#it’s an affirmation of her family’s acceptance of her gender identity

[1000dactyls]

We see a lot of trans hiccup (rightfully so!!) But with your t4t hiccstrid post, I'm curious what your thoughts/headcanons on trans Astrid are? (Idk I just feel like we don't see transfem headcanons talked abt enough. I LOVE your art btw)

you are absolutely correct and I’ve been turning over specifically astrid’s coming of age arc in my head for this reason!!!

Something interesting to me is how Astrid lacks the goofy naming tradition of Berk. To me, in part that’s because when she came out as a girl she really wanted to leave her old identity behind including the silly nature of her name… but ‘Astrid’? Now that’s a name worth fearing, that’s a name that sounds powerful, and for people to respect her and her being-a-girl, she needs to have a name worth respecting. she needs to be The Perfect Girl, the perfect warrior, so she trains day and night to become the best shieldmaiden because that’s what her community needs. They need someone who can fight and kill dragons and protect their home

and then all of that gets upended

And now she’s left with… Astrid the girl who is the best shieldmaiden of her age. but what use is that strength now that there’s peace? how does she come to terms with this new identity? With this name and this image that she picked out for herself that no longer needs to exist the way it once needed to?

Something I’m particularly interested in is exploring Astrid’s trans feminine identity in the largely violent, strength-dominant culture that does not need to exist as it once did. this is why astrid cooking in gotnf and episodes like flight of passage are so interesting to me… we get to see astrid express interest in new ideas and struggle with peacetime, but despite that, she’s clearly someone who loves deeply. Astrid loves Berk, she is willing to kill and die for it — now she has to learn to live for it

[ask-codeearasure]

So... About that shitty Cross take that one person made....

If you've been following certain creators, even this account, I'm sure you've spotted a specific idiot going around complaining about Cross being Trans-Coded and using Republican talking points to say that it's "forced" or "doesn't make sense" and whatever other bullshit that shouldn't even be looked at let alone acknowledged. HOWEVER, instead, we are gonna sit down and talk about how the Trans Experience is so versatile and why Cross (and similar characters) being Trans-Coded is actually extremely important.

Gender nonconformity is fucking terrifying to Republicans, this is why it's been one of this generation's favorite punching bags.

If you look at the women who are tied to the Republican Party, you see a lot of hyperfemininity, so much so it's easy to tell that Barbie is considering suing them for stealing all her plastic.

Jokes aside, gender affirming care is gender affirming care and they are using the same gender affirming care that trans people have been using for years. This isn't only about nail products and cosmetic surgery, but also breast reduction or implant surgeries.

Gender affirming care however, is demonized by the right because they don't get it nor do they acknowledge that there is a range to it.

I once read a story about how one person had realized they were trans because a friend of theirs pointed out that when they had the option of choosing the gender of their playable characters in gaming, they always went with the gender they were not assigned at a birth. Example being an AFAB person constantly choosing male characters.

Though I have not finished watching Underverse this is applicable of XFrisk and XChara shoving the name "Cross" onto... Cross. They are pointing out he is not Sans despite being assigned that name since creation. Their true intentions here had cruelty in mind, but Cross made the name his own.

He is in denial about it which is applicable to how a LOT of trans people are in denial about it sometimes. Hell I remember a Right Wing talking head on Twitter who had tried to transition, detransistioned due to pressure from their family and then stayed at their assigned gender because of it and falling for the Republican propaganda.

Denial isn't just a river. It never has been.

Some people are in denial about their gender identities and sexual orientation and with the coming presidency we are going to see a rampant uptick in that statistic. With that coming, characters like Cross are needed far more.

Cross's story, as far as I've seen, is rough and follows a lot of self-acceptance and self-advocating storylines. Even when it comes to the biggest things that anyone from the LGBTQIA+ has to face, one of these struggles being the fear of rejection and/or being rejected by one's peers.

From what I've seen when it comes to spoilers is that Cross does end up being rejected by those he was close to before meeting Ink, and thus has to come full circle and accept himself by saying "I am Cross". He has to deny the name he went by in the past. He has to because if he doesn't, he'd be giving in to living in denial of who he truly is and thus be living a life of suffering for no reason than to keep others comfortable, setting himself on fire to keep people who couldn't give a damn about him warm.

A lot of Trans people have to show their rejection of their past or even the acceptance of that past to come to terms with themselves. Each person is different when it comes down to finding who they are and accepting that. It depends on the individual.

Some treat their past and their deadname as though they're a completely different person or someone who died so they could live. Think of a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Others treat it like their past self was the caterpillar where their new and true self is the butterfly.

Is it perfect?

No.

Is Jakei a perfect writer?

No. Neither are a lot of my favorite writers and franchises (I'm looking at you Riot Games and your shitty centrist takes on the worst of human history's sins).

But some of the things that imperfect writers make are beautiful and Cross is one of them. He is one of the few characters that speaks for the writer when it comes to saying "I see you, I see your pain. I see your suffering. You are not alone. You deserve to live your life the way you want to. You are valid."

But there are a few questions that the more clueless of people are going to ask.

Why bring Politics into this? And why do Republicans like the media made by progressives?

The answers are FASCINATING.

I bring Politics into this because Republicans, specifically Cishet white people, have made everything political since the beginning of time. Everything they don't like, everything different from them, everything they don't understand, and everything that directly rebels against their patriarchal idea of "paradise" is now considered "Political".

I remember a Republican had argued the dumbest thing once, and I was so dumbfounded I had to take a step back because holy shit.

Their argument was that black people enslaved each other which made their enslavement by white people their own fault.

Now if your jaw is on the floor, you already know where the problem is. If you don't get where the problem, is let me ask you something.

If that is the case, who was the one who made it all about skin color?

I'll tell you.

It was the white people (who were Democrats before the massive party switch, which makes them modern day Republicans).

Who were the ones who made having jobs all about gender? It was the Cishet white men (99% of whom are Republicans).

Who constantly demonized the LGBTQIA+ community during the Stonewall Riots? Mostly Cishet White Republicans.

Who are demonizing Trans people right the fuck now? Republicans and Pick-Me Gay people who vote for Republicans and side with Republicans thinking that the Republicans will finally accept them when they know Republicans won't fucking do it.

Being LGBTQIA+, making non-white characters, making a character a woman, it makes that character "Political", and "Political" characters are always the ones put on the spot for accusations of "forced diversity" and "perversion" where anyone with a working sense of conscience will understand this is a talking point butthurt Republicans or those warped by Republicans pulled out of their assholes looking for a problem where there isn't one.

All art, be it animation, digital art, traditional art, singing, writing, is political. They've always been political.

Do you want to know why Republicans are always bitching about coffee orders? It's because the Enlightenment era thus leading to the Romantic Era of literature was started because of coffee shops it was where all the best writers hung out. The moment they met each other and started talking to each other, the Enlightenment and Romantic Eras started taking off in full force.

It is because of the Enlightenment and Romantic Era writers we don't have Child Labor anymore. A lot of their writing brought talks of nature and the horrors of Child Labor into question. You can't talk about the history of Child Labor without talking about William Blake's Chimney Sweeper and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Cry of the Children. You fucking can't. Without Blake and Browning we'd still have children in mines and on rooftops risking their lives to clean your fucking chimney.

And here is where we get to the why. Why Republicans LOVE progressive media.

Here is a little secret.

All shows and media made by Republicans are shit because it is all Propaganda.

I know. Shocker.

Look around.

Mr. Birchum, New Norm, Leo and Layla, it's all propaganda. It's all the same Republican talking points that they never shut up about and even then they don't know what they're talking about.

Ask a Republican what "intersex" means. Do it, I dare you.

They won't fucking know but they'll tell you that it's Satanic and shouldn't be allowed near children.

They'd never guess that it's a spectrum of natural gender nonconformity and mixed sexual/hormonal characteristics such as having PCOS or being AMAB and still having a functioning uterus. They don't care that their delusions about there only being "male" and "female" for reproductive sex options has led to medical malpractice, social abuse, murder, and erasure of intersex individuals, and the ones that do know about intersexuality diagnose it as a "Differential Sexual Development Disorder" as if just being born intersex makes someone's existence inherently wrong with an inherent need for surgical and hormonal "correcting".

Republicans like progressive media because it knows how to say something and still be well written. This is why Republicans LOVE Star Trek, Star Wars, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, and Arcane.

It's all progressive media but it all knows how to build a world and say something. Good writers are progressive and know how to write.

Don't get me wrong there is a LOT of fucking garbage that tries to be progressive but that is a small outlier that Republicans LOVE to bring out and bash on to say that we're the ones who ruin media. They make false equivalences to try to make you stop thinking. They need stop-thinking clichés and talking points because it's all they have. But they are so fucking terrified of anything different from what is in their stupid bubble that saying "Oh yeah the champion Taliya is trans" will send them screaming and crying.

Yeah, Riot Games danced around the fact that one of their characters is Trans because they knew she'd scare off the entirety of the Republican player base. They had to hide it and use her magical girl skin to gently hint at it with "Yeah when I'm in this outfit I feel more like myself!" and the entire multi hour long Star Guardian album animation having the Trans Flag being the main pallet on everything.

I honestly wonder how many Republicans ran off when they saw THAT CaitVi scene in Arcane.

Republicans just hate anything that isn't Cis, isn't Hetero, isn't a man, and isn't white. This is why it's not uncommon to find that cishet white men are always found at Klan rallies or the modern Klan rallies which are called "Trump Rallies" these days.

This is why a lot of exhausted Democrats, Liberals, and BIPOC, Feminists, and LGBTQIA+ people have been laughing their asses off at the Pick-Mes who are getting fucked over now that they realize that surprise surprise, Project 2025 was the plan! We fucking told you so, dipshit!

This is what you asked for dumbass! We tried to warn you. You didn't listen. LESSON FUCKIN LEARNT!

Republicans like progressive shit because we make good media.

Republicans HATE anything that isn't CISHET and WHITE.

Now, am I saying all this to claim the person who made that anti-trans Cross post is a Republican, an abuser, or anything else that contributed to this systematic nonsense? Absolutely fucking not. That's an extreme statement to make and they're most likely just a very mislead kid who may or may not have been influenced by a couple of these problems, and them acting out the way they did is perhaps a reflection of how important it is to acknowledge these things even if our community is just fandom and the point is to have fun, to have a distraction from all the bad powers at play.

Either way, their actions pissed me off. Hope they learn.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Get the fuck out.

-- Ouija

[eternal-echoes]

“Your child says she's trans. Now what? Many parents are frightened that if they don't affirm the child's declared gender identity, they could lose their child. In fact, some trans activists openly discuss how they train family court judges to view parental hesitation as a form a "medical neglect."(2) As a result, some parents can lose custody of their children if they don't consent to hormones and surgery.(3) Therefore, what should you do if your child claims to be trans? If you don't affirm her proclaimed gender identity, are you rejecting her?

First off, here's what not to do: Don't freak out, be dismissive, tell her it's just a phase, try to win a debate, convince her she's immature, or remind her that the frontal lobe of her brain isn't fully developed. Upon reading this, some parents might think, "Okay, I already managed to do all of that during our first conversation, and now she's locked in her room with her earphones on, not answering the door, and probably staring at her cellphone screen again. Any suggestions for damage control?"

When the dust settles, approach her gently and say, "I want to apologize. I'm sorry I didn't handle that very well. I honestly wasn't sure what to think or what to say. Do you mind if I could try to listen again?" Although teenagers often have a short attention span when listening to their parents, they have a surprisingly long one when parents offer a sincere apology. Nonetheless, if she spouts off a snarky reply, give her a pass this time. Let her air her grievances.

Should she be willing to reengage in a conversation, here are ten tips for your initial discussions:

One: Express gratitude that she has shared this information with you. Odds are, these feelings have been brewing in her mind for quite some time, but she was afraid to talk to you about them. She might have privately navigated through stages of initial awareness about her gender dysphoria, followed by waves or confusion, shame, exploration, self-rejection, resignation, and acceptance. For her to confide in you more deeply about where she's at in this process, she'll need to feel safe.

Two: Express reverent curiosity. By the time she talks to you about this, she has probably spent countless hours learning about the subject online and discussing it with others. If you don't understand concepts or terms she uses, invite her to explain what she means by them. If some of them strike you as absurd, unscientific, or theologically unsound, now is not the time to debate. Listen and learn what she's thinking. If you show her that you're willing to listen to her, in due time she'll value what you have to say in return. If she's open to sharing with you some of the sources where she's learned about the topic of gender, take the time to explore what they are saying, so you can better understand what she's thinking. In time, as she sees that you're willing to learn more about what matters to her, she may be open to reviewing resources you could share with her, that charitably call into question some of the ideologies she may have internalized.

Three: Be empathetic. Don't try to disprove her feelings. Rather, find places where you agree and might be able to affirm her ache or discontent. You could say, "I can see why you would feel constrained by the way the world expects people to fit into stereotypes. That makes sense." Although you might not agree on what it means for her live as her "authentic self," you can affirm her desire to live authentically. You could also affirm that this must be difficult to experience and acknowledge that you realize she didn't choose to feel this way. It's possible to validate her feelings without validating her reasoning, beliefs, and ideology. You could add, "I can see this has been very hard on you. I hear what you're saying, and I want to help. Thank you for trusting me with this."

Four: Rather than interrogating her, ask thoughtful questions. For example, "Can you tell me more about this? I want to understand." "What can I do for you?" "What has it been like to tell me about this? It must have taken courage." As your conversations deepen with time, you might be able to gradually map out the history of conflicts she has felt with her sexual identity. For example, "When did you start feeling this way?" "What was happening in your life at that time?" "When does the discomfort feel most intense?" For some individuals, gender dysphoria is like a white noise always playing in the background of their lives. For others, it fluctuates in intensity, and certain things such as formal attire and events (where individuals are expected to dress in a strictly masculine or feminine way) could trigger dysphoria. Another female recalled, "I felt the most dysphoric in my teenage years just in my bedroom.”(4) As you learn more about her experiences, you can discover ways to avoid triggering some of the distress.

Five: Don't debate her memories, even if they seem embellished. Parents of gender dysphoric teens often note that their child often reinterprets their childhood history through a transgender lens. Rather than trying to disprove her recollection, listen to her perception.

Six: Be humble. If she points out some of your flaws and the hurts that you have caused, own what you can without blame-shifting. Seek forgiveness where it is needed. Often, parents worry that if they admit blame, they empower their children to hold things against them. The opposite is true. When children witness authentic vulnerability, they learn from example that ownership of one's shortcomings is a trait to be emulated.

Seven: Remind her that she is loved. Reaffirm that you will never leave her, no matter what. Explain that God loves her unconditionally as well. Perhaps you could take this moment to also apologize on behalf of the Church if she has ever been alienated by members of her faith community. Reassure her that God loves her, that He desires a personal relationship with her, and that the Church is her home. Assure her of your prayers and encourage her to have a genuine prayer life as well.

Eight: Listen for deeper motives. Drs. Yarhouse and Sadusky write:

What motivates their gender atypical behavior varies. Teens may engage in atypical expression to manage gender dysphoria, reduce anxiety about body image, express a sense of "true self," experience sexual arousal, seek entertainment, or respond to boredom. Moreover, some teens do appear to be in a search for identity and community.(5)

Each person's motivation is their own. But by listening well, you can gradually discover that there are often motives that run much deeper than simply the profession, "I'm trans." What might appear on the surface to be a feeling of inadequacy could have a layer of shame beneath it, and self-hatred at the core. Insofar as these or other deeper factors surface, try to help them distinguish how they feel from who they are. Your unconditional love will help her to explore difficult emotions such as resentment, anger, hurt, and self-loathing, so that the deeper unmet needs can be addressed with healthy strategies.

Nine: Don't pull away from your child. The topic of gender can cause so much relational friction that some parents opt for a "flight" response, hoping the difficulty will spontaneously resolve if they ignore it long enough. One young woman recalled that as she was wrestling with the idea of gender, she felt as if she were being pushed in a "confused and desperate head space" by her parent's isolated attitude toward her. Speaking of her mother, she wished that she "would have shown a bit more understanding and asked me some questions and talked to me like I was a human being going through a struggle rather than a problem to be solved."(6) So, rather than viewing her as a problem to be solved, consider her to be a mystery to be gradually revealed. According to existing research on the well-being of LGBT-identifying young people, the best predictor of their well-being over time is the quality of their relationship with you, their parents.(7)

Ten: Buy yourself time. You could say, "To be honest, this is a lot for me to understand. But I can tell that this really matters to you, and so I want you to know that I take this seriously because of that. I need some time to process our conversation and learn more about this." Telling her that you need time enables you to avoid making any major decisions or promises (other than love) in your initial conversations. It allows you time to strategize how to help them manage their dysphoria in the least invasive manner possible. Further, it models the type of thoughtful discernment around complexity that you hope your child would emulate.”

-Jason Evert, Male, Female, or Other: A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender

—

Work cited:

2) Julian Vigo, "Capitulating to Bullies: Brown University and the Transgender Lobby vs. Science," Public Discourse (October 7, 2018).

3) Cf. Ryan Anderson, "Parents Denied Custody of Child for Refusing Support of Transgenderism: Here's What You Need to Know," Lifesitenews.com, February 19, 2018.

4) "DETRANSITION Q&A (#1)," https://youtu.be/kxVmSGTgNxI.

5) Mark Yathouse and Julia Sadusky, Emerging Gender Identities (Ada, MI: Brazos Press, 2020), 67.

6) "DETRANSITION Q&A (#1)," https://youtu.be/kxVmSGTgNxI.

7) Cf. Yarhouse and Sadusky, Emerging Gender Identities, 66.

—

For more recommended resources on gender dysphoria, click here.

[pnfc]

here is some train-of-thought writing that came out today while i was thinking about labels/identity for d&p, sexuality and gender.

EDIT on ao3 here.

18+ for (brief) sex scenes, you’ve been warned, door is over there etc

When Perry laid out the realities of his private life to the Flynn-Fletcher family it was not, in his preplanning mind, a gay coming-out. That was like the 9th or 10th layer of the curtain he was pulling away in the grand reveal, a flimsy one attendant in its connection to Heinz Doofenshmirtz and all the messiness he embodied, mortal threats on Perry and tristate domination schemes and more than one cringeworthy viral video.

So it’s sweet and befuddling to Perry when Phineas and Ferb gift him a handknitted rainbow pride scarf for his birthday that year, maybe the last people he’d expect to take that particular tack.

“Phineas is really taking to Home Ec,” Ferb tells Perry as they refill at the coffee table. “I don’t mean to devalue our shared gift in your eyes, but he made that in just half a period, it was his first project. And I think,” Ferb continues in his low voice, as he retrieves the creamer for Perry. “He might be just a little excited to have a gay family member.”

That’s what Perry is, now that he and his connection with Heinz are out for the world to see. He’d never thought of it in those terms before, nor had Heinz used the word to describe their still-new romantic partnership. Perry’s gay and his former nemesis turned agent-partner is now his boyfriend, is the buzz at the office.

Perry thought it might have a welcome insulating effect, word spreading that Agent P isn’t into women, on an official basis this time. But it didn’t stop Agent Lyla from flirting at him, in fact seemed to goad her on, like Perry’s stony indifference to her was funny, fun to poke at. And it didn’t stop women from cooing over him in public, even with the enamel flag pin from Stacy pinned to his hat band -- again, that may have only exacerbated the situation.

But it did spare him from at least one Monogram holiday present, a profoundly haunting OWCA calendar starring female models in states of Christmassy undress, posed with plush animals. He’d yanked it back out of Perry’s hands, with what might have been bashfulness, and muttered “Gotta get a male model calendar for next year, too, so HR doesnt get on my keister. Carl! You’re in charge of the gay one.”

Perry accepted the designation of gay man, even if he didn’t feel it in his bones. It fit on him like a well tailored suit, the rainbow aesthetic was appealing, queer human history was deeply compelling and Stacy et al were so excited to share in his education on the subject, to share a place with him behind the marching banner. It affirmed Perry’s lifelong indifference to the human and non-human women he was assumed to feel attraction for. But it all felt a bit specious, since Perry harbored attraction for one person only. He couldn’t in a century feel for anyone else the way he does Heinz.

Still here he is, a man with a boyfriend, and if the fact that he’s a platypus threatens that definition, that opinion is not possessed by the people in his life who matter. So he’s gay.

Heinz shares Perry’s ambivalence around labeling, but out of a long legacy of experience that Perry lacks, so he’s a refuge in this. “Bisexual, yeah, that was the rage back in college,” he waxes nostalgic to Perry, during their nighttime couch convos. “The only way to be, unless you were a college republican finance major. But there’s pansexual now too, right? And so many flags -- Vanessa’s friends were over here trying to explain it to me. That girl Laci had so many flags on her bag, it was like the Olympics back there. Or like the last 50 years of Drusselstein regional flags from the warring states -- except like, in more colors than just grey and brown. Drusselstein had a serious dye shortage. They finally cut a deal with the Ukraine in 2006 for green, it was a real gamechanger, but it only complicated the flag design wars.”

“…Anyway it was fun to be bi, in the 80s,” Heinz says. He’s sprawled along the couch, Perry sitting against his bare bent leg, idly rubbing a paw around his knee. “Guys really put themselves together back then, they were electric. And if you slapped on enough liner and eyeshadow to partly obscure your weird shaped face maybe one of them would give you his number, if he had enough cocktails. And sometimes that number would even be legit.”

Pausing, Heinz looking up at the lofty ceiling, his head on the armrest. “I don’t know if I am bi anymore, Perry the Platypus,” he says with a note of regret. “Everyone’s just so sad now, so Linkedin and Panera Bread, even the evil scientists of the day are so sexless -- I dunno, maybe I’ve aged out of the crowd. Once I hit 30 it just seemed easier sticking with women. They can be a lot kinder, in my experience. Or at least more liable to pity a guy like me. Plus they’re, y’know, really hot -- trust me on that one, Perry the Platypus. So I dunno if I’ve got the right to be all ‘loud and proud’ just because I knew how to party in my 20s. …At least, I didn’t have the right for a good decade there.” Perry’s smirking across at him, elbow propped on the bend of Heinz’s knee. “You don’t need to give me that look,” Heinz scolds. “I know what you are to me. You don’t need to rub it in. “But, you know what I mean: you outgrow the bi phase, you get married, you work with a lot of cute dancers, accept an arduous future of heterosexual post-divorce dating efforts -- and then you, ah -- meet a very attractive platypus,” he says, struggling because Perry is pressing his hands into Heinz’s thigh, trailing a leisurely path upwards. “And it, uh. Gets confusing. …Oh my god, Perry.” His splayed leg shakes and he props it up on the back of the couch as Perry focuses on worsening the situation in his cotton workout shorts. He told Perry not to rub it in -- that’s always annoying, being told what not to do, what not to rub.

Despite all of Heinz’s wordy equivocating he is loud about Perry’s role in his life, the first to introduce Perry as his boyfriend or himself as Perry’s, though he tends to prefer the word partner, maybe for its alliterative quality. “Yes, Perry the Platypus is my partner,” is the line trod out to whichever party guest, since more often than not Perry is the one who needs no introduction. “And I mean romantic partner, just to be clear, so there’s no confusion. Because we used to be work partners too, and we still are. But we’re an item.” And if Heinz deems the partygoer in question to be sufficiently magnetic and therefore threatening he will follow this up with the even more unnecessary “So don’t even think about it.” Perry should find this more mortifying than he does, probably, except that it’s cut short conversations with a lot of people who turned out not to be worth Perry’s time. Quite efficient, letting your boyfriend trim the homophobic tallow off your social sphere with his blunt-sheared social crudity. More than one social blowout has turned into a furious makeout session back behind the venue, Perry dragging Heinz’s back down a brick wall so he can suck his tongue, so Heinz’s pleas of “Perry we’re parked right over there” muffle into whimpers under a canopy of evening cicada call.

Perry came up in OWCA right when they were transforming their internal messaging, making it superficially friendlier. Some changes were Carl’s well-meaning suggestions that became enshrined. “The agents shouldn’t be shamed out of exploring their natural desires,” was the gist of his plea to Monogram -- Perry retains a fuzzy memory of the scene, he couldn’t have been older than 3 then, was delivering a hot beverage to Monogram’s office as part of his daily duties. “Even the ones who aren’t, um… intact, they still feel things.”

“So we tell them not to. Anything less is insanity. It’s sick, Carl.” He took the heavy coffee from Perry’s hands. Perry’s palms were wet and burning. “The animals need to focus on one thing, and that’s the mission. Lord knows I don’t need to hear about whatever nasty business they get up to back at the zoo, in their off-hours. But we’re dealing with dumb, wild animals, Carl. We need to stamp out all that mating distraction with a vengeance. This is a war, Carl, against evil itself, and they’re humanity's front line.”

But Carl must’ve gotten something through, because the recruits younger than Perry endured less scare mongering around sex, fewer militaristic tirades from Monogram about the primacy of the fight and the evils of carnal temptation. Mono’s coffee mug featured a hula dancer whose bikini vanished at high temperatures -- it had always been difficult to take him seriously.

And one day they’d all been gifted a Carl-designed asexual pride tee, the OWCA logo in purple and grey, and a “Be who you are!” platitude written in Carl’s loopy cursive. This messaging was muddled to say the least. This was a human designation, asexuality, of which Perry had only partial comprehension -- and Carl seemed to be prescribing it to the agents even as his words encouraged free identity. But the design was nice, Carl had a flair for that -- the flag colors were classy and austere, not quite to Perry’s taste where t-shirts were concerned, but definitely suited to Heinz. Except Perry knew even back then that if any human pride flag fit Heinz, this was not it.

He still has that shirt bunched in the bottom of a drawer with the other old employee tees, including one with Carl’s face and chocolate stains on it. Maybe that human designation does fit Perry, in a certain technical sense. In the fall and winter. Seasons when he sits with Heinz watching trashy old 70s flicks that burgeon and bulge with more nudity than the plot demands. “You see how they filmed skin back then, Perry the Platypus?” Heinz will lament. “It’s crazy, her legs are like glowing -- people don’t look like this anymore.” He works himself up trying to explain the magic effect to Perry, while Perry just leans into his side and gazes up at him. Human attraction is cute, defanged like this, watching Heinz helpless in the thrall of some chainsmoking director’s bad movie about a city cop taking down apocalyptic gangs. And just to be mean Perry won’t touch Heinz’s hard-on -- but he’ll touch everywhere else, as the movie plays, nose his bill up the side of his shirt and kiss his hot skin, and he’ll watch Heinz shudder his way to breaking point, whereat he digs himself out of his pants and pulls himself off in a few fast strokes. Perry doesn’t need to get off to enjoy this. It satisfies just like the old thwartings. Perry’s just hitting other self-destruct buttons, on Heinz’s body -- he’s really one big button, if Perry’s honest, and Perry savors pushing it again, and again, and again.

So he could take or leave the labels. He likes that he and Heinz cut a different shape, one that doesn’t slot neatly into a human-made hole. But they mean a lot to the kids, Perry observes, as they grow into high schools and colleges, as they get passionate and motivated, as Vanessa breaks up with Monty and doesn’t look back. And Perry, Perry’s not even a person to so many of the humans he encounters, much less one with an orientation worth caring about. So it’s nice. He carries the cheery rainbow umbrella with the London skyline that Lawrence brought back from across the pond. He wears Ferb and Phineas’s snazzy rainbow scarf, Stacy’s hat pin. It’s not borne deep in Perry’s bones, this identity, but it’s a lovely accent, fortified by the people he loves. No depth required.

Which is why it does not seem too jarring, many years in the future, a decade onward, when his partnership with Heinz looks different. After they’ve danced through years of late night karaoke, hitting up gay bars and the vanishingly rare sapient-animal-friendly club, both of them growing loose and happy in their linkage to each other, holding each other’s hands and feeling the clink-clink of their rings. It was just more playtime for both of them, Heinz bustling around Perry to deck him out in 70s throwback fits with the big cheesewedge collars and migraine stripes, Perry standing tiptoe to zip up Heinz’s dress as he sits craned forward on the floor, holding frizzy wig ringlets out of the way, before Perry smooths his hands out across Heinz’s shoulders and he lets the hair bounce back down.

It’s still play, maybe, until the year that Heinz’s mousy hair is long and shoulder-brushing. Perry lounges in the balcony hammock with one hand trailing on the ground, as he watches Heinz pull it up into a ponytail before tearing into a vintage radio repair, an ongoing collaboration with Lawrence. And something that wasn’t serious now is, because even now, dressed down in oil-stained sweats and a holey tee, with wispy silver hair and no 80s eyeshadow on to obscure her charming face, Perry sees that she’s beautiful.

Perry wants to tell her this, when they’re getting in from an anniversary dinner out. He has the words in his hands, he’s already told her several times, because she needed to hear it those first few staggering attempts to hit the daytime streets in skirts, that she looked right in them, looked cute. Perry says it differently now, as he presses her down into the pillow with a hand, leaning across her skinny torso. Heinz’s natural hair fans the pillow, heat-curled and sprayed for the special night. Perry presses his soft bill to her forehead, trails down to her rouged cheek, further down to her lips, where her plum purple lipstick looks black in the dark. Perry says it with hands down her face, trailing into her soft hair and gripping it tight as she touches him. He says it with clawmarks trailing up her thighs and snapping the net of her tights as he swallows her down, the ritualistic tearing of Heinz’s fabric newly modified into a synthetic cherry pop, and if in the dark beads of blood flower up under his claws Perry licks them too, with love and apology, with a want to get more of Heinz into him. And he says it one more time when she’s asleep and curled around him like the crescent moon, and he reaches in to unhook her earrings, puts them on the nightstand.

Is Perry gay now, when the shape of him and Heinz seems so the same, despite her changes? Well, it’s not the most pressing question. It’s hard enough contemplating how Perry will introduce his girlfriend to his family, when he used to swear up and down the day would never come. But not girlfriend, wife, and not wife, partner -- so he’s circumvented it rather ingeniously, actually, a fact he hopes Phineas and Ferb appreciate. They decide to do it that week, packing the fixed-up radio and a few fresh loaves of zucchini bread, decoratively ribboned, into the truck. Perry helps smooth Heinz’s hair in the driver’s seat, and Heinz smooths her floral skirt down before taking off the brakes. Perry adjusts his hat in the mirror, and judges the scarf around his neck. It still looks cute on him, now flaming more vibrant in hue against the greying fur of his chest. It’s still his boys, hugging around him, all the unrestrained cheesy love they felt for Perry as kids preserved in rainbow yarn. So he wears it, as he and Heinz drive ahead together through the rest of it.

[classygreydove]

3 Wangxian + Mulan AU ideas

I wrote a comment about this somewhere but couldn't find it again. But basically, I love wangxian. I love mulan. I love mulan au. I'm not really into a/b/o? so here's some mulan au ideas that don't use that specific trope:

Idea #1: transmasc!wwx escapes his miserable life endlessly disappointing Madam Yu and feeling uncomfortable in his own skin by running away to join the military. He meets LWJ, who comes from a very respected Lan lineage of court officials, scholars and generals. LWJ hasn't married yet, despite pressures from family and politics, bc bro is gay and isn't interested in loveless marriage (see: madam lan trauma). He's putting it off by focusing on his career, which is defending the current dynasty from the Wen (a very rich clan from north China trying to overthrow the southern-based dynasty, with the help of a strong nomadic tribe whose leader is zhao zhuliu and whose tribe raises the *best* horses and therefore is very much a Threat.) Wwx, using his radical ideas about fireworks/gunpowder (or some other genius weaponry innovation), ends up turning the tide of the war and defeats the Wen. Lwj is absolutely smitten and wishing he could take those bows so bad, but knowing it is impossible. Somehow, whether injury or madam yu, wwx gets forcibly outed, but is given a general position regardless/offered a place in the Emperor's court instead of execution. Wwx accepts, and continues to dress and act as masc as he pleases, and still being addressed by masc titles (admittedly, part of the reason he can do this is bc misogyny, but still!) and Lwj courts wwx - regardless of others opinions about wwx's unsuitability as a "wife" - and is the most gender-affirming husband to wwx ever, and wwx and lwj live happily ever after.

Idea #2: they're both women. Wwx cross-dresses (maybe has a little fun with gender/gender expression, maybe nb? or just mostly prefers being a woman) to go into the army instead of jc so that jc doesn't die on some battlefield somewhere. Meets lwj, who is also cross-dressing, and whose mother chose to raise her as a son from birth to give her daughter a better future free from the chains she had experienced. She is a very respected general (again from lineage of generals). She recognizes wwx doing a rather poor job of hiding her identity but doesn't say anything, even before wwx earns her respect (and she earns wwx's). Similar plot stuff as idea #1 occurs, wwx is revealed to be a woman. Through either betrothal due to the emperor doing some shipping, or through lwj beginning the courting process herself, wwx and lwj begin courting. As the steps are completed, however, lwj is more and more panicked trying to figure out how to tell wwx she is a woman (luckily, we know wwx is bisexual). Lwj knows she's a woman, but she doesn't know how to *be* a woman, having lived all her life as a man, so she's insecure about that as well. And Will wwx even want her once she discovers lwj isn't a man? Fic ends when wwx and lwj finally have that talk and get married and live happily ever after.

Idea #3: wwx is the well-renowned general tasked with leading his forces against the Wen. Lwj is the transmasc! (or even just cross-dressing woman, bc I confess I love a good het romance that breaks gender roles, as a disaster bisexual) who was childhood friends? betrothed at a young age? to wwx. Lwj is not willing to leave wwx to face the enemy alone, so lwj joins the army and is stationed under wwx. Wwx, who hasn't seen or interacted with lwj in years, finds himself falling in love with this soldier who fights with such dedication and devotion by his side...and Stuff Happens from there.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

In recent years, millions of LGBTQ+ fans of the Harry Potter series have watched with dismay as its author, J.K. Rowling, has become a prominent figure in anti-trans activism. Her increasingly hostile rhetoric has ranged from referring to a transgender woman journalist as "a man... cosplaying" to dismissing the historical targeting of transgender people during the Holocaust as “a fever dream.” On Saturday, Rowling escalated her attacks further, making the baseless and easily disprovable claim to her millions of followers that transgender youth do not exist at all—a falsehood that directly contradicts decades of research and lived experiences of transgender people. Rowling, responding to a commenter who implored her to "use her power for good" and end her "hateful focus on transgender youth," denied the very existence of transgender youth. She replied: “There are no trans kids. No child is 'born in the wrong body.' There are only adults like you, prepared to sacrifice the health of minors to bolster your belief in an ideology that will end up wreaking more harm than lobotomies and false memory syndrome combined.”

Of course, Rowling’s statement is easily disprovable—there are hundreds of studies documenting the existence of transgender youth and the harmful impacts of the very laws she supports. The most recent and largest study of transgender youth, published in Nature Human Behavior, identified 60,000 such individuals, clearly “existing.” The study further revealed that anti-trans laws, including sports bans, bathroom restrictions, and gender-affirming care prohibitions, increased suicide attempt rates by up to 72% in some states. The data is unequivocal: transgender youth exist, and they fare significantly better in states that allow them access to medical care and social acceptance.

Transgender youth do not emerge “from nowhere,” nor are they “caused” by “kids watching TikTok videos,” as Rowling suggests in another comment. There is no evidence that transgender identities are “caused” by any external factor. Rather, transgender people have always existed as a natural part of human diversity. Transgender individuals comprise an estimated 0.5–2% of the U.S. population, and many of them have understood their identity from a young age. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation and Washington Post poll, 66% of transgender adults reported knowing they were transgender before the age of 18.

[...] Disinformation of this nature is uniquely dangerous: by erasing the existence of transgender people, it lays the groundwork for stripping away their rights entirely, providing a chilling justification for policies of exclusion and even eradication championed by far-right politicians.

Harry Potter author-turned-vile transphobic C U Next Tuesday wanker J.K. Rowling wrote yet another anti-trans screed on X, this time pushing the nakedly false misinformation-laden claim that “there are no trans kids.” Much to TERF extraordinaire Rowling’s chagrin, trans kids do exist. 🏳️‍⚧️

[yourlocalxiaosimp]

How I think Genshin characters would react if you came out as trans to them:

Obviously I’m gonna start with my favs

Xiao: he wouldn’t be against it, but you might have to explain what exactly it is because mortal terms aren’t the most important to him.

Gaming: very supportive, would ask if your family knows and supports you. If they don’t, he’s your new brother.

Kaveh: would immediately feel terrible for misgendering you in the past. You might need to reassure him. He will be very mindful in the future, and extremely hard on himself if he slips up.

Itto: immediately offers to beat up anyone who misgenders you (hoping you won’t take it seriously because he would never beat someone up)

Neuvillete: He would be quite confused, but he would support you anyway.

Furina: She would become your number 1 ally the second you finish telling her and even offer to take you shopping for gender affirmative clothing.

Zhongli: He wouldn’t be outward in his support, but he’d definitely accept and acknowledge your identity. As someone who’s changed his own identity, he’s very likely to be someone you can confide in.

Childe: doesn’t care, as long as you can still fight him. He might go slightly easier on you if you’re a trans girl tho (idk I just think it’d be funny)

Barbara: I imagine she’d be a “god loves everyone” kind of ally. What that means I’m not sure, but you see the vision. Right?

Chirori: She’d accept you, and she might even offer to make a new outfit for you. Not for free, obviously.

Cyno: will start making jokes relating to transness (respectfully ofc)

Hu Tao: asks if you want to hold a funeral for your deadname (get it?)

Feel free to add onto this, I can’t think of any others rn

[reasonsforhope]

"While mainstream media increasingly cover violence and legislative attacks against trans people, many scholars and activists worry that focusing just on violence and discrimination fails to capture the full experience of being trans.

Drawing on the success of movements like the Black Joy Project, which uses art to promote Black healing and community-building, trans activists are challenging one-dimensional depictions of their community by highlighting the unique joys of being transgender.

My research on trans parents affirms the reality of trans joy. From 2019 to 2021, I interviewed 54 transgender women — both current and prospective parents — from diverse racial and class backgrounds across the country.

I found that while many have navigated discrimination in their parenting journeys, they also have fulfilling parent-child relationships, often with the support of partners, families of origin and their communities.

Gender euphoria

Scholars and community members use the term gender euphoria to describe a “joyful feeling of rightness in one’s gender/sex.”

It diverges from the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, or a sense of conflict between assigned sex and gender identity typically associated with feelings of distress and discomfort.

Gender euphoria celebrates feeling comfortable with who you are and how you are perceived by the world.

Some people transition with a specific set of goals, while others discover new sources of joy and new facets of their identity over time.

Many of the trans women I interviewed expressed their gender euphoria in relation to their role as mothers. A Black trans woman in her 20s, whom I will call Gloria, experiences joy in being recognized as a mother.

“I love being called Mom. That’s the greatest thing,” she told me. “I love waking up every morning to see [my child’s] beautiful face. It keeps me motivated.” ...

For many trans people, transitioning opens up a new set of possibilities. When I asked Adriana, a trans Latina in her 30s, what it was like to come out as trans, she told me,

“I’ve never been happier. The happiest day of my life was when my daughter was born, and the second happiest day of my life was when I [started transitioning].”

Family and community connections

While some trans people do experience rejection from their families of origin, that is not true for the majority of the community.

In a 2015 national survey of over 27,700 trans adults, the U.S. Trans Survey, 60% of respondents reported having families who are supportive of their trans identity.

Trans women also form chosen families with friends, co-workers and other community members. Relationships with other trans people can have particularly positive effects on identity development and overall well-being, including emotional resilience, self-acceptance and a sense of connection.

Trans community care

In addition to caring for their biological and adopted children, the trans women I interviewed felt a responsibility to take care of their community.

Sometimes this care manifested as parent-child relationships, in which respondents provide financial or emotional support to LGBTQ+ youth.

Maggie, a white woman in her 50s, didn’t know she was a parental figure for her “queer kids” until they tagged her on Instagram to celebrate Mother’s Day.

“Someone might go, ‘Hey, can I stay on your sofa tonight? I’m having a hard time.’ Well, yeah, of course,” she said.

“Or they might hang around the shop [I work at], and only later it dawns on me, ‘Oh, this was the only place they could come and get affirmed and not feel weird.’” ...

Miriam, a white trans woman in her 60s, agreed that she has a lot to learn from younger trans people.

“A lot of my community today, people who I count as family and my beloveds, are not of my generation,” she said. ‘Beloveds’ is the term she uses to describe her platonic loved ones.

“I learn a lot from my beloveds in their 20s and 30s, who don’t have the same baggage I [dealt with] about how I could be and who I could be.”"

-via GoodGoodGood via The Conversation, July 14, 2023

[esor-ogramira]

I've seen a lot of negativity about AMAB nonbinary people, so as an AFAB nonbinary person, here's a familial love letter to all my AMAB nonbinary siblings out there!

I love you AMAB nonbinary people who like having a beard! I love you AMAB nobinary people who prefer to keep your faces clean-shaven! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have hairy chests! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have no hair on your chests! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who shave your body hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't shave your body hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who developed breasts during puberty! I love you AMAB nonbinary people with flat chests! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are fat! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are slim-built! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are muscular! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't have much muscle tone! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy wearing dresses! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy wearing skirts! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't like wearing dresses! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't like wearing skirts! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy wearing makeup! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't wear makeup! I love you AMAB nonbinary people with long hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people with short hair! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are balding at a young age! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are over the age of fifty! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are in high school! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are in college! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are trans and no-op and no-HRT! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are trans and no-op and on HRT! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have gotten the gender-affirming surgeries you want but don't want to/can't go on HRT! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are stealth! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are out and proud! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who can't come out/don't want to come out! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as masculine! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as feminine! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as androgynous! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting as gender neutral! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who enjoy presenting your genders as something that confuses everyone who looks at you! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who aren't trans! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't refer to your previous names as your deadnames! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who don't want to change your names! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who've chosen masculine names for yourselves! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who've chosen feminine names for yourselves! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who've chosen gender neutral names for yourselves! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who love your previous names/deadnames too much to change them! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use he/him pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use she/her pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use they/them pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use neopronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use no pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use any pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who use all pronouns! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are in high schools that aren't very accepting of your gender identities! (It will get better, I promise!) I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are autistic! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are ADHD! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are schizophrenic! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have dissociation disorders! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are systems! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have personality disorders! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have mood disorders! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who experience psychosis! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who experience delusions! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have learning disabilities! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who have intellectual disabilities! I love you AMAB nonbinary people who are neurotypical!

[ruusaanrambles]

writing a script for a video about being a trans mandalorian and how the two connect together and aren’t just separate facets of me

If you wanna read it or offer suggestions I’ll stick it below the cut ^-^

Introduction 

Queerness in legends mando culture 

Acceptance and bigotry in the mando cosplay community 

Gender affirming armor

Intro

Hi everyone. My name is Ruusaan Miit’ad, my pronouns are he/him and she/her and I’m a genderfluid transmasc mandalorian cosplayer. 

I’ve noticed a theme of other trans mandos, so today I’m gonna go over mandalorian culture in universe, acceptance and bigotry in the mando cosplay community, and how my armor has helped me figure myself out and deal with dysphoria.

PART I

MANDALORIAN CULTURE 

First off, I’m going off of legends culture here. As much as I enjoy Disney canon mandos, there’s some issues with that lore.

The most core part of mando culture is of course the resole’nare, a set of six tenants all mandalorians live.  However there’s a vast list of other phrases and values that impact mandalorian culture. Let’s start off with Cin Vhitin.

Cin vhetin is the concept of white snow, a fresh start. When you become a Mandalorian and you live by the resolnare, your past no longer matters. Anyone who is willing to leave their old life behind and take up the resolnare can be adopted into the ranks. This makes, or should make, mandos an incredibly diverse group of people.

Next is the language itself. In the entirety of mando’a there is exactly one gendered word. That is the word for woman. Even the word for man sometimes has gender neutral uses. There is only one third person pronoun, and that is kaysh.

Mandalorian society is nither matriarchal nor patriarchal, rather power based. 

When described in the books Mandalorian armor is gender indistinguishable, as well as for most beings, species indeterminate. 

Much of this is not represented in Disney cannon, but that’s a topic for another video.

Overall, mando culture as described in the books is inclusive, diverse, and doesn’t give a shit about your gender. True icons 

Part II

COSPLAY COMMUNITY 

I’m not going to get into cosplay drama here, but one thing you need to know about mando cosplayers is that they tend to be incredibly accepting, or very bigoted. This usually (though not always) goes along with what part of mando culture they are drawn to. Some are mainly here for the warrior culture, drawn to the power and prowess. 

Others see the family values, the inclusiveness, and the concept of protecting those who cannot protect themselves. 

Now there are no clear lines on who in that situation is going to be the bigot, but I’m sure with the context clues you can guess which one it usually is.

Admittedly a lot of us are just here for the cool armor, so that’s not always a tell. 

You’ll hear from a lot of people things like “keep the identity and politics out of Star Wars.” 

My existence should not be political, though Star Wars, a franchise about taking down the space nazis that rose from a crumbling republic certainly is, but that’s a topic for another video.

An unfortunate amount of clubs will let transphobia, ableism, and homophobia slide under the rule of keeping politics out of cosplay. Blatant sexism and racism are less prevalent, but certainly still there.

If you are marginalized not every mando is your friend, but to be very clear a lot definitely are. 

PART III

GENDER AFFIRMING ARMOR

Alright. I mentioned that in the books Mandalorian armor is described as gender neutral. However if you’ve seen it in the shows, it becomes very clear that’s not how Disney portrays it. HOWEVER this can actually be kinda nice when you’re trans, so let’s get into it.

Buckets tend to be gendered with curved visors for women and straight t-shaped visors for men. So something as simple as changing out your helmet can be very gender affirming. Pairing a straight visor with femme armor or a curved visor with masc armor can be great for making a more androgynous kit.

How much of your figure mando armor covers, is entirely up to you.

As a transmasc I lean toward bulky full coverage armor. A chestplate like that of Paz Vizsla or Aran Tal is great for concealing those pesky boobs and the right Kama or hip plates can help hide hips. 

In the reverse, if you make it right you don’t actually need the boobs to fill a Bo-Katan chestplate. Or if you don’t want a gap for storing snacks, Sabine’s armor while still looking feminine can fit a flat chest well.

Look at Bo-katan’s hip plates to accentuate your hips, and maybe try a loincloth like ursa wren has.

For a more masculine look a slightly baggier flightsuit, still close fitting but not skin tight. Think straight jeans and a turtle neck as opposed to skinny jeans and a women’s long sleeved shirt.

Or for a more feminine look you can opt for a more skin tight suit.

Bulkier armor in general makes me feel more masculine, on the legs, and shoulder armor can make your shoulders look wider.

I’m someone who never passes. If I’m in every day clothes it’s once in a blue moon someone thinks I’m i guy. 

However in mando armor I do in fact pass. As a giant freaking nerd true, but also as a guy. 

I’ll make a video in future for fellow boob havers about how to pattern your own chest plates to both fit your frame and look like you want. 

That said, if you have any questions or comments please leave them below.

I’d love to help some people out with making armor that you feel good in, or explain further to any cis people who are just here for armor and allyship.

Thanks for being here, ret’urcye mhi friends.

Planning to post this on my YouTube, and this might be how some of my extended family finds out I’m trans lol wish me luck 

[saintjosie]

I'm gonna jump in the discourse lol, I don't pass as a trans woman and I don't think I'll care to. But demilypyro was advocating for living as your best self, she happens to be in a country that funded her transition? But other than that she's like poor too. Idk it feels like everyone's just looking for trouble because she was responding to hate with snark

okay people really don’t get this so i’m gonna tell y’all a story. my story.

i’m a trans woman with a fuckload of privilege. i’m pretty, i’m passing, and i have a platform, but most importantly, i had the privilege of starting my transition when i was financially stable on my own in largely supportive environments. and i recognize these things now but i didn’t always.

i started my transition in may of 2020, during the height of lockdown. and at that time, i was working a cushy corporate salaried desk job with full benefits which included both therapy and gender affirming care. i got on hrt quickly, and because of good genes, because masculine asian features are regarded as feminine in western beauty standards, because i’m really fucking good at makeup, and because i was working from home and there was no where to go, i was able to stop boymoding by october of 2020, about 6 months after i started hrt.

and then around that same time, i had another stroke of luck. i made a tiktok about coming out at work, which i did in the most extra way imaginable, and that tiktok went viral. it got 300k views and overnight i went from having 150 followers on tiktok to several thousand. and a less than a year later, that grew to 100k.

that year was rough as hell. i transitioned during a time where going out into the world to find community was impossible. and i lost my job. and i got divorced. and i cut out my family. and because of all of that, i felt like i was doing better than a lot of other trans people. cause i was facing hardships and still doing incredible.

but even so, i was longing for community that would validate and accept me the way that i was validated and accepted online. and so over the next year, i moved across the country three times, something i was able to do only because i was able to afford it

during that year i finally started to get out and meet queer people as the pandemic slowed down. and as i connected with queer and trans people in varying stages on their own journey, i realized the enormous privilege of being able to transition, afford therapy, afford my meds, afford moving to a place where i could find community. i wasn’t just “better at being trans”, i was just luckier than most.

being able to accept being trans is so dependent on having the support structure around you to process what you are feeling. being able to socially transition is dependent on having the people around you who will accept your identity and being in a place where you are able to do so safely. being able to medically transition is dependent on having the physical health and financial stability to do so.

privilege is something that needs to be constantly dismantled within our community because privilege is the main weapon that is used to oppress us.

the fact that this demily person made a snide sarcastic comment doesn’t change the fact that she sought out a person without a following to shit on someone without a following. the inherent privilege of saying something like, “i’m better at being trans” even if she didn’t mean it seriously, shows that she doesn’t recognize the privilege of being in a place where you can learn to accept yourself.

and on top of all that because she’s a person with a following and a platform, the danger of that kind of thinking compounds and is worth calling out.

i’m not misunderstanding her intentions or the context.

you are misunderstanding privilege.

[risingscorchingsuns]

What was hikaru's transition experience in the corps? How did they take his coming out (if that happened)? How easy was it for him to get care (you said shinobu did his top surgery)?

This is a great question! Unfortunately Hikaru being trans is one of the most historically inaccurate parts of his story, if not medically, then definitely socially. I use a lot more modern methods and language because I wanted Hikaru to be trans similarly to how I am. It’s my canon-accurate Achilles Heel 😭

Don’t get me wrong, trans people definitely existed back in the Taisho period!! We’ve always been here, but back then we were recorded a little differently, generally regarded as “women in men’s clothing”, et cetera. I will never deny their existence, and Hikaru being modern with his gender expression isn’t meant as erasure or denial to them, but as an expression of myself via a fictional character. Their existence is real, and valid, and they are no less trans than Hikaru- at the end of the day, he’s my silly little self insert, and I wanted to write his experiences based off of mine. If the focus of Hikaru’s story was his gender journey, I would put more emphasis on the time period and the difficulties surrounding being trans in the Taisho period, but the themes surrounding Blazing Heart’s Rhapsody are acceptance and solace found within family, and love in spite of war. This isn’t a story about trans people- Hikaru just happens to be trans ☺️

Hikaru realized he was a boy very very young, (probably around 6 or 7) and his father, Hiroki, encouraged him to live in whatever fashion made him feel most comfortable. Because Hikaru grew up in the woods with only his father and little brothers, he was never really socialized as a woman or a man- he was just Hikaru, the oldest Eritora child. He likely hit puberty while living on his own in the Sumitomo Forest, but didn’t experience dysphoria until he was found by the Kochos when he was 16. When he was brought into the Corps, Hikaru experienced gender norms full-force for the first time. It wasn’t really that they didn’t support Hikaru being trans, it was more that he didn’t fit. He was Different, and that made him Othered. For the first time, Hikaru was struggling with where he belonged, and that was when he started to really learn the societal importance placed on gender roles. Additionally, Hikaru is neurodivergent, so these norms never made much sense to him logically in the first place. So while he never really had to come out, he did have to fit in, which was difficult for him to navigate. He talked to Shinobu, who in all her medical expertise, gave him the best advice she could. She was the one who helped him hormonally transition, (if she can inject herself with 700x the lethal dose of wisteria without fucking poisoning herself, she can probably make Hikaru’s testosterone. She’s iconic like that I think.) and ultimately it was Shinobu who helped Hikaru figure out where he stood in terms of gender identity. Hikaru is a self-made man in every sense of the phrase, but he couldn’t have done it without the help of those around him.

As for top surgery, I don’t really have a canon-friendly justification for that. Shinobu’s not a plastic surgeon, she’s probably done minor surgeries before, but never anything to the level of gender-affirming surgery. I feel like she’d DIY that shit tbh. She could pull it off. I’d let her do my top surgery. Shinobu says trans rights 🗣️

Thank you for this ask!!! I rarely get to do longform Hikaru analysis :D

[variousqueerthings]

we have always been here: documentaries about trans people

documentaries about trans people, starting in the year 1953. I don't speak to filmic quality or whether or not something is problematic, what matters here is simply the testimony and the stamp of existence (including in those where the subject matter is spoken about, rather than getting to speak for themselves)

(I haven't seen every one of these yet, so some of them have slightly shorter texts to go along with them)

while (as you'll see) most of these are US-based movies, they are from all over the world. I'd be curious about whether there are any focused specifically on the intersection of transness and disability, I don't personally know of any, although of many speak to issues with access to healthcare (for example southern comfort)

all the ones that have links connected to them are watchable for free

some of these can be watched for free on the archive, youtube, vimeo, many could do with a few coins thrown their way: many of the movies, for example the the aggressives can be rented on vimeo, transgender tuesdays is free on youtube but accepting donations for trans women of colour, lotus sports club is doing festivals currently and is accepting donations to support the team and the vulnerable trans (now men) who have had to leave it to find work, call her ganda is accepting donations to support the family's legal costs in bringing justice for their daughter

remember, finding the stories that have been graciously shared is one thing, supporting our community is the next step

glen or glenda (1953): the first known movie about trans people, a mixed-media semi-fictional account (US)

the queen (1968) (US): following drag-queens at a national beauty pageant two years before stonewall, including footage of crystal labeija (US)

change of sex (1979-1999): a five-part series following trans woman julia grant as she tries to access gender affirming care via the gender identity clinic (UK - available on BBC iplayer)

paris is burning (1990): documenting queer people in the ballroom scene, community, competition, and challenges (US)

shinjuku boys (1995): following five young men who work at onabe bars, which cater to women, as they try to make ends meet (Japan)

transexual menace (1996): snapshots of the melting pot of trans life in new york, from famous faces, to protest, including several immigrants to america from columbia, west africa, japan, hawaii, and germany (Germany/US)

you don't know dick: courageous hearts of transsexual men (1997): about several trans men in different walks of life, who chat about their experiences, politics, and history (US)

the brandon teena story (1998): a documentation about the murder of brandon teena, using testimonies from the people involved (US)

southern comfort (2001): follows robert eads in the final year of his life, before he died of initially treatable ovarian cancer (US)

superstar in a housedress: the life and legend of jackie curtis (2004): a portrait of jackie curtis, one of the earliest punk pioneers, by (mainly cis) people who knew her (US)

screaming queens: the riot at compton’s cafeteria (2005): a rare documentary of the time featuring the voices of trans activists, about the pre-stonewall compton's cafeteria riot (US)

beautiful darling (2005): a portrait of candy darling (one of the trans woman superstars of the 60s) from the perspective of the (mainly cis) people who knew her (US)

the aggressives (2005): centered on black studs, mascs, and trans men, and more, exploring the term "aggressives," race and gender, filmed over five years (US)

Jayne County: man enough to be a woman (2005): a performance by veteran punk musician Jayne County and her band (UK/US) (excerpt)

beautiful daughters (2006): following a group of trans women who performed the vagina monologues in 2005 (US)

still black: a portrait of black transmen (2008): a series of interviews following black trans men speaking about their lives, careers, race, and gender (US)

the advocate for fagdom (2011): a series of political testimonies by queer activists, including the punk musician vaginal davis (US)

she said boom: the story of fifth column (2012): a documentary about seminal 1980s queercore punkband fifth column (Canada)

TRANS (2012): following a series of trans people at varying places in their transition, and the people around them (US)

hide & seek (2013): a group of trans people in pakistan speak about their experiences with the language they have access to (Pakistan)

before the last curtain falls (2014): transexuals and drag queens in their 60s-70s touring a show called "gardenias" (Germany)

mala mala (2014): following a number of trans people in puerto rico from all walks of life (Puerto Rico)

queercore: how to punk a revolution (2017): a primer to the history of queercore with interviews of some of the people who created the scene (US)

laerte-se (2017): a portrait of the underrated visual artist laerte (Brazil)

a year in transition (2018): 20 year old arab-american trans man documents one year of going on hormones (US)

call her ganda (2018): the story about the murder of a trans filipino woman named ganda by a us marine and the repercussions (Philippines)

indianara (2019): indianara is an activist fighting for trans survival and rights in brazil (Brazil)

disclosure (2020): going through a history of trans representation in the media (US)

transgender tuesdays (2020): featuring trans people talking about a groundbreaking gender-affirming clinic that opened in the 90s in the san franciscan tenderloin district (US)

prayers for sweet waters (2021): three trans sex-workers who live in cape town discuss their experience during covid (South Africa)

the end of wonderland (2021): follows erotic photographer tara emory as she goes through changes in her life (US)

travesía travesti (2021): the last performance of a cabaret during the chilean revolt of 2019 (Chile)

casa susanna (2022): documentary about the 50s summer retreat for male crossdressers and trans women (US)

la vida es un carnaval (2022): in a rural town, a group of trans women plan the first gay pride during its annual carnival and a bunch of scar tissue comes up (Mexico)

this is not me (2022): two young transmen in iran with supportive families share their daily lives (Iran)

lotus sports club (2022): a football club in cambodia run by trans man pa vann and a safe space for trans boys and lesbians (Cambodia)

nel mio nome (2022): four italian transmen share their thoughts, experiences, and identities (Italy)

the dads (2023): a group of dads of trans kids meet with the father of matthew shepard for a fishing trip (US)

kokomo city (2023): intra-community, celebratory documentary centering black trans sex-workers in america (US)

[thatstormygeek]

It’s the state’s obligation to make sure children in the foster care system are placed with families that will love and care for them unconditionally, and the Wuotis and Gantts were adamant that they were not going to be good parents to certain kids. The Wuotis said they would refuse to affirm trans identities or attend pride parades and gave themselves a “3” on a scale of 1-5 when it came to accepting and supporting an LGBTQ foster child. Katy said she understood what they were going through because she used to have “same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria'“ but “eventually grew out of her discomfort.” (It’s not clearly if she’s confusing that with being a proverbial “tomboy.” She didn’t elaborate in the lawsuit.) The Gantts openly said they don’t think trans people exist: They don’t believe “that gender identity can diverge from a person’s biological sex.” They added that they won’t attend pride parades or use someone’s pronouns if they don’t align with their biological sex. (Why the mention of the pride parades? Because Vermont says caregivers must facilitate access to “LGBTQ organizations and events in the community” if the children request it. It’s telling, though, that these couples think pride parades are the only examples of such gatherings.) Even if the couples are fine in other areas, and they certainly appear to be, the state can’t knowingly place children in homes where they would suffer even more.

ADF’s lawsuit against Vermont paints the two couples as sympathetic figures—the men are both pastors and the couples, we’re told, just hold “traditional religious beliefs about human sexuality”… which is a euphemism for being anti-trans. The same Christians said they wouldn’t stand for kids questioning their biological gender or even adopting hairstyles that didn’t conform to gender stereotypes. Even beyond that, the couples say “they are religiously motivated to share their beliefs about our God-given human nature with their future foster or adopted children—so long as their children are willing to listen.” (Emphasis mine.) While that caveat is important, it still suggests that children who aren’t Christian would be subject to their proselytizing, at least to a point. They’re taking in potential targets, not children who simply need a safe home.

[lokavisi]

Hail and welcome!

Hello! My name is Rory, aka Lokavísi. From what I can tell, Lokavísi is Old Icelandic for "Loki's prince." (Explanation for this name choice is here.) I've been working with Loki since 2020, and shortly thereafter He welcomed me into his family. I've done the most work with His Jotun family, but am feeling a growing connection to Sigyn and their children. Both are lovely families with much to teach us. I also practice rune readings and am spending more and more time learning tarot. I love using these tools to communicate with Deities and just generally seek guidance along my journey. (If you would like a reading' that also would support my wife and I through her gender affirmation surgery process, click here!)

As you may have noticed, I tend to refer to Loki with he/they pronouns. This is just based on how He tends to appear to me, but I fully understand and respect anyone else using any other pronouns to refer to Them. Loki is most definitely one to challenge gender norms and we all have our own experiences with Them. Whatever is right for you in your relationship to Loki is valid and awesome.

Other useful disclaimers:

- Any original posts of mine are my own thoughts and UPG stories. It's absolutely ok if your UPG or opinions are different from mine. I love to hear about other people's experiences with Loki, His family, or any other Norse deities. My experience, or your own, is no more or less "correct" than anyone else's.

- I may make or reblog posts about deities outside of the Norse pantheon. I am a Unitarian Universalist, in addition to being Heathen/Pagan, and have a deep love for pluralism. I am also looking to "shake hands," so to speak, with more deities from other pantheons for this reason. (And because I want to expand my oracular practice. I feel like getting to know the people you'll essentially be a mouthpiece for at times is just good practice lol.) This blog will largely focus on the Norse pantheon, but don't be surprised if you see or hear any UPG about others!

- I think it's also worth noting that I did find my way to this path through my interest in the Marvel characterizations of the gods. Personally, I don't think the Gods mind this too much as long as people are willing and able to move beyond the Marvel interpretations of Them. I also think the Gods can find Their ways into those stories whether the writers/performers even believe in them or not. I am in no way equating Marvel's versions of the gods to the Gods, or Tom Hiddleston to Loki here on this blog. That is simply just not a thing and I will not indulge that idea. We are, however, going to be respectful of people who engage with and enjoy Marvel content, and affirm that said content can still be a part of some people's practice. I sometimes use gifs of Tom-Loki. Just accept that and move on.

- I identify as Lokean and Heathen. As a neurodivergent queer person, I am all about making Heathenry inclusive. Gods call to who They call to, regardless of one's origins, abilities, or personal identity. You are welcome in this space. I will do everything I can to make my little corner of the internet here as safe a space as possible. I understand Loki to care so deeply for humanity, especially the most marginalized of us. If there is anything I post that is problematic or rubs you the wrong way, do not hesitate to message me and talk about it. I want to grow in my understanding and foster community. I take such call outs in good faith, and trust that my posts and responses will be taken in good faith, too. I'm not going to engage with personal attacks or attempts to discredit my personal spiritual experiences. Nazi punks fuck off. ✌️

Thanks for reading this novel of an introduction. Enjoy the blog!

[dressthesage]

Yeah, there is no way in hell I'm voting for Kid-Killer Kamala Harris.

+ She is the one who has been carrying out Biden's shift on border policy, which is to the RIGHT of Trump and the Republicans. Families and kids seaking asylum are STILL getting put in cages at the border, y'all just stopped pretending to care once a Dem was in office.

+ Biden's team has made it clear her position on Israel is IDENTICAL to his. She may have called for a temporary pause and called it a ceasefire, but she will not stop funding the genocide in Gaza. Most every major Palestinian organization in the U.S. has made it clear that they do not agree with those trying to say voting blue is "harm reduction" for Gaza. Democrats are party to a genocide, there should not be an "acceptable amount" of genocide a candidate can be party to and still get your vote.

+Harris's history as a prosecutor is rife with transphobia. She threw trans women in men's prisons and fought tooth and nail to deny them access to gender affirming care.

+ she supported Biden's gutting of food stamps, unemployment, and the child tax credit that threw millions of people off of life saving poverty alleviation programs.

+Harris will also most likely maintain the shift to the right Biden began earlier this year, where they're now saying there are certain kinds of gender affirming care trans youth should not have access to, and that trans kids can be barred from sports in specific instances.

+Harris is a cop through and through. Her history as a prosecutor is full of her targeting poor black moms and locking them up for their kids having a truancy.

+ She backed Biden's inaction on protecting abortion rights. Roe could've been enshrined in the first year of Biden's term if the Dems were willing to get rid of the filibuster but refused! A single executive order could have opened federal land to abortion providers nation wide, protection abortion access even in red states but the Dems refused to act beyond fundraising.

+She backed Biden's push for 100k new cops on the streets of the U.S., and the repression that has been used to target pro Palestine protests since October.

The fundamental issue is that the Democrats are recycling the 2016 playbook. They are offering us a candidate with a HORRIBLE track record on every major issue that they would need to mobilize voters like they need.

They have no program to run on that can offer the people that offers any concessions to mobilize their base. Their only strategy is to threaten us with trump and that DID NOT WORK ON 2016 AND WONT WORK NOW.

You can't win elections just off threatening your enemy, you have to have something to actually offer people. Anyone who comes in these comments screaming about "harm reduction" is a joke because our lives have all actively become worse under Biden because the Democrats have nothing to offer and are not interested in helping people beyond offering lip service! There is no harm reduction when both of the candidates are planning to support a genocide. There is no "lesser of 2 genocides".

We need to build an independent movement, outside of the Democrats and their cynical campaigning that can actually fight for our rights year round, not just when they need our vote. We need to be organizing in the streets, with our community, to not just ask but demand the changes we need and shut shit down if the people in office, Dem or Rep, refuse.

The only campaign and party really speaking to this, and the one I encourage everyone to check out and vote for, is Claudia De La Cruz and Karina Garcia, running for the Vote Socialist 2024 campaign. They've made it clear they don't just want your votes, they want you. They want to bring people into the movement that can actually fight for their rights regardless of who wins the election. They have a program demanding actual change, and are on track to be on enough state ballots that they could actually reach 270 electors!

I highly encourage people to check them out.