Grit and Glittr
Currently catching up on Season 2 of Battlestar, Season 2 of Teen Wolf, and Book 2 of Avatar. I liveblog Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Elementary, under read-more and tagged for spoilers.
My fandoms: Angel, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Battlestar Galactica, Being Human (US), Bones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cardcaptor Sakura, Castle, Coupling, CSI (Las Vegas), Cowboy Bebop, Dexter, Doctor Who, Dollhouse, Dragonriders of Pern, Dresden Files, Elementary, Escaflowne, The Finder, Firefly/Serenity, Game of Thrones, Good Omens, Grimm, Harry Potter, Hawaii Five-0, House, Inception, Legend of the Seeker, Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Marvel movieverse, Merlin, Monk, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Neil Gaiman, Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Old Kingdom, Once Upon a Time, Psych, Quantum Leap, Scrubs, Sherlock, Smash, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis/Universe (RIP), Studio Ghibli, Suits, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Torchwood, Touch, Warehouse 13
Still need to see: Alphas, Community, Eureka, Fullmetal Alchemist, Justified, Legend of Korra, Lost Girl, Veronica Mars
i feel like most of the conversations on tumblr about cissexism in medicine center around the way we as a culture talk about reproductive health or awareness of binary individuals, but i feel like we often overlook other important aspects
i’m working on homework for a human nutrition class right now, for instance, and most recommended nutrient intakes are listed as ‘x amount for women and y amount for men per day’. for a trans person who is in the process of or has completed medical transition, how do those values change? which values do you use? what aspect of human biology are they even based on, so someone can begin to figure out their own health guidelines? so many health recommendations assume a clear-cut binary gender system, and don’t have easy answers for anyone who isn’t cis
when doctors say that heart attacks have different symptoms in men than in women, how does someone whose hormonal makeup and chromosomes differ know what their own symptoms would be?
i don’t know the answers to these, and i don’t think my doctor does either
and as trans people tend to have less access to quality medical care and overall poorer health, partly as a result of that, knowing how to best take care of ourselves is even more important than for the general population
these are conversations we need to be having
These things can be significant for intersex folks too.
Julia Serano in her latest blog entry
DEAR GOD THIS SO HARD. Pan as code for “I sleep with everyone but cis men! Look how queer I am! LOVE ME MOAR!! Those bi’s are traitors and not queer enough ewwwwwww”
(via nooffswitch)
Oh. Hello there.
(via ro-s-aspa-rks)
I can tell this is important because it made me stop in my tracks and examine my life.
(via mattreadsthings)
I have a lot of thoughts about this.
As a trans man type person (ish; I’m nonbinary but I’m in that gender neighborhood) it bothers me that trans men would be considered, I don’t know, less of “the enemy” than cis men? Because often we’re just as bad, or worse because cis women in particular may be more likely to trust us and then we get more power in women’s communities that we don’t fucking belong in any more than cis men do. So it’s like, I try to be a good person but that doesn’t mean I don’t fuck things up and I’m certainly not magically awesome just because I’m a trans man. I am not boy-lite or girl-plus and this kind of demarcation is harmful both for women and for people like me.
Trans women on the whole are not nearly as taken with trans men as cis women are, and with good reason. And it worries me that where queer cis women make a point of rejecting cis men but trans men are hunky-dory, trans women usually get booted out too. I’m seeing shades of women’s colleges. It’s really not okay if cis women and trans men are on one “team” and trans women and cis men are on another(s) for so many reasons.
And bi- or queer-identified women who partner with cis men certainly aren’t violating their own sexualities or prima facie “betraying the cause” or something. Like I really hoped political lesbianism was over. The social power dynamics of different-gender relationships can be messy and other things like race and class come into it everywhere, and nobody should be obligated to have sex or relationships with anyone…and it’s still a shitty situation.
Sexuality and its political shaping are complex and everything we do means something and I certainly don’t have the right answer and it’s not my place to tell queer women what to do because I’m not a woman. I can say that if your concept of misandry revolves around and depends on penises, just stop.
(via qkazoo)
So, I know I’ve been posting frivolity and fandom all day, but.
Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is for mourning trans* folks who have been murdered. I also want to remember those we as a society have allowed to die through lack of care in other ways.
And here’s the thing: most of those who fill the rolls of our dead are trans women of color.
Most of the time, any of the horrible things that affect trans* communities are primarily claiming the lives and happiness of trans women, especially trans women of color. Youth are also particularly vulnerable.
I hope my followers will think about that, and about how our own actions can contribute to reducing that toll.
Listen to trans women of color when they tell us what they need.
My trans life hasn’t been all roses and cream, but I’ve been lucky, and my whiteness and my masculinity have protected me. Focusing on people like me is never going to make things better for all of us.
Remember our dead today, and serve the living throughout the year.
When my hair was longer it was harder to fit it under wigs so I tended to just go with it. I really do have Sam Winchester hair a lot of the time, although it’s longer than his here.
I love the hell out of this dress. Random find at an antique shop in my neighborhood and it looks fantastic on me. It’s a really interesting shade of purple, which I don’t usually go for. The necklace is great too, it’s amethyst framed by pewter lion heads.
And this is an example of fancyqueer mode. I wore this to FaerieCon last year.
The mask is from Tiger Torre at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and the wig is from the Five Wits; both highly recommended. I did my nails myself, and the knitted belt is also my work—the dress is from like tenth grade when I needed formal pieces for my boarding school’s dress code, and it didn’t fit my waist right when I put it on for the con, so I added a scarf as a belt. I also wore black and white fishnet stockings and black ankle boots.
I have a few other awesome dresses that I wear for parties and dancing. Less formal fancyqueer outfits are usually all about the skirts, socks, and shoes; I don’t really have many appropriate tops so I usually end up pairing them with a fitted tee that goes with the other colors.
So this is an example of my dapperqueer mode. I’m wearing jeans and chucks today, but sometimes I wear brown corduroys or khaki slacks and dress shoes.
I love my tie clip of Rassilon. I got the tie from the thrift store last month for a dollar and this is my first time wearing it. Usually I wear narrower ties but I think it looks pretty good. Polka dots! :D
I love this sweater too, orange being my favorite color, and it’s so soft. I got it in the spring for like $1.50 thanks to a sale and a three-year-old gift card. I used to have a black one just like it but it had a laundry accident.
queerlittlemermaid Asks:
thedisreputabledog Said:
Well, for me it’s two different modes, if you will, rather than a single aesthetic. And being neither a woman nor a lesbian, that’s one of the words that isn’t mine to use, even if an observer might assume things about menswear on my body type.
I have “fancy,” “dapper,” and I guess “whatever” clothing days. Fancy is often dresses or skirts, stockings or tall socks, blouses, cute underwear, and it usually includes a wig. Dapper usually involves a waistcoat or sweater, suspenders, and tie, a la my user icon here, and now that I have a suit and a blazer I will probably incorporate them here too; sometimes I properly bind for it but I usually just wear a firm sports bra. Whatever is just jeans or shorts, nerd shirts and sweatshirt depending on the weather.
Fancy mode feels the most like drag, and in drag shows I have always performed as a queen. Usually fancy or dapper gives me the most confidence depending on the situation; if I’m expected to femme up because people are reading me as a girl though, it sucks.
Maybe I’ll put up some pictures later as examples. “Dapperfemme” is the best synthesis I’ve come up with so far to describe my expression. It’s possible something better will come along.
I’m just saying.
It’s funny, I thought shopping for a suit would make me feel worse about my body, even though I’ve wanted one for years, but it was awesome. It was really validating to be shown that my atypical proportions could be accommodated easily and I don’t look like a girl in it at all. (I’m sure my being skinny with breasts I can flatten easily was a bonus in that regard. I imagine it’s more difficult for bigger guys. But it was still nice.)
And it makes me feel better about going femme too, when I have decent dapper options of equivalent formality. Then I can choose what to wear based on how I’m feeling and less on social calculus or the limits of my wardrobe.
I ended up wearing my binder all day and it’s not that bad really. I think I just need to put it on early in the day if I have an event I want to wear it for so it adjusts to my movements and I get comfortable with it and don’t feel so self-conscious. My next singing event is Tuesday evening so I’ll give that a try.
Wearing the binder was the right choice. I got a charcoal suit and a black blazer and two white shirts and a blue tie. They look pretty good! :) I’ll share pictures when I get it all back from alterations next week.
I never wear my binder because it’s uncomfortable and it’s annoying to struggle into and I don’t get passed as a man any better so I just don’t bother. When I’m not wearing it I usually forget my breasts are there—I guess because they’re on the small side and I have decent bras—but when I am wearing it I’m very aware of them, which is a frustrating irony. Maybe I just need a different type?
It’s odd though because while I don’t like how the compression of the binder feels, I love rope chest harnesses. I didn’t want to take off the one I rigged at GKE so much I slept in it when I got home that night. I dunno.
My mom’s taking me shopping for a men’s suit today. I wonder if I should wear my binder. On the one hand I feel like yes because then I can fit the suit to my flattened chest, but on the other hand I don’t really wear my binder that often and might not want to have to in order for the suit to fit right.
Sam Winchester’s Hair Appreciation
So, SO pretty.
I kind of have his hair. Maybe someday when I start T I will get his sideburns too. That would be spiffy.
We urge that you do NOT:
1. DO NOT Put out any public press statements on the Bill for now. But you can express your opinion if asked about the Bill. However this opinion must be candid and practical without being ‘insulting’.
2. DO NOT Make strong public statements threatening to cut aid or in support of such threats in response to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, as this can lead to scape-goating of the LGBTI community as well as Human Rights Defenders working with LGBTI rights and whip up sentiments for the Bill.
Please note; We would like Ugandans to take charge of this campaign for now. Only if the Bill is mentioned/programmed in the Business of Parliament or passed into law shall we encourage a fully-fledged international outcry which can come in all forms such as; Public statements (written or spoken), public letters, solidarity campaigns, peaceful protests, interviews, opinion pieces et cetera.
A letter from Ugandan LGBTI activists, asking the International community to stand down while they do what they can about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (x)
A lot of the rhetoric in Uganda about LGBTI is about international interference in their culture. Having the international community then get up in arms, threaten cuts in aid, etc about a bill they’re trying to pass proves their point and increases public support.
As Mel notes on her blog, it’s not easy to step aside when we see people in trouble, but we have to also respect the Ugandan groups when they say that our voices are fucking up their work.
(via canuckjacq)
(via calecake)
I think you’re making the removal of inaccurately gendered terms from your language harder than it needs to be. Your example sentence:
For people with vaginas, some sort of lubricant prevents injury.
could be written as:
A little lubrication can help prevent vaginal injury.
That’s a very effective sentence. It’s in active voice, it’s short, it doesn’t have a dependent clause, and it amounts to a very succinct statement of exactly what is going on. .whereas the gendered version of the sentence:
For women, some sort of lubricant prevents injury.
besides resting on an inaccurate and harmful equation of gender with genital configuration, isn’t actually telling the reader what’s going on. The reader is meant to work out that the lubrication and risk of injury are in these women’s genitals.
Under cut: the best discussion of trans-inclusive language I have ever read.
Reblogging for the commentary.
I also want to point out though that trans people appreciate the use of inclusive language. The above person concerned about alienating readers seems to ignore that?
I just…we don’t actually bring this stuff up just to be annoying, we talk about it because the wrong language can hurt people. A hypothetical author might view an “accusation of misgendering” as an attack out of the blue, I guess, being forced to think about an issue your experiences have protected you from having to deal with is often unpleasant, but stumbling across unnecessary trans-erasing language in the middle of an otherwise decent work also feels like an attack for trans people like me.
And I want to support authors and educators who give a shit about that.