refugee is left behind, and that our voices are heard—loud and clear—on this Intersex Awareness Day and beyond.

With deep gratitude,

AshleymilesPhil

[katkathleen]

[brettesims]

On Humanitarianism

I don’t know if there is anything more painful as an advocate or humanitarian than to be silenced, but the mass silencing of advocacy is happening around the world. When you speak out “they”; the powers that be can threaten your work, freeze your social media platforms, delete your whole page, remove your followers - on and on. Since the U.S. Government has ownership over all platforms now pretty much (except this one) - including TikTok; which was said to be Chinese owned and run, but that’s another Government lie. If you’re targeted; that happens across all platforms. This happened to me and it’s been exhausting.

Then there are family or “friends” who have no concept of the world at large or anything that is actually happening with the Zionist regime essentially taking over the world; the “free world” or “new world order” as they call it. Ignorant people add to the silencing, shunning, and canalization of you, because externally it appears as if you are losing social media “clout”.

Advocates and humanitarians are highly educated and functional people; we have to be. So when we can’t use social tools as we aim to use them, it’s a problem. I ran my business from just my Instagram account for years. But with instagrams Zionist takeover and ownership my accounts are shadow banned and heavily monitored.

For awhile I was like, “fuck this, let me just not use it, let me pull away.” But then I realized the platform hiding humanitarians, spiritualists, and artists accounts is just a psyop and mental tactic of dehumanization. Abiding by it - even if there are no “likes” on the posts, would only be complying to the system I advocate against.

A humanitarian without a voice or platform is like an artist without a space to create or art supplies. So, after a year of being more silent than I’ve ever been on social media due a racist, fascist and bigoted regime, that most civilians don’t know they are subconsciously under the influence of… I have decided to activate my voice once again.

I’ve decided to leave the fear behind and a huge reason; maybe the only reason for this new found courage has come from me watching the resiliency, faith and steadfastness of Palestinians standing up to Zionists.

I thought to myself; Palestinians are out here risking their lives daily, under threat of having social platforms taken away, Zionists not only tapping their phones, but also calling them and threatening to have bombs literally dropped their heads. If they can risk all this in a war zone, I can take the risk, be resilient and remain steadfast as well.

Today also marks the one year point of the war in Sudan. Most people know very little about what’s going on in Sudan, because they cut the internet. They have been dark for 2 months now, but it’s sporadic.

I first began learning about Sudan and advocating against genocide in college. I will no longer be silent about it, because while joy and lightness can absolutely be found in war times; we are living in a genocidal world and that’s just the reality.

So I write this; really for myself, but also to alert you dear community that the time is in fact NOW. Actively BE the change you want to see, or you will SEE change you do not wish to actively manifest.

Move forward with faith and grace; using your voice for the freedom of generations that follow. Remain steadfast community!

~ B