#white privilege and male privilege and cis privilege and financial privilege

[hoeterra]

Not to sound like whatever the gay version of an incel is but I wish we talked about pretty privilege more

[ftmtftm]

I've been scrolling through your blog, and I saw your post about discussing the racialized nature of gender. As someone who has several transmasc POC friends, and someone who's a nonbinary POC themself, I wanted to give my 2 cents.

It's important to understand that "woman" in the "man vs woman" gender binary is a colonialist, white supremacist construct, especially in Western countries where you are the numerical minority. My trans friends aren't on T, they haven't gotten top surgery, we are all quite young. But they all have numerous stories about being addressed as "sir" which brings them euphoria but as one person said, while we were making fun of the amount of white people in our club, "Due to my race and skin color, I get masculinized."

And again I'd like to emphasize, that since we're young, none of us really have medically transitioned due to financial and familial barriers. Their hair is long, our binders we definitely have notable chests, and even if they dress masculine, it's notable that no one in our communities would ever gender us properly. It's often white people calling them "sir." Again, I think this reflects how gender performances in mainstream queer communities are deeply White. Like, trans boys talk about having haircuts, but only one of my friends has that wavier, more manageable hair that will help them pass. When you've got curly/kinky hair, the standards are different. For a white person, what's the difference between a "girl" Afro and a boy "Afro"? White cis people have a harder time identifying us, and literally talk to any black girl, and they'll tell you about being mocked, dehumanized, and called "manly".

I don't have much else to say. These are just my personal experiences. But if you want to be an ally to POC in the queer community, this is why it's so fucking important to bring in colonialism/imperialism/white supremacy into discussions of queer liberation. My biggest gripe with ignorant white queers is when they ignore their white privilege, and act like "cishets" (AKA the patriarchal system regulating sexuality and gender) is the only enemy. Because cishet POC deal with plenty of shit with being infantilized, masculinized, feminized, seen as brutish & dangerous, the list goes on. Doberbutts had a post saying, "Believe me, your family's going to care more about me being black than my queerness." towards his white partners. Acknowledging and creating a framework that centers these intersections of queerness and race into your beliefs is true allyship. This is why if you're not anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, ACAB...I do not think you care for queer liberation. None of us are free until all of us are free.

Please don't view this post as an attack. But this is my perspective, and I thought you'd be receptive to me sharing my lived experiences.

Oh I absolutely don't view this ask as an attack, and I really appreciate you bringing these things up because you're right! Like, just very plainly: You are right and your and your friends lived experiences are extremely important to the conversation on the racialized aspects of gender.

It gets me thinking about where Misogynoir and the social White Fear of Black manhood intersect for Black trans men in particular. Because Black women and Women of Color in general are masculinized by White gender standards and the ways in which Black trans masculine people are gendered in alignment with their identity is absolutely not always done with gender affirming intent. In fact, it's often actually done with racist intent or is fueled by racist bias when it's coming from White people or even from non-Black POC.

That's kind of restating things you've said but differently, it's just such a topic worth highlighting explicitly since it's extremely relevant to the conversation that's been happening about Male Privilege here the last few days.

I do think I know exactly what @doberbutts post you're talking about and yeah. It's just truth. It's something Black queer people have been talking about for ages in both theory and in pop culture (my mind immediately goes to Kevin Abstract and "American Boyfriend") where Black queer/trans identity is both materially different from (neutral) and is treated differently from (negative) White queer/trans identity in multitudes of ways and those differences are worth sharing and exploring and talking about.

Genuinely, thank you for sharing! I try really hard not to lead these kinds of conversations outside of explicitly referencing back to non-White theorists because I don't particularly feel like it's my place to do so, but I will always provide a platform for them because they're extremely important conversations to be had.

[funkmasterfuma]

It's kind of amazing how much radfem rhetoric about men and male privilege falls apart when you remember that there are men who aren't white, neurotypical, or cishet. My non-white friends often tell me about how they worry or feel uncomfortable expressing feelings like anger or frustration, even when they've clearly been wronged, because they know that they'll be unfairly seen as aggressive, violent, animalistic, or impulsive. Neurodivergent people have to be careful about how they speak, react to external stimuli, and what body language they use, lest they be seen as immature, mentally deficient, or dangerous to themselves or others. Queer people of all flavors, from cis gays and lesbians to the most gender-fucky trans and non-binary people, often have to hide their identity and any associated "interests" or "behaviors" in order to not get physically or financially harmed. This isn't even getting into things like wealth inequality or the way that media and popular culture negatively reinforce societal ideas of how various subgroups of people are "supposed" to act

I think the most important thing to keep in mind and a core principle of intersectionality is that people can be oppressed in some ways and not be oppressed in other ways. A black man who is gay & neurotypical and a white woman who is straight & neurodivergent are both going to suffer in different ways (racism, ableism, misogyny, homophobia), even though they may benefit at the same time from other structural inequalities (racism, ableism, misogyny, homophobia). I think that radfems fail, perhaps deliberately, to recognize that there is nuance to the way that we understand oppression. They subscribe to a very binary and simplistic worldview. In their minds, there is an exclusive in-group composed of people who are evil & dangerous and an exclusive out-group composed of people who are pure & righteous. Structural inequality has many threads and it's asinine to act as though huge swaths of the population are somehow immune to being on the receiving end of it because of their chromosomes; there is no "get out of oppression" free card in our society.

Tldr: radfems have a simplistic and binary understanding of oppression, but oppression is complicated and messy.

[thegiftofgabes]

The Gift of Dice - Intro Post

I am Gabriel Caetano (they/them), and I am a queer, Latine parent, TRPG creator, audio producer, and game facilitator (aka GM) from Brazil.

Roleplaying Games

I make tabletop Roleplaying Games, as well as TTRPG-adjacent experiences.

I like fantasy, science fantasy, and weird fantasy the most and I have been more and more invested in looking at games as enablers of social experimentation and questioning.

I like to say that every game I make is a product of excellent taste and developing skill.

You can find my games at https://thegiftofdice.itch.io/

Indie Games Facilitator for Hire

I run and facilitate (aka GM) roleplaying games as a gig.

I have over 100 session under my belt, and growing, and a large catalogue of indie, alternative games to facilitate for players anywhere out there in the world, including Masks, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Nibiru, Apocalypse Keys, Noctis Labyrinth, Troika!, Blades in the Dark, CBR+PNK, and many more.

You can browse through the dates I setup, or make a custom request.

Politics and Ethics

All TTRPG content has a price tag, except when I think it shouldn't, and all of them should have alternate methods of access for anyone who does not enjoy the privilege of earning dollars, euros, pounds, and other hegemon currencies.

Yet, non-white people, non-het, and non cis-male people anywhere who cannot afford to buy anything I make without putting their safety and well-being financially are welcome to get my stuff for free, one way or another.

I also offer seats for free or at a greatly reduced fee to people in the Global South, where the dollar exchange would make access to my game sessions absolutely crushing.

None of the content I create is compatible with Hasbro or Paizo products, or products by any company or individual that shares their ethics and predatory approach to industrializing an art form, on principle.

Additionally I do not use or rely on artificially generated content to create my games or run my sessions.

Game Design Principles

I've come across this game design manifesto and I've decided to adopt it for my own game design as best as I can and let it evolve as I grow as a game designer and writer.

against coercion: a game design manifesto by JPLeBreton

let players wonder about things and trust them to find answers;

connect players with patterns they find intrinsically fulfilling;

never treat a number going up as an inherently positive or meaningful even;

teach respect for the autonomy and boundaries of all things;

posit alternatives to fantasies of accumulation and extraction;

do not think of emotional responses as something you extract from players;

produce and distribute ethically;

aspire to more than escape.

Whether I'll succeed or fail at following these principles, or even how they will evolve over time, all I can say is let's play to find out.

Kindly, Gabriel Caetano

[orc-apologist]

I think it can be kind of a hard pill to swallow that your oppression isn't special. Identity politics puts a lot of emphasis on the evils of oppression without ever being able to explain why they exist in the first place. It's basically always just "oh because white/straight/cis/male/able-bodied etc people are just privileged and evil"

But no, all the forms of oppression have a common denominator. They don't exist because of a special kind of evil, we're not special victims. It's all a part of class rule, beginning with the rise of the patriarchy to justify the rule of male cattle herders over women, which arose from the logical labor division of pre-class society which was often matri"archal" (in quotation marks because there was no rule to -archal is not technically applicable), to the most recent rise of white supremacy to legitimize colonialist rule first and imperialist rule second. It has all been a certain class needing to justify why it is in power and why its financial interests are actually for the benefit of all. "Because men are natural leaders", "because white people have been chosen by God", "because sodomy is a sin" and so on. These are then taken by the next rising ruling class because the fundamentals are still useful to them.

It's all cold, hard economic interests. The only way to truly, fully overcome this, especially the oldest form of social oppression which is sexism, is a socialist revolution which will sow the seeds for class to disappear altogether.

[rebirthgarments]

Support @hibiscusly and my friend @se3raj.0 and the families around him to have a chance to get a free Custom Vinyl pro test Banner! Go to bit.ly/serajfund to support!

By supporting Seraj’s GFM, you get a chance to get a custom wearable vinyl protest banner made for you that you can attach to yourself or your mobility device, use at pro tests, hang up in your window, hang up in your workplace, there are so many options! You can co-design the banner with me- I can make something pretty exact from a drawing, or just tell me what elements you would like / things you would like it to say and I can design it! Your banner can talk about multiple types of liberation struggles since our liberation is interconnected! Banner can be up to 4 feet wide!

I do sliding scale entries, check out the great sliding scale guidelines graphic from @Chiara.Acu :

$20 an en-tree for those who can

$10 an en-tree for those in the middle

$5 or less an en-tree for those who are low income

So for example if you are employed and have access to healthcare but stress about some basic needs but are still able to meet them, send $10 for every en-tree.

For those of you who cannot contribute financially, I would also accept these other options:

-contribute art, goods or services to Seraj’s Support Soiree at bit.ly/fundraiserforseraj

-your commitment to post 4 days in a row about Seraj on your social media as 1 entry, or if someone financially supports on your behalf! Send me screenshots as proof!

Unlimited entries!

You can send proof of support through the @RebirthGarments IG or our Tumblr ( rebirthgarments.tumblr.com ) , and you will be contacted through whichever platform you contact us on! This rahffle is open till April 2!

[Image descriptions:

Photo 1:

Sky holding up a silver holographic banner with the queercrips for pal-is-time graphic in red, black, green and white. Sky is wearing a turquoise and purples scalemaille headpiece, purple holographic disco jumpsuit, pink laser cut queercrip symbol earrings, a @FloMaskUSA mask with Rebirth Garments custom fabric covering the filter and a black and white scarf with olive leaves and net pattern. They are standing in front of a white cubes tile wall.

Graphic 2: a text graphic by @Chiara.Acu titled:

“Sliding Scale Guidelines

Full Price Or Higher End Of Sliding Scale ($25)

(Multiple Of The Following Apply To Me)

• I can comfortably meet all my basic needs like food, housing, and transportation

• lown my home or rent a high-end apartment

• I am employed or don't need to work to meet my needs

• I have regular access to healthcare

• I have regular access to financial savings

• I have an expendable income for eating out, coffee to go, movies, books, and new technology

• I might have some debt, but it does not prevent meeting my needs

• I can take time off for vacation

• I can travel for fun

• I have family wealth and have benefitted from family support throughout my life (my family/parents pay or have paid for part of rent, phone, healthcare, etc)

• I benefit from institutional support and social privilege because of aspects of my identity (multiple of the following identities describe me: white, male, cis, straight, able-bodied, neuro-normative, US-born)

Middle Of Sliding Scale ($10)

(Multiple Of The Following Apply To Me)

• I may stress about basic needs like food, housing, and transportation at times, but I am still able to meet them

• I am employed

• I have access to healthcare

• I have access to adequate housing

• I might have access to financial savings

• I have some expendable income for eating out, coffee to go, movies, books, and new technology

• I can take a vacation every year without significant financial burden

• I have some family support or have benefitted from family support throughout my life (my family/parents pay for part of rent/phone/healthcare etc)

• I fall somewhere in the middle of the social matrix - For example, I may be white and trans, or a middle-class able-bodied person of color”

“Low End Of Sliding Scale ($5 Or Under)

(Multiple Of The Following Apply To Me)

• I frequently stress about my basic needs like food, housing, and transportation and don't always meet them

• I have debt, and it sometimes prevents me from meeting my basic needs

• I rent lower-end apt or have unstable housing

• I am unemployed or underemployed

• I qualify for government assistance like food stamps and medicaid

• I have no access to savings

• I have no or very limited expendable income, and I cannot afford eating out, coffee to go, movies, books, and new technology

• I cannot afford a vacation or have the ability to take time off without significant financial burden

• I do not have family wealth

• I sometimes have to support family members or other dependents

• I do not benefit from institutional support and social privilege because of multiple aspects of my identity (multiple of the following identities describe me: Person of color, female, trans, queer, disabled, neurodivergent, immigrant, undocumented or refugee)”

End image description ]

[bnwoacademy]

BNWOA CURRENT COURSE LIST

𖤍𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐎𝐧𝐞 || 𝐁𝐍𝐖𝐎 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬𖤍

𝑭𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒗𝒔. 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕: 𝑰𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 {w/Headmaster Cer} • Defining fetishization and its impact on marginalized communities. • Learning how to recognize signs of fetishization in personal relationships, media, and society. • Explore the intersectionality of fetishization with race, gender, and other identities. • Develop critical thinking skills to distinguish between healthy appreciation and objectification. • Learn strategies for unlearning fetishization and promoting respect. 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝒖𝒕 𝑩𝑵𝑾𝑶 𝑻𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑼𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 {w/Headmaster Cer} • Gain a deep understanding of the historical context and origins of BNWO terms with unsavory roots. • Learn how to identify and avoid using terms that perpetuate racism or discrimination. • Explore the impact of language on marginalized communities and the importance of using respectful language. • Develop the knowledge and skills to engage in meaningful conversations about BNWO terminology and its implications. • Enhance your cultural competency by understanding the power dynamics associated with language and its historical context. 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝟏𝟎𝟏 {w/Headmaster Cer} • Gain a comprehensive understanding of the concept of reparations and its historical context. • Explore the various forms of reparations, including financial compensation, land restitution, and community initiatives • Learn about the implications and challenges of reparations in contemporary society. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒚 {w/Gothess Zara} A constructive critque of mainstream BNWO from the perspective of a Black Queer Superior. • Discussing the problematic hierarchy the centering of cis-male pleasure from both sides of the slash • How white femininity/feminization has been given privilege/a pedestal • Discussuing the complete lack of focus/ regard given to Black gender-nonconformist & fem-aligned Superiors ( literally everyone else that not a cis, able-bodied, “well hung Alpha” male.) 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 & 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒌 {w/Gothess Zara} What is Afrofuturism and how it can be integrated in kink/Black Supremacy • What is Afrofuturism & does it have a place in kink • How can Afrofuturism can be integrated into Black Supremacy 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰𝒔 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒚: 𝑨𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 {w/Gothess Zara} • Learn about the history and principles of the Black Supremacy and BNWO movements. • Gain insights into the ideologies, impact and influence of the movements on social, cultural, and kink spheres • Engage in critical discussions to deepen your understanding of BNWO ideologies from a Black focal perspective. 𝑰𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 {w/Deity Honey} • Gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles and practices of service to the BNWO. • Learn how to effectively serve and contribute to the goals and vision of the BNWO movement. • Explore the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding service to the BNWO and learn how to address them. • Develop practical skills and strategies for providing exceptional service and support to the BNWO movement.

[runthepockets]

The thing about male privilege is that even though it provides you a lot of security that definitely helps in ways that non-males are barred from is that it's not all glitz and glamor. Yeah, a lot of rich white (cis) guys run the world and are very scary and powerful, but that's a very small percent of the population and they do very, very little for the common man as far as morale or finances go, unless he's like, a cryptobro (and even then....shit dude, I can't blame a guy for doing whatever he feels like he needs to do to keep his kids fed and never work again, having a job sucks dick. Being a provider in this economy, too? Fucking forget it).

The most male privilege gets the rest of us is like, managerial positions at 7/11, or the baggage handler department at the airport. And don't get me wrong I think we should be giving women positions of authority and higher pay just as often as guys do, but for the time being this is the world we live in. If you look like a dude, you get treated like one. I'm baffled by trans guys who argue back against this stuff and whine about how they "never asked for male privilege". It just is what it is. We have a level of sexual, financial, and social primacy over non-males. It's unavoidable. There are a lot of things I can do that a lot of my female friends-- cis and trans, black and white and latina and asian-- just can't. It doesn't mean you're gonna become a rapist or an abuser overnight, it doesn't disregard your personal hardships or your trauma with the medical industry and homophobic bullying or whatever, and it's not an immutable curse that makes you less of a feminist or an inherent danger to women. It just is what it is.

[imnothingimnobody]

J.A. HOBSON. SKY CALENDAR, BAR HOME. SPECULATES.

Conor Oberst is a very privileged man. His parents were part of the amazingly vibrant financial services and insurance racket in Omaha, Nebraska. For several years my dream has been to move there, or Chicago, IL. Anyhow it's Commenting on socialism like me with an educator and a materials scientist as parents. Yeah I had it hard. Sure. Still, actually when you're intelligent or privileged you're still always outside of normality. Normality by definition. I don't feel it's as an existential sense out outside-ness that others experienced. I was not a minority, a woman, or poor. My parents earned over the median income, and had a happy fairytale marriage, and devoted everything to us. I imagine Conor Oberst enjoyed the same and more. He was a white, CIS-male from a banking family, and he never fell into the poverty of drug addiction and street scams like myself, but that's only because he could write songs. Inwardly, I'd hate to admit but otherwise his trajectory is the same. Now where did he pull J.A. Hobson from? I'd never heard the name until the deep dive The kind of deep dive into a subject only a maniac knows The kind that leaves bruised fists as you punch a cinder block Time and again pursing your lips over the blood I knew that he (Hobson) was a major influence on Lenin I knew that he advocated the theory of underconsumption To avoid all the words that's not supposed to happen Demands is always supposed to be insatiable Any recession is the fault of producers Not so said Hobson. The demand contracts It's happening right now and he's dead His corpse was invoked to analyze the market In a fucking early 2000s album So a girl who was 16 years old at the time showed me this She liked the music It's no less valid than liking a lyric All of us could cringe at a line or two our favorites belted But then I saw the connect There was thumbtacks and strings

The one I gave you in 2031.

What was I saying? "John A. Hobson was a good man He used to loan me books and mic stands He even got me a subscription To the Socialist Review Listening to records in his basement Old folk songs about the government "It's love of money, not the market" He said, "these fuckers push on you"

"And freedom yells, it don't cry Whatever sells will decide But there's no hell when you die So don't look so worried"

He got a night life, lost his day job Pushing papers, swinging pendulums Anything to serve a function Or to occupy some time

You gotta earn this living somehow You're good as dead without a bank account But it's funny how alive he felt down In that unemployment line

With all that trash at his feet The pools of piss in the street All of that filthy empathy For the way we're feeling

The billboards shade The flags they wave The anthem was playing loud The baseball game was letting out

And all at once He saw the dust And heard every tiny sound Got in his truck and turned around

Drove out through the crowd and the cops Drove out past that center mall Drove out past that sickening sprawl Out past that fenced in gold

And maybe he lost control Fucking with the radio But I bet the stars seemed so close At the end At the end."

[cyrasblogproject2022]

#3: Drea Torres (Do Revenge)

Do Revenge is a Netflix original film that came out earlier this year, and it is a perfect representation of female rage that follows two teenage girls getting revenge on people who have done them wrong. I could write an entire blog post about this film's amazing themes, plot twists, and deeper meanings, and how it could possibly live up to be the Heathers or Mean Girls of our generation, but instead, I'll focus on one of our two protagonists: Drea Torres.

The two main characters include Drea and Eleanor, played by Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke, respectively. These two characters contrast each other greatly, but both demonstrate intersectional identities. Eleanor is a queer woman, but she is white, unlike Drea who is a Latina woman of the lower class. Although Eleanor's sexuality is a huge marker in her character's storyline, I'd like to talk about Drea, whose consequences from "doing revenge" are made greater due to her economic status.

The setting of film takes place at a very established private school in a very wealthy area. All of the characters, except Drea, are exceptionally rich. The film makes even makes a spectacle of how ridiculously wealthy the characters are. Drea manages to get into the high school on a scholarship and will continue to use her intelligence as her main tool over her peers who rely on their financial power. She thrives off of her personality and social status, having made it with the popular group despite her thrifted fashion and their designer getup.

Eleanor and Drea team up to take down each other's enemies. Eleanor is getting revenge on Carissa, who outed her at a young age and made everyone view her as a predatory lesbian, meanwhile, Drea is seeking out revenge on her ex-boyfriend Max, who leaked her nudes. Messiness ensues, obviously, and (Spoiler Alert, sorry) Eleanor reveals that Drea was actually the one to start the rumor about her after Eleanor entrusted her and came out to her. Eleanor hatched a plan from the very beginning to ruin Drea's life, after telling her about the rumor "Carissa" made and Drea failed to remember her past self's, mistake. It's a messy plot twist and hard to explain, so just watch the movie, trust me.

So, with Eleanor taking on the villain role, she uses Drea's vulnerability as a Latina woman of the lower class, being raised only by her mother, against her. Eleanor knows that her coming from a wealthy white family would protect her from the consequences of her own revenge, whereas Drea would not face the same treatment. As the plot unfolds, Drea loses her scholarship to Yale, and Eleanor threatens to plant drugs on her poor, unsuspecting mother, to send her to jail and leave Drea helpless. The stakes are much higher for Drea, as we learn that Eleanor barely has to try to make it in with the popular girls, as she can rely on her economic status and reputation, and survive off of that alone. If Eleanor fails to successfully "do revenge", not much is lost. But, if Drea fails, she could face charges, lose academic opportunities, endanger her family, and more.

Even before the big plot twist where everything goes down, Drea's intersectionality plays a big role in her motivation to get revenge on Max. Following Max leaking the video of her, he uses the attention to rebrand his reputation as a male feminist, using his platform as the school's golden boy to advocate for women's rights and feminism. Max uses his privilege as a cis-gendered, straight, white, male to bring attention to issues that do not involve him, which greatly angers Drea who wants her voice to be heard.

For a film that's primary focus is not race and class, there is still a lot to take away from its plot in relation to these two topics. I would recommend watching the film for a deeper understanding of Drea's situation, but overall it does a great job of portraying privilege and how equal actions can result in unequal consequences for different types of people. Do Revenge is a thrilling dark comedy that targets all sorts of important issues in a format easy for audiences of teenagers and above to digest and enjoy.

[procrastinatingfeminist]

Re-imagine Snape

Someone recently went through pretty much every Snape-positive meta, sometimes with my own additions, that I reblogged (thank you, sweet person!), and for one, wow! I hadn't realised I had so much of it floating on my blog. For another, rereading one of the posts brought something to the forefront that I was too emotional at the time to formulate.

I sometimes struggle to with understanding criticism of media, when the critical voices come from people with a very different lived experience from my own. I am a cis white female who lives in a country with socialised healthcare, I am fully aware that I am insulated by privilege and accept that there are certain things, that I will never fully understand. Doesn't mean I shouldn't at least try. There is an exercise that I found useful, even though it falls back on the use of... very narrow stereotypes.

When 50 Shades of Grey suddenly went mainstream, I found the best way to explain why I disliked the franchise, despite it's fanfic origins, was to substitute the names of the protagonists with arabic sounding ones. Anastacia and whatshisname Mr. Grey became Aisha and Yusuf. And suddenly the fact that the male protagonist demands authority over what the female one wears, eats, where she lives, what she buys, who she socialises with and what she talks about, all outside of their sex play, stops sounding edgy and kinky, and starts looking a whole lot like abuse. Because we are conditioned to recognise abuse only when applied to certain groups, when viewed through certain lens, and it was easier to identify what my exact problem with 50 Shades was, only when I fully leaned into the stereotypes, eliminating my blind spot.

Now, reimagine Severus Snape as a black boy/man. He grew up poor and disadvantaged, in a town/part of town where most people had similar struggles. His home was abusive and neglectful, and he is socially awkward, whether as a result of the neglect or because it is something inherent to him, it doesn't matter. Despite having gained access to an elite school and showing talent, it is clear that his upbringing makes him an outcast. He is discriminated against and is further sidelined, subtly and overtly, by other students, by teachers and by the Headmaster. He is sorted into a House where the majority of racists are sorted into. He is denied access to networking opportunities by Professor Slughorn, despite his show of aptitude. He is constantly and viciously bullied by boys from very rich, very privileged families (I know, that only Sirius and James are from Ancient and Noble Families, but they are also the main driving forces behind the abuse at school; Peter and Remus were at best characterised as hangers-on), and his teachers ignore it; to the point that when his life is endangered the Headmaster outright refuses to even publicly aknowledge any wrongdoing by the responsible parties. He has no recourse against bullying, because he is much more in danger of being expelled himself if he retaliates in kind than to receive justice if he follows the acceptable course of action; and we don't really know how much bullying or peer pressure of participation he was under from his own housemates.

He will have very quickly realised, that even if he manages to finish the school he will have a very hard time to be compensated fairly for his work, despite his talents; because people will look down on him either because of his class background, or his race or his lack of social graces. And his only friend, a white girl, despite sharing the disadvantage of class and race (in the sense that she is also not a pureblood, since blood purism was used as a metaphor for racial inequality), she had a very different experience than him. One - she didn't grow up in an abusive household, two - because her family wasn't quite as poor as his, since, you know, her dad didn't drink away all their income; and three - she was planted into a much more socially flexible environment to make connections, aka the Gryffindor house.

Hell, even the way that some parts of HP fandom insist on hypersexualising the relationship of two prepubescent children is consistent with the portrayal of black boys in media. Because a thirty year old white man is a considered a child, but an 11 year old black boy is seen as a man. And if he is a man, the only thing he could want from this innocent white girl must be sexual in nature. Thus all the accusations of a 9-yr-old Severus stalking Lily somehow making sense.

And while I am not going as far as to equate the Death Eaters to Black Panthers, I do remember that the latter were often vilified as violent thugs and armed gang members, when what they actually wanted was to create a unified, defensible front, to be able to provide a safe, nurturing environment for their weakest members. Circling the wagons, if you want. If the Death Eaters weren't comprised of bigoted purebloods with more ambition and money than ability, but of muggleborns and muggle-raised halfbloods who would seek to increase their bargaining power in the Wizengamot and with potential employers, how quickly would they be labeled terrorists, intent on destroying the traditional pureblood ways? They wouldn't even have to kill a single pureblood.

What if they vowed to never accept less payment for services than what is fair, to never accept abysmal working conditions (except maybe to gain the mastery and then adios, motherfucker) and contracts with immoral stipulations; to invest in each others entrepreneural ideas instead of finding investors from pure blood families; at best accepting loans from Gringotts, because if anyone understands unfair treatment, it is goblins? What if they wielded their combined buying power among their own businesses and charging purebloods horrendously; what if they only apprenticed the children of their own circle, especially if the halfblood master of the field was the exceptionally gifted one and thus much more sought after among purebloods? Their social and financial power would be significant enough for a potential Minister of Magic to invest into courting their voting bloc, and for the Guilds to consider representing their interests. They wouldn't have any power on the Wizengamot, not at the beginning, but not every pureblood family was aligned with blood purists, though it is a big question, whether they wouldn't ally themselves with their former enemies once they perceive the ‘unpure’ as a threat. But if they would at least gain one pureblood family as a dissenting voice in the Wizengamot, as an avatar to promote more egalitarian laws... and then reinforce their message by applying the financial pressure... it is not unreasonable that at least some changes will be made. If this sort of power is what Severus imagined to gain from joining the Death Eaters... I can't actually fault him for that.

But I went off on a tangent. The point is, that Snape is one of the few characters who genuinely regretted his actions, but was still perceived as a criminal and a convicted felon, who only escaped imprisonment because an old white privileged man still had something to gain from pressuring him into a life of service and danger. The way his character arc is handled is also reminiscent of the discussions of the school-to-prison pipeline and incarceration rates in the US. And when he died, he died an ignominous death that no one but Harry Potter even valued. No one else would ever see him as a hero. No one else named their child after him, not even Draco, in whose protection Snape was so invested. He stayed a footnote in history, his contributions to the war effort forgotten or attributed to the man that manipulated him; the man who was lauded a hero and managed to finagle a  state funeral while Snape bled out on a dirty floor in an abandoned shack and no one knows where his body is, still vilified as a Dumbledore’s murderer and Voldemort’s bootlicker.

What I am saying, is seeing Severus Snape as conceptually a black man changes a lot in how i perceive his character, despite not changing even one word of canon.

[torque-witch]

I don’t know if even like 4 people see my posts anymore

But ya know like being chronically ill and attempting to sell art and run an Instagram, having to use TikTok to make videos because instagrams algorithm says u have to post videos plus managing auctions every weekend and trying to post everywhere in order to make money and trying to appear normal and functional and not like u maybe showered MAYBE twice in a week plus eating??? Pushing through fatigue and sore joints and nausea and

Some nights u just feel like tomorrow it ends. I’m all done. It’s too much I’m gonna go back to retail and work myself into physical and mental deterioration

But then someone is like

Bitch your work is exquisite. I’ve got this giant ass Mother Mary framed BITCH i want you to murder out and I’m gonna tell all my pagan friends and while you’re at it?! I want you to paint Baba Yaga for me too you’re amazing

And I remember that I have value.

Is it value in a capitalist sense? I mean no. People have told me many times that art is not financially sustainable and do you want this job? I have this job for you. No it doesn’t accommodate disabled people, but!!! You’ll have a real job!

But I can bring people joy and people believe in me simply because I create and they get excited about my work and that! That’s what I need right now after living in the hell that is right-wing central: PA automotive shops - for six years!!! Interacting only with cis straight white republican god-fearing males as my superiors! My peers! My customers! Who laugh openly about my beliefs and my identity and who actively wish me death or illness by medical negligence and say that being disabled is shameful!!!

And to pay my bills off of literal sacrilegious art??? And my MOM compliments me??

Bro just tell your artists. Your musicians. Your barista. Your fav person. That they make u happy.

Idk if I can do this forever but it is healing. I don’t physically feel good and I’m not perfect or fast or super popular but it is healing. I can start to believe in me and reframe my worth and explore talent.

Is this a privileged post? Perhaps. Is this also a pandemic in which I chose to prioritize my health and not my financial status? Yes. Except for that capitalism still exists and I have to participate in it in order to not lose all of my property!!!! Otherwise yes. I would be sleeping all day.

Anyways do I feel like a failure? Yes. Do I also feel vindicated in so many ways this year? Yes. I’m doing what I can and it means something to other people and that! Makes it worth getting up again tomorrow.

[cloveroctobers]

YASMIN DOUGLAS—

IG info/Bio: @/imyasmin_d | 11.6k followers | hello & ahlan 🎶

23-24 years old depending on her birthday (I’m thinking too much about timelines since i know some shows aren’t live and if they filmed it prior & it’s just being shown to us now...then there’s the boat party that comes in after, you get what I’m saying right? No? Okay)

Moroccan heritage

she was born in fes along with her baba

Father works in the carpet & rug manufacturing industry and worked in his father’s business from the young age of 16

her mother is from Essaouira & has often stated that she couldn’t stand Yasmin’s father the first time they met but she wouldn’t want to travel through this life with anyone else

Her father and mother came from two different lifestyles. All he knew how to do was hard work yet he had a sarcastic but playful side to him whereas her mom came from a family that was more financially stable & she was free to do whatever! mainly hanging at the beach with her friends without a care in the world, she was privileged and a little uppity while her father’s life seemed to be planned out from the day of his birth

Yet they still fell in love and decided to leave Morocco months after they got married at 21 & 24 & not too long after they had yas they left for England

She was raised in Kent, England

The Atmosphere led to her boho lifestyle...being exposed to castles, gardens, and underground tunnels from time to time shaped her into what she felt she was meant to be. She loved her second home

they call her “yazzy”

Parents follow islam...Which Yasmin respects but is not strongly devoted to

Can speak & write in Arabic but seems to do better in writing

Her paternal grandparents fault her parents for not teaching her to excel at both & feel that if they weren’t in such a rush to leave home she would speak Arabic better

Which made Yasmin feel like shit. Her paternal grandparents were strict on keeping their customs alive whereas her maternal grandparents were carefree as long as they got to see their granddaughter alive & well that was good enough for them

Idk maybe a only child or has a older brother? I don’t feel like she comes from a big family sibling wise

her mother made her a stuffed purple sheep that she took everywhere with her as a kid & continues to keep close to her. Y’all had imaginary friends? Well Yasmin had a real friend she could see & squeeze the life out that didn’t require talking and hugging the air, but that’s fine do u

100% collects beanie babies until this day but lil yamb is the number one princess in her household

As her significant other you have to be okay with lil yamb sleeping in between y’all that’s just the way it is

These stuffed babies are her comfort when no else can be

she’s a singer/songwriter. Went to uni for it & finished a semester early

Went through multiple hell experiences when it came to interning & temping while still in school & after

Let’s just say she wasn’t down to f*ck her way to the top

this made her anxiety act up, these people made her feel like she wouldn’t be good enough to show the world her craft & it’s didn’t have to be the world, just someone who would listen

But she couldn’t give up, there was nothing else she saw herself doing. She knew this is what she was meant to do but she couldn’t lie and say that her insecurities didn’t get the best of her most days

Although the cons seemed to out way the Pros some days, she kept at it & found herself a solid team that knew what she was about and understood her soul

Was definitely the student who loved all her English classes & when she spoke up everyone found it shocking since she preferred to just write everything out rather than “participate in group discussions”

I feel like her singing voice sounds similar to Jessica mauboy’s (if you don’t know who that is & you’re a fan of r&b/pop check her out or if you’re just curious that works too lol)

Knows her music notes like the back of her hand, duh!

Fav color is royal blue, especially on her eyelids & nails

Occasionally sleeps in rollers to keep her hair wavy

Needs her space when it comes to disagreements, they stress her out & she panics a bit when things go wrong so she feels like she needs to leave the situation rather than talk it out right then and there

She’ll talk when she’s ready, she just needs someone that’s a little patient with her that’s all

Words of affirmation is her love language? When she figures out how to balance her love life with her work life that is. When she’s feeling confident she’s smooth with words but when she needs to show you how much you mean to her & she really takes the time to think it out & feel her emotions, she’s writing you a song or you’re the inspiration to it or a poem, leaving you little love notes on blue post-it’s around the house, will write 50 reasons why she loves you on Valentine’s Day, and will say so when it’s just the two of you in your own comfort

Isn’t too crazy about public displays of affection but will deff hold your hand if that’s something you or she wanted in that moment

I think she’s fluid

Hasn’t been in many relationships. Sure she goes on tour every other year and gets to meet many people but they’re not solid relationships, they’re hookups and she hasn’t done many of those either

Had maybe one or two solid relationships: a androgynous woman that uses she/they pronouns & was in a rock band & a cis male she met at a tattoo parlor his step-brother owned (he kinda favored seb but we’re not going to speak on that)

I believe she wants to get married someday but isn’t so keen on the idea of kids. The furthest she’ll go is adopting a couple of animals. She’ll be a pet mom! I feel like she’ll be anxious looking after the life of a human being when it’s extremely hard to do so not only for herself and the love of her life & you want to add kids to the mix?! Fucking hell! but that could change? Who knows what life can throw at u

Has a hedgehog named Sonia that she drops off at her parents for their weekly sleepovers

Loves lace—mostly bralettes & crotchet clothing

I see her as a corduroy girl too. She has at least some rusty brown low-rise corduroy pants or/and a jacket

owns a crotchet kit, she’s bloody good at it too

Loved pink & purple (still likes them, they’re her 2nd & 3rd fav colors) so much as a kid that she tried to dye her hair half & half while her parents went out on their date night...it was also the weekend before school pictures :)

Says she got her inspiration from starfire & raven. She was only 13 at the time & had braces. Her father approved saying she’s a kid and she should be allowed to express herself. He only said that because his own parents barely let him & his brothers have their own fun

Her mother thought it was atrocious and did her best to get it out with the help of her other hair stylists friends (her mother worked in plenty of beauty shops once she got to England, until she decided to convert their basement into her own shop) who she invited over to see what her daughter had done but when you use certain permanent dyes...

It didn’t completely damage yasmin’s hair plus it was just hair, Yasmin didn’t see the big deal. She thought she looked splendid

Anyway, massive fan of ballroom dancing

She’s got a great ear to begin with so it was extremely fun twirling around while wearing pretty ballroom gowns

Took boring etiquette classes as a form of punishment? After the whole teen Titans inspiration thing “went wrong”

Enjoys western films

yes she owns a cowgirl hat & some boots too so sue her, she likes what she likes

Knows how to lasso but hates doing it to animals but she’ll do it to you :) (*gags* lmao why???)

Also loves visiting western towns & learning some history or at least experiencing what it was like

Type of significant other that will do her best to persuade you to stay in a treehouse airbnb, a cabin, the fucking Idaho potato, or camping out in her Volkswagen van in the middle of nowhere!

Has faux cow rugs, wicker baskets, wicker chairs in her flat, hangs some plants in glass jars & bottles all over her house

Her flat is very bright & vibrant: white, mocha brown, tan, yellows, & pastel purple

When it comes to decision making, she’ll make them pretty quick but only if it comes to choosing desserts

nobody is touching her mom’s meskouta orange cake WITH syrup

the dessert eater that always picks the one that has a surprise inside, meaning it has to ooze out with SOMETHING to make it 10x more satisfying

Leaning towards Buddhism, had studied some of their beliefs and found it resonates with her spirit

Fan of neon lights, probably has a few neon signs in her flat preferably on her brick wall in the loo, “to give u comfort as you go!” “that...actually makes sense.” Tai commented as he rubbed his chin coming to terms with yasmin’s reply. While Iona scowls, “no, no it doesn’t. I feel as if it’s an invasion of my bits!” “...Sorry you feel that way.”

tai & ciaran are automatically deemed as her brothers since she came into the villa with them. She had time to connect with them unlike anyone else. It was just the way the stars wrote their story and it showed outside of the villa too. they often crash at her place all the time when they’re in town & vacation all the time together when their schedules line up + it never feels like she’s third wheeling

“TaiTower” & “BB-Ci” are their names in her phone, Tai picked his own name while the “bb” stands for “best buds” for ciaran —which is a joke since he drunkly called himself so + he loves everyone when he’s drunk

You can always count on her to belt the lyrics to a Chaka Khan, TLC, or paula abdul joint when she’s drunk lol

As for the girls? She’s close with miki 😒 they just seem to be on the same wavelength when it comes to the pressure of the media since they have some sort of fame which increased with them being on the Telly. They bond over that & from there they’ve built a solid friendship

She could also be friends with AJ too (if you didn’t get swiped from her that is lmao!) they’re sorta opposites with aj being high energy/active while Yasmin is more mellow & “mysterious” but seem to connect in different ways: their sexual indentities, insecurities/anxieties, having something to be passionate about but at the same time maybe not? She might lean towards elladine or Genevieve if she had to make a choice?

Aquarius sun + cancer moon

so she’s still 23 y’all, I got it! I can’t do math sorry

“Freddie Mercury was probably my dad in my past life.”

Can play the banjo, guitar, & oud

Participates in hot yoga weekly

If she’s not with mc in the end and continues dating around if anyone from season two: LUCAS, Kassam, Gary, Rocco, maybe Blake? I originally thought Elisa but she’s probably too much for yas let’s be honest here lol they’d be better off as friends

Omg I forgot marisol! Imagine that?! Whew!!!

Season three: maybe Lily? But what if? Me being the slightly messy bitch that I am? Something happening with her & AJ. Now that?! Would be some chaotic shit “from the outside looks of it” name the irrelevant person behind the quote...now!

I’d like to see her interact with allerga but there could be something with her & cherry. I’m thinking cherry, Yasmin, & priya would bond well but we’re not here to talk about that

Getting rid of the physical aspect I genuinely think she’d do well with marisol, Lucas, or kassam. They’d mesh well I think in a relationship

She’s a body shimmer girl for sure!

Loves silk or satin robes

she’s a shortie, 5’2 to 5’5

Is learning Spanish

Loves arcade games, come see her in pinball & Pac-Man!

Quarantine life did not change her lifestyle much, but it did slightly mess with her mental health :/

loves the fall time, feels like she can slow down some and really spend time with family and friends

I feel like she has one best friend outside of the villa & that’s good enough for her!

They met their first year in uni & been close ever since

She doesn’t speak to the temporary friends she grew up with anymore & is often confused why they feel the need to keep up with her in the media which added more annoying worries to her heart but whatever right? Keep your eyes on the horizon

celebs she finds/found attractive: Aaliyah—especially when she played in queen of the damned, Kehlani, Zazie Beetz, Fivel & Booboo Stewart, Lakeith stanfield, Leah Lewis, Sofia Carson, Ryan gosling, & Nick Jonas

She listens to: jade bird, Yebba, Elli Ingram, Wafia, Zeina, Summer walker, Tanerèlle, Mariah the scientist, Teyana Taylor, Tove Lo, lady Gaga, Ra Ra Riot, Empire of the sun, & smallpools

Anthem? Diana Gordon — Rollin’

[platypus-mcslothman]

A conservative member has just claimed that anyone using the term ‘white privilege’ should be reported to counter terrorism officials… that’s not a dog whistle, that’s a fog horn.

I can confirm as a white, cis male, white privilege does certainly exist. You only need a little bit of time discussing common day practices with a diverse group of people to see this. Or even just look at basic statistics for a second. Heck, I’d go stronger and say I do not just have white privilege, I have cis and male privilege, I have heterosexual privilege, and I have class privilege. If you cannot admit that there is a privilege to being born into a financially stable family comprised of a demographic majority, which the state caters to and legislates in favour of, then you need to spend a little more time practising empathy.

Anyone claiming ‘white privilege’ is terrorist jargon is either uninformed or worse (in the case of this politician for example) a racist who doesn’t want discussion of race related issues or solutions. It’s why Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were accused of being terrorists (or jargon along the same lines of terrorist).

Source:

https://apple.news/AMlX45iO6QOis3xracQ9eEA

[fourdaysofrain]

Self-Made Man

Summary: A Trans!Tony Stark AU. 

(Lengthy, personal author’s note below the cut, if you’re interested.)

Natasha Marie Stark was born twelve minutes before midnight on May 29th, 1970. She weighed a healthy seven pounds and two ounces when she arrived. She was the most beautiful thing that either of her parents had ever seen. And she was screaming loud enough to scare the pigeons from the trees outside.

Read on AO3

Well, hey everyone. It’s been a handful of months since I’ve been on here. I want to apologize for being gone, but that feels kind of phony. I don’t know. I missed this, though. I can tell you that much. I still checked my notifications every once in a while. It made me really glad to see people still commenting on my fics or passing my links around. Love y’all. 

I guess it’s about time that I tell you that I’m trans. I have been this whole time. To answer a few quick questions, I first knew sometime in late high school, but it was always kind of in the background my whole life, I just didn’t know how to isolate the feeling. I started socially transitioning (i.e. dressing male, coming out, going by he/him) after my high school graduation, and I started HRT (Horomone replacement therapy, that means I inject myself with testosterone weekly. .33mL subcutaneously into my tummy, if you’re curious) on Oct. 12, 2018. So it’s been almost two years since, and I’ve been completely passing as a man for quite a while. Ass-crack hair, sweat, and all. 

This is a pretty personal fic for me, given the nature of it. I’ve wanted to write it for a long time, and I’ve actually had words in the Google Doc since January. It took a lot of long nights to write. It helped that I was back home. I always have an easier time tapping into Trans Emotions when I’m in my home town, for better or for worse. All the memories and relationships I formed pre-transition follow me like ghosts. 

I’m leaving for college in two days, conversationally. 

I see a lot of trans!Peter Parker fics. I’m not dissing them, I love them to bits. But it makes me wonder why fandom is so quick to headcanon Peter as trans instead of one of the other characters. He’s petite, has a higher voice, and has softer features than the other male cast members. I feel like those attributes definitely play a role. It can be easy to see trans men as “uwu soft bois”, or as Men Lite, or as a more palatable version of “normal” (that is to say, cis) men. Those ideas are often flawed and based on transphobic foundations. The reality is, trans men (and by extension, all trans people) have the ability to be indiscernible from their cis counterparts. Everyone likes to think they can pick trans people out from a crowd, but you’d be surprised how quickly I started being read as male. Androcentrism for the win, I guess. 

I won’t be entirely pessimistic. I understand that people my age project onto Peter (I am by no means exempt from that), and that there’s a greater number of young trans people than old, due to a series of depressing reasons. But I still wanted to try a different take on a trans character. 

My experience as a trans man is vastly different than the one I write about here. If anything, I’m closer to fandom’s idea of trans!Peter. My parents were accepting, I had the financial and social means to transition relatively early, and I can fly under the radar easily. The most important difference is the time period. 

I don’t know a lot about the trans experience of the 80s and 90s, which is what Tony would have gone through. I know of one single trans man who began his transition back then, one of the gender studies professors at my university. Even then, he’s from Canada, which I’m assuming has an entirely different culture around trans lives. There aren’t many older trans men. It’s depressing. There’s a lot of reasons for this. I don’t want to get too deep into them, because it only makes me feel sad. The final scene in this fic is extremely self-indulgent with regards to this. I wrote what I needed to hear. 

That’s not to say I don’t relate at all to what I wrote. There are themes that are almost universal for the trans experience. I hope you can parse those out here.

I also wanted to talk about how I showed the change from “Natasha” to Tony. In the early stages of this fic’s development, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to openly say Tony’s deadname (the name trans people are given at birth, and often, but not 100% of the time, change as a part of their transition), but I soon realized that it would make the story much clearer with the inclusion of it. If you’re wondering, I got the name from Earth-3490, where Tony is born a woman (and marries Steve, lol). I chose to show the change between the two with the use of past tense for the first half of the fic, and switching to present for Tony’s life. Often times, it feels like that when you transition. You start living in present tense. 

I also want to make it clear that transitioning isn’t as simple as shown here. From the beginning of mapping out this fic, I was stressed about “Oh, how will he be able to graduate as Tony if he doesn’t start transitioning until after he gets to college,” and “How will Howard react to him coming out?” and “How will he have a playboy persona if he isn’t able to have sex with someone without them knowing?” and a zillion other ideas. It was very freeing for me to let go of some of these obstacles and leave it up to the reader to decide. I alluded to some of the solutions that I came up with, but for the most part, I glossed over the paperwork and bureaucracy aspect to transitioning. But in real life, there are countless red tapes you have to cut for even the simplest of actions. I went to the state court to change my name and sex in March of 2019, and I still have cards in my wallet with my deadname. I had a consult with a plastic surgeon for top surgery (the colloquial name for the double mastectomy that trans men often go through to masculinize their chests. If you’re wondering, genital reconstruction surgery is normally called bottom surgery to mirror this) last December, and I still don’t have a date set. It took me a few months to start T, and I only got it so easily because I went through my unviersity, which does informed consent. Some places have to have proof of 6 months of social transitioning and a letter from a therapist. There is a lot of medical gate keeping in the trans community. I don’t know what I would have done had my parents not been accepting enough to help me through the processes. I am extremely thankful for their support. 

But it’s a lot easier to write about transition happening smoothly. Money helps, which I don’t touch on a lot in this fic, but oh my God, does money help. I’m lucky enough to be able to afford my ~$20 a month T prescription (which I will be taking until the end of my days, likely), and I’m in the process of saving for top surgery. Thankfully with Tony, I can just presto most of the problems away because he’s canonically a billionaire. Eat the rich, folks.

There’s also the intersection with race that is very impactful for trans people, as it is for everyone. Both Tony and I are white, which gives us societal privileges that trans people of color don’t have access to. As well as the fact that transitioning from female to male is a much different experience than transitioning from male to female. We don’t experience trans misogyny, which is a special kind of misogyny specifically related to trans women. (Think of old sitcoms where the joke is that it’s a man dressed in women’s clothing, and that’s what makes it funny. That’s a fairly tame example of trans misogyny. It gets ugly fast.) 

I’m veering dangerously off-topic, but it’s important to talk about. It’s easy for white trans people (and LGBT people as a whole, I suppose) to distance themselves from talking about white privilege or male privilege because they aren’t straight and/or cis. But it’s important to recognize that while we may face unique oppression, we also still benefit from historical white supremacist and patriarchal structures present today in society. 

Sorry, not sorry for getting political. And if I haven’t said it on here, Black lives matter. Of course. 

If you end up having trans-related questions, I want to be a resource for you. Seriously, I’m narcissistic and love talking about myself I don’t mind helping you understand the trans experience. I can’t promise that I know everything, but I also have my own group of trans friends who might know what I don’t, and we can learn together. 

Again, love y’all. Thank you for the continued support you give me. I can’t promise that I’ll go back to my normal level of activity on here, but I might dip my feet back in the pool. <3

[firelord-frowny]

Basically, if you belong to any ~privileged~ groups, you have a responsibility to constantly consider yourself capable of contributing to the oppression of marginalized groups.

Straight and/or cis people need to constantly consider ways they may contribute to oppression or mistreatment of lgbt+ peeps.

White folks need to constantly consider ways they may be facilitating white supremacy and/or oppression of people of color. 

Wealthy or even just financially comfortable people need to make sure not to be dicks to poor and working class people. 

Men need to be on constant guard that they don’t use their maleness as a weapon against women and that they treat women with all the same dignity and respect and consideration that they’d give to another man. 

Literally, having been indoctrinated by all the terrible -isms and -phobias that are pushed onto all of us does not make you a bad person. But refusing to go out of your way to unlearn and undo it kinda does.