#gay coworkers unite

[orcelito]

There's also the impulse to be like "women ain't shit" but that's a lie I love our women. Not women as a whole's fault that one of them turned out a selfish bastard of a coward.

I just need to find a woman who doesn't treat me like That. Get me a good butch. I need me a good butch.

[baekuras]

Chrom+Robin being together as an Emblem can be something so personal

[fuumiku]

Day 5 : genderbend

Only doing this did I realize just how androgynous both of their features are. Listen we got gal pals with Marcille getting carried away and oblivious & overtly touchy feely as always, gay rivalry but they still gossip together like true coworkers united in haterism (I was going to draw Marcille holding him at first but forgot lmao), and Chilchuck openly holding back murderous intent. In short nothing changes much but it’s fun to picture. Braiding hair is already a love language of theirs, if she could do it to him it’d slap…

My genderbent names for them are Marcel & Cherchick (Chick is apparently an actual name, a diminutive of Charles?? Incredible and very convenient. Goal of the lockpicking onomatopoeia still being there success) I have a whole marchil AU plotline for them genderbent actually... It’ll be long so I’ll put it in a reblog addition from my sideblog

You can tell what order I did these in because time and steam ran out on me lol. My pencil is also walking out on me my lines look so crusty, sobbing…

[bramblewhisker]

RavenBarley stuff has me thinking about sexuality in the clans again.

My general idea of clan cat sexuality is one that you might call "bi-normativity," where intimate relationships (romantic, sexual, familially platonic, etc) are idiosyncratic. Different cats would have different preferences, but your typical cat wouldn't be any more likely to prefer a certain sex or gender as they would be to prefer certain fur colors or patterns. I think monogamy would also be somewhat unusual, as multiple relationships would be seen as a way of creating a stronger network of bonds within the clan (and let's be honestly, across clans as well). Two cats getting together for the purpose of kit-making is often a pragmatic act, just as often happening between friends or clanmates with a strictly "coworker"-esque relationship as between two "mates".

The books themselves obviously present a more heteronormative society, with a focus on toms and she-cats pairing up and making kits (despite not really having the "family unit" per se). I think that's less interesting and less suitable for the setting, but it does mean you could do some sort of really cute coming out story with Ravenpaw and Barley. Maybe Tigerclaw got on his case about not being "masculine" enough for a tom, and maybe Ravenpaw struggled with uncomfortable feelings of attraction toward his objectivelly-attractive mentor (who would NOT have responded kindly were he to find out about it). So then you have Ravenpaw at the barn with Barley and there's so much "oh no he's hot" and fears that Barley would make him leave if he knew. But Barley's from the big city where cats are gay all the time (including him!) and it can get really cute and romantic.

Idk I love them.

[sssammich]

🪤

box of super pairings for the ask game? :D

oh crap

wrong box

📦

there it is!

lmaooooo alright alright let me think

as usual, read more because i went overboard

the blanket statement that i will say is that kara is not sg's Little Black Dress for me. that, if you couldn't tell, falls on lena luthor. her character just feels more adaptable without having to, like, manufacture Legitimate Reasons to put people in the same room. also, in a highly biased lens, she's my favorite character so she's the barbie i'd wanna have everyone play with.

back to kara: her pool is small because i think it's specifically because of the fact that kara is actually a rather Particular Character so her pool of candidates for romantic partners is small. can you make it work with any of the others, no matter how far or close they are to her canonically? yeah of course, duh. but for me, it's all about how much more work it takes for me to get there. and the reality is that it takes a lot of work for me to get there, i guess

superguardian (or kara/winn) - NO

i mean i think they fumbled that bag so i don't feel inclined to pick it back. the potential is there, but i think the larger disservice to james' character as a whole means that i now have to work twice as hard to get to where i would want for it. which is to say i don't want much of it in the first place. 2 be frank, het ships have potential and it's not like i automatically hate them but it just doesn't bring me joy im so sorry

i do think the existing friendship though works well enough for me the same way that kara/winn also works well enough for me. for all my feelings about s6, i did like their little s1 crew reunion before the SuperfriendsTM truly became what it was, i guess kara and the boys could have truly been a Unit, and for a time, it was

kara and william - NO

here's my thing

the way that lena doesn't know how friendships work and has slept with her three friends, kara doesn't know how friendships work with male coworkers and should not be dipping in company ink. like why is that your immediate dating pool? i know it's because your life is working 2 jobs, but maybe consider not having your one and only dating pool at work (unless of course you've shared a compelling starcrossed lovers family history, in which case, by all means that shit is delicious)

kara and brainy - NO

let kara be friends with guys who want nothing to do with her romantically and brainy succeeds in this so good job

not just because i want to only ship kara with a woman; if anything, i don't have the same issue about shipping kara with a man as i do with lena lmaooo i think it's because she DOES come across as super straight on the show. my headcanons of course have kara a bit more butch, definitely gayer, but from watching her on the show, she's pretty Heterosexual lol

i'd like to headcanon that brainy is the kind of brother figure that i think kara would have wanted with kal. if kal wasn't so much older than him and didn't reach earth before she did. kara has such intense younger sibling vibes that it would have been interesting to get Order Sister vibes from her

kara and monel - NO

i don't care about mon-el LMAO

but! kara and imra is an interesting enough rarepair im happy 2 play with. here's what i'll say: dolly parton's 'jolene' but the gay reading of it

superrojas - YES, BUT

i think it's possible, if you believe in yourself enough (which i do). but i think the Effort required for it requires jumping through a few hoops. the difference between superguardian is that i'm focusing on the ladies. anyway i think their getting together literally needs lena as a connection point. first of all, they exist as canonical foils to lena; the betrayal, the reconciliation, etc etc. lena's best friends who independently broke her heart. there's solidarity there, there's camaraderie there. while lena is getting her happy ending with sam (lol), i think andrea and kara can find love due to the love they lost. the recognition across the table from each other can be fertile ground on what not to do, how not to hurt or be hurt. and i think it's a relationship that exists outside of what's traditional or typical, which i think the both of them are kind of afraid of. because i think the both of them care for that and their potential relationship would exist outside of that and people might not understand it, but they would understand each other. admittedly, one of the hiccups is the differences in their station in life. as i mentioned in the lena-version of this ask meme, lena and andrea are literally just in the freakin .05% of society and so their class status in life is so different from kara. andrea hosts galas and swanky parties and kara rents dresses. the discrepancy of 'from opposite side of the tracks' would be more apparent, which is funny because kara is decidedly middle class LMAO in any case, i also think it can still happen though, in very particular circumstances, especially if we're to focus on a version without lena. and that is actually if i put on a more serious lens to their work dynamics. i think some power imbalance exists there that feels more reasonable to overcome than kara and cat, at least for me. this is where enemies to lovers could really be something here

kara with sam, kelly, or nia - mmm idk i think it literally has to take A Very Specific Instance

for sam: i just don't believe sam would put up with kara's bullshit at all. she has a child already ya feel me? i do think there are opportunities to make this work before the reveal and rift happens. post-rift, though?god sam just doesn't seem the type to forgive on lena's behalf. so it would feel like such an insurmountable barrier to overcome. if i'm not stuck on canonical events, i do think it can happen just by virtue of their personalities. they hit similar emotional beats and function in the Supportive and Loyal departments

for nia: i'll say never say never, but i think they are better off as friends. i think platonic commitment to being friends and to be calling her out on her bullshit is the name of the game. the mentorship between kara and nia could be extended in a way that really puts her to think about her Role and Leadership seriously, both at work (catco) and at work (superheroing). the mentorship is there, but i need kara to step up a bit more, to go beyond her punch first, think later. what is the cost of being a reporter? of being a superhero? as both at the same time? nia is literally following in her footsteps, so how can she make it better for the person after her?

for kelly: i guess for me, i'd want to know who is kelly outside of kara? i think she'll also call kara out with her bullshit, but i would want the military and vigilante tension and the larger understanding of sacrifice and justice to exist as tension points. let them war about it. but otherwise, i think kara just needs more female role models.

supercorp - YES

obviously, i have established that i do

but for a more thoughtful answer, i think for me the biggest thing here is that i just honestly love how their lives are intertwined already, simply by being collateral to the feud of their male relatives. before they knew each other, the lines have been drawn between them. come to find out that they're trying to cancel out the friction between lex and clark and be better than them? let me gobble that shit up. but also, the chemistry between them is great, even with the betrayal. to be the friend who broke lena luthor to such a degree as to seek revenge on behalf of the world? like, who else is doing it like them? they also just have chemistry and history with each other, the foundation for a relationship that, if nothing else, carve themselves in each other's souls, you know? the truth is this: it's like when one partner cheated on the other partner and they have to crawl back out of the hell they fell into to see if there's still a future with them. kara can be stubborn enough to try and go for it (as i choose to believe despite the wrong lesson she learned of washing her hands of her impact on lena) and lena, like i've established before, needs the kind of painful grit to know she's alive. that's so emo and melodramatic, but there needs to be a challenge or struggle of some sort for lena to exist. smooth sailing through and through would hurt her more than help her.

the point is that there are parallels to their lives that i think are interesting to jump off from, but i also think the dynamic of sinner against sinner, perpetrator and victim, friends to enemies to friends to lovers is so good for them

there are others probably but my brain is mushy now so just send it if you remember it

[iguessitsjustme]

I have not been able to stop thinking about this since episode 9 aired and I read an excellent insight into Pat’s character this morning by @wen-kexing-apologist so I wanted to talk about Jeng because he is the character that I relate to the most. Granted, I am not a high level manager in my parent’s successful company, BUT I’ve worked office jobs and I’ve been in management positions and overseeing people. Please keep in mind that I am approaching Jeng as a white queer person who was raised (all over) the United States so I can only truly add the perspective that gives me. Also I wrote this while bored at work so I was definitely not nearly as articulate as I like, and this might not be anyone else’s interpretation and I completely understand if you do not agree with me here. With that said, here we go:

I am probably the most cishet passing person in the world. There’s no particular reason for this other than it’s just the way I am and how I like to present. I don’t risk my safety by presenting queer, I just don’t. I live in a big city, my family is incredibly supportive, my friends are queer, a good number of my coworkers are queer, I am not closeted. But people see me and they assume that I am straight. For the purposes of this post I'm focusing on sexual orientation rather than gender what I’m focusing on because my relationship with gender right now is basically the shrug emoji. Despite being out as bi since I was 24 many years ago, I still find myself constantly coming out to people because if I say nothing, assumptions are made about me and those assumptions are based on a heteronormative worldview that society has cursed us all to and those assumptions about me are wrong. 

Now let’s look at Jeng. I’m not gonna mention Pat because I fully believe that Pat’s response to learning Jeng is attracted to men was entirely based on his own repressed feelings and not entirely an assumption that Jeng is straight. Jeng passes as straight. I’m sure that’s due to a combination of his position, his family, and just his overall personality. We know that Jeng is out to people. He talks to his friend about Pat, Jaab asks him about his feelings towards Pat, and when he brings Pat home, Jeng’s parents see Pat and make some assumptions about what occurred. So a significant number of people in Jeng’s life know that he is gay and it’s not only a significant number that know but the people closest to him know as well. The other people that are able to clock Jeng in this show are the other queer people. Chot and Jen just know. They see how he looks at and interacts with Pat and can see the humongous crush that Jeng is nursing. So Jeng is working under the assumption that around these people, he is out. He might present straight and he might keep that up for work purposes, but he believes himself to be out to at least the other queer people near him.

Then Pat says this:

And Jeng breaks. And I get that. Jeng knows that Pat is gay, Jeng thought that Pat knew he was gay. Jeng thought they were on the same page. Other queer people in Jeng’s life have known he was gay without him needing to explicitly state that. Pat, the person Jeng has been flirting with and has confessed to (while he was so drunk he couldn’t understand Jeng you beloved idiot) had no clue. At least that’s how it appears to Jeng, who is now in the unfortunate position of needing to out himself. Let me tell you something, it is exhausting to have to constantly come out to people. Every new person that I meet, if I want them to know that I am queer, I need to explicitly tell them because if I don’t, they will never know. I’ve had people think that I’m just a really good ally before. There are times I wish I was so entirely and visibly queer that no one would ever doubt it, and I’m sure Jeng felt that in this moment with Pat. It just takes one look at his face during this scene to know that Jeng has been here before and he is tired and his heart is breaking.

How many people do you think Jeng has had to make a choice between outing himself or letting them work with false assumptions regarding his sexuality? How many times has Jeng chosen to closet himself instead of being who he is? How many times has Jeng been interested in another man but had no chance because that person didn’t know or care to believe he is gay? Just needing to make the decision on whether or not to explicitly say, “Yes, I like men” or “I’m gay” is tiring in and of itself, but then the actual saying of the words? Depleting. Especially to someone who you thought already knew. It hurts when people think I’m just a really good ally. I can’t imagine the pain Jeng felt at Pat’s surprise because to Jeng, that surprise indicated that Pat saw him as a good ally (again, I do not think that’s what was going on with Pat but this is about Jeng and his interpretation) and not as someone with interest in him.

Then Jeng learns later on that Pat just doesn’t understand how someone like Jeng can like him. It doesn’t make sense to Pat. How many times has Jeng been made to feel like his sexuality, coming from him, doesn’t make sense? I’m sure his dad had some things to say about it. I’m sure part of the reason he left previously was due to that. So while Jeng is out, it is a constant coming out process and then an entire new process to get people to believe it. Jeng’s sadness is mostly about Pat rejecting him, but I’m sure at least a small part of it is also the tiny piece of him that was so sure that Pat at least knew he was gay.

Jeng now believes that Pat has only ever seen him as his straight boss and that can’t change. Pat sees him as a coworker, not even a friend, not even a member of the queer community. Just a coworker and nothing more. The revelation that Jeng likes and is attracted to men, made Pat uncomfortable. Is it because Jeng doesn’t obviously present as gay? Is it because he isn’t as clockable as someone like Chot? Now Jeng has to think of not only all of his interactions with Pat, but also all of his interactions with the other queer people in his office. Does he have to come out to them too or do they already know like he thought they did? Jeng was so busy being the most smitten man in the universe, it didn’t occur to him that his giant, massive, all-consuming crush on Pat might not have been obvious. I’m guessing the straight people in his office have been working under the assumption that he is straight. Will he need to come out to them too? He has been handling this for who knows how long, but this time, this time it HURTS.

Jeng was so worried about crossing the boundaries by being Pat’s boss that he didn’t even think about how dating a man would impact his worker’s perception of him. I don’t think he ultimately cares about what they think of his personal life or his personality as long as they are able to function as a department. But when Pat asked if he liked men, Jeng had to start reevaluating everything. Not just his interactions with Pat, but his interactions with the world. No wonder he seemed so just completely and utterly tired this episode. When Jeng and Pat finally work through their little miscommunication issues (which makes so much sense and work so well with this show I can’t even begin to describe my actual love for it which is weird cause miscommunication is my least favorite trope), I don’t think Jeng will actually change anything about the way he presents himself to the world. He still has his family to think about, and he’s still, well, he’s still Jeng. But I think this gave him some things to think about himself that he probably already knew but didn’t think he would have to explain to another queer person. Especially not Pat. Pat is out at the office, but it wasn’t entirely his choice. Pat outed himself so he would stop getting put in awkward conversations about the women in the office. Jeng might have seen something similar to himself in Pat. Pat could potentially pass as straight, and in fact did at the very beginning. He let people think he was dating a woman. Pat was careful who he came out to at the office. Jeng probably thought that of all people, Pat would understand him the best. Not explicitly out, but not in the closet either. How heartbreaking for both of them that their experiences clashed in such a way. But once those two get on the same page? They are gonna be the cutest couple in the entire world and I am so excited to see Jeng, finally, finally, be able to express his love for Pat to Pat as much as he wants to.

[mihai-florescu]

pride month on in-universe ensemble square stan twitter would be crazy

Oh it'd be so hectic. I'd pay to be there, and to see what Aira's secret account is tweeting. 30k rpf of his coworkers i hope. And the discourse over ensquare gaybaiting... i see it already

@cosprohoe: crazy (BEE!) how cospro has the gayest units in ensquare, they've done more for lgbt people in japan than all your flops combined

@finefanforever: wataru and eichi dont waltz on stage during the tempest night at every other concert for you to say this but ok

@cosprohoe: LMAOOO sweetie they're obviously baiting, you can't possibly think wataru and eichi are actually gay. Eichi literally has a fiancee. Wake up, they're profiting off you

@arashimakeupbrush: do any of you even listen to actual queer people or do you just like to fight. #StreamMysticFragrance

Im quite fond of there being discourse over whether eichi is actually secretly homophobic while gaybaiting the fans. I hope he tries to weaponize aira's secret account with like 5k followers to settle the discourse (it backfires) before having to make an official statement on the starpro account that he believes in equality for all etcetc without outing himself. Wataru's having the time of his life with all this

[berniesrevolution]

IN THESE TIMES

For nearly 40 years, Berlin Nightclub has set itself apart through its progressive, come-as-you-are atmosphere, late-night dance floor extravaganzas and bold, diverse drag performances. Now, workers at the club are seeking to set Berlin apart in a new way — by becoming the first nightclub in Chicago’s gay enclave with a unionized staff.

According to Jolene Saint, a bartender who has been working at Berlin for more than six years, on February 28th, workers at Berlin filed for union election with UNITE HERE Local 1 — a union representing more than 15,000 hospitality workers in Chicagoland. Two days later, staff notified management of their decision.

Saint says workers’ decision to unionize is ​“not personal, it’s not because we hate anybody — it’s because we know we could have better working conditions.” Two of Berlin workers’ key priorities resemble those of most union drives: better pay and healthcare. Saint, for instance, currently makes $9 an hour plus tips as a bartender, and does not receive health insurance from the club — both things she’d like to see improve. Workers In These Times spoke to said they would also like to see improvements such as proper breaks and consistent scheduling.

Yet other demands at the club have to do with its nature as a queer bar in a time when those spaces are under threat. As homophobic and transphobic rhetoric and violence increase nationally, Saint says she and her coworkers are also worried about violence coming towards the club from the outside. Workers In These Times spoke to mentioned security improvements they would like to see, including proper uniforms for all security staff as well as cut-proof jackets. Chelle Crotinger, who has been part of the club’s security staff for about five months, says they want to use the union as a way to ensure that security team members receive more in-person de-escalation and standard self-defense training.

“People often say that gay bars or queer bars are community spaces,” Saint says. ​“If they want to live up to that promise, they need to take care of the people who are making that happen … so that we can make people feel welcome, and loved.” Leo Sampson, who has been working at Berlin since fall 2021 and performs at the club as drag king Luv Ami-Stoole, sees fighting for the union as an act of community care.​“In a time where the political climate is so anti-drag and anti-trans, I think it’s important to remember we are all we’ve got is this community and we have to support each other,” he says.

Berlin’s union drive follows other recent efforts to improve conditions in Chicago’s queer nightlife scene. During the summer 2020, Chicago drag queen Jo MaMa and other local drag performers held a Drag March for Change, which drew 15,000 protestors. In the wake of the march, a group of performers formed the Chicago Black Drag Council, which held town halls to address racism in the nightlife scene in Northalsted and launched a mutual aid fund for BIPOC nightlife workers. Since then, workers at two of the city’s largest LGBTQ nonprofit organizations, Howard Brown Health Centers and Brave Space Alliance, have been fighting to unionize, which Sampson says has made the community more aware of labor issues. On Friday, members of Howard Brown Health Workers United joined Berlin workers on a picket line outside of the club. ​“We’re sort of inspiring each other to fight for what is right,” he says.

Crotinger sees their union drive as a way to help ensure Berlin remains a safe space for future generations amid larger-scale systemic attacks on queer and trans people. ​“In queer communities, we don’t really have the privilege of relying on legacy because it’s largely been taken away from us, whether it’s been through legislation or been through neglect of medical intervention for the AIDS epidemic,” they say. ​“I feel it’s our responsibility now … to establish something that is going to last beyond us.”

(Continue Reading)

[theo-decker]

My last job had lots of deranged personality types working with me, I took extensive notes while I was there and I have to save them for a short story or something (real emeryheads will remember my supervisor who was this mean butch---I nearly wrote hey mamas lesbian but that is a LITTLE unkind---who was always hitting on girls in the office. Well to summarise she ended up hiring her girlfriend and her girlfriend's friend to work with us. This managed to create like a voting bloc in the office against everyone else and the three girls would walk around like The Plastics except if one of them was a tiny butch with tufty hair). The current crop of people I work with are like... Kooky but basically don't hate my guts so I don't mind them, and include:

Current boss, an extremely horny bohemian mum whose major hobbies include belly-dancing, beer-tasting, and xianxia dramas. She is friendly but also likes to take contrarian positions on things to see what I will say. Like she will come up to me and be like, I support Donald Trump for president of the United States because there was no war when he was last in office. And I'll be like okay girl.

Supervisor, extremely neurotic and type A gay guy, he is very sweet, soft spoken and a gamer who loves cats but is always running around stressing and freaking everyone out. Naturally whenever we go to KTV he gets absolutely TRASHED and becomes very irritating. Also has a boyfriend who dresses and looks exactly the same as him, we have glimpsed him at KTV sometimes.

2 Hot Twentysomething Girls (TM). The first Hot Girl is our STEM teacher who has some of the most uncanny, effortless charm I have ever seen. I saw her at parents' night yesterday and was fascinated with her ability to pull people into her orbit. Everyone thinks of her as being "the one with the best English", which is why she has such a good job at this school even though she's more junior, but they don't realise it's literally just charisma. The second Hot Girl is the youngest, can't be more than 20, a bit dim and totally consumed by Xiaohongshu and IG. She is always grooming herself like a cat. She brushes her hair like ten times a day and does a whole teeth brushing and flossing routine everytime she eats anything (which is also rare because she is always on a diet).

+ But the actual reason I started writing this post is that I've just recently developed an inexplicable and vicious crush on my other coworker who is 10+ years older than me and married with two twin boys. Actually it's not THAT inexplicable, when we first met, Hot Girl 1 very accurately observed, "Although she is the oldest one here, she is clearly the cutest out of all of us." . This semester we are sharing a classroom. * ** ** **** * **** ** **** ** **** ***. No you cannot borrow a vowel.

[yeats-infection]

you've organized a union?? bro how are you consistently this cool, like one human being shouldn't be able to contain all this coolness...rock on

i thank you my friend but organizing a union has nothing to do with being cool... organizing is also the easy and fun part compared to bargaining and stewarding!! i also have not done and am not doing anything on my own. i was asked if i wanted to help early in the organizing process and then was part of the bargaining committee and am now the shop steward. we have sort of a three-person union leadership committee with a vice-steward and somebody who works more externally with the broader labor movement. we also have a five-person labor-management committee that helps out a lot with larger actions when we do them.

all you have to do is start quietly talking to the coworkers you bitch about work with and explore if a few other people are interested. ANY employee at ANY kind of job can form a union and it's okay if the union is really small!! ours is about 50 people. others in our local are as small as 5-10. and others are thousands of people!

once you have a small group you can look into local unions in the area and reach out to them to talk about organizing. there are unions that cover lots of different kinds of workers (united auto workers is one, i'm a UAW member) and unions that cover specific kinds of workers (nonprofit professional employees union, communications workers of america, service employees international union, etc). you would look for a "local" (a smaller regional affiliate) of one of these unions that is based in your area. the employees of the local can help train you on how to organize a larger group toward an election and they'll also train you on bargaining and be with you in bargaining. keep in mind that it is illegal for management to retaliate against you for union activities!!!

my gentle words of advice would be that if you are going to do this you have to be in it for the long haul. it doesn't end with organizing, and it gets much harder after that. for that reason, hating your boss is not enough of a reason to organize - by all means hate your boss and laugh thinking of their face when they get the notice of election... but that will not carry you through literally years of fighting over every penny and every letter of the contract. i will recommend trying to reframe your thinking to come at it from a perspective of 1) building solidarity among the lowest-paid and least powerful people at the workplace and redistributing some power to them and 2) being solutions-oriented to repair problems in your workplace and have a say in your conditions.

another exciting piece is that a union is a 501c4 organization under the US tax code - so you can lobby federal, state, and local governments on your issues :)

i think overall the moral of the story is that if any of us want to actualize any progressive ideas in this world we are going to have to do more work. and i mean more work in real life. tweeting about leftism and yelling at each other on tumblr about which gay pirate show is more politically righteous (not to accuse you of doing this anon, lol) has literally zero impact on the material conditions of reality. bringing about any real redistribution of power in society is going to take MORE WORK from ALL of us!! forming a union is an important way to do that work, especially as the more of us that have unions the stronger the labor movement is, and organized labor has the power and built-in solidarity to make headway on a number of other progressive issues...

[takeoutchopstix]

periodic reminder to other nonblack people that every right we have is due to black liberation movements throughout history.

as a nonblack person of color in the so-called United States, black liberation movements paved the way for increased civil rights for nbpoc.

black feminists created the theory and practice of intersectionality that allows my voice as a queer woman of color to be represented in some capacity in feminist spaces.

black trans women threw bricks at cops and started the gay liberation movement.

it's time we stopped bugging black people about showing solidarity for our liberation and started showing real solidarity for theirs.

this is your call to actually engage in black liberation in a meaningful way.

this is your reminder that black people calling out antiblackness in left wing spaces is not dividing us, rather, our perpetuation of antiblackness through our failure to address it within our communities is dividing us.

this is your push to engage in real, tangible action towards the liberation of Sudan, the DRC, and Tigray, to learn about pan-africanism and black leftism, to engage with Stop Cop City, and to fight antiblackness in your communities. to call out your friends, coworkers, family members, anyone you know. to donate what you can. to protest when you can.

stop arguing with no one. stay focused. check your privilege.

[doberbutts]

This probably sounds stupid but I’m asking in good faith, how can one bd antiblack while being black? And how does one become that way? Like I genuinely can’t comprehend how you can be racist towards people that are like you.

Easily: in an antiblack society, antiblackness is a system in which every person can be complicit or even can further. Your identity does not give you the magical ability to not be affected by or internalize antiblackness.

Kanye West is a rich black man who made his initial money and claim to fame singing about the black struggle in the United States. Due to a mixture of various things- some of which the general public such as ourselves will not be aware of and some that we are well aware of- he began to show antiblackness first towards his black ex girlfriends where he would sing about them using antiblack stereotypes. Then he began to use antiblackness as a weapon against anyone who disagreed with him, coming to a head when he threw in his lot with Trump. This is why I say, from there it's really not that surprising that he began to show antisemitism. He was already well on his way.

I once had a black coworker who looked me in the face and said, Jaz you're such a nigger. Why? Because some of my likes and preferences are in line with a few black stereotypes and she viewed that as a bad thing. That's antiblackness. Doesn't matter if the person who says it is black.

I had another black coworker try to explain to me there's "black people" and "niggers" and those counted among "niggers" were as many offensive black stereotypes as he could list. That's antiblackness. Doesn't matter if the person saying it is black.

Chris Rock made an antiblack and ableist joke about Jada Smith despite himself being black and disabled.

There are cis women gleefully signing away abortion rights. There are gay people forcibly outing each other. There are transgender people misgendering and suicide baiting each other. There are disabled people hurting each other over parking spaces and benefits. There are jews parroting all sorts of conspiracy theory nonsense.

Your identity does not mean you cannot harm people like you. In a bigoted society we are all responsible, we are all culpable, and we are never immune from it.

[genderqueerdykes]

I've always felt uncomfortable in my agab and it's taken me a long time (I'm in my 30s now) to get to the point where I finally figured myself out and realized I want to transition (ftm). I know this is a very individual thing and depends on a lot of things, but do you have any general advice on coming out as trans?

I'M SO PROUD OF YOU THOUGH!!!!! i'm really, really proud of people who come out in their 30s, 40s, and so on, it makes me soooo happy you have no idea, i'm glad you finally get to live a more comfortable life for yourself

in general, it's way easier to come out to friends than family, unless you know you have specific friends that will take it poorly. either way, coming out to friends at first makes it way easier. don't feel pressured to wait until HRT or until you look the way you want to to come out. i know a lot of people feel like they have to "look" trans before they come out to be taken seriously. don't wait, just tell people.

take the time to build confidence in yourself before coming out. find a day where you already feel good about who you are and how you identify, and where you actually want to talk about who you are. i find it's easiest when you actually want to be having that conversation in the first place, it makes other people more receptive and engaged.

starting with name and pronouns is usually easiest, that's what i did, if you want to change those, or if they give you dysphoria. i came out to my best friend at the time and said "hey, i think i'm a guy, I'd like you to start calling me (name) and using he/him pronouns." i was very comfortable with that person, though, and i know it's not quite that easy for everyone. you can write a letter, text, email, IM message, etc. if you want because some people find it easier to write down their thoughts. either way, give it to them as simply as possible and while they're chewing on that and changing the way they refer to you in conversation, you can transition socially in other ways like the way you dress, etc.

if they respond poorly, i would recommend finding support elsewhere and transitioning with people who support you, whoever that can be. whether they're online friends, local queer friends you find at an LGBT alliance, transgender resource center, gay hangout spot, what have you.

coming out to family is a bit harder, that one i had to do long distance and over text. but if you have a good relationship with your family, you can chance that once you have a bit more confidence and support. coming out at work is honestly the easiest because at least in the united states they are legally obligated to accept the change and if they don't you can get your managers and coworkers in serious trouble. that usually tends to go over the smoothest. if they refuse, they can very easily lose their jobs if you take the correct channels to report them for discrimination.

anyway, i hope that was enough to help! take care, i'm so proud of you, i'm glad you've realized who you are and are taking the steps to live a more authentic life! good luck with everything@

[clowns-to-the-west]

my mom has a gay couple in her unit and because one was a trans man apparently all the nurses were confused. so my mom came to me at dinner tonight and asked me to explain it and i got to a bit. even though i am not out to her, she still comes to me to ask the the right things about it. i also think the image of her saying to her old coworkers amidst a crowd of boomer confusion “don’t worry about it, i’ll ask my [daughter]” to help clear things up is incredibly funny. she has come a long way and i see it.

also my dad walked up to say something at one point, heard us, and booked it without saying anything. he came back but it was so fucking funny

[kabutoraiger]

finished residential complex!

in the end i am never immune to stories where everyone learns to be better & happier people and turn into something of a big communal family unit. they have fun little parties together now 🥺 and watch out for each others kids 🥺 you love to see it.

and even though the gay relationship aspect is very... written for well meaning but unaware straight people and maybe kinda outdated for 2018 i'm never fully immune to that either. this guy's boyfriend is besties now with his formerly homophobic mom! he's like her new son. and even the little kids believe that love is love. so. sweet.

that being said getting to this cute ending is... a little wearisome at times. it's so frustrating watching the main couple deal with nothing but this emotionally taxing infertility angst the whole show and yet never once bring up the idea of adoption? that it ends with things still not working out for them & them accepting it is pretty interesting & rare in this sort of schmaltzy jdrama, but. there are still options for having kids that they never discuss at all which felt a little odd to me.

also i am boggling over the decision to include this... subplot? about hirose's evil mastermind coworker who's yanderely obsessed with having this gay man father her child!? subplot snuck in from a different type of show entirely right there. like. i barely even know what to say about it bc this insane sequence of events gets so little resolution. that sure is... some shit that happened, i guess.

mashima-san is predictably moe in this but maybe not the most comfortable playing gay and the relationship is a bit chemistry-less to me. rather i ended up more in love with ms takahashi maryjun in this show... she is sooo unbelievably cute... her character is wife city. the way she gets so enthusiastic about being this kid's new mom 😭 sexy guy from kamen rider saber turned his behavior around by the end but he still didn't totally deserve her if you ask me!!

[ablackwomansurvivingrape]

Women who were STALKED by a violent partner after obtaining a protective order were significantly more likely to experience POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER than women with protective orders who were not stalked.

STALKING IN THE UNITED STATES

1 in 3 Women & 1 in 6 Men EXPERIENCE STALKING AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFETIMES

72% OF STALKING VICTIMS WERE THREATENED WITH PHYSICAL HARM

84% OF STALKING VICTIMS FELT FEARFUL,THREATENED, OR CONCERNED FOR SAFETY

11% OF STALKING CASES LAST>5 YEARS

1 in 5 stalkers use WEAPONS to threaten or harm their victims

1 in 7 stalking victims RELOCATE

MOST COMMON STALKING TACTICS EXPERIENCED BY VICTIMS

75 UNWANTED PHONE CALLS

APPROACHED/SHOWED UP 57%

57% TEXTS,EMAILS, MESSAGES

FOLLOWED & WATCHED 52%

26% SENT GIFTS, CARDS, LETTERS

Most stalkers use multiple tactics

WHO ARE STALKERS?

40% CURRENT OR FORMER PARTNER

42%ACQUAINTANCE

8%BRIEF ENCOUNTER

19% STRANGER

8% FAMILY MEMBER

4%PERSON OF AUTHORITY

STALKING & LGBTQ+ INDIVIDUALS

LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely than hetersexual and cisgender indidividuals to experience stalking victimization

STALKING VICTIMIZATION BY SEXUAL ORIENTATION:

BISEXUAL 1 in 3 women 1 in 14 men LESBIAN/GAY 1 in 5 women 1 in 9 men HETEROSEXUAL 1 in 6 women 1 in 20 men

Experience Stalking

1 in 7 transgender & nonbinary/genderqueer undergraduate students & 1 in 17 of all under graduate students

LGBTQ+ individuals face stigma, prejudice, & discrimination when accessing services. Listening, being open, and treating victims with respect is essential

59% of male victims&

86% of female victims are stalked by men regardless of sexual orientation

The majority of LGBTQ+ victims are stalked by someone they know -most likely an acquaintance, neighbor, coworker, or roomate.

SPARC STALKING PREVENTION AWARENESS AND RESOURCE CENTER