spectrumuccs-blog

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Mixer Tonight!

Come to the MOSAIC office tonight for food and a chill B) time! It’s a social event, so be ready to communicate with fellow queers and supporters about friendship. See you there!!!!

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First Meeting!

Hello!

We meet for the first time of the Fall 2017 semester on Tuesday the 29th at 7PM in the MOSAIC office! It will be the MOSAIC mixer so there will be food and other clubs meeting as well. Stop by to grab some food and hang out with the coolest kids around.

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How do you make sure people recognize you as queer other than that uniform half-shaved haircut?

There are a lot of people in the world who view us as a lot smaller of a population then we are. So they assume that most every person they come by is a cis straight person unless something obviously tells them otherwise.

So how are they supposed to know aside from tattooed ‘QUEER AF’ on your forehead?

I have buttons on my backpack with a rainbow that says “Ask me about my gay agenda” and I have another one that says Pantasic! With the pan colors! Wearing a button on your shirt can work wonders and be a conversation starter!

People buy shirts that say “I go by He/Him Pronouns” Or She/her they/them ze/zer etc. There are buttons like that too!

When introducing yourself to someone new, don’t be afraid to say “Hi I’m Tony Stark, I go by they/them pronouns.” If they get it then they accept it and move on and if they don’t it’s an opportunity to teach someone something new!

The most important thing is that if someone calls you by the wrong pronouns or assumes your sexual identity don’t be afraid to say something. Even if it’s five minuets later and you’ve moved on in conversation or if you interrupt them to say it. Your identity is important and valid and worth getting right.

“I actually go by this pronoun-”“In the future can you call me these pronouns-”“I’m actually not straight-”“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with being called...-”

Those are just a few things to build off of!

If saying something like that causes anxiety practice in the mirror first! The more you say it the more second nature it will become.

If you’re with friends who you know and trust, be sure to let them know if someone mis-genders you or assumes you’re anything but queer that they can say something too!

Sometimes I just walk around with the gay pride flag as a cape.

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What is it like to have gender dysphoria as a non-binary person???

I identify as a cis-female so my input on this wouldn’t be as accurate as a non-binary persons. Luckily, I happen to know many non-binary people such as @transpinestwins who gave their own personal account on gender dysphoria as a non-binary person!

“so obviously i don’t speak for all nonbinary people. but for me as an afab agender person who just generally doesn’t care that much about gender, my dysphoria is at a fairly low level. i’d say right now my social and physical dysphoria are equal. i’ve got ways to deal with some of my physical dysphoria, but in general it’s worse than my social dysphoria.socially, while i don’t necessarily mind being referred to with more feminine terms (she/her pronouns, daughter, sister, etc.), i definitely prefer neutral terms (they/them pronouns, child, sibling, etc). physically, the things that bothered me the most were my hair, voice, and chest, since those were the things that most clearly marked me to strangers as ‘girl’. currently i’ve got a pretty short haircut which helped tremendously with hair, and my voice is actually a lot lower than it used to be. i’ve got a naturally small chest, so i can hide it fairly well just by layering, though i have bought a binder. right now the physical things bothering me the most are that i 1. get periods 2. could theoretically get pregnant. one of the things that bothers me the most is probably the fact that nobody is ever going to look at me and instantly gender me correctly. the best i can aim for is some people getting confused, but there’s always people who are going to see me as a boy or a girl and i can’t fix that unless i talk to them. i’m mostly aiming for a masculine-leaning presentation, since if i have to be gendered, i’d rather be gendered as a guy rather than a girl. in terms of medical transitioning, i do plan on eventually getting top surgery and hopefully a hysterectomy. i don’t plan on starting t, since for me it would only have a couple benefits that don’t outweigh the effects i wouldn’t want.and then of course every nonbinary person is different. for instance, i have one friend whose dysphoria is similar to mine, but another who’s genderfluid and only gets dysphoric on some days.if u have any other questions, or want me to clarify something, feel free to send an ask either here or at my personal @transpinestwins!”

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What's with all the rainbows?

Rainbow is the gayest color.

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What is Neurogender and why is their flag so cool?

Here’s a link to a page all about Neurogender!

And their flag is dope as heck oh my goodness

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And this is what we talked about 😄😄 just being patient with others

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If Jack is on a train going north at 20mph, and Billy is on a train going west at 40mph, how can one tell they are asexual? What is it like for asexuals who are in relationships?

Change Billy to Bitty and it’s Jack and Bitty from Check Please! (There’s a lot of fanfiction about them being ace btw)

Asexuality is a very wide spectrum and people lay in different places. The most important thing about ace relationships is communication and talking about what you are and are not comfortable with.

Some ace people are comfortable with being intimate at some point in some ways in some situations.

Some ace people never want to be sexually intimate ever. Some people are in the middle or have an entirely different experience all together.

Sitting down in a comfortable place and talking about what you personally are comfortable with and asking lots of questions and getting clarity is a great place to start. Every relationship is unique, but fundamentally requires communication.

There is also the aromantic but that’s an entirely different post.  

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What are my chances of finding a date in this group?

I recommend being friends with everyone!

Dating is good and it’s important and the feeling of connecting with someone like that is incredible, but don’t let the want to find a significant other trump the feeling of being in a community. In the end being with each other is the most important thing we have.

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How would you describe the sensation of being gay?

Depends on how you define being gay.

Being homosexual?Umbrella term?Being part of the community?

It is in one word- sensational

Being gay depends on the person. How you feel is your own experience that no one else in the world will be able to replicate. How to feel is always valid and no one can tell you otherwise.

My own personal description is that the world is full of beautiful people and I sort of want to bang them all. “Every fish in the see wants to kiss you” is the most accurate thing in the world. I love people and my body thinks that I should just get with everyone tbh. But that is my own experience :)

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What is the membership attrition rate of Spectrum?

At all of our meetings we have a constant number of about 20 people at all of our meetings! The start of the semester there’s always more and the number of people at that meeting shifts through the day. Some people have classes that don’t get out until 7:20 which is when we typically try to actually start. Some people have to leave early, and so the number shifts throughout the two hours.

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What is hierarchy of Spktrum?

Great question!

There is our President Nick Fallentine, great at his job he’s very energetic. Great person to talk to and is always ready to listen.

Vice President Kat Dowell, she’s imaginative, exploitive, understanding and openminded. Always in a snapback.

Financial Officer Jake Calahan, great with money and being logical. He’s the left brain to our wild right brain. He’s down to Earth and very calm which provides the best kind of balance. Always unbiased. Ginger.

Recruitment Whyatt Fries, great things come in small packages. He’s so tiny. He’s done a lot in the LGBTQ+ community and has big dreams. If anyone can solve world hunger, manage world peace, and be sassy all in one day it’s him. Nerd.

Public Relations Agnes Navaratne, pulls more than her weight and is always ready to laugh at my jokes. Always comes up with the best ideas and is the logic Jake needs to keep from killing Nick, Kat and Whyatt. She doesn’t know how to use twitter.

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Hello!

This is the official blog for the UCCS Spectrum! Feel free to send us questions or messages! If you would like to have a conversation with me, (Kat!) please use the message link to make it private or send an ask out of anonymous. If you have a question but do not want to be known feel free to send it anonymously! I promise I’m nice and will be kind.

Feel free to tell us about;

What you want to see more of in Spectrum

What you want to see less of

Questions you’re not sure of

Things you’re too embarrassed to ask in person

Song references

Questions about the LGBTQ+ community

A good day you had

Ideas for future meetings

Looking forward to being a beacon of knowledge and running yet another blog.