I'm going to stake out what will sound like a radical position, and make my argument for why it isn't at all radical, but common-sense response to a simple problem. When someone decides to transition, the way it should go is, "I am doing this with my body, and if you don't like it, mind your business." That's it. Then start hormones, if you want them. Change your name and your gender marker, if you want. Get surgeries if you want. Or not, to all of that. Because gatekeeping is fundamentally immoral. On what basis does *anyone* claim the right to tell me what I can do or not do with MY body in MY one life? Why? Because gender-affirming care is already fully legal in the US, everywhere. For cis people. You're a cis woman and want breast augmentation? Get in there and get cut, baby. Erectile dysfunction? We have a range of drugs to help. Vaginal dryness? Here's progesterone. Low T? We got you, bud. Losing your hair? Here's your finasteride. We don't blink an eye at these obvious instances of gender-affirming care, because they're for cis people. But try to get affirmed in a gender you weren't coerced into? Whoa! You'll need to see some GATEKEEPERS about that, you're not old enough to make that decision for yourself! (note that reproductive care, on the other hand, is NOT available everywhere in the US) It is nothing but transphobia, and if you back that system, you're doing a transphobic thing. That means if a trans girl needs you to lie and say they always played with girly things because they're facing a gatekeeper, you lie your face off for them. If a trans guy needs top surgery to feel right, but has to prove his gender, you can tell whatever comforting lies the gatekeeper needs to hear to soothe their wobbly guts. It is not immoral to refuse to participate in an immoral system. It is, in fact, a moral imperative to fight against it. Wanna be an ally? This is one way to help.
Just for the record... ...have paid taxes ...have had jobs my whole life ...used to play football, baseball, and hockey ...wrote standup comic poetry ...have had several long-term relationships ...went to the bathroom unassisted this very morning, just like every time First, autism is a spectrum. To make claims about all autistic people because you've met one is a pretty big logic error. Second, autism isn't a disease, so it can't be an epidemic. Better surveillance of young humans has improved our detection abilities, and we catch it more readily than we used to. Third, we should be accommodating the needs of autistic children, not trying to eliminate them. The so-called search for the causes of autism is in fact an eliminationist goal: they want to find a way to wipe autistic people out. RFK Jr is like a Nazi "scientist" trying to find out what causes Jewishness: bigoted, wrong from the start, and evil. #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD
A thought for trans allies in this time: You often ask us what you can do to help. Well, here's something you can do. Wear trans badges, buttons, pins, scarves, whatever you've got. Explicitly. I wanna see that blue and pink EVERYWHERE. Because the more of you cis folk do that, the safer we will be in crowds and such. It will mean that wearing a badge of support for trans people doesn't necessarily out that person as trans. "But wait," you're thinking maybe, "if I do that, people might think *I* am trans!" Well, why is that a problem for you? Would you be offended by someone thinking you might be trans? Would you be scared? Welcome to our world. This is your time, cis people. You were all ready to call yourselves allies when it didn't matter more than changing your PFP background. Now the rubber meets the road. We need you. We need your help to normalise our existence to other cis people. It could save lives. If someone accuses you of being trans (imagine being *accused* of existing while trans?), don't deny it. Ask why it matters to them. Keep calm. #LGBTQ #trans #allies
Hello, my friends. I have a different request for aid. I have a trans friend who has just escaped the US, but she couldn't bring any of her stuff along, and she doesn't have anywhere to live. She's in the region of Quebec City, so any resources we can find to help her would be valuable. Right now she's crashing temporarily with someone, but that can't last. She's waiting on a place in a shelter, but that will only last 3 months when it happens, and may be months yet. So I'm looking for anyone who knows someone in the region who might be able to help, who has a room to spare while she gets on her feet. I can vouch for her, she's trustworthy and helpful, easy to get along with. I've known her two years. She needs to stay in the region if she's going to be in Canada, because her children live there (with her ex). There's no money request on this one, just looking for help finding a place she can stay while she finds work and gets settled again. Thank you. Boosts encouraged.
For those who remember, about two years ago I put up a petition to the Government of Canada, which received 167k signatures, the third-highest total in Canadian parliamentary history. That petition requested that the government recognise the risk to trans people of the hate legislation being passed around the US and UK, and be willing to accept asylum requests from those countries. They responded with indifference, saying that the US and UK were "safe third countries", and thus ineligible for refugee claims. In the last couple of weeks, trans activist Fae Johnstone's Momentum Canada have started a new petition, not a governmental one this time (https://www.momentumcanada.net/pathways), requesting the same accommodation. I wanted to say that we have once again a champion for that request, in the form of the great ally to our community, Mike Morrice of the Green Party. He spoke movingly in Parliament last time about the need for this move to be made, and I worked with him to try and lobby on Parliament Hill, without success. For Canadians, I want to recommend you consider sending this petition link to your Member of Parliament. If they're supportive, they'll pass it on, and if they're not, they'll at least know we're coming in big numbers, and most importantly that YES, they do have trans-friendly constituents. I'll be meeting with Mike next week to discuss next steps, but I wanted to give heads-up to those in the US feeling the fear: we're still fighting for your refuge here. Hold on to your hope. We'll exhaust every possibility. This tool:
Current Members of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada
Current Members of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada
 ...will help you find your MP's contact information. Please be polite but firm in expressing your fears for our community members to the south, even if they're Tories. The more of us do this, if we can get it happening in every riding in the country, it could be very powerful. #CanPol #TransAsylumNow
I was wondering something. "Let's ask Fedi," I thought to myself, and as usual, I thought, "what a good idea, Cait!" because I usually like my own ideas. So. With the preamble that you may define trans as you will, and nonbinary as you will, I wondered this. This being: "Please answer this if you are trans or nonbinary. Please do not otherwise, unless you want to see the results (which option see below). The question is, 'were you in a gifted program when you were young?'" You may define those terms as needed to make it make sense for your context. I'm considering (for my own needs) programs in which so-called "gifted" kids were brought together to be given enhanced learning opportunities. If you feel that applies, then say yes, whether they used the term "gifted" or not. ACK! I can only have four options on this installation of Fedi software. Sorry for the cis people, I'll try and remember to boost the poll after it's done, so you can see the results too.
When I was in university, I did my fourth-year undergrad thesis on Russian literature. Specifically, the Image of the Machine in Pre- and Post-Revolutionary Russian Utopias and Dystopias. A real page-turner, I assure you. And no, before you ask, I don't have a copy. And I'm not giving out my doxx so y'all can search my university for it under my deadname. If it were online, which I'm quite sure it is not. Anyway, the point I came to was this: in the pre-revolutionary work, the image of the machine was as humanity's humble servant, freeing us to become as gods with our leisure time. In post-revolutionary work, the machine had evolved into the master, enslaving people to its needs for maintenance and supply. And I got into some stuff about the psychology of Russians before and after the revolution as measured at the time (and those books were fun to locate!). That's not really relevant to today's discussion, so I'll leave it aside. This obviously relates to my feelings about the current state of AI. We are living in what can reasonably be described as a dystopic present. And fittingly, the machine is become our master. We work free for its supply, and willingly sacrifice the planet and our own ability to survive to maintain it. Is this a manifesto? In some ways, maybe. But it's really time that we thought about what we're doing, and what we want to do about it. Because the only way this stops is by us doing something about it. And the only power we have is our willingness to use the tools that corporations dangle in front of us to distract us while they rifle our pockets for loose data. Or our unwillingness. So be unwilling. Be noncompliant. We don't have to break laws to grind the machine down. We just have to refuse to feed it.