swolesome

[swolesome]

🚨⏰ Attention Please 🙏🚨

Dear friends and compassionate supporters,

This is Eman Zaqout, from Occupied Gaza, Palestine. I am a Biotechnologist ,🩸💉 and scientific researcher contacting you at a really desperate moment.

I am seeking your assistance to raise funds for saving our lives, facing the starvation in Gaza and help me achieve my doctoral degree dream after being awarded OWSD PhD Fellowship for inspirational women.🍉👩‍🎓

Just like any motivated and loving life woman, and for years, I poured my heart and soul into my work at Al-Shifa Hospital and Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital, as Biotechnology Specialist serving cancer patients with compassion and skill.💪🤍

[ photos of Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital before and after the IDF destruction ]

[ photos of Al-Shifa Hospital before and after the IDF destruction]

I also gave medical lectures to students at different universities and training centers in Gaza👇☑

As a result of my outstanding grades in my study and the excellent performance in my job, I have been a holder of different scholarship and I am active participant in many research visits and scientific missions. 👩‍🔬The last scholarship as at McGill University in Canada three months ago before the starting of the genocide in Gaza.😥

However,😥

My life changed dramatically when Israeli military launched a sweeping war against Gaza. My home and our neighborhood in the North have been destroyed along with our belongings and precious memories early in this crisis.😭💔

My job and my husband's job are gone. Israeli military forced us to evacuate from the north Gaza to the south where they claimed it would be the safe zone but it is not at all. Our sweet home and neighborhood have been destroyed.

Forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on our backs, today, we find ourselves sheltering in a displacement camp lacking access to sanitation, medical supplies, food and drinkable water. I will not talk a lot about the dire and unbearable life we have to go through, as no word can express it fairly😔

The good news in the midst of this tragedy, that I am one of the 22 women from the developing world who have been awarded OWSD- PhD fellowship to pursue my PhD study in Malaysia🍉💪. But now I am stuck in Gaza unable to achieve my dream because Israeli army has occupied and closed all the border crossings 😭💔

Meet 22 fellows awarded OWSD PhD fellowship

This genocide has been more than a year of hell and horror. We have reached a point where there is no hope left for us here in Gaza, where we are unfortunately just waiting for our turn to die.

Nevertheless,

I refuse to succumb to despair, holding on to the belief that brighter days lie ahead.

With your kindness and generosity🥺, I hope to survive the genocide and reclaim the path to achieving my doctorate 💉🩸

Your compassionate aid would mean the world to me and my family.🥺🙏❤🇵🇸✌

Please note that our campaign is vetted

Thanks @90-ghost.. link here

Thanks @dlxxv-vetted-donations.. link here

Thanks @northgazaupdates2.. link here

Thanks @aces-and-angels.. link here

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Happy anniversary, Stonewall riots! Stay revolutionary!

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I'd rather hangout with the straight boyfriend than the queer cop who insists they're one of the "good ones" while harassing people of color

I'd rather hangout with the straight palestinian grandma than the queer zionist who keeps insisting that the death of palestinians is the one way ticket to queer liberation

I'd rather hangout with the leather dyke who is a mspec gaybian and uses paw/pawself pronouns than the puritan who makes "callout posts" clearly targeting disabled queer artists

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I would rather an ally who says something well-meaning but ignorant, over an ally who sits in well-meaning silence, and allows bigotry to go unchallenged out of fear of getting something wrong.

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Hi, I did a big queer comic nerd video essay.

Batman, Masculinity, and Gayness: Decoding the Dark Knight

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More queer people need to know that discrimination against intersex people isn't just bigots being bigots. It's rooted in the fact we live in a world that rejects our existence at a fundamental level.

There's only M or F on every job application.

There's only a M or F on every government form.

There's only M or F on everyone's birth certificate.

There's only M or F in everyone's mind.

Even in queer spaces, people ask if you are AMAB or AFAB. Terms borrowed from our community, then simply reduced back to M or F.

When you go to a doctor, they ask if you are M or F, regardless of how your body actually works. Any anatomy or traits you have that does not fit your M or F designation is met with pity or disgust.

You're seen as M* or F*, an aberration of what is "normal", a faulty M or faulty F, a body with a problem.

The intersex experience is being constantly reminded people believe I don't exist.

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...I made a video!

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Testosterone: "Well, it's been nearly five years. I think it's time for a beard." Me: "Finally! Is it going to grow in evenly?" Testosterone: "'iS iT gOiNg To GrOw In EvEnLy--lmfao fuck no, know what it is gonna do though?" Me: "...Give me acne?" Testosterone: "Give you acne."

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I don’t usually thirst trap these days, but this lighting was great.

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AAVE is not TikTok Slang 

AVE is not TikTok slang, not generational slang etc. It's AAVE that gets popularized by others in their communities and repeated to the point online of it being labeled as such. Point blank. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk 🙃

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New video is posted and I hope it helps wake some people up.

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What if I told you that the antidote to Islamophobia isn't Antisemitism?

CW for this post (you have seen the title.) I feel like this shouldn't need explaining, but merciful Brigid, some of the shit I have seen. It's time for Led Tasso to come out. I'm not Jewish, let's just get that out of the way first, but my position on Palestine is largely informed by Jewish people who have been protesting for decades about the horrific treatment of Palestinians being done by a settler colonial state appropriating their religion, culture, language, and trauma. Fascist governments weaponizing fear and hiding behind religion is a well known tactic, and the fact that so many people have put this readily available information from their minds, specifically in this conversation, speaks to how incredibly pernicious antisemitism really is. I'm treading lightly here because as someone who's not Jewish, it really isn't my place to explain the cultural complexities, trauma, or general experiences of Jewish people. But if you haven't seen those discussions crossing your feed, you should be looking inward and asking why. Because if you're not invested in Jewish voices right now (or in general), that's a red flag for the kind of rhetoric you've internalized and the struggles you take seriously. The position I can speak from, however, is one of being committed to challenging all forms of systemic violence and oppression. So from that stance, and I cannot stress this enough: If you are fighting for some at cost to others, you are reinforcing oppression. It is wild to me that "Nazi" has come to mean "The worst thing a person can be" without recognition of the fact that the ideology is inherently antisemitic, that this is its centrepiece, that Jews are the number one target. This separation is, once again, an example of how insidious this brand of hatred really is--blatant erasure of the way Jewish people are uniquely targeted. I know a lot of trans people follow me, so here's a fun fact: You know the "Doctors are transing our kids to damage fertility rates!" conspiracy? You can thank antisemitism for that, too! It's literally just a rebrand of the Great Replacement conspiracy, which is modernized "protection of Aryan bloodlines." The most recent chapter of "My Life as A Bigot" by Joanne Klan Rowling isn't just another gleeful display of her hatred of trans people, it's another addition to the laundry list of antisemitic beliefs and talking points she's been peddling for years. The Charlottesville "unite the right" Nazi rally was spurred on by the removal of confederate statues and anti-Black racism. What is it they were chanting, again? Anyone remember? Any of this ringing a bell? OH RIGHT. "Jews will not replace us." So many other forms of systemic violence are steeped in the poisonous rhetoric of antisemitism. Acting like this isn't the case damns our Jewish siblings who need us while weakening our understanding of the oppressive forces we're fighting. "One struggle" includes all of us. The fact that the Likud government uses accusations of antisemitism as a cover for their violence should make you more diligent about condemning antisemitism, not less. Because letting them weaponize something that is already so widespread and destructive makes it that much harder to dismantle.

Do not stop talking about Palestine. Do not stop speaking up against the horrors of settler colonial violence. But if you can't do this without throwing another group of oppressed people under the bus, you need to question where you learned your resistance tactics, because the company you're keeping there should disgust and terrify you.

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Hi Swolesome,

I enjoy your content on YouTube, and I was wondering if I could ask for some advise.

I'm a writer among other things (another one of those things is also being a fellow bisexual disaster), and I do a lot of writing on this and other sites. But lately I've been thinking about trying my hand at starting my own channel on YouTube.

I don't exactly have high expectations for my future channel in terms of how many people will watch, nor am I anywhere near expecting to acquire much in terms of monetary gain. I don't exactly expect to gain the following the likes that Contrapoints or Philosophy Tube have gained over the years

But I do have ideas to share for video essays topics (original ideas and work with sources cited of course, I've been keeping up with that particular discourse). I guess what I'm trying to say is I could use a little advice as someone who is just starting out. What to do, what to say, HOW to say things? I'm not the best actor, but I think I'm fairly descent in terms of presenting things (I've also been pretty good at writing both fiction AND essays both online and in school).

Also maybe some tips on actually creating videos.

Thank you :)

Hey! So glad you reached out, and thank you so much--I'm really happy to hear you enjoy the content I make. :) Also stoked to hear you're looking to start a channel of your own! It sounds like you're coming at it from a very realistic place, because it's kinda thankless work, especially in the early days. Some people know how to game the algorithm, but I am sadly not one of them, so I don't want to lead you astray on that front (FD Signifier would be a good source there, he has some more recent videos talking about content creation with some tips and tricks included.) The advice I can confidently offer is to be yourself. And I know that sounds like cliché right out of an after school special, but I mean it. What do you love? What perspective do you bring to a subject? If you're more of a presenter, you might find yourself connecting with educational content. If you're a writer, you might be drawn to storytelling or poetry. One of the nice things about videos as a medium, if the focus is specifically art and communication, is that they're so flexible. I fell into my style of videos because I genuinely love connecting with people and encouraging honest examination of thoughts, emotions, and how they interact; this is why I never say anything unless I mean it. Even if I later come to change my mind on a subject (which definitely happens), I think it's important to give people the same honesty I'm trying to encourage in them. Every YouTuber has an onscreen persona, of course. We all contain multitudes and it's important to have your self-self and your visible-self, if that makes sense, both for your style to come forward and for your mental health. But the content that will be the most enjoyable and rewarding will be whatever you can bring sincerity to. While there is certainly something to be said for acting as a talent in itself, I personally love creating and viewing YouTube content that gives a glimpse into the person making it. It doesn't have to be baring your soul (not unless that's what you want), but rather something about yourself that you're secure in sharing: an artistic talent, education you've received, your sense of humour--that part is up to you.

And don't get discouraged if there's something you want to talk about that other people have already addressed. This is something I still struggle with, worrying that my voice is just adding clutter, but we need more people sharing their passions and insights. Every perspective brings something new and increases the likelihood of someone else connecting with the subject. Whether you're everyone's cup of tea or someone's shot of whiskey, you're reaching others. Finding your voice is the key to getting started, recognizing its value is the drive to keep going. Oh, and on the tech side, if you had to select only one thing starting out, make sure it's a good mic. For a hearing audience, good audio is often the deciding factor as to whether or not someone will watch. You got this! 💙

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I think it's clear a lot of people think the Nazis were bad because they regard them as the ultimate cartoon villain, and not because they think genocide against Jews is bad.

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I had to reupload the video due to an improper copyright claim. i really like this video and would appreciate it getting the love I hoped for it before being dunked on by the algorithm.