#mentions of transphobia

[mavcancees]

a tiny love letter to every dream fan out there

i don't live in a particularly good environment. home and country wise

i've known i'm transgender since i was 19. i'm 23. i've never been able to access care for it, or even socially transition at the risk that my parents will know and turn violent. i would have nowhere to go. i've been purposefully alienated all my life so me leaving seems impossible

national economy doesn't help either but i won't get much into it. just know i am disabled, i have no college studies, and any job i could get wouldn't even cover the minimum for me to be able to move out

so i turned to art. long ago. but it was particularly at the end of last year i found my place here as a "dream stan". and as a dream fanartist

it is now the 12th of january 2024, and i can officially say, this fandom has provided me with enough work to move out, live on my own comfortably, and be able to access care so i can transition

this fandom has properly saved my life. not out of content, but from the community itself. that is fully to your credit

if you have ever enjoyed my art, liked it, shared it, saved it, shown it to someone else. thank you. i am in the place i am right now because of you

i hope i can give back as much as you have given me

[just-here-for-the-art-shit]

Me in the past: Man, I really don't like that Oda drew trans and gay people as comical characters.

Me today realizing that if Oda didn't draw them to be "silly" he couldn't have included queer, non-binary, and trans people to begin with or One Piece would have been canceled in Japan, so he drew them comically but gave them great character attributes, both strong as people, and in power, defying the world governments norms, which is a big fat poke at society itself in Japan where gay people are either ostracized or fetishized:

(Really though I learned a lot about modern Japanese culture in regards to lgbtq+ characters in mainstream or shonen anime. It's a tightrope Oda walks just to have Yamato and Kiku state that they are a man and a woman in the manga, and that he himself can't come straight forward and say, "Yeah they're trans." To whom it matters, his message is clear, but vague to the rest of the world. Like, Oda could be quite literally risking his life to say it flat out. The media culture in each country is different, and it's a lot stronger in Japan. You don't just get cancelled on Twitter.)

So thank you Oda, for giving us Bon Clay and Ivankov. Even if the rest of the world laughs and ignores the actual words the characters are speaking, we get it.

[veeswims]

Hello to anyone who sees this. I’ve very recently been reminded of how awful some families and communities can be, so I have a reminder for you all.

You are all valid.

What I witnessed specifically was homophobia, ableism, and transphobia.

Lgbtq community, you are valid.

I don’t know how many letters are part of lgbtq, but please know that any I didn’t put on there is because I’m not fully informed and don’t want to accidentally put anything wrong in. Thus I went for the version I hear and see the most. Even if your letter isn’t there, you are still very valid!!!

As someone who’s lgbtq and autistic, I am sending this message out into the universe in hopes of inspiring others. Feel free to reach out, and reminder,

No matter what anyone says you are still valid. You are valuable and worth it, and you are not bad for existing the way you do.

[ucetheones]

A Peek Through Time | FTM! Jey Uso x Rhea Ripley x Dominik Mysterio

Gif credit: @samijey 🖤

Jon remembers the day Josh tearfully came out to him and Joe, demanding with tears in his eyes that they no longer call him "Jayla". He remembers his twin shaking like a leaf when he told them she/her pronouns felt wrong and dirty. 

At fourteen, Josh lacked the proper terminology to express what they now know as Dysphoria.

Jon accepted his brother's words with ease, some part of him had always known his sister was never really his sister. All their lives Josh had always been one of the guys.

She (he, Jon's brain corrected) played all manner of sports, and would do anything to avoid being forced into a frilly dress. All in all, it made sense to Jon that his twin sister was actually his twin brother. 

Joe had taken the confession with less grace than Jon, but he hadn't been rude or nasty to Josh, so that was a slight win. 

Coming out to the rest of their family was difficult enough, their mom tried to hide her discomfort, and the saddened expression that threatened to overtake her features, but she remained pleasant as always.

Their father was outright against it, wasting no time in berating Josh for foolish thoughts and sinful behaviors. 

"You're a girl, Jayla. My daughter will not parade around town and embarrass her family." 

There was a threat of kicking him out after that comment, one Jon remembers playing over in his head whenever he sees their father even after years have gone by and Josh no longer lived under their dad's roof.

The second he and Josh turned eighteen, his twin brother was dead set on moving out, and he had, only a few weeks into adulthood. 

It was an odd adjustment, but going to see Josh at his apartment with Joe had become a daily occurrence, until college got in the way, and they rarely had the chance to see their youngest counterpart through anything other than a video chat with Josh's camera cut off, or blurry selfies sent on-the-go.

Jon supposes it's his own fault he never sees his brother, after all he and Joe chose a different school.

Seeing Josh in person for the first time in months, almost a year if he was honest, was startling in the best way. He'd cut his hair into a mullet, styled so his curls were the main focus. He'd bulked up considerably, the cropped tee-shirt that adorned his body had the sleeves cut off; giving a clear view of all this twin's hard work. 

There was a lot of ink covering his arms, something Jon was slightly envious of. 

But the biggest, most noticeable difference was the facial hair, because Josh had always spoken in a deeper voice, as children he had the raspiest voice in their family, and that hadn't changed as adults. 

Which is probably why Jon never caught on to just how much his voice dropped. 

It wasn't half as shocking as the hair covering his brother's face, though. 

Josh should've been unrecognizable, but it was honestly like looking in a mirror for the first time in their lives. They'd always been twins, but there was never any concrete proof as far as looks were concerned. They'd always looked alike, but now? Now they were nearly identical, the only major difference being their smiles and hair styles.

Joe is the first to embrace his cousin, patting him on the back with a wide grin on his lips. 

"You look good, man!"

He was visibly proud, like he was the one who sculpted Josh into what the world saw now. Like it wasn't all of Josh's handwork on display. 

Jon can tell Josh is proud of how he looks now, long gone are the hunched shoulders, arms crossed over his chest and the frown everyone thought might've become permanent. 

"You must be livin' in the gym, Uce. The hell kinda' regimen you got?"

Jon almost surprises himself when he speaks, but Josh once again beats him to the punch. 

His twin's laugh is light and airy, yet just as deep as his voice, 

"As much as I'd like to brag, all this?" He gestures to himself, "Is Rhea and Dominik's work. Wakin' my ass up at four am, talkin' bout some "It'll be fun, come on, babe. We'll get wafflehouse after!" News flash, it's not fun, and it never will be."

He sounds annoyed, but fond as he complains, but all Jon can focus on are the names he doesn't know. Are they Josh's friends? Is he dating one of them? He doesn't even know if Josh is straight or not.

Joe's laughter cuts through Jon's thoughts, and he's quickly trying to find his place in the conversation. 

Apparently, Joe had bitten the bullet and asked Josh who Rhea and Dominik were. 

Josh's eyes almost lit up at the question, and he wasted not a breath before he was telling his brother and cousin about his girlfriend and his boyfriend. 

It was weird, in truth, but his twin was happy so what was the harm? 

Josh, Rhea and Dominik were tight-knit, rarely did you see one of them without the others. Whatever was happening between this was authentic and unyielding. 

Until their relationship was imploding, for reasons Jon still doesn't know even though the four year relationship ended under his roof.

Over the course of a few weeks, Josh changed into a more closed off version of himself, though he still worked out religiously, and wrestled in small circuits with his brother and cousin, he no longer had the same motivation. Jon thought it was understandable, one break up was rough. But two? He couldn't begin to understand how drained his brother must've been feeling on a daily basis. Especially since they all worked together at varying points in their training.

One day, things seemed to be going well enough, again. Josh was branching out and finding new friends, and having new experiences. 

He, Rhea and Dominik had somehow patched things up, and were on the verge of mending their once broken relationship.

And the next…the next day, Josh wasn't breathing, or moving and Jon was sobbing. Hysterically. 

Rhea was staring blankly ahead, her eyes squinting into the darkness, like Josh's bleeding body wasn't currently at their feet, but she was crying.

Dominik was on his knees, trying to put pressure on the stab wound, his hands shaking.

With some coaxing from Dominik, Rhea finally finds her footing and gently shoves him aside to take his place in tending to their boyfriend. Her first-aid skills far exceeded any of theirs.

Joe was on the phone with 911, attempting to explain that his cousin wasn't breathing, was bleeding profusely, and they weren't sure if he had a pulse because everyone was too keyed up, even Rhea who realistically should've been able to with practiced ease. It was impossible to check when your hands shook viciously. 

After that, nothing was the same. Nothing could ever be the same. Because Josh almost died, and they still aren't sure why the person who attacked him did what they did.

The doctors aren't sure how Josh made such a quick recovery, but he had. 

During his brief recovery, Josh had met with surgeons to arrange everything for top surgery, the final step for him at the moment, as far as his transition went. He hadn't wanted bottom surgery, and had been on testosterone for a few years already, so top surgery was his end all be all. At least for now. 

It had taken a couple more years for Josh, Jon, Joe, Rhea and Dominik to debut in WWE, but when they finally did? It was their biggest dream finally coming to fruition.

Josh debuted as the first male trans wrestler on the main roster, which easily made him the guy to root for. The pop he got any time his music hit was unreal, and sometimes Jon wondered how his twin managed the almost immediate popularity, because with it came a butt load of hate. But, Josh was happier than ever before, so Jon didn't question it too much.

Somehow, Rhea and Dominik ended up being paired together, alongside Finn Balor and Damian Priest, whilst Josh, who now went by Jey, for work purposes, was off in a faction with his twin brother, and cousin. Their baby brother would soon be joining them on the main roster, and it was all truly coming together. 

Or it did for a few years, before the company scripted The Bloodline's implosion, and carted a newly liberated Jey Uso to Monday Night Raw, sans Jimmy, Roman or Solo. 

For the first time, Jey should've been alone, fending for himself, but being favored by the higher-ups was nothing if not a blessing, because one mention of possibly being paired up with The Judgement Day to Triple H, and Jey was being thrust into a storyline with his girlfriend and boyfriend. 

Along the way, Jimmy too gets swept up in Judgement Day antics, though where Jey actually joins, Jimmy only occasionally tags along, offering support in silent ways. Like helping them win matches when the faction crosses over to Smackdown for the week, or handling a problem for them should one arise and none of the actual members can be present. 

When the storyline of Jey and Rhea getting together begins, the fans are immediately under the assumption he and Dominik would end up at odds, they're split on who to root for. 

Things on screen are tense between The Mysterio and The Uso for a couple weeks, before things come to a head and Rhea, being Rhea, puts them both in their places. She doesn't choose one of them, and says as much, leaving the WWE Universe in instant shambles, but then she's choosing both of them.

There's confusion from everyone, even some feigned confusion from both Dominik and Jey, before Dominik is smirking and blowing a kiss to the man, causing him to burst into laughter. 

Again, the fans are lost, unknowing of what goes on beyond kayfabe, or that they'd ultimately broken it for a second, but it all seems to be the best choice, because the faction proceeds to blow up in ways no one thought possible. 

Jon is proud of his brother, he truly is. He got to watch as his twin quite literally grew into the best man around, whilst simultaneously shaking things up in the field of wrestling at its very core. From being the first trans male wrestler on the main roster, to being in the first openly poly relationship in WWE, Josh was absolutely changing the foundation of all Jon and his family had known for decades. And while some were definitely against it, Jon, Joe and the people who mattered, were all for it. 

Josh was happier than words could say, so who could find fault in that?

[batbeato]

i had the horrible realization that while on twitter i'd be too limited by horrific character limits to rant about this in a satisfactory way, here on tumblr? here, i am free.

no one can stop me from ranting about subahibi. no one. none of you understand how long i've been holding this in (two years. two. years.)

...subahibi spoilers and my rage-fueled criticism of it to follow.

so. subahibi. yeah. look, I think most people know it as "that one VN where the girl gets fucked by a dog" and you know. it is that VN. it's a denpa eroge, heavy emphasis on eroge, with a side of the usual (in)comprehensible denpa rambling about the meaning of life love the universe everything with references ranging from Satie to Cyrano. it also vaguely ties into some other game by the same studio by virtue of local cryptid girl who is never explained in subahibi. classic.

now, I have nothing against the genre. I actually really like CROSS CHANNEL, another denpa eroge. most of the eroge parts don't interest me in CC but they're tolerable, sometimes hold plot relevance, and while the VN itself sometimes goes into absurdity and becomes laughable when it's trying to be sincere, it does try its best and has interesting elements, if underutilized. Some elements are utilized incredibly well, too!

however. subahibi is one of the worst VNs I've ever read, checking off all the boxes of:

horrific failure at depicting mental illness (the fantastical depiction of DID bears little resemblance to the actual condition. if it was confirmed to be spiritual possession, it might be different, but the VN does its best to act as though it's "unclear")

sex scenes clearly there for gratuity that drag on (yes, I know it's an eroge. there was no need to have an entire sex scene devoted to a random teacher raping her father. she wasn't even a main character.)

transphobia that goes from the usual subtle gender essentialism to so blatant it's horrific (the f slur, Mamiya being insulted by the 'good' protagonist for his femininity and forced crossdressing)

boring brocon brother/sister incest.

the VN does have some interesting components. I think the idea of someone taking on Zakuro's name to get revenge for her, but they're actually a very fucked up person who never really know her? interesting. the way the story is told from these varying unreliable narrators? interesting. the idea of taking a plural character and telling the same story/time period with the different alters' perspectives? again, interesting.

however, it completely fails to make use of any of these interesting components, especially with its depiction of DID being so bad that I wonder if anyone working on Subahibi had so much as met someone with any degree of disassociation in their lives, ever. also the rejection of mental health professionals as being capable of helping. it all comes across as some chuuni author insisting that the only way to reach happiness and mental wellness is to stick your dick in something and beat up bad guys.

I see people talking about how unique and deep Subahibi is, praising it as a great piece of media, and while I do think that, yes, it is interesting, it's more interesting when you realize that it's a flaming trashfire product of its time and its writers, with a moral message so flimsy that an infant could break it in half.

You see, it's not the pieces of media so irredeemably bad that they have nothing new to them that really make them stick in my brain for me to absolutely despise. It's the pieces of media that have just enough interesting elements to grab my interest, then vomit in my face. Subahibi is infuriating to me because it was such an awful read when it could have been a great one. It's infuriating to me because I thought I was going to read either something really amazing or something laughably bad that had a girl getting fucked by a dog. I got something infuriatingly bad that had a woman pissing on the street.

...Yeah. I could go on for days about the details of subahibi's failure to respectfully depict mental illness or DID, but......

[thatonesapphicfilipino]

⚠️tw trans and homophobia and religion and cursing ⚠️

i hate my theology of the body class.

so i go to a religious school and we hv our version of a health class otherwise said theology of the body and a basic run down of it is health class but make it so u don’t acc learn anything abt what’s going on down there and the main focus is don’t hv sex o and if ur trans ur not

which is so fun for a they/she ace with a strong feminine preference.

and the lesson today was super sexist and only talked abt straight relationships like full on pretending we don’t exist type of shit

one of the parts was like when a bee goes into a room of all boys and they all fight to see who can kill the bee first yelling testosterone and omg they threw the wimp who was running away from the bee out the window??!?!! i mean really close to it… then a room of girls with them all running away from the bee and the one girl acc trying to kill it dying of laughter being unable to kill it then once it dies they all crowd around with “aww” s and “i feel so bad”s then some bullshit like what is the reason for this??? the author is full of bullshit is the reason and like our teacher was like what do u guys think abt this and one girl i’m friends with who is like the most cis version of fuck the gender stereotypes but also barely knowing any queer stuff was like telling a story abt when there was a bee in the band room and she was the only one trying to get it out with the room full of girls and boys

then in the video that goes along with the book thhe only things they talked abt were for girls to be modest and how boys r gonna be attracted girls and girls to boys like hello r we just pretending queer people don’t exist anymore is it cuz “if u show queer media to kids they turn queer” like omfg bitch what r u on at least mention us like ofc i don’t want the see a video saying how “gays r gonna burn to eternity” and shit but like at least bring us up

[spinzzy]

Hey all, I wanted to ask for your help. I, a transfem who is stuck living at home with my transphobic parents for the foreseeable future, am humbly requesting financial support so I can arrange a Doctor’s Appointment and start HRT. I am 18, so my parents can’t legally stop me, but they pay for the insurance and I don’t make enough money to pay for it myself. Additionally, I have no idea how much a Doctor’s Appointment actually costs without insurance, so I just kinda set the goal to something that seemed achievable but not too high. I’m not asking for much, just as large a donation as you’re willing to give. Every little bit helps. Also, if you have any advice/information I should know, please don’t hesitate to share.

[presidentstalkeyes]

A year after the Maligula Case, Razputin Aquato returns to Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp to give a special presentation. While out walking in the woods afterwards, he's surprised by the arrival of Nils Lutefisk, who has an unusual request for him.

It soon becomes clear that there's another reason why Nils acts the way they do, and it's far beyond anything Raz had imagined. Nonetheless, he does his best to support his ex-fellow camper through the beginning of their journey of self-discovery.

[verypsbfan019]

The Engine drivers series: Night thoughts

⚠️ Content Warning: Soft nudity, trauma from past relationships, gender dysphoria and mentions of transphobia of the time ⚠️

Summary: Nights were perfect for thinking but they didn't always bring the best topics to think about. Unfortunately for Duck, that night was one of those....

Nights were perfect for thinking. When the only noises left were the distant locomotives working in the railway and his boyfriend snoring next to him. 

But night didn’t always bring the best topics to think about. And that night was one of those, unfortunately. 

Duck was sitting on the edge of the bed with the lamp on, without a shirt or a blanket to cover up his torso. He looked down to his chest and sighed, he suddenly felt strange and uncomfortable in his own skin. That wasn’t an usual thing for him (well, at least in the last fourteen years) but he knew other people dealt with that almost every day. 

Donald was next to him, he had such a heavy sleep. Duck loved him so much. One of the Scottish twins was the first person that Duck dated after his transition that fully accepted him. He was never precisely lucky with love, his first boyfriend from high school days left a lot of memories that are still haunting him, even if the last time he saw him was twenty years ago and the guy knew him as “Jacqueline Collett” at that time. Duck was sure that if his ex-boyfriend saw him now, he wouldn’t even think that the man in front of him was once the “young lady” he manipulated for his own pleasure and…

“Alright, enough from that guy…” Duck thought. He already talked to Donald several times about his first relationship when he was a teenager and the other ones that never succeeded because they wanted “a real man”. 

“What’s to be a real man, after all?” Donald once asked when they were working together. Duck couldn’t think about something that didn’t fall into physical stereotypes such as muscles, body hair, wide shoulders, deep voice… 

“But you have more body hair than me, Duck!” Donald laughed.

“That’s true,” Duck said, “I don’t think there is a correct way of being a real man, you know…”

Duck giggled in silence as one of his hands ran over his chest hair to end up on his collarbone. 

He had spent almost twenty two years of his life pretending to be someone that he was never meant to be. Trying so hard to fit in and failing on the task. Living every day disconnected with himself every time he was wearing a skirt or a dress, brushing his long hair and being called “Jackie” by his beloved ones, “Jacqueline” by some coworkers and “miss” by strangers. And then feeling his best after cutting his hair very short, wearing trousers and oversized coats, and being called “Duck” when his friends in Paddington Station noticed his strange way of walking. 

And the indescribable joy of being called “sir” or “gentleman” by people who didn’t know him. He didn’t even dare to correct them, he adored it. He loved when people couldn’t tell whether he was a man or a woman. 

Duck wished he knew he was trans earlier. He wished he had the terms to describe the unconformity he had while growing up. He was never feminine at all, never liked to play with dolls and wearing mom’s makeup and high heels as his sisters did, he got along with boys way better than with girls in elementary school. He had bad luck enough to go to a school for girls as a teenager, where he felt more disconnected than ever. Everyone loved to remind him how weird he was. Girls were so mean there.  

If only he met people like him earlier…

“They won’t recognize me if I go to their silly Class of 1981 meetings” Duck thought and a little smile appeared on his face.

His hand ran down again to touch one of his nipples slightly and the smile faded away. Duck didn’t really feel the need to get rid of his chest, using a binder under his shirt and taking testosterone were more than enough to make him feel himself during the last decade of his life.

So why was he feeling all this now? He hated when he wasn’t able to understand his own emotions. Was he really feeling weird? Was he mad about something? Was his past bothering him again?

"Maybe you are just a woman with a lack of femininity, after all, trying so hard to be a man" an intrusive thought invaded him. No, he wasn't a woman, Duck was 100% of that so it was worthless to think deeper.  

He had to admit that was the label he used before the realization. As a teenager and eventually as a young adult, he wanted to believe that he just had a big lack of femininity. His 16-year-old self was so attached to the "I'm not like the other girls" quote. It gave him an inexplicable comfort, at least the first years. 

The thing was that he wasn't actually a girl after all. 

He had always been Duck, even if everyone called him Jacqueline, even if he didn't know it yet. After having his hair cut very short and wearing the uniform that borrowed from a friend, he couldn’t stop staring at his own reflection. 

The young man stepped into the hall of mirrors, where he discovered a reflection of himself, a line from his favorite song came to his mind at that moment, a song called “The hall of mirrors”.

He still remembered clearly how another quote from the same song sounded in the back of his head as soon as he was about to change to his regular uniform. 

Sometimes he saw his real face and sometimes a stranger at his place.

That was the final sign that took away all of his doubts. It's so clear, so obvious. 

His real self was set free that morning when he looked at the mirror and realized he had been lying to himself all this time.

“What was the word? Transgender?” He tried to remember what he read in that magazine his friends brought him the other day. He would ask him later. But there was something clear on Duck’s mind at that moment:

I won’t lie to himself anymore. 

“Why are you insisting on being a man? Do you hate women?” a relative once asked him during a family reunion just some time after he came out. His parents and siblings totally supported his decision but some family members didn´t want to understand and didn’t care to ask about it. A mid 20’s crisis, as a cousin said, she won’t last long with this game.   

“I don’t hate women, I just ain’t one”, he remembered his answer.  

It was so difficult to explain his experience to people who didn’t want to open their minds.

“Hey, your thoughts can be heard from here, you know?” a familiar voice spoke behind him, taking him out from his train of thought. 

“How long have you been awake?” he asked.

“Enough to see your mind is playing tricks on you again”, Donald answered as he approached Duck to hug him from the back. He felt so warm and the tension in his shoulder faded away. “Wanna talk about it, Duckie?”

“Not really, Donald, it’s just the same annoying thoughts again.”

Duck turned around to face Donald and kissed him on the lips. These kinds of small actions with his boyfriend always made him feel better after a bad day. 

“You know I’m always here to listen,” Donald added in the middle of the kiss.

"I suddenly felt uncomfortable with myself… again"

"Why?" 

"I wish I knew, Donald, I wish I knew…", Duck didn't know how to explain all the things he was thinking about before being interrupted. "There were so many things in my head about the past, the present, the future, my body, my decisions and they were all mixed and I can't…"

"Hey, " the red-haired guy interrupted his boyfriend once again, "Try to breath, your cheeks are red" 

"I'm so sorry," Duck said and laid down on his side of the bed. 

"There is nothing to be sorry about! We can talk in the morning" Donald laid down next to him "Now, let's get some sleep, overthinking is tiring and helpless."

Duck sighed.

"Yeah, that would be the best…"

[trash-and-trash-accessories]

I do want to note that the whole "women are allowed to dress masculine and wear trousers" thing needs to be viewed in its historical context:

People fought for generations to be allowed to dress that way. They fought hard to be allowed to wear pants. Blue jeans were a symbol of feminist revolution. Women were barred from workplaces and schools for wearing them.

This is not some a natural fact that women dressing masculine is less shocking and humiliating. That normalization was fought for and hard-won.

And yet so many people erase the struggles of those people who fought to make that happen and pretend that it's just normal and natural that people don't see women "dressed like men" as ridiculous.

The Marriage of Figaro has what's called a "breeches role" which is a woman wearing men's clothes playing am ale role. This was done partly due to the vocal range requirements, but in many cases it was done comedically. It was risque and sexualized or comic relief that a woman was dressed as a man.

Anti-suffragette posters mock women wearing pants - well they were bloomers and split skirts back then - and mocking more masculine cut styles of clothes. This was meant to portray this as ridiculous.

They mocked the "new woman" in Weimar Germany, lamenting that they were too masculine.

This is a political cartoon from the 1920s depicting a woman in masculine dress deciding which bathroom to use:

Sorry but you're erasing these struggles and flattening history when you say this shit.

Women were killed and institutionalized in the struggle to make this happen. It really fucking bothers me the way it's framed as "people just don't find it as weird when women dress masculine."

Yes they fucking did. Until women and transmasculine people fought for their right to wear what they want. It's normalized because people struggled to normalize it.

And it's not normal everywhere. There are many countries where it's still illegal for women to wear pants. Afghanistan, for example.

Even in the US, it's forbidden and considered ridiculous in groups like the FLDS, the Amish, and the Hutterites.

We are flattening and erasing the struggles of women when we say these things. I know we're trying to build theory here but you can't build solid theory on a foundation of lies.

[samwisethewitch]

Homemaking, gardening, and self-sufficiency resources that won't radicalize you into a hate group

It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that's generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.

Unfortunately, these "self-sufficiency" skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the "good old days," a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.

In the spirit of building safe communities, here's a complete list of the safe resources I've found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.

Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:

Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)

How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)

Gardening

Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)

Country/Rural Living:

Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it's like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)

"Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy" by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)

Sewing/Mending:

Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)

Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)

Sustainability/Land Stewardship

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs -- in this case, indigenous American beliefs -- can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)

Avoiding the "Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline"

Note: the "crunchy to alt-right pipeline" is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use "crunchy" spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.

"The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline" by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)

Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it's a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)

These are just the resources I've personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!

[buggachat]

drag has anonymity. it has history. it's a second identity. it's wordplay. it's flamboyancy. it's performance. it's comedy. it's rejecting societal norms and expectations. it's having fun. no one can convince me it wouldn't awaken something in him

[the articles i stole from: one, two, three ]

[useless-englandfacts]

for those thinking it was all too good to be true: labour deciding to permanently keep the tories' ban on puberty blockers for under 18s

[wolfertinger666]

fuck it, my black trans guy experience has been:

other trans people(especially fellow trans men) invalidating my identity because I don't conform to gender norms or whatever bullshit cope they can think of

being fetishized constantly cuz I present fem. even in conversations that aren't even sex related. been told I'm "an easy cheat for straight people" or a heavy fixation on my breast

seeing queers who are white benefit from including black queers in their talking points but in some ways excluding us or tokenizing us.

oh yeah and the extreme transphobes misgendering me and threatening me with corrective SA

but I've also had positive experiences such as inspiring other trans and even cis folks to stay true to themselves and basically express themselves however they want. i like being myself but it sure is scary sometimes.

[kingkrillin]

just need to share how much I dislike this post lol

people will fully expect trans men to put ourselves on the line for everyone else and meanwhile the only time they acknowledge our existence is to talk about how "low risk" we are (obviously untrue) or to volunteer us out as a community for potentially dangerous activist endeavors that they wouldn't risk doing themselves

"we need to get uncomfortable!" and what's actually being discussed is convincing a subset of the community to be uncomfortable on your behalf while you do nothing to show solidarity with us

[shamebats]

If you only ever mention trans mascs & men in relation to misogyny when you want to talk about how we're capable of being misogynistic (which wow you've discovered that afab people can be sexist? good job, I learned that at like 11 probably but I'm glad you got there eventually) and never in terms of how we're affected & harmed by it, how it puts us at risk of being sexually abused & exploited by family members, partners & in workplaces, forcefully detransitioned, forced into unwanted pregnancies, murdered etc, then I don't trust you and don't consider you an ally to trans people btw