#like the bi manifesto. it was written by one group of bi people at that magazine who even said they don't speak for or rep all bi people

[posi-pan]

Does pansexuality have its own manifesto? If so, link it to me. Unfortunately, all I find are manifestos from 2021, which I actually remember someone saying pansexuals have a manifesto from before that. Thank you.

hi! so i don't know if there are any out there. i don't think i've specifically looked.

[teenslib]

IT’S FINALLY DONE! Every year, the Rainbow Book List Committee has more books to review, because literature is slowing getting queerer, and children’s and YA lit are at the forefront of that change. This year, our committee of 13 people had to review nearly 500 eligible titles, and 130 (well, 129) were good enough and queer enough to make the list. There were so many terrific books that we got a special dispensation to create TWO Top Ten lists--the first time the committee has done so! The Top Tens are below, and please visit the link above for the full list.

I’m proud of our committee’s focus on diversity--along lines of race, ethnicity, queer identity, and even genre. At least half of the Top Ten Books for Young Readers and seven of the Top Ten for Teen Readers are about characters of color, and most of those were written by authors of color. We also tried to feature as many different letters of the alphabet soup as possible. I’ve noted the racial and LGBTQIA+ rep for the books that I’ve read.

Here are the Top Ten Books for Young Readers:

Ana on the Edge by Sass, A.J. Ages 8 to 12. Sports Fiction/Figure Skating. MC is nonbinary and Jewish-Chinese-American. Ana is a champion figure-skater. She hates her new princess-themed program, but how can she tell her mother that, when it cost so much money? And why does it bother her so much, anyway? When she finds the word ‘nonbinary,’ she realizes why the program doesn’t fit, but she still has a lot of work to do repairing relationships that have suffered in the meantime.

The Deep & Dark Blue by Smith, Niki. Ages 8 to 12. Fantasy. One of 2 MCs is a trans girl, all characters appear to be Southeast Asian. A pair of twins flee after a political coup that puts their lives at risk. They decide to disguise themselves as Hanna and Grayce, two girls living in the Communion of the Blue, an order of weaving women who spin magic like wool. What one twin doesn’t know is that, for the other, being Grayce isn’t a disguise. This is a beautiful story about self-discovery, acceptance, and affirmation.

Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring by Burgess, Matthew and Josh Cochran (Illustrator). Ages 6 to 14. Biography. MC is a white gay man. This colorful picture-book biography traces the life and art of Keith Haring.

The Every Body Book: LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide for Kids about Sex, Gender, Bodies, and Families by Simon, Rachel E. and Noah Grigni (Illustrator). Ages 8 to 12. Nonfiction/Health. Various identities and races included. Filled with self-affirming information, The Every Body Book uses inclusive language, illustrations, and facts to cover a number of important topics for young people including consent, relationships, gender, sex, puberty, and hormones.

King and the Dragonflies by Callender, Kacen. Ages 8 to 12. Realistic Fiction. MC is a gay black boy, his best friend is a gay white boy. King’s family–especially his father–have strong opinions about what it means to be a Black man, and they don’t allow for being gay. But King admires his friend Sandy for escaping an abusive home and living his truth no matter what. If King comes out, too, can his father learn to change?

Magic Fish by Nguyen, Trung Le. Ages 12 and up. Realistic Fiction/Fantasy. MC is a gay Vietnamese-American boy. A young Vietnamese-American boy literally can’t find the words to tell his parents that he’s gay, but cross-cultural fairytales help bridge the language barrier in this beautifully-illustrated graphic novel. 

My Maddy by Pitman, Gayle E. and Violet Tobacco (Illustrator). Ages 4-8. Realistic Fiction. MC’s parent is nonbinary, MC and her parent are white. My Maddy is a heartwarming story about a young girl and her parent. Readers learn that not all parents are boys or girls; some parents are just themselves. In this young girl’s case, that parent is her Maddy, a loving, caring parent who lives outside the gender binary.

My Rainbow by Neal, DeShanna, Trinity Neal, and Art Twink (Illustrator). Ages 4-8. Realistic Fiction. MC is an autistic black trans girl. Autistic trans girl Trinity wants to have long hair, but growing it out is too itchy! None of the wigs in the store are quite right, so Mom makes Trinity a special rainbow wig.

Our Subway Baby by Mercurio, Peter and Leo Espinosa (Illustrator). Ages 4 to 8. Adoption Non-fiction. MCs are white gay men, the baby they adopt is Black. Loving illustrations help tell the story of how an infant abandoned in a NYC subway station was adopted by the man who found him and his partner.

Snapdragon by Leyh, Kat. Snapdragon. Ages 10 to 14. Fantasy. Haven’t read this one yet, so I can’t comment on its representation. Snap gets to know the town witch and discovers that she may in fact have real magic and a secret connection to Snap’s family’s past.

And here are the Top Ten Books for Teen Readers:

All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by Johnson, George M. Ages 14 to 18. Memoir. Author/MC is a gay Black man. “Memoir-manifesto” is a well-chosen label for this book, which relates stories from the author’s childhood and young adulthood and contextualizes them within a queer Black experience. Although the author’s family is loving and supportive, pervasive heteronormativity, queerphobia, and anti-Black racism threaten his mental, emotional, and physical safety.

Camp by Rosen, L.C. Ages 14 and up. Realistic Fiction. MC and his love interest are gay Jewish boys. For Randy, going away to Camp Outland is a breath of fresh air, a time to be exactly who Randy can’t always be at school. But this year will be different. This year, Randy won’t be the flamboyant theater kid, this year Randy will be exactly the type of bro Hudson would want to date. Changing a thing or too will be necessary for Randy to succeed, even if that means leaving some friends behind.

Cemetery Boys by Thomas, Aiden. Ages 13 and up. Paranormal/Romance. MC is a trans Latino, his love interest is a gay Latino. Yadriel accidentally summons the wrong ghost in an attempt to prove himself a real brujo to his family who struggle to accept his gender identity. Though he thinks he is summoning the ghost of his cousin, he actually summons the ghost of Julian Diaz, and finds himself with not one, but two, mysterious deaths to investigate.

Circus Rose by Cornwell, Betsy. Ages 12 and up. Fantasy. One MC is white and one is mixed-race, one is a lesbian and one is questioning. Ivory and Rosie are twins and half-sisters, born to a bearded woman who refused to choose between her lovers, and raised in their mother’s circus. After a long foreign tour, they come home to find themselves under attack by religious zealots. As tragedy follows tragedy, will Ivory be able to save her circus family?

Elatsoe by Little Badger, Darcie  and Rovina Cai (Illustrator). Ages 12 and up. Mystery. MC is an aro/ace Lipan Apache girl. In this OwnVoices novel, Elatsoe is on a mission to discover who killed her beloved cousin, and why. If not for her cousin, then she is doing this for her people, the Indigenous Lipan Apache tribe. Elatsoe has the ability to raise ghosts from the dead, a tradition that has been passed down through generations. On this journey it will take vulnerability, wit, and the legends of her people for Elatsoe to understand all that is hidden in the small town of Willowbee.

I’ll Be the One by Lee, Lyla. Ages 13 and up. Realistic Fiction. MC is a bi Korean-American girl, her love interest is a bi Korean boy. Skye Shin dreams of becoming the world’s first plus-sized K-pop star, and a reality TV competition may just be her chance. To win, she’ll have to deal with fatphobic beauty standards, fierce competition, and intense media scrutiny–as well as unexpected attraction to one of her competitors.

Miss Meteor by Mejia, Tehlor Kay and Anna-Marie McLemore. Ages 14 and up. Magical Realism. (I haven’t read this one, but I think both MCs are WLW Latinas.) Lita is a star – literally. After falling to earth several years ago, she’s now living life as a teenage girl. When the annual Miss Meteor pageant rolls around, Lita decides to enter – but will her ex-best friend Chicky be willing to help her? Will the pageant help her forget about the past and imagine a new future? Lita learns that winning isn’t about being perfect, it’s about showing your true self to the world – even the parts that no one else understands.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Johnson, Leah. Ages 12 and up. Realistic Fiction. MC is a black WLW (woman-loving-woman). In this affectionate rom-com, Liz Lighty finds herself an unlikely candidate for prom queen at her affluent suburban school. Shy, awkward, Black, and low-income, Liz has never felt like she belonged, and she can’t wait to leave for her dream college. But when her scholarship falls through, it seems her last resort is to win prom queen, and the scholarship money that comes with it. Liz’s plan is complicated when new girl Mack decides to run for prom queen also…and ends up running away with Liz’s heart.

War Girls by Onyebuchi, Tochi.  Ages 12 and up. Science Fiction/Afro-Futurism. Both MCs are Nigerian, one is a WLW. In a not-so-distant future, climate change and nuclear disasters have made much of the earth unlivable. In the midst of war in Nigeria, two sisters, Onyii and Ify, are torn apart and face two very different futures. As their lives progress through years of untold violence and political unrest, battles with deadly mechs and cyborg soldiers outfitted with artificial limbs and organs, they are brought together again and again and must come to terms with how the war has impacted their lives.

When We Were Magic by Gailey, Sarah. Ages 14 and up. Contemporary Fantasy. MC is a white bi/questioning girl with gay dads, her friends are racially, ethnically, and queerily diverse. This firecracker of a novel follows a group of friends who attempt to correct the accidental murder of a classmate. When We Were Magic combines magic, friendship, and awkward moments to create a captivating story. Each character brings their own uniqueness to the strong group of friends, but despite their differences, their loyalty remains. Author Sarah Gailey has written another page turning novel, with the quirky strange content to boot.

[liminalweirdo]

The Bad ‘B’ Word: A Need for Bisexual Acceptance

Why, in this day and age, is the term “bisexual” still a bad word with negative connotations? Why do those who may have identified as bisexual in the past feel the need to find other terms for their sexuality today? It honestly may come down to ignorance, misinformation, and a general, overarching need for more education on the subject and the sexuality.

Just last week Texas State Representative Mary Gonzalez came out as pansexual, explaining that the term “bisexual” did not adequately describe her attraction to people all along the gender spectrum. This is likely because there remains a widespread assumption that “bisexual” relates to a gender “binary” — in other words, the idea that gender is just male and female, men and women, one or the other of only two options. However, this is not the case.

Let me pause here to say that until fairly recently, I, too, was under the impression that if I identified as bisexual, I was negating the fact that I’ve dated individuals who identify as genderqueer and transgender, and the fact that I am attracted to individuals who do not fit into the “male” and “female” boxes where gender identity is concerned. For years, I identified as “bisexual” as well as “pansexual” in an effort to properly explain to others my sexual identity and desires.

It wasn’t until a friend explained the following that I solidified my own bisexual identity: The most accurate definition of “bisexual” and “bisexuality” is “attraction to individuals who are the same as me and different from me,” which is the way most bisexual people think of themselves. Think about “homo” meaning “same” and “hetero” meaning “different.” In fact, in the Bisexual Manifesto, written in 1990 by members of the bisexual community, the following was stipulated: “Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or duogamous in nature: that we have “two” sides or that we must be involved simultaneously with both genders to be fulfilled human beings. In fact, don’t assume that there are only two genders.”

In many ways, the term “pansexuality” grew out of that very assumption and a need to make sure that greater society outside the LGBTQI+ community did not make such an assumption. A post on Radical bi puts it best:

The definition of pansexuality is often dependent on the definition of bisexuality (and, dare I say, the rejection thereof): If bisexuality is defined as desire towards people of more than one gender, pansexuality can be defined as desire towards people of more than two genders; if bisexuality is defined as desire towards people of many genders, pansexuality can be defined as desire towards people of all genders; if bisexuality is defined as desire towards people of genders similar + different than our own, pansexuality can be defined as desire regardless of gender. But: both bisexuality and pansexuality can — and have — been defined as any of these things.

In some ways, the term “pansexual” came out of biphobia and a need to stipulate that one was not transphobic. If you take the binary view of “bisexual,” then a sexuality specific to an attraction to men and women could be seen as being noninclusive of transgender men and women. On the other hand, transgender men and women want to (and should) be seen as simply men and women, meaning that they would/should be included in that very binary; not including them tends to be much more phobic and noninclusive.

Then there is the thought that the binary view of bisexuality can be seen as phobic of anyone who identifies as genderqueer, or somewhere along the gender and sexuality spectrum, not identifying as male or female, man or woman. But, as I mentioned before, the true definition of “bisexual” is being attracted to those who are the same as me and those who are different from me, encompassing all genders and identities. The often-repeated argument that “bi means two” ignores a simple fact: “Same” and “different” are, indeed, two groups.

There certainly are people who identify as bisexual who are only attracted to the two zones on the gender spectrum that fit into neat little boxes. The reality of their attractions, and the validity of their self-assigned label, does not mean that all — or even most — bisexuals reject genders outside the man/woman or male/female binary any more than the existence of polyamorous bisexuals makes multiple partners part of the definition of bisexuality.

There remains an intolerance of bisexuals in the larger LGBT community, mostly from the lesbians and gay men. While individuals like Gonzalez may prefer to use the term “pansexual” and identify best with that term, there may be others who are choosing not to use “bisexual” in order to distance themselves from that prejudice; utilizing “pansexual” instead of “bisexual,” in many instances, only serves to reinforce prejudce and perpetuate the invisibility so many of us deal with on a daily basis. Using other labels to escape biphobia and monosexism only further divides the LGBT community when we should be trying to unite against greater discrimination overall.

Don’t get me wrong, I think everyone should be able to identify with whatever term or label suits them best and makes them the most comfortable. It is important, however, to make sure that those within and without the community have a proper knowledge of all identities within the spectrum of both sexuality and gender to counteract further discrimination and to encourage understanding and acceptance.

Activist and author Julia Serano had her finger on the pulse of this very issue when she wrote:

If the word does not resonate with you personally, then simply do not use it. But if you happen to forgo identifying with the word, don’t dare say that it is because you believe that bisexual “reinforces the notion that there are only two genders,” as that claim goes beyond personal statement, and enters the realm of accusation, as it insinuates that people who openly call themselves bisexual (e.g. me) are at best, naive about gender politics, and at worse, oppressing trans people.

Thanks to bisexual activist Patrick RichardsFink for his contributions to this post.

from here

[unloneliest]

hi i don’t think pan ppl are transphobic, just because bi ppl can be attracted to 2+ genders and pan are attracted to all doesn’t mean pan ppl or bi ppl are transphobic. i deal w panphobic things anytime anyone mentions pansexuality and i really thought your blog would be safe from that. i'm pan and don’t use bi bc i recognize i'd be attracted to someone regardless of gender identity as long as i find them attractive (and this has nothing to do w seeing trans ppl as a dif gender), if they're 1/

this is a long post & i want ppl to have the option 2 skip it so i’m putting it under a readmore; above all else i’m so thankful that you sent me these asks and deeply sorry that i rb’d something that made you feel unsafe on my blog. i agree with you; i don’t think bi or pan people are inherently transphobic and i’m really sorry i implied that with that post!

2/ if they ID as demiboy or demigirl, or genderfluid or anything else that isn't binary, then i really don’t care. i'm not saying bi ppl can’t feel the same since i said bi people are attracted to 2+ genders or all, but pan is rooted in the emphasis of all gender identities. yes theres a lot of overlap but just... i'm hurt that you'd rb smth like that, i understand the last line of its root in transphobia but being gay/straight and so many other things have issues that clash w other LGBT+ IDs

3/ if anything, i've dealt with internalized panphobia and homophobia, i just never felt comfortable with saying i was bi, not because it was "boring" or "binary" but bc everyone would just assume i was attracted to guys and women which was never the case and saying i was pan allowed for me to show that i knew that there are more than 2 gender identities and that i was attracted to all of them

hi its the 3 pt ask anon and its like i completely get why bi ppl would be upset w pan ppl but its just so hard when both are oppressed and one of the most common arguments is like: we aren't seen so we have to be seen first before you try to get into this too. i get why biphobia exists but the same biphobia exists for pan ppl. so many ppl say you're just straight bc of a het relationship or you're just bi then. or the whole theres only two genders argument. and its like i'm as open to dating

5?/ anyone. i genuinely do not care about whichever gender they ID as since i just find ppl attractive for being attractive. and bi ppl can be the same. there is a LOT of overlap and i'm not going to dismiss any worries or concerns. all i know is that the pan community i've surrounded myself with to find love in my sexuality and community have constantly explained that theres overlap but it depends to the person and neither sexuality is transphobic so i try to never overstep or invalidate either

but thank you for listening, so many ppl just invalidate pan voices who try to put both bi and pan ppl into view while acknowledging how theres overlap but theres a difference. its hard feeling invalidating when all i (and others) do is be as inclusive as possible and try to never overstep. i listen to others worries like you do and i've learned so much from your blog and your rbs which i appreciate. it was just hard seeing panphobia & biphobia when i've tagged both to filter the words out

8?? sorry i lost count/ ty again for listening

hi and again just. thank you, for sending me these. i’ve privated the post for now, because i don’t want to hurt anybody but i also don’t want to avoid accountability 4 hurtful actions; i’d most like to delete the post but probably only will if you’re ok with that. and if i ever rb something that includes biphobia or panphobia i’ll do my best to always tag them.

and again i’m so sorry to have rb’d a hurtful post especially bc that runs so opposite to what i want to be doing with this blog & i know that when i’ve found something hurtful shared in spaces i viewed as safe it’s somehow hurt a lot worse than when i’ve encountered hurtful attitudes in places i was expecting it. 

in retrospect the phrasing on that post was Not kind, & didn’t convey the nuance i read into it. my baseline assumption of both bi and pan people is that neither group is inherently transphobic; both identities have extremely similar experiences and my perspective on different lgbtq+ identities in general is that our strength is in solidarity and isolating/separating can be really dangerous to the lgbtq+ community’s ability to thrive and work on making the world better and safer for us all. 

i’m really glad that you’ve found love and support within the pan community and i have all the respect and admiration in the world for my bi and pan siblings in the lgbtq+ community! being able to find folks who share your identity and to find pride in yourself together is so healing and important and i’m so glad for the times i’ve experienced that in my life as well. 

you’re right that all communities do have issues with transphobia, and i normally wouldn’t join in on other identity’s in-community conversations; i thought about that when reblogging the post earlier but i do my best to rb posts asking people to examine if their beliefs and identity might be formed on transphobic assumptions when it comes to all labels and that’s why i did originally rb. i do my best to rb a lot of posts asking wlw to examine potentially transphobic ideas they might hold, because i’m an afab nonbinary wlw and so regardless of the fact that i’m not cis, i have a lot more privilege than trans women do in wlw spaces and i know i need to be doing what i can to make wlw spaces safe for trans women & girls.

and the post i rb’d did just have pretty shitty & confrontational wording, which i didn’t think about when rb’ing it. i’m sorry again for that! 

my reasoning in rb’ing that post was the same as when i rb posts asking wlw to examine their views; not that everyone of the groups in question are inherently shitty in some way, but that we all could use reminders to reflect sometimes and that occasionally people will be misinformed or have a shitty view/shitty views - but that that’s not the norm. i also felt more ok rb’ing this post bc i for a very long time id’d as bi, and my attraction as a lesbian still is to women and nonbinary people who don’t feel misgendered by the attraction of a lesbian; some people would call me bi for that, but it’s a common lesbian experience. i really relate to what you said about choosing pan because it really clearly sends the message that you’re attracted to people regardless of gender, bc i chose lesbian as a label bc it sends the message that i’m Not attracted to men! it’s about how i want people to see me.

my reading of the post was connected to experiences i had with some pretty shitty transphobic ex coworkers; they didn’t know i wasn’t cis, but a number of my coworkers at the time were bi. transphobia/biphobia tw for the rest of this paragraph/ the ex coworkers were pan and they adamantly told me/other coworkers that bisexuality was attraction to men and women whereas pansexuality was attraction to men, women, and trans people. my assumption based off of them wasn’t that pan people are transphobic/that pan as an identity is inherently transphobic, but that they as individuals sucked and were transphobic & biphobic?

that experience does touch on what the post was about though, i think. since the bi manifesto written in 1990 “official” definitions of bisexuality have been stating that bi doesn’t just mean attraction to men and women, and that there are more than 2 genders; it’s society’s biphobia that causes people to think that bisexuality isn’t inherently inclusive of more than 2 genders/inherently inclusive of trans people. its clear to me that you know there’s overlap in the communities and that you’re not transphobic and again that’s my baseline assumption of pan or bi people! ik that stinkers are always the exception in communities.

i rb’d the post because i think self reflection on internalized bs is good, and i didn’t realize how confrontational & potentially shitty the post was; i’m really sorry that i rb’d it and made my blog feel unsafe & i’m going to do my best to be more thoughtful in the future. i hope that me sharing why i rb’d it doesn’t come across as an excuse, either; i’m just hoping knowing my intentions might help w/ the experience. 

(if ppl must know, link to the post here )

[nekochan-simmer]

As someone who is a trans person, potentially the biggest potterhead you'll stumble upon and literally used the saga as a way to express myself when I didn't even know who I was, I want to talk about this.

Before anyone attacks me let's make two things clear here: I won't be watching this show and the way I interact with the saga is very critical of it and I try my very best not to give any money to jkr as I do not support her.

She doesnt deserve anyone's support because being a terf reduces being a woman to just some bullet points on a manifesto. My perception is just reduced as being perceived as one as I am agender but I spent 26 years of my life believing I was one. Being a woman in society is perceived as those biggotted views of having to find a man, clean the house, cook and have kids. Femminism is supposed to be fighting that, but then terfs come along and say that trans women are not women, why what dont they have that cis women do have? Right the ability to get pregnant, but that's tricky too because what about cis women that can not get pregnant for whatever medical reason? What are they no longer women then?

And the fear of man dressing up as women, pretending to be trans women to access women only spaces? And hiding it behind being a victim of abuse? That's low jkr. You do not get to use your abuse (which I do feel sorry she had to go through that) as a weapon to abuse other people out of safe spaces for them too. Because banning trans women from women spaces for fear of them just being Cis men dressing up to attack women actually puts trans women at far more risk of being abused. You think a man with the intention of abusing a woman is going to go through all the fuss of pretending to be trans? Let's be realistic, the chances of thst happening are very slim.

I am still hurt by this conversation because Harry Potter is a big topic in my life as I organise the bi annual cosplay meet up and when I was with some friends a year or two ago when the tweet about jkr saying that only women menstraute, one of my friend's friends couldn't see the big deal with it. That same person couldn't understand why shipping is a thing. But of course she was just a cishet girl, what could I even expect. But her words, both the friend's friend and jkr's, hurt me, at a time when I was vulnerable and questioning my gender identity.

On the flip side of things, people arguing that you can't like Harry Potter and have a clear conscience make just as mad. I know that separating the author for the work is hard especially with the author still alive, but what we need to consider before damming the saga to the depths of hell forever is when it was written, because beside jkr terf ideology, you really believe that the saga could have been perfectly inclusive of all races, all sexualities, all gender identities and all relationship forms when it was written in the 90s. It simply is a product of how society was. I can claim to love the Harry Potter Universe with clear conscience because I have dissected the books, I have spent time and time developing side characters personalities, developing ocs to insert in that universe. The ability to have a rp group at 17/18 where I could have my character be a lesbian in a place that felt like home because I first saw the movies thst I was around 6 or 7, when in real life I myself wasn't afforded the same luxury, helped me come to terms with my sexuality. You can't judge someone just because they like a saga, judge them with how they interact with it and what their ideas are. Because ultimately the beautiful part of loving a book is thst after you have read it you know that there is people that just like you loved it and want to keep, for a lack of a better word, the magic of it alive. Books and stories are an escape for our reality, the author can have written them, but ultimately is how you consume it and how you interpret it that will matter.

(when I say I love Harry Potter I would like to note that I do not purchase merch, have no intention of going to the movie tether and I will be simply be sitting here writing about gay wizards attending Hogwarts. Or buying merch off Etsy, as it is hand made it is not considered to be under the copyright law aka no money to the terf)

Hey, so they’re making a Netflix Harry Potter.

With that in mind, we’re all gonna remember that JKR is a terf who has literally been cited by legislators engaged in legislation that actively harms trans people, and we’re not gonna give her any more money.

That means not streaming the new show on Netflix, because regardless of how much influence she has on the production, she gets paid for it.

We’re gonna make the show flop. We’re gonna show Warner Brothers that we don’t forget (of course, how would we forget, it isn’t as if she’s stopped), and that their business association with terfs is no longer profitable.

It is NOT like Lovecraft, because Lovecraft is very dead and his works are in the public domain. By consuming Lovecraft media, you are not giving any money to old Howard.

[ronaldmrashid]

The Google Manifesto: Conform Or Perish

Once upon a time, I was 28 and dumb. But I was never as dumb as author James Damore who wrote a 3,200 word manifesto saying the reason why women and some minorities aren’t more represented at his firm is due to biological differences. That’s just offensive to the women and minorities who made it to Google.

Overall, Google’s workforce is 69% male, 31% female. However, when it comes to technical positions, just 20% of the jobs are filled by women. 56% of the workforce is White, 35% Asian, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 4% bi-racial, and less than 1% Other.

After a decade of trying to become more diverse, Google is clearly has not done a great job since African Americans represent roughly 12.4% and Hispanics about 17% of US the population. Interestingly, when it comes to diversity, Asian Americans don’t seem to count for some reason, even though they are an even smaller minority at only 6% of the US population.

Given Damore is now unemployed and facing potential financial difficulties (if he doesn’t win his lawsuit), I wanted to discuss some important lessons everybody who depends on a job to survive should think about. This is a site about financial freedom after all.

Lessons Learned From The Google Manifesto Fiasco

1) If you are not financially independent, never offend anybody. Something must have really bothered James to spend hours writing his manifesto. I’m guessing he was ticked off because he was passed over for a raise or promotion, and found it unfair that Google has career help programs specifically for underrepresented groups of people.

Welcome to the real world, where even working at one of the most prestigious organizations can make you unsatisfied. Even though you’ve already won the job lottery (0.2% acceptance rate), you curiously think the system is stacked against you.

Check your bank account. Do you have at least a couple years of living expenses locked away? If not, then keep quiet. Check your net worth tracking account. Does it at least equal 20X your gross annual income? If not, then shut up. Check your passive income streams. Can they cover all your living expenses? If not, then what the hell are you doing trying to piss off your managers and peers?!

Performance is only 50% of the way to get ahead at a large organization. The other 50% is developing a large support network who will fight for you at every rung of the ladder. Ostracizing 30% of your peer group when you need a consensus to ascend is a career limiting move.

Related:

A List Of Career Limiting Moves To Blow Up Your Future

Once You Have F U Money, It’s Hard To Tell People To F Off!

2) Conform or perish. Before joining a company, you need to have a thorough understanding of the company’s culture and ideology. Every large tech company in the SF Bay Area like Facebook, Google, Salesforce, Airnbnb and Apple has a left-leaning ideology. Therefore, after accepting a job offer, it’s unwise to come out against your company’s ideology.

Damore writes, “When it comes to diversity and inclusion, Google’s left bias has created a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence.”

That’s just the way it is James. If you decide to parlay your Harvard Master’s degree in Systems Biology to become a software engineer at a company you don’t respect for the sake of money and prestige, then that’s on you. Find a company that has the ideology you believe in.

No student is going to the University of Michigan to wear Ohio State sweaters to class. No person expects to live long if they continuously overeat. No financial freedom seeker expects to be rich without investing. Be congruent in your thoughts and actions.

Related: What If You Go To Harvard And End Up A Nobody?

3) Women have a powerful voice in the media. If you write about anything that may be construed as anti-women, you are putting your career and reputation in peril. The vast majority of people who have written about the Google Manifesto fiasco are women. Here’s a list of organizations that wrote about the subject and their authors:

NBC News – Alyssa Newcomb, Jo Ling Kent

Fortune – Ellen McGirt

Gizmod0 Kate Congert

Quartz – Gwynn Guilford

Wired – Nitasha Tiku

Inc. – Suzanne Lucas

Motherboard Vice – Louise Matsakis

Recode – Kara Swisher

Pando – Sarah Lacy

In many large organizations, women are well-represented in diversity leadership positions and HR roles. Don’t make enemies with the very people who can decide your fate. If you are a heterosexual male who was constantly rejected by women growing up because you were a super nerd, instead of being angry, work on your communication skills instead.

Related: The Difficulties Of Pregnancy: More Help Needed For Working Moms

4) Lack of diversity is not hard fought across job functions. Someone on the Twitter echo chamber brought up a good point, “Nobody fights about lack of diversity in modest paying jobs.” So true if you think about different industries with a disproportionate number of men or women. For example, I don’t recall seeing any outrage about the lack of men teaching K – 12 even though women make up ~75% of all teachers. Maybe I just missed it.

Teaching is one of the most important occupations in the world. Why aren’t more equal rights advocates up in arms about the lack of equality? The simple and sad reason is because the median pay for an elementary teacher is only about $40,000 compared to a software engineer who can easily make $200,000+ in  salary and stock.

Society is so wrapped up in money and prestige that they conveniently forget there is inequality everywhere, not just at famous companies which pay handsome salaries. If you choose to fight for equality, try to fight for equality for everyone. The people who make less probably need more help.

After the teaching industry, let’s look for more racial representation in the NBA. I’d love to see at least 6% of the players be Asian. Basketball is huge in Asia and amongst Asian people in America. With over 4 billion Asian people in the world (more than half), more Asians in the NBA would be great for business.

Related:

After Five Years Of Unemployment I Finally Found A Dream Job

Why Don’t More Men Go Into Teaching? (NYT)

5) Employment is at-will. Unlike countries like France or Japan, where getting fired is unheard of, employees have little protection here in the United States. Allowing companies to fire employees for whatever reason is part of why we’re the leaders in innovation. America is a cut throat society that thrives on capitalism.

See what the Supreme Court of California has to say about at-will employment.

“An employer may terminate its employees at will, for any or no reason … the employer may act peremptorily, arbitrarily, or inconsistently, without providing specific protections such as prior warning, fair procedures, objective evaluation, or preferential reassignment … The mere existence of an employment relationship affords no expectation, protectable by law, that employment will continue, or will end only on certain conditions, unless the parties have actually adopted such terms.”

As soon as you become mindful that you can be fired at any time, you’ll be more willing to assimilate into the Borg. Make no mistake. If you do not moonlight or build alternative income streams, you’ve chosen to put your entire livelihood in the hands of an organization.

Related: Ranking The Best Passive Income Investments

6) Go Small Or Go On Your Own. If by now you’re upset about having to conform to groupthink, then leave and join a much smaller company or become an entrepreneur. Large companies naturally become more bureaucratic because they employ a larger representation of the American people (except for Google and many of the other tech companies per their diversity reports). One of the biggest fears every company has is getting sued for discrimination. Therefore, a tremendous effort is made to ensure proper systems are in place to make sure everybody gets along (except for at Uber).

As an entrepreneur for the past five years with only my wife to report to, I’ve found making work decisions to be 10X faster than when I worked at a firm with tens of thousands of people. We work with online contractors we’ve never met before e.g. our system administrator. We’ve had business meetings with hundreds of different men and women from all races and backgrounds. Not once did a person’s sex or race come into consideration for working together. It always came down to whether the product was a natural fit for my writing or whether the person was competent to produce good work.

You should not turn into a cancer that negatively affects everyone you’re working with. Someone else will happily take your place if you don’t want it. After getting a terrible bonus despite strong performance, I decided to engineer my layoff instead of complain. I believed in myself more than my company believed in me.

Either take the money and stop biting the hand that feeds you or move on.

If You Need Money, Proceed With Caution

Life is already hard enough as it is. Don’t make things harder on yourself by blowing up your career if you aren’t already rich. It’s OK to speak your unfiltered mind if you are OK with the consequences. Just know that whatever you write will last forever on the internet. Pick up the phone or meet someone face-to-face if you want to insult them. But before you do, learn some self-defense!

Related: Are You Smart Enough To Act Dumb Enough To Get Ahead

Readers, did you read the Google Manifesto? If so, what do you think? Why don’t more people fight for equality in modest or lower paying jobs? Has society become so infatuated with the top 1% that they’ve ignored the plight of everyone else? Why do people who don’t have FU money like to make life harder on themselves?

from http://www.financialsamurai.com/the-google-manifesto-conform-or-perish/

[superhero-bastards]

Hi anon. How are ya? If I were to hazard a guess based on this ask, I’d say you’re either bored out of your mind and need to get a life, or just a plain asshole. 

Exclusion of identities, no matter what they are or how much they overlap with other identities, is never ever okay. A person who’s attracted to two genders or more calling themselves pan or omni does not invalidate your bisexuality. As a matter of fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with you! What a wild concept, I know. You, however, are now invalidating a whole group of people who feel that other sexual identities fit them more than bi because it means a slightly different thing that’s important to them, or because their friends who share their identity define themselves that way and it makes them feel like they belong, or just because they like the way it sounds. All of those are valid reasons. Any reason is a valid reason, and any identity is a valid identity. If a word makes a person feel good about themselves and their sexuality, who the hell are you to tell them not to use it? If someone wanted to call themselves a swoonlidum or prefer not to define their sexuality at all, it would still be none of your fucking business. Now, to quote a friend of mine ( @challengerblue​ ), sexuality isn’t a political statement or an academic subject, you don’t need to learn shit about shit. It’s not a qualification. But for the sake of argument, let us read the bisexual manifesto, shall we?

“We are tired of being analyzed, defined and represented by people other than ourselves—or worse yet, not considered at all. “ “Do not expect a clear-cut definition of bisexuality to jump out from the pages. We bisexuals tend to define bisexuality in ways that are unique to our own individuality. There are as many definitions of bisexuality as there are bisexuals. Many of us choose not to label ourselves anything at all, and find the word 'bisexual' to be inadequate and too limiting. “ https://bimanifesto.carrd.co/#manifesto Ignoring for a sec how insane it is, not to mention stupid, to treat something written by a bunch of friends in the 90′s as the Holy Grail of sexual identity, how about you actually read the things you mention on anon hate to condescend over strangers? Because the authors of this manifesto clearly felt that every person should be able to choose how to define themselves or not, and have that treated with respect.

Wanting to educate yourself about LGBTQ+ history is great! as long as A. you understand what you’re reading and B. understand that no one is owed to get a master’s degree in being queer in order to decide who they are, and they’re even allowed to change their minds a few times. Imagine that.

So how about you kindly fuck off, anon? Thanks

actually the term pan/omni etc don't need to exist cause love regardless the gender is already a thing and it's called bisexuality, y'all are just being biphobic and don't know your bi history (does the bisexual manifesto ring a bell to you?).

I don't have an answer for you...but someone else does ;)