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you are different. you make a difference. and that’s awesome. 💛💛💛

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Adorable! 🐳

[reinbeauhk]

some pride cats!!

i’ve been thinking about this idea for a while after seeing another post similar (that included heterosexual and ally for whatever reason) so i decided to make my own!!

homosexual himalayan, lesbian laperm, bisexual bengal, asexual abyssinian, pansexual peterbald, and transgender tonkinese!

*please don’t repost this anywhere without my permission

[reinbeauhk]

Why is an adult/child dating relationship automatically abuse?

As a teenager, you are growing and learning at a phenomenal pace. Month by month you are becoming savvier, wiser, more socially equipped. That rapid development continues into your 20s. So as a teenager, a big age gap is a REALLY big age gap, because you are learning and changing so much so quickly during that time. It’s not totally about “maturity” though - it’s about power. As you get older, younger people start to look up to you. They might trust you to know things you really don’t, because you’re older and you know how to say stuff convincingly. Getting older also means learning all the different ways people  pressure or manipulate each other. Most of us are still learning about this stuff into our 20s - even if we’re really smart and mature. Someone having a lot more of this knowledge than the person they’re dating means the power in the relationship is uneven, because the older person can pressure you in ways you can’t recognise or defend against.

And I’m sure teenagers have noticed that if you get into a conflict with an adult, other people take the adult’s word over yours. Even if you’re right. Even if you need help. So if you date an adult, that person has power over you that, even if they don’t try to use it, really does effect how the relationship works. There’s no way to have a healthy relationship with that big a power difference, because you can’t make choices the adult doesn’t like without worrying about what they’ll think or do. You’ll end up in situations you’re uncomfortable with and not have the tools or social power you need to get out of them.

The other piece is - adults who date teenagers are looking for something they can’t get in their usual dating pool. For most adults, dating a teenager wouldn’t even occur to them, because they understand how wrong it would be. Adults have our own groups of friends, our own ways to meet people our own age, and if an adult is flirting with kids they’re looking for something they can’t get from someone who’s old enough to catch on.

The adults who seek out teenagers want someone they can pressure and manipulate. They’re looking for an abusive relationship, and like all abusers they’re really sneaky about it at first - but they have the added advantage of knowing tricks you haven’t had time to learn yet, as well as the advantage of being listened to when you won’t be.

Every smart, mature kid feels older than their age at least some of the time. I know I did. But being really smart and really mature doesn’t make you an adult - having had years and years of being around other people and learning the little social things that you can’t get from books is part of it. Having the power of an adult - the freedom to come and go as you please, being listened to by the people around you - that’s the other part.

[reinbeauhk]

Sex education should include all genders and sexual orientations. We’re partnering with Advocates for Youth, Answer, GLSEN, HRC & SIECUS to call for sex ed that’s LGBTQ-inclusive.

 Re-blog if you support equal sex ed!

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Pride Poster Series

Gay, Bi, Pan, Ace, Aro, and Trans information posters. Feel free to print and use anywhere, but keep the URL caption at the bottom of the page.

They were initially designed for an all girls high school (ages 12-18) so they are directed towards AFAB teenagers, but they can be used for anyone.

[reinbeauhk]

Queertips Says: Binding Do’s and Don’ts

Before I rattle off this list of imperatives, couple of notes: first of all, I am sharing all this information out of kindness and deep empathy. As a guy who used to bind every day, trust me, I get it. I understand the need to bind as much as possible, especially in public. I have done a few things on the “don’t” list, like slept in my binder (and subsequently woke up in tremendous pain) and a few times wore a binder for so long I threw up, because you are not supposed to bind for like twelve hours, and I am a doofus for trying. I am not trying to police your body/ gender expression. I am trying to keep you from vomiting in your friend’s parents’ gazebo.

Speaking of not policing your gender expression: you don’t need to be a trans guy to bind, and you don’t need to bind to be a trans guy. You are free to bind or not as whatever your gender is at the moment and the Gender Police have no right to tell you otherwise.

There are plenty of people who bind who aren’t trans but do so because of their gender expression, or who are trying out binding to figure out if it’s for them, or who bind regularly but have no intention of getting top surgery ever. All of this is “allowed,” and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. Please remind any and all dissenters that there was a queer military coup and the Gender Police are now out of power, forever and for always.

BINDING DON’TS:

Don’t use ace bandages or duct tape, ever. Their lack of elasticity and tendencies to irritate if not all-out cut skin and cause more serious injury to your ribs (and, subsequently, the organs beneath your ribs) means they’re both very unsafe binding options. Not to mention the skin/hair you’ll pull off every time you remove them. 

Don’t buy a binder that’s a size too small for you. Binders are made in order to fit tight over your chest — that’s what makes them effective binders. Buying one a size too small will almost certainly be uncomfortable, and can also result in injury. (Also, odds are you won’ be able to actually get it on, and if you do, good luck getting it off. Don’t force it, or you’ll end up stuck in a bathroom wriggling around for half an hour — and yes, this was exactly my experience with my first binder.)

Don’t wear a binder if you’re sick. Especially if you’re congested, coughing a lot, throwing up, or having trouble breathing in any way. Binding naturally makes it harder to breathe, especially when binding over long periods of time. If you have any kind of coughing/sneezing/congestion thing going on, take the binder/ binding-device off. You need to be able to breathe in order to recover — plus, you might be able to wear a giant sweatshirt or other layers and/or hide under a blanket while you get better anyway.

Don’t sleep with a binder on. Your body needs a break from binding, especially for ease of breathing in your sleep and so you don’t mess up your back/spine. Give your body some rest while you yourself rest.

BINDING DO’S:

Whether you’re using a binder or sports bra(s) to compress your chest, if you can, try to make sure the fabric is sweat-wicking. Binding will naturally cause you to sweat more, and if that sweat is allowed to pool it can cause skin irritation, rashes, and some not-awesome odors.

Understand that binding doesn’t have to just mean buying a binder — while chest compressors specifically made for the purpose of binding exist, there are a few other safe alternative methods of binding which might be useful for folks without the funds or ability to get their hands on a binder. For smaller-chested folks especially a sports bra might do the trick, even if the phrase “sports bra” makes you deeply uncomfortable. These links also suggest some alternative methods of chest compression and some tips about how to dress to emphasize a flat chest.

Do donate your old, unused or don’t-fit-right anymore binders to folks in need — searching “binder exchange” on tumblr tends to bring up quite a few results. (Feel free to message us if there’s an awesome, currently-functioning binder exchange site/service we missed and we’ll update this post pronto.)

Do stop binding as soon as possible if your binder is seriously restricting your breathing, (including if you feel dizzy/lightheaded,) hurting you or cutting into your skin.

Do check out these other resources that we used as sources for this list for more information: here, here and here.

[reinbeauhk]

The fact that you’re struggling doesn’t make you a burden. It doesn’t make you unloveable or undesirable or undeserving of care. It doesn’t make you too much or too sensitive or too needy. It makes you human. Everyone struggles. Everyone has a difficult time coping, and at times, we all fall apart. During these times, we aren’t always easy to be around – and that’s okay. No one is easy to be around one hundred percent of the time. Yes, you may sometimes be unpleasant or difficult. And yes, you may sometimes do or say things that make the people around you feel helpless or sad. But those things aren’t all of who you are and they certainly don’t discount your worth as a human being. The truth is that you can be struggling and still be loved. You can be difficult and still be cared for. You can be less than perfect, and still be deserving of compassion and kindness.

Daniell Koepke  (via internal-acceptance-movement)

[reinbeauhk]

Trans Awareness Week 2015 is November 14-20.

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As #LGBTQHistoryMonth ends, we honor young voices in the #LGBTQ community who are documenting history and their communities, like Bisexual writer and advocate, @elielcruzwrites. http://elielcruz.com/

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GLAAD has released its annual Where We Are On TV report, and while it found that broadcast, cable and streaming series are including more LGBT characters, they’re still largely lacking in diversity. 

[reinbeauhk]

Final Bi Myth of the week with a bonus addendum. Don’t say we don’t treat you well!

Myth: Bisexual only means attraction to binary cis men and women. Truth: Wrong. The Broadest definition of bisexuality is ‘attraction to two or more genders.’ Some bisexuals are attracted to people of two genders, some are attracted to people of many or all genders. This could be any combination of people identifying inside or outside of the gender binary. Although it as pervasive myth (particularly amongst people trying to distinguish bi from pansexuality) bisexuality does not exclude trans people. Trans men are men. Trans women are women. Binary trans people do not require a separate category for attraction from binary cis people.

Bonus myth: But bi means 2 in latin! Bonus truth: Yep. And until the 1630s gay only meant joyous. Lesbian used to mean all women attracted to women, not just those attracted exclusively to women. The meaning of words changes over time according to how communities of speakers use them. But maybe, just to be safe, we should agree to stop using every word that can��t be understood literally from its etymological root.

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[From https://www.facebook.com/reinbeauhk]

The idea that non-binary genders appeared only recently because of the increasing visibility of transgender and intersex people is a misconception impacted by Western colonialism and the ideology of gender changed by historical events.

Examples of cultures with culturally-specific genders early in history:

MESOPOTAMIAN: Its mythology has referred to people who are not male or female. From Sumerian myth, the goddess Ninmah is said to have no male or female organs [ca. 1700 BC].

EGYPTIAN: Inscribed pottery [2000-1800 BCE] show three categories: tai (male), sḫt (sekhet) and hmt (female).

INDIC: A third sex was found in India's three spiritual traditions. In Vedic culture [1500-500 BC], there are three genders recognised: pums-prakrti (male-nature), stri-prakrti (female-nature), and tritiya-prakrti (third-nature).

MEDITERRANEAN: In Plato's Symposium [4th century BC], Aristophanes relates a creation myth involving three sexes: female, male and androgynous.

[reinbeauhk]

Corey is a 14-year-old transgender girl whose mom just surprised her with her first dose of hormones. 

Watch, smile, repeat. (via BuzzFeed)

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Pink Dot Sg 2012 (x)

The closest thing that Singapore has to a pride parade. It’s simply a gathering of the LGBT community and their family/friends as a show of solidarity. It started in 2009 with only 2,500 participants and has since grown exponentially to reach a record 15,000 participants in 2012. I have never attended any of the past 4 Pink Dot events, mostly because I’m still deep in the closet, but also because, coincidentally, I’m usually overseas when these are held. Because it is Singapore, this is a much more subdued affair, with love as its main theme. No half-naked men running around or any of those risqué stuff you usually see at the pride parades. I hope to attend, possibly next year. But for now, I’m just glad there is a growing acceptance of the LGBT community, and this helps a lot in allowing us to love openly. From the Pink Dot Sg website:

Pink Dot Sg is a non-profit movement started by a group of individuals who care deeply about the place that LGBT Singaporeans call home. It is a group for everyone, straight and gay, who support the belief that everyone deserves the freedom to love. With openness and acceptance, we hope to bring LGBT Singaporeans closer to their family and friends. Pink Dot stands for an open, inclusive society within our Red Dot, where sexual orientation represents a feature, not a barrier.

[reinbeauhk]

In a groundbreaking move, the new NepalConstitution has explicitly included rights for LGBT individuals, while stopping short of legalising same-sex marriage.

According to a report by HRC Global and Pink Pages, Nepal has enshrined equal rights and freedom from discrimination in Articles 12, 18 and 42 of the new constitution.

Incredibly, while many western countries have legalised same sex marriage, none have provided for explicit and full anti-discrimination legislation in their constitutions. Thus, Nepal joins South Africa and Ecuador as the third country to provide full protections for LGBT people in its national constitution..

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Marsha “Pay No Mind” Johnson was an activist, performer, model, sex worker (for which she was frequently arrested), and mother figure to many young trans women in New York during her lifetime. She was such a well known face that she posed for Andy Warhol, which she felt was a clear indication of her fame. Johnson was a trans woman of colour and amongst the first to physically resist the police in the Stonewall Riots. On the night June 28, 1969 police in Greenwich Village raided The Stonewall Inn. The Inn was run by the Mafia, and was well known for being a gay bar. In a documentary about her life Pay It No Mind - The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson David Carter says “The story that Robin Souza told me was that Marsha Johnson said “I got my civil rights” and then threw a shot-glass into a mirror - and that started the riots. In Gay Activists Alliance this became known as the shot-glass that was heard around the world.” The Stonewall Riots became the event that ignited transgender rights and activism. Marsha P. Johnson was heavily involved in the fight, as were many other fellow activists and supporters. Johnson became involved with the Gay Liberation Front who, unlike some other gay rights organisations were not embarassed to be associated with people who were transgender or transvestites. On June 28, 1970 the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots were marked with Christopher Street Liberation Day. This was the first Gay Pride march in U.S. history, covering the 51 blocks to Central Park. Now Gay Pride marches are held annually around the world. Around 1978 they tried to ban transgender/transvestites from the gay pride parade. Johnson and Rivera went ahead of the first banner and so it looked like they were opening the parade. After this they had to be included and Johnson was asked to ride in the Stonewall car at a later parade. In the 1970’s Johnson and her close friend Sylvia Rivera co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). They worked as a transgender rights group and created what is thought of as the first refuge for young drag queens, trans women and other street kids living near the Christopher Street docks. Both Johnson and Rivera acted as mothers to the teenagers who lived in the STAR house. She didn’t want the teenagers to have to experience homelessness and hustling to survive like she had. Johnson died under mysterious circumstances after the Gay Pride march in 1992. She was found in the Hudson river. Witnesses claimed that they had seen her being harrassed there earlier in the day but due to the fact that she was a trans woman of colour, the police did not investigate.

Sources here, here, here, here and here