With the announcement of the Harry Potter TV series, you will be made aware of the people in your social circle who are excited about it.

Now is a good time to stop knowing them.

The play here is fairly blatant.

Friendly reminder that JK Rowling is the executive producer for this show. So in addition to benefiting monetarily from its very existence, she will be an active participant in creating its narrative. I won't be watching it and I encourage everyone else to ignore its existence as well.

April Fool’s Day is in a few days, and I just wanted to make this clear. This blog is safe, and I can promise you no screamers, nothing emotionally abusive, no fake posts, and nothing to intentionally trigger dissociation. You are safe here.

“And remember: the sky is the limit! You can be anything you want to be!”

“Thank you. I want to be a secretary.”

That stopped them short. “What?”

“A secretary,” she repeated.

“But…” they trailed off, dumbfounded. “Why? You could be a CEO, a scientist, a law–”

“I don’t want to be a CEO,” she said. “I want to be a secretary.”

They scoffed. “You want to answer phones all day?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

“Schedule appointments?”

“I like organizing.”

“Be a second banana?”

An affirmative nod. “I’m skilled at helping.”

“I just don’t understand,” they said. “HOW could you be okay with all of this?!”

“I enjoy the work.”

“BUT YOU CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO BE!”

“I know.”

“Then WHY?!”

She shrugged.

“Because I want to be a secretary.”

Honestly though, this is very similar to my mom’s experience. She’s always been super bright, but has realized as she’s gotten older that intellectual pursuits just aren’t her jam. She dropped out of her PhD program to have kids, and although she has her master’s and was a pretty good school psychologist, she hated having to make huge decisions. She’s a church secretary now and loves it, and she’s GOOD at it; she’s letting her school psych certification permanently expire this year with zero regrets. If you can be anything you want, that includes the things we don’t tend to value as highly as a society. Not everybody is built for or wants the “respectable” careers.

My grandma did this to me, saying that i didn’t want to get stuck on the outside, making coffee and filing papers. The thing is, that’s exactly what I’ve always enjoyed the most, making and organizing things. That would be enough for me.

Nobody seems to realize that if you tell people they can be anything they want to be they will. And not everyone WANTS to be doctors or lawyers or CEOs or scientists. Sometimes, they just want to be a secretary.

it took me a LOT of therapy before i was able to shrug off the effects of the Gifted Child Upbringing enough to realize that what i really wanted to be was a house husband and Local Queerdad who writes novels sometimes. god, i’m so much happier now.

ain’t nothing wrong with an ordinary life. don’t let anybody tell you you have to be the top dog to be worth anything.

As a secretary for a therapy center—outside of like shitty people in and out of the office, the jobs lit af and you get to look as cute or as Un-cute as you want everyday and it’s totes fine ALSO FREE STATIONARY!!?!?!

Truly the dream.

I agree with all of this and I also feel like the extreme competition for most “respectable” jobs is manufactured by having such a two-tier economy that people are desperate for the financial freedom only a few jobs truly allow.

If someone actually enjoys retail (my mother) and you need retail people why does a retail worker have to be punished with starvation wages?

Also when a minimum wage job goes up to a living wage and someone I work with goes “haha that’s how much I make now I should go work for Dominos” I always just say if that’s what you want to do then you should! You must be so excited that you can! But they just shake their head or admit they’d hate that job. Because when they say that they don’t mean “I should work there and would if I could afford to!” They mean “that job and those people are below me and shouldn’t make my wage.”

In conclusion the entire idea of respectable jobs is bullshit. Do exactly what you want and fight to get what you deserve from it and don’t let anyone tell you you should do anything else.

Normalize doing common, necessary things well. Normalize respecting people who do good work. Appreciate indoor plumbing and functioning electricity and a really good pizza. Appreciate phlebotomists who are good at getting a good sample on the first try.

do not use betterhelp. do not support betterhelp. do not believe betterhelp.

they:

-do not vet their therapists

-forcefully shut down negative commentary

-lie to therapists

-lie to consumers

-trap therapists in exploitative contracts

-sells users data

etc

Since I know a lot of my followers are also LGBTQ+: Pride Counseling is operated by the same company as Better Help, so don’t use them either.

from personal expirence, i am begging yall to completely avoid betterhelp. they specifically push christian therapists onto patients who ask for non-christian help. they did it to me and theyve done it to others. the therapists will consistently pressure you into using a camera or doing audio calls, even if you request against it. the therapists are actively homophobic and transphobic and will spread that rhetoric during your sessions.

do not use betterhelp. do not even give them the time of day.

I have colleagues who have found public-facing profiles FOR THEMSELVES that are being run by Better Help despite being completely unaffiliated with the company. In at least one case, the profile was riddled with inaccuracies and bad info and the way my colleague FOUND OUT IT EXISTED was by being issued an initial warning by their fucking licensing board about it. You are reading that correctly, she was sanctioned by her licensing board for a public facing profofessional profile page she hadNO PART IN CREATING AND DID NOT KNOW EXISTED because A COMPANY SHE DID NOT WORK FOR decided to make shit up for it.

Better Help is incredibly unethical and should not be allowed to continue existing given its current business practices.

happy PRIDE i’m here i’m queer and i believe the land should be given back to the proper indigenous stewards.

Non-Natives reblogging this are great and wonderful

Please remember that "land back" does not mean "indigenous people are mystical elves with innate epigenetic wisdom of land stewardship and they don't belong in big cities," nor does it mean "non-indigenous people can't be farmers." What it DOES mean is that "non-indigenous farmers should be paying the equivalent of property taxes to the native governments their land was stolen from." It means, "there's a great deal of indigenous scholarship on sustainable agricultural practices that farmers should be taking into account, because indigenous agriculture was more advanced than European agriculture at the time Europe invaded the Americas and western agriculture *still* hasn't caught up in terms of figuring out how to produce equivalently high crop yields without compromising the ecosystem." It means, "non-indigenous farmers should be in an intellectual discourse with indigenous agricultural scientists and indigenous peoples that still do traditional farming, figuring how to repair the damage western farming practices have done to the ecosystem."

It also means that indigenous peoples should regain the right to sustain themselves on the land according to the practices they want, and they should have free reign to perform their cultural practices and protect their holy sites, as opposed to the current model where if they try to honor their dead on public lands they get violently removed.

It also also means that if you're like me (white gardener) you do *not* go screaming headfirst into practices that uphold settler nativization; you listen to the Indigenous folks who live/d where you do - https://native-land.ca - and you honor their requirements and wishes first. Permaculture; gardening, agriculture, etc., are all tools, and how you use the tools is what matters. Your politic matters. Landback matters.

age regressing to a fetus to live out my fantasy of not being targeted for extinction by republicans

01/14/2023

For those looking into top surgery and are planning to use insurance, here’s a few things I’ve had to figure out myself

First; If you have not been with a therapist for the specified amount of time by your insurance, a doctor that has prescribed you any sort of mental health pills or diagnosed you with a mental illness can provide a letter for you. There’s specific details the insurance needs, I’ll link the sample letter I was given below. Print it out, bring it to your doctor and ask them to write a letter formatted this exact way

Second; If you are seeking surgery outside of your main doctor, you will probably need a form of release for medical information. You need to either fax that to them or print it and bring it to them physically. I wasn’t sure if I could email it or not, so I had to call and message back and forth to figure it out. Very frustrating

Third; Start buying things for recovery as soon as possible. Some of the items can get pricey if you try to buy it all at once. The waitlist for the clinic I’m going to if over 6 months, so I’m slowly purchasing items I’ve seen others say are helpful. Most of the items are available through Amazon but I am also trying to buy items from other trans people who are also saving up for top surgery. It’s a nice way to help someone out and still get the items you need. I am getting a top surgery pillow from a fellow trans man I found on tiktok. (He hand makes these and is using the fund for surgery) The pillow is for your front half when you’re recovering. There are pockets for your phone and for ice packs, it’s also just very comfortable. This creator also makes bags to hold your drains for top surgery and car strap pillows if you’re traveling

I’m sure I’ll think of more later but I hope this helps

you know what I hate? that everyone writes Kiev instead of Kyiv … :(

The CDC Director is really out here straight up promoting eugenics.

“Good news everyone! Only the disabled and chronically ill are dying so that’s REALLY ENCOURAGING. No need to change a thing. Let ‘er rip!”

CDC Diretor be like

[ID: Headline that reads “Would Anyone Notice If We Started Endorsing Eugenics?”]

For all y’all going ?!? I need you to know this is not an exaggeration.

The CDC director says fuck disabled and chronically ill lives. I’m also going to point out that you’re significantly more likely to be disabled if you are Native American or Black so this is also racist. The CDC out here officially cheering our deaths is just the perfect way to start 2022.

[ID: A series of four screen grabs of Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC Director, speaking on TV. The subtitles read “The overwhelming number of deaths, over 75%, occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities. So really these are people who were unwell to begin with and yes, really encouraging news in the context of Omicrom.”]

What makes this worse is that something like half the people living in this country have some kind of comorbid or pre-existing condition. And the CDC knows that perfectly well.

So while it IS good news that Omicron is apparently less deadly than previous mutations, it is NOT in any way acceptable for the CDC or the press to throw literal millions of people under the COVID bus and just shrug it off like, "Welp, they were sick anyway."

For SHAME.

This is so cool

for all my artists, content creators, and anyone else out there who use specific color palettes for references/designs, here are the hex codes for each of the lgbtq flags for your queer creative purposes. i hope you find these useful. enjoy!

the flags in order are:

1. lesbian. 2. gay/mlm. 3. bisexual. 4. trans. 5. lgbtq/gay. 6. pansexual. 7. asexual. 8. aromantic. 9. nonbinary.

second reblog

10. queer. 11. genderqueer. 12. genderfluid. 13. agender. 14. demigirl. 15. demiboy. 16. aroace. 17. oriented aroace. 18. angled aroace.

third reblog

19. transfem. 20. transmasc. 21. bigender. 22. sapphic. 23. achillean. 24. omnisexual. 25. butch lesbian. 26. bambi lesbian. 27. queer.

28. philadelphia pride flag. 29. demisexual. 30. demiromantic. 31. intersex. 32. genderfae. 33. genderfaun. 34. polyamorous. 35. sapphic. 36. polysexual.

37. trans lesbian. 38. femme lesbian by strwbryfemme on twitter. 39. femme lesbian. 40. aro lesbian. 41. ace lesbian by @r00. 42. gay ace. 43. agenderflux. 44. girlflux. 45. boyflux.

46. alternate philadelphia pride flag. 47. alternate femme lesbian flag. 48. alternate gay ace flag. 49. alternate aro lesbian flag by @juanpujolgarcia. 50-51. alternate ace lesbian flag. 52. gay aro inspired by aro lesbian flag by @/lesbiflags on twitter. 53. sapphic ace by @/strwbryfemme on twitter. 54. achillean ace by @z1msoda.

Folks, friends, y’all…. esk*mo is a slur. I understand a lot of people don’t know that, I don’t want to be a dick about it, but I’ve been seeing it in fics. Wanna write “esk*mo kisses”? Just say “nuzzled noses” or something.

I’m not here to call anybody out, it’s been in multiple fics, I’m not vague posting. This is just a psa. 👍🏻

If you could help me spread awareness about this by reblogging, I’d really appreciate it.

I’ve had this post on insta saved for sometime ❤️

[Text Description: “Hey! Reminder: Eskimo is a slur. It means ‘snow eaters’ in Cree and is a slur against Inuit . Also don’t use ‘Eskimo kisses’. It’s called Kunik. It is a greeting mostly used for family… Kunik was how I’d greet my mom and grandmother as a small child.” /TD]

Rebloging for the awareness and especially for the alternative words

And so people who are just learning this now know the proper usage: “Inuit” is plural. The singular is “Inuk”, as in “he is an Inuk”

There are a lot of other Peoples referred to by that term in Alaska as well: the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and Northern Athabaskan. One slur to rule them all I guess.

(When you do your research just make sure you have the right region.)

Please don’t take your pets for granted. Even if you’re frustrated that your dog has been barking all day or your bird has been screaming for attention, remember you are all they have in this world. Give your fish that extra water change. Give your dog or cat that tummy rub they’ve been begging for. Chop up some fresh fruit as a treat for your rodents or reptiles. Just spend some time with them. Be compassionate to your animals. They are living creatures that are alive simply because you wish them to be. They may only be a small part in your life, but to them, you are their everything.

JKR literally wrote a manifesto against nonbinary people and trans men, and smeared autistic people while she was at it, so can y'all please stop acting like the JKR bullshit is somehow an issue unique to trans women only?

Stop acting like this isn't a community-wide issue that affects ALL trans people. Especially autistic trans people.

Our trans brothers & nonbinary siblings in the UK deserve better than this. Stop forgetting them. Stop erasing them.

Since some people are unaware of the breadth and depth of JKR's ableism:

In her award winning(!!!) essay, Rowling explained that she believes autistic trans men and boys (like myself) are not mentally competent to consent to our own medical care.

We're easily influenced, you see. Gullible. Liable to be led astray by militant trans activists, social media, and the glamour and popularity that comes with being transgender.

JK Rowling, outspoken feminist and champion for the rights of women, wants to deny medical autonomy to "girls" because she thinks we're overly-emotional, frivolous, and susceptible to peer pressure.

She has spoken directly about her belief that autistic "girls", especially, should not be allowed to transition because we're intellectually incapable of forming, recognising, and articulating our own identities, and especially vulnerable to "social contagion".

But, of course, the law doesn't (shouldn't) discriminate, and if autistic teens and/or adults can't legally consent to treatment of gender dysphoria, we can't legally consent to the treatment of anything. We won't be able to access any treatment or medication without approval from a responsible adult.

The ability of trans kids to consent to their own medical care has already been the subject of a court case (Bell vs Tavistock). It was overturned on appeal, but one of the potential consequences of that specific case was that cis teens could have lost access to hormonal contraception without parental consent.

If Rowling gets what she's said she wants, the knock-on effect may well be that autistic people in the UK lose the ability to live independently.

This is one of the things she's putting her social and financial clout into. Her ongoing activism is a danger to the lives and wellbeing of all trans people and all autistic people in the UK and abroad.

For me, one part of being autistic is not realizing when I'm burning myself out. I often don't know that I'm headed toward a burnout until I'm already there.

ATTENTION:

ive finally gotten my mothers approval to start HRT! for her signature, i have to pay all the expenses of HRT

i wouldn't be putting this here unless i really needed the help. please, im so desperate to start medically transitioning

PLEASE help me start testosterone! if you can, please donate even $1! and if you can't donate, please like, comment, rb, anything so this can get this out there! i seriously would appreciate any support at all!

- Kade

so the elderly, esp institutionalized elderly, should definitely be a priority in our prison abolition and cripple punk liberation work and that's great

but i really don't see enough love for disabled children, nonverbal children, institutionalized children and young adults who will remain in institutions until we can get them free and provide for them in a community setting. they often don't get many visitors or adequate care, and able-bodied activists forget they exist.

many of the nonverbal friends i roomed with in hospital six years ago are STILL waiting for AAC so they can go to school, or had to get hysterectomies to stop their periods, or had to be institutionalized, all because they cannot find adequate care. being taken from your home and community is always traumatic. being denied an appropriate education is always traumatic. being denied the ability to speak for years of your life is always traumatic. having organs removed because you can only toilet a few times a day and have menstrual cramps that give you siezures is always traumatic. and they have no ability to consent or dissent. they have no power due to their age and ability status. and their parents and caregivers either have no idea of the trauma they are inflicting, or they have no choice.

include disabled children and young adults in your activism. especially nonverbal people. please.

i spent a large portion of my childhood in an institution. It is hell. I am the only one of my friends who made it out. We have to fight for our institutionalized siblings, the only thing that differentiates us is walls.

just wanted to add that when OP was referring to having one's organs removed + other forms of extreme medical abuse, they were not speaking theoretically. a contingent of disabled children, typically non-speaking and in need of full-time care, called "pillow angels," are often made to undergo these procedures and more, not for their own physiological health but for the convenience of their parents. the most famous "pillow angel case" is that of Ashley X, outlined in this (open access) DSQ article and elsewhere. Ashley was forcibly given a bilateral mastectomy, hysterectomy, and other procedures in order to stunt her growth permanently. she is in her twenties now, and continues to be the size of a child. this way, her parents said, she would be "less vulnerable to sexual abuse" (as if CSA isn't absolutely rampant...?), easier to carry, and not have to "deal with" puberty.

crucially, Ashley lives with her parents, who are in charge of her full-time "care." this is the other important element of institutionalization to mention here: that the institution, following Dave Hingsburger (z"l) and Mel Baggs (z"l) is not merely a location. it's a mode of living thrust upon certain bodyminds, particularly those marked as disabled, Mad, young/old, and otherwise rendered "incompetent." Hingsburger pioneered the insightful "burrito test" model of gauging institutionalization: can you wake up in the middle of the night and microwave a burrito without asking anyone first? Are you free to make your own food, when you want, how you want? If this fundamental freedom is not accessible –– you're probably living in an institution. this is a means of radically reframing the conditions under which a wide number of people –– youth, the homeless/people imbricated w/ the welfare system, etc. –– live, and also points to the reality that the "institutionalized" disabled child is, in fact, a far more capacious category than one might initially believe.

so, this post is excellent. and we ought also to remember that people like Ashley X are living an always-already institutionalized life, whether at home or not, given the conditions to which she and others have been subjected. there is a reasonable likelihood that disabled readers, whether or not they've been formally institutionalized. conditions of eugenic, ableist violence, especially against young people, are caught up in systems of collective social violence against young (or) disabled people writ large, and have material impacts on our lives and bodyminds, regardless of whether we live in a house or hospital.

Fwiw while you can flood the abortion snitch internet hotline with lorem ipsum and memes, it is probably way more effective to make credible but vague claims that take time to sift through. Put in a valid county and zip code. The goal isn't to scream "fuck you" even if it's how you feel, the goal is to waste their time and make it as miserable and difficult as possible for anyone who has to go through these claims to act on them

I think it's worth noting that if you ARE going to report something to the snitch line, yes you SHOULD use actual counties and zip codes, but...also try not to pick counties and places that are full of already marginalized people? I know it's tempting not to do that extra research but sending EXTRA government/police attention to BIPOC neighborhoods even in the name of trolling won't help.

So, here, let me help you with that pesky research. These are the ten most affluent neighborhoods in Texas. There are a LOT of politicians and celebrities that hail from these neighborhoods. Terrell Hills - Bexar County, 78209 Bellaire - Harris County, 77401 Highland Park - Dallas County, 75209 Melissa - Collin County, 75454 West University Place - Harris County, 77005 Trophy Club - Denton County, 76262 Willow Park - Parker County, 76087 Southlake - Tarrant County, 72096 Fair Oaks Ranch - Comal, Bexar, or Kendall Counties, 78015 Coppell - Dallas County, 75006 What a shame it would be if people were to report these places as hotbeds of flagrant law-breaking. Gosh.