genderisamagicalthing-blog

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yessss 😍

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

The Do’s and Don’ts of Gender Pronouns

By Ose Arheghan, Advocates for Youth Student Organizer and GLSEN Student Advocate of the Year 

I’m in high school and the classroom environment isn’t always the most accepting of students who differ from the norm. I remember an English teacher telling her class how she doesn’t use students’ gender neutral pronouns because they aren’t grammatically correct – which for the record, is factually untrue. For myself and other GNC (gender nonconforming) individuals, proper pronoun usage is a matter of respect and dignity. We’re lucky enough to live in a time period where we have language to expresses identities outside just male and female. Since that language is readily available to us, it’s important to use it. 

Here’s 5 tips for proper pronoun usage.

1. Understand the Gender Spectrum We live in a binary world, everything is supposed to be black or white, gay or straight, boy or girl, but realistically, that’s not the case. When it comes to gender identity, there are more than two ways to identify because gender doesn’t necessarily have to correlate to sex. Sex is biological, but gender is more fluid and isn’t always the same as the sex you’re assigned at birth. In terms of gender identity, individuals can identify as male, female, somewhere in between or none of the above.

2. Assume Nothing Gender identity doesn’t always correlate to gender expression. Essentially, you can’t always tell someone’s gender by they way they dress or the way they speak. Looking at someone and thinking “oh, her dress is pretty,” might be your natural response to seeing someone in a pretty dress but that’s because we’re used to assuming dress equals girl or suit equals boy which isn’t always the case. 

3. My Pronouns Aren’t “Preferred,” They’re Mandatory I identify as non-binary (meaning I don’t identify with gender within the binary system we use) and use the pronouns they/them/theirs. When I ask someone to refer to me using my correct pronouns it’s not really optional.

4. Just Because I’m Not There Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Care What you say when someone isn’t around is just as, if not more important than what you do when you’re with them. To me it means more when someone uses my pronouns and validates me as a person when I’m not around to hear it. That means whether or not I’m around to know, they respect me.

5. Practice Makes Perfect There’s a website online that provides a rundown on some common (and not so common) gender neutral pronouns and how to use them grammatically. Resources like this make language accessible to those who might not have the same knowledge on LGBTQ issues as others.  

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

Little things you can do to feel better if you are trans and you can’t really transition right now

For guys

Baseball caps? Those are good.

Short haircuts. If anyone questions, say it’s for convenience.

For your neck: fang pendants (very badass). Or a dapper lil bowtie.

Big ass stompy boots.

Those cool belt buckles. You can get a basic one or something with a cool design (like a dragon!).

Don’t shave. Let your body hair grow. Unless you feel uncomfortable.

Buy some spicy-smelling perfumes or other cosmetics. Or if there is something that says “Forest” on it, this one is also good.

If you can, try some weightlifting. It will make your muscles better and release some of that sweet sweet testosterone. But remember, fat and skinny men are also very handsome, so if you can’t, don’t sweat it.

Eat plenty of protein for a testosterone boost. Also, zinc from seafood - like shrimp and salmon especially - will help that chemical magic. Leafy greens, pomegranate, coconuts, garlic also help. Watch out for soy and tofu! They raise estrogen. And raisins are great, but dried apricots are not.

Remember that no matter what you are 100% man (unless you are a demiguy/bigender, then you are 50% man or whatever it looks like for you, that is still very cool, and if you are genderfluid and currently a dude, that’s still very good and valid).

For gals

Kitten ear beanies are so pure and good (just like you).

Let your hair grow to a nice length. If anyone questions, say you found a new style.

For your neck: simple crystal pendants (very pretty). 

Crystal bracelets!

Lil ballet flats.

Shaving can make you feel a whole lot better. Remember - some cis girls also have to shave!

Just a little bit of lip balm goes a long way. Oh! And clear nail polish!

Sweet-smelling cosmetics are your best friend. You can probably get on eBay or in your local store a nice bottle of vanilla body mist.

Google some exercises for a bigger butt, if you want to try it. If you can’t, remeber less-curvy women are also beautiful.

Eat plenty of soy, flaxseed, sesame seed, dried apricots… I know that those give you a bit of extra estrogen. Apparently coffee can also do it? Getting estrogen from diet is harder. Just eat a lot of tasty fresh food. Remember to treat yourself.

Remember that no matter what you are 100% woman (unless you are a demigirl/bigender, then you are 50% woman or whatever it looks like for you, that is still very cool, and if you are genderfluid and currently a lady, that’s still very good and valid).

For nonbinary pals

Simple beanies.

Google “androgynous/unisex hairstyles”. Look how many cool options you have! You might tweak one to your needs, like make it longer, or shorter, or add some cool hair dye…

For your neck: scarves. They come in many colors and patterns, cover up your neck so you don’t get cold, also you can hide your neck bump or lack thereof.

Friendship bracelets!

Trainer shoes.

Baggy hoodies are really nice.

You can shave and don’t wear makeup. Or rock the beard and eyeshadow look. Or really, anything else.

Cosmetics? Citrus and lavender are considered unisex scents. You can also wikiHow to Make Perfume and mix some scents you like at home.

Exercise, if you are healthy enough to do it, is good. Try running and yoga. Remember, media sells us the myth that androgyny=thinness, but it’s bullcrap. Fat, curvy, muscular people can all be nonbinary and/or androgynous.

You can look up the guys and gals sections too. Maybe you will find something that helps you.

Remember that your identity is 100% valid and true, no matter what. Yes, any kind of identity. No matter if it’s a neutral void or a mix of everything, no matter if it’s stable or changes. It’s valid because you are valid.

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

Can you please reblog if your blog is a safe place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, aromantic, pansexual, non binary, demisexual or any other kind of queer or questioning people? Because mine is.

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

Thinx is a brand of underwear for humans that menstruate. Those humans are not necessarily always going to be cisgendered women, as transgender men can, and do, menstruate. With its latest subway campaign, which took over New York’s Union Square station today, the brand has represented exactly that.

“Trans inclusion is something that has been on our radar since the iteration of our Boyshort, which was specifically designed with the trans male menstruating community in mind" Miki Agrawal

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

women do not have to

be thin

cook for you

have long hair

wear makeup

be feminine 

be graceful

have sex with you

shave

diet

be fashionable

wear pink

love men

listen to your bullshit

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

hey hey nonbinary bi and pan people you’re awesome keep it up

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

My wife surprised her coworkers when she came out as trans. Then they surprised her.

By Amanda Jette on upworthy.com —

Society, pay attention. This is important.

My wife, Zoe, is transgender. She came out to us — the kids and me — last summer and then slowly spread her beautiful feminine wings with extended family, friends, and neighbors.

A little coming out here, a little coming out there — you know how it is.

It’s been a slow, often challenging process of telling people something so personal and scary, but pretty much everyone has been amazing.

However, she dreaded coming out at the office.

She works at a large technology company, managing a team of software developers in a predominantly male office environment. She’s known many of her co-workers and employees for 15 or so years. They have called her “he” and “him” and “Mr.” for a very long time. How would they handle the change?

While we have laws in place in Ontario, Canada, to protect the rights of transgender employees, it does not shield them from awkwardness, quiet judgment, or loss of workplace friendships. Your workplace may not become outright hostile, but it can sometimes become a difficult place to go to every day because people only tolerate you rather than fully accept you.

But this transition needed to happen, and so Zoe carefully crafted a coming out email and sent it to everyone she works with.

The support was immediately apparent; she received about 75 incredibly kind responses from coworkers, both local and international.

She then took one week off, followed by a week where she worked solely from home. It was only last Monday when she finally went back to the office.

Despite knowing how nice her colleagues are and having read so many positive responses to her email, she was understandably still nervous.

Hell, I was nervous. I made her promise to text me 80 billion times with updates and was more than prepared to go down there with my advocacy pants on if I needed to (I might be a tad overprotective).

And that’s when her office pals decided to show the rest of us how to do it right.

She got in and found that a couple of them had decorated her cubicle to surprise her:

And made sure her new name was prominently displayed in a few locations:

They got her a beautiful lily with a “Welcome, Zoe!” card:

And this tearjerker quote was waiting for her on her desk:

To top it all off, a 10 a.m. “meeting” she was scheduled to attend was actually a coming out party to welcome her back to work as her true self — complete with coffee and cupcakes and handshakes and hugs.

NO, I’M NOT CRYING. YOU’RE CRYING.

I did go to my wife’s office that day. But instead of having my advocacy pants on, I had my hugging arms ready and some mascara in my purse in case I cried it off while thanking everyone.

I wish we lived in a world where it was no big deal to come out.

Sadly, that is not the case for many LGBTQ people. We live in a world of bathroom bills and “religious freedom” laws that directly target the members of our community. We live in a world where my family gets threats for daring to speak out for trans rights. We live in a world where we can’t travel to certain locations for fear of discrimination — or worse.

So when I see good stuff happening — especially when it takes place right on our doorstep — I’m going to share it far and wide. Let’s normalize this stuff. Let’s make celebrating diversity our everyday thing rather than hating or fearing it.

Chill out, haters. Take a load off with us.

It’s a lot of energy to judge people, you know. It’s way more fun to celebrate and support them for who they are.

Besides, we have cupcakes.

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

I’ve noticed a lot of younger nonbinary people following me so I’m going to take a moment to say this:

• your gender is real • your gender is valid and good • how you express your gender is valid and good • your pronouns are valid and good • you are not “too young” to understand your gender • you are not “just going through a phase” • you’re all awesome to be exploring your gender at your age; I wish I had been able to do the same • have a good day!

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

More bathroom signage options!

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

Gender identities and terms! Since I had a few people showing interest in a gender post. (Intersex isn’t technically a gender but I felt like it deserved to be included.) Sorry if I missed anything.

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

✨ REBLOG IF YOU AGREE THAT THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO GENDERS ✨

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

There are more than 2 genders whether cis people like it or not :) 

[genderisamagicalthing-blog]

Does Planned Parenthood offer Hormone Replacement Therapy for transgender people?

Someone asked us: 

Can Planned Parenthood provide hormones to transgender people? And if so, what are the costs?

Why yes, yes we do. There are an increasing number of Planned Parenthood health centers that offer hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for trans clients. (Cost will vary depending on your insurance and Planned Parenthood health center policies.) Currently, the Planned Parenthood health centers that offer hormone treatment for trans folks are: 

California:

Fresno

Mountain View

Sacramento

Santa Cruz

Walnut Creek

Colorado:

Denver

Maine:

Biddeford

Portland

Sanford

Topsham

Montana:

Billings

Great Falls

Helena

New Hampshire:

Derry

Keene

Manchester

New York:

Ithaca

Saratoga Springs

Nevada:

Reno

North Carolina:

Asheville

Chapel Hill

Raleigh

Vermont:

Barre

Bennington 

Brattleboro 

Burlington 

Hyde Park 

Middlebury 

St. Albans

White River Junction

Washington

Bellingham 

Mt. Vernon

- Calvin and Maureen at QueerTips

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Hey! I'm on #Kik - my username is 'ella.1516' kik.me/ella.1516?s=1