#And not having access to them is just like gay conversion therapy

[sissa-arrows]

Americans who plan on voting for Kamala thinking the lesser of two evils is a solution need to take a serious look at France.

Macron was the “lesser of two evils” the first time. By the second time we knew the solution was to kick him out because he was NOT the lesser of two evils but too many white people kept believing in his lesser of two evils bullshit.

You know what’s happening now? The left won the election in the beginning of July. Macron chose to ignore it.

Macron chose a prime minister from the party that got the 4th place at the election. That party is a far right party labeled just right wing. Yesterday we got the new government chosen by that prime minister.

The Home Secretary believes that colonialism had great positive aspects (on the indigenous population) and that “Africans want for France to not repent and to accept that there was positive aspects and to take back its leadership in Africa”. He is also against making “forced conversion therapy” illegal against LGBT+ people.

The Higher education and Research Secretary, believes that “Islamoleftism” is a problem and a threat in higher education and that it must be fought against (Judeo-Bolshevism is so 1917-1945 so France switched things up a couple years ago). He also voted against putting abortion right in the French constitution and against gay marriage.

The Secretary of State against Discrimination was going to change its name to include the protection of secularism (which in France means the protection of Islamophobia and even supporting and being an islamophobe) after a pushback it looks like it wasn’t included in the name BUT it will still be one of his jobs. So the guy chosen supported Stanislas a private catholic schools who was involved in a scandal about favoring students but also about encouraging homophobia, Islamophobia and sexism in the school. He also believes that racism and homophobia exist in France like everywhere else but that very few people are racists or homophobes and that the real problem for minorities is the left who accuses people of being racists and/or homophobes. He thinks that there’s a problem with immigrants and immigration in France and that mass immigration must be stopped (for the record if you respect the Tumblr rules every single one of you was born before he got his French citizenship). But hey he is Moroccan so apparently it automatically means he ain’t racist and anti immigrants. (Say whatever you want about France but this country is hella good at finding the sell outs in each community)

I could go on and on about these three and about the rest of the government. Some of them want to go back on the legalization of gay marriage, how some of them want to make the access to universities and any public space to women with a hijab which will quickly turn into a ban for Arab and Black women to wear baggy clothes as a whole in public spaces…. But I will stop here.

All I have to say is that voting for the lesser of two evils even when people were saying that the lesser of two evils was still a danger for People of color and LGBT+ people turned France into Germany before WW2 except the targets are Muslims and people indentified as Muslims instead of Jews. But go on and vote for Kamala if you want but don’t say that nobody warned you and don’t pretend to be all righteous.

[womenaremypriority]

Any ideology that says you need to take hormones and get surgeries to “be your true self” and not getting access to those things is akin to genocide is an ideology that needs to be scrutinized.

[rivetgoth]

The fact that I’ve seen a few people try to analyze I Saw the TV Glow through a lens of it being about like, fandom and obsession with media and nostalgia being bad ?? is genuinely blowing my mind. Obviously there’s the fact that this movie is as unambiguously about being trans as it can possibly be without just saying outright “this is a movie about being trans” but I also think this is crazy because I would say it actually has one of the most unambiguously positive relationships with concepts like “media consumption” and “nostalgia” that I’ve seen in a movie.

Like, to say it’s a shallow interpretation of the film to call it “about media/fandom” (and especially a negative depiction of such things!) is putting it quite kindly because I kind of feel that anyone who utters such sentiments didn’t actually understand the core element of the entire movie: “The Pink Opaque” is not a show. Commentary the film makes about watching “The Pink Opaque” cannot translate to commentary on watching shows broadly because the movie spends half its runtime making it explicitly clear that “The Pink Opaque” may be a show that exists in a literal sense but is not one in a figurative sense. “The Pink Opaque” represents the possibilities of childhood and innocence. Innocence that still is not free from judgment—Owen gets told the show is for girls, Maddy’s friend accuses her of sexual harassment on account of her sexuality while they were watching it together—but it’s the moment in your youth (or any time! it doesn’t have to go away!) when the possibility of queerness and more explicitly queer utopia feels real to you. The external pressures to conform are still there but you can tune them out if just for a moment to envision a future and a life for yourself free of it and living authentically. I think this is an experience all LGBT people can relate to, but in the case of ISTTVG it’s very explicitly primarily focusing on queer femininity, predominantly transfemininity, but in Maddy’s case as well she is a queer woman (I’ve seen some interpretations of her as transmasculine but I disagree personally). Hence the on-the-nose nature of it being PINK.

What feels very genius about Schoenbrun making it about a show though is that it’s so generational, right? For all of us LGBT people who grew up in the age of screens that WAS where a lot of that early imagination going wild resided. The first time you explore a new name is on anonymous forums. The first time you explore your masculinity or femininity is with which character you relate to in a show, or which gender you select in Pokémon. Movies and shows with “queer subtext” or even without give young LGBT people the chance to envision relationships and futures for themselves, what many grow up and call “shipping.” You have your first gay crush while watching your favorite movies. You envy those of your true gender while watching your favorite movies. Amongst many other things when Maddy watches “The Pink Opaque” she’s given access to a world where two women share this intimate connection and overcome obstacles together. When Owen watches “The Pink Opaque” they’re given access to a world where femininity is a real option for their future.

The relationship these characters have to “The Pink Opaque” is a net positive and the movie makes that so incredibly obvious when Owen goes back to rewatch it later and finds that it’s nothing like how they remembered, it feels childish and immature and dumb. That is a bad thing. This is a bad thing. The movie wants you to see this as a bad thing. This is the result of repression, of conversion therapy, of violent coercion into normative lifestyle—That sense of limitless possibility is destroyed and the idea of accessing one’s transness, of imagining this utopia where you CAN be yourself and live as a woman, strong and beautiful on the other side of the screen as said in the film, is lost. Now you tell yourself it feels silly, it feels childish to imagine such things, it’s not nearly as deep and meaningful as you believed it was when you were younger and less inhibited, or it’s at the very least easier to tell yourself that. Owen’s feeling embarrassed is of note here. If it weren’t for these external pressures that have been internalized they very well may have been able to still enjoy the show, even as they’ve aged and grown and matured, even if their perspective has changed a little. But they can’t. Not yet, at least.

I feel kind of out of my mind seeing people try to approach it through a lens of commentating on media consumption because it’s so deeply missing the layers of what’s actually being said… and not even in a wildly obfuscated way. The movie is ABOUT the relationship these characters have to “The Pink Opaque” and how the loss of that is a bad thing. How you can possibly watch it and see it being about some kind of growth from obsessive media consumption is mind boggling to me. Seeing multiple reviews and posts in tags about it is crazy. One thing I really like about this movie is that it so confidently argues for a more positive interpretation of being obsessed with “fantasy” and the childlike wonder of the limitless possibilities of fiction. I think that’s a very very trans narrative, as I mentioned it feels tied deeply into Queer Utopia, and I find it much more bold of a stance to take. In a world where people tell trans individuals (and especially trans women) that their identities are works of fiction or products of the imagination or even caused by excessive media consumption, to embrace these things and turn them over and use them as a symbol of the whimsy and innocence and excitement that first ignites that spark as a positive, thrilling, beautiful thing is very cool.

[nerdygaymormon]

I liked your post with all the scriptures showing that we are to love trans people. What are your thoughts about the changes made to the church handbook?

The LDS Church used to ban gay students from attending BYU. The church used to put a permanent notation on gay member's records and forbid them from having callings that work with children or youth. The church used to promote conversion therapy even when every major medical and mental health organization denounced such practices. The church forbade the children of gay couples from getting baptized.

Eventually the church reversed all these positions.

I used to speak up behind closed doors for queer youth to get to participate, it's been many years since my local leaders tried to do something like forbid a lesbian from attending girls camp or want her to be isolated at night in a cabin separated from the rest of the young women.

It is sad to me to see these same mistakes being implemented against trans/nb/genderfluid/gender nonconforming/intersex members.

Gay people were not predators, we were not the danger they imagined us to be. The same is true for those whose gender doesn't conform to the imagined binary.

How does preventing an 8-year-old child from getting baptized fit with Jesus' admonition to "suffer the little children and forbid them not to come unto me"?

How does limiting someone from gender-specific classes and callings fit with the apostle Paul's teaching that in Christ we are one, that "there is neither male nor female"?

Why is forbidding a trans youth from spending the night at FSY acceptable? It will be so stigmatizing.

We're really going to police the restrooms? Even me, an openly gay man, I am allowed to use the facilities with men even though I might be attracted to some of them.

This ban on "social transitioning" (meaning name/pronouns/grooming/clothing) continues the false notion that appearance equals worthiness and is in direct contradiction to God telling the prophet Samuel that "the Lord looketh on the heart." Social norms are not eternal norms and shouldn't determine whether an individual can receive gospel ordinances.

The top LDS leaders prefer the term "same sex attraction" instead of gay, lesbian and bisexual, and I think a similar thing is now happening as the Handbook language has shifted from "transgender individuals" to "individuals who identify as transgender" and "individuals who transition away from their biological sex."

None of these policies are required by doctrine, evidence for this is these restrictions didn't exist 5 years ago or even last week.

It's depressing the church doesn't remember the lessons from its treatment of gay people as it replicates similar policies.

It was already hard to be a gender diverse member of the LDS Church, and it just got more difficult. Everyone should have access to a spiritual home and church community if they want it.

While I can't control what the LDS Church does, I want you to know I embrace and support you. I wish I could sit on the pew with all of you and I wish I had a table large enough to break bread with all of you.

[bioethicists]

hm i really hope that someone has said this better than me but the betterhelp ads (specifically the video ones, as the podcast ones tend to be less scripted) are such poignant examples of alienation + the role of 'go to therapy' in perpetuating that alienation. keep in mind that, if you personally found a therapist who is genuinely healing for you + that therapist happens to be through betterhelp- i'm genuinely happy for you + that experience does not invalidate anything i have to say below! (but jsyk they're trying to sell your shit to facebook lol)

starting strong w/ the fact that betterhelp is essentially the uber of therapy (aka using an independent contractor model which is harmful + predatory towards its providers), rushing in to fill the market on largely uninsured and/or uninformed ppl who want the ease of a concierge system without the cost + lacks a meaningful supervision system (which led to one gay man being recommended a conversion therapist when he asked for someone to help with his identity struggles, btw!). smarter people than me have written about the ways in which these trendy independent contractor apps strip people of labor rights, fail to provide adequate wages, + in the case of healthcare apps, increase digital surveillance + decrease accountability demanded from providers while exploiting the failure of the US healthcare system in order to churn a profit w/o actually creating sustainable, equitable change.

the betterhelp video ads all circle around a theme- a millennial starts talking about some form of emotional pain or worry, usually relatively standard existential worries ("do you ever think nothing has meaning?") or life worries ("i hate my job" "i think i'm gay"). their friends or the ppl around them respond blankly + coldly, looking at them like they're crazy. while i understand these ads are supposed to be tongue in cheek, they demonstrate the crushing reality of our alienation from one another- the solution to your friends responding to your evident pain with confusion + apathy is to confine that pain to a therapy session! nobody wants to hear your struggles or understands them- come generate profits for us by facetiming a newly graduated 24 year old who can barely make rent!

this theme fits well with what already put me off about betterhelp's marketing- their goal has never been to provide access to therapy for those who want it or to altruistically fill in some healthcare gap. their goal, bolstered by the rise in emotional suffering following, you know, the worldwide pandemic, is to generate + increase demand for therapy as a commodity. their earlier podcast ads focused on convincing others that therapy "isn't just for crazy ppl" + "everyone should be in therapy". regardless of if you personally agree with that statement, it should be evident that this is a blatant marketing tactic in which therapy is a commodity to be peddled, not an offer of support or healing. in fact, they're probably actively shying away from treating "crazy people", bcuz their flimsy support systems could not possibly handle an influx of ppl regularly in crisis or experiencing breaks with a common reality. their target audience is your average millennial under late capitalism + post COVID - anxious, lonely, vaguely depressed, unhappy with their jobs, worried + hopeless about their futures.

i'm not here to tell anyone not to get therapy. that's a personal decision + is none of my fucking business. it's about questioning the total alienation we feel from one another, such that pouring our heart our unexpectedly to a friend + being met with a blank stare is framed as "haha you need therapy" + not "it's crushing that this is how distant we are from one another". it's about a company noticing that (unfortunately very real) distance + fear of vulnerability + using that to direct our emotions into the confines of a business transaction under abusive labor conditions. it's about a world in which we are not engaging with one another emotionally (despite, or i guess bcuz of: widespread suffering, recent mass death, class warfare/untenable working conditions, increased pressure of fascist politics, generational trauma + abuse, etc etc). commodifying therapy isn't going to make that loneliness go away- it's going to normalize it.

[self-loving-vampire]

TERFs will be like "Transition is a homophobic conversion therapy technique. They're transing the gays away and enforcing conservative gender roles on GNC gay people!"

But then if you actually check any of this:

1- Trans people who identify as straight are a minority (an extreme minority in the case of nonbinary people). Really doesn't look like trans people in general are particularly motivated by the idea of "not being gay" or wanting to avoid homophobic stigma. That's a pretty stupid idea to begin with considering that transphobic sentiment is more widespread and severe if anything. Most homophobes are also transphobes.

2- It is medical gatekeepers who historically enforced conservative gender roles on trans people. As in, the people blocking your access to transition until you jump through enough hoops for them. The people that transphobes want there to be more of so fewer people transition.

Trans right activists instead tend to propose that you should be able to transition based on informed consent and your right to your own body. No need to convince some sexist doctor that you're Truly Trans by lying to them about how much you liked barbies and dresses as a child.

3- Just about every single notable right-wing figure right now, including the likes of Trump and Putin, seems to be against trans people. In the US, record numbers of anti-trans bills limiting both access to transition and the ability of trans people to participate in public life have been pushed by the republican party and religious conservative groups like ADF.

Even Richard Spencer has been spotted approvingly sharing J.K. Rowling's views on trans issues.

The idea that conservatives actually all support transition as a way to convert the gays and reinforce gender roles is just so dishonest that it's pretty much guaranteed to only be stated in bad faith. Even in the best case scenario it marks someone as being far too ignorant to have a respectable opinion on trans people.

[jitterbugjive]

guess what fuckers

trans youth's suicidal ideation rate drops when they have access to hormones

So fuck off with your "It'S ThE HoRMOnEs!" bullshit, that's not how hormones work, not unless you're forcing someone to take hormones that don't align with their identities like they used to do to gay men

maybe do some actual research before just jumping to the conclusions that hormones=hormonal=more suicidal

I'm willing to listen to peoples' arguments but they had better back that shit up if they expect me to even remotely agree with them

I'm not here to start any drama but when I hear something that doesn't sound right, I just have to really look into it and share what I find so people can be less ignorant about the facts.

Feel what you want but "This sounds like it makes sense therefor it's probably right" is not a good argument.

[my-castles-crumbling]

hi cas!!

im gonna rant at you for a bit if you dont mind :)

Im a minor that lives in a super tight night, close minded community. Super religious, super homophobic transphobic ect. Seeing as im a teenage girl whose questioning their gender and is definitely attracted to women thats kinda problematic lols. Honestly idek how to explain the situation without a bunch of details, but basically, theres a fifty-fifty chance of me being sent to conversion therapy or just cut off from any internet access (and i mean ANY. i have a flip phone for fucks sake.)if my fam finds out im queer, i have no support system outside of some internet friends who know nothing about my situation, and within the next few years(so like once i turn 20ish, thats in like 4 years but whatever) my family is going to expect me to get married to a man and start popping out babies asap. Btw thats whats expected of me in this community, marriage under the age of 25, have like as many kids as physically possible and god forbid higher education. And im not okay with that . Ffs i want to go to college, major in fine arts, meet a person i like and fall desperately in love or maybe not just have a bunch of close platonic relationships i want cats and a dog and a cute studio in a big city where i can dye my hair whatever color i want aand get an obsene amount of piercings, i want to wear pants!! I just want to live. Without expectations or limits or people who love me hating everything they dont know about me. Is that truly so much to ask for?

And im incredibly dramatic cuz i literally have the dream life. My family loves me, my parents are upper middle class, theyve never hurt me before(besides for all the anti everything rants haha) i literally have a full sized bed, which for some reason i see as the peak of being spoiled idk why. I go to school, not even public, a private religious school that prob costs thousands of dollars, i have friends(who are all part of this community btw and id bet my entire savings that most of them think gay is only a word that ppl use to mean happy lol) close ones even!! I have adorable neices and nephews(my 3 sisters all were married by the age of 20, so i have 11 niecesand nephews while my oldest sister is 31) im living the dream life. But i hate it and i have no way out. No hope of college to get on my feet and find someway out, no people that'll help me fucking run away or some bullshit like that, hell ive considered it and then felt like shit, cuz what am i even running from? Im probably attracted to men it wont kill me to marry one. And i like kids, i wouldnt mind having any either. But.... i dont want to be trapped anymore. Cuz ill be honest thats what i am.if some one asked me to run away with them rn i would, no hesitation.

God im a mess😭😭 anyway this was me ranting in my notes app, im just apologizing for dumping this on a complete stranger(we're moots actually!!) albeit a very kind one :) i dont know what im looking for, but ill take whatever your comfortable giving ig.

I love and appreciate you<333

And hey this has been oddly cathartic so lmk if its okay for me to do this again sometime :))

"im living the dream life. But i hate it and i have no way out."

Hon, you're not living the dream life...there's a difference between financial privilege and being happy, you know? It's pretty clear that this isn't what you want.

I'm not sure if you're asking for my advice here, or if you just want to vent. But I care about you, and if you want me to research some things to try to help you, I'm more than willing to (that way it's not on your search history.) Just say the word!

Until then, you are ALWAYS allowed to vent to me.

I'm naming you venting anon in case you write again!

[bigbroadvice]

Hi, I want to preface this with the fact I was raised in a conservative home, homeschooled, and very .. insulated from people I guess. My first public schooling experience was college and I only made a few friends I kept at arms length for a while. So I don’t know a ton of people.

I have recently been questioning a lot about politics and religion and science (I was never taught about evolution either and am just now learning about it) and I am .. questioning LGBT stuff and I was wondering if you know of studies proving LGBT identities? Or evidence for them? I was raised being told they just didn’t exist and the idea that they could be real is .. I guess amazing to me. I’m so sorry if this sounds cruel at all. I support and love my LGBT friends, I just don’t understand if there’s any science or proof behind it and .. I’m kind of questioning if I’m LGBT too but I really need evidence or I know I’ll never be accepted by my family. Are there studies proving people can be born gay or trans? Or anything else? Something like that? I’ve found studies looking at trans brains that look promising and the hemispheres and hypothalamus of gay and lesbian people but idk if there’s anything else.. thank you in advance.

Sorry this took so long to respond. I felt like I needed to do some research for it but I’ve been struggling to keep my head above water with college work.

Don’t worry, this is a perfectly valid question given where you’re coming from and that’s exactly what I’m here for, all the questions you’re not sure who else to ask.

Honestly, it sounds like you’re already doing a really thourough job researching, in fact I’d love to see what you’ve found. I’m not sure what kind of scientific proof I could find for you that LGBT people are real. It’s like finding research that proves the sun is real. Of course it is, it’s right there. Queer people are everywhere and always have been.

But I understand that you were raised in an environment that went to great lengths to deny that reality. I was also homeschooled in a very conservative home and while they couldn’t outright deny the existence of queer people because I had some access to the outside world and knew I myself was queer, they did try their very hardest to explain it away as something you get infected with, confusion, a choice, and/or sin.

I don’t know all the science behind why people are queer, I just know that they are and there’s no changing it. Some people are naturally attracted to another sex, and some people are naturally attracted to the same one. Some people have always felt comfortable in the gender they were assigned at birth, and some people never have and never will. People will try to tell you that can be changed, but it can’t. They used to try to medicate it like a disees but all that did was make people depressed or feel nothing at all, not start feeling attraction for the opposite sex.

Growing up, they told me that if I prayed enough and did all the right things I could stop being queer if I wanted it enough. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s a lie. I went though years of conversion therapy and am still just as queer as I’ve always been. No amount of bible verses and earnest pleading prayers and counseling sessions and exorcisms was able to make that go away, it just made life miserable.

The only choice involved in being LGBT is weather you choose to love or hate yourself for it. It’s not going away, so you can either choose to live in shame and keep yourself from things that would make you happy, or you can embrace it and live freely.

If you’re looking for more avenues to research, I’d recommend queer history. It’s really eye opening seeing how queer people have always existed in every time period and every culture, through persecution and celebration. We have been and always will be here for as long as humanity is, because we’re an inextricable part of it.

[claygoestothemovies]

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Colby Holt and Sam Probst’s GANYMEDE takes the prize for the most triggering thing I’ve seen all year. I mean that as a compliment.

The story follows Lee Fletcher (Jordan Doww), the wrestling star son of an ultra conservative Christian politician (Joe Chrest), as he develops feelings towards an openly gay classmate, Kyle (Pablo Castelblanco). As if being overwhelmed by these new feelings and discovering things about himself wasn’t enough for a teenage boy to deal with, he’s also being tormented by a demonic figure. When Lee and Kyle are discovered in an embrace, Lee’s parents resort to drastic measures suggested to them by their current pastor (David Koechner).

The behaviors depicted in the film will probably feel ridiculous to audiences unfamiliar with a particular type of upbringing, but for this critic, it hit all too close to home. Scenes of Lee desperately praying about his sexuality made the hair raise on the back of my neck thinking about my own adolescence. Now, this being a horror film, things are dialed up to 11, but it still felt real enough that at times I had to remind myself that it was just a movie. My parents certainly never attempted conversion therapy, but for many young people, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Every time the pastor or Lee’s father opened their mouths and would say some of the most damaging things a teenager struggling with identity could possibly hear, I would think back to similar things I’d heard in churches my whole life, and I felt devastated thinking about the many teenagers who wouldn’t be as lucky as I have been with access to therapy and a good support system, and the lives that would inevitably be lost due to ignorance and hatred from people who are supposed to be teaching love.

The film isn’t perfect, and not every element works, but I had a marvelous experience spending time with these characters - when I wasn’t reliving trauma, that is. Castelblanco’s Kyle is the heart and soul of the film, and along with his loving mother, Kim (Sofia Yepes), provides a much needed respite from the darker moments throughout. The film can also be quite funny, with a stellar supporting cast that I wished had gotten more to do during the brisk runtime.

GANYMEDE is definitely a “your mileage may vary” type of film in that it definitely won’t work for everyone. If you do have a familiarity with the more conservative side of society, this most likely will be right up your proverbial alley. Either way, I definitely recommend this as a better-than-it-needs-to-be low budget queer horror film! I certainly am glad I watched it. And as a cautionary tale against the dangers of conversion therapy (which is still legal in about half of the USA), I dare say it’s even an important film.

3.5/5

[olderthannetfic]

Sorry in advance for treating this like ‘Dear Abby’ but I am in need of some advice from a Queer Adult TM…

So, I have this friend who I’ve known for about ten years now. We’re seventeen right now, so let’s just say we went through allllll the phases together. We realized we were queer together, we had our first fandom experiences together (they were actually the person who introduced me to fanfic, which I’m really grateful for, because ever since it has been an integral part of my life), we were DeviantArt furry artists together circa 2016, it was a lot of embarrassing but also fun times. We are also both… and quite mentally ill and it was nice to have someone to help me through the worst bits (when I didn’t have access to therapy or meds) and how I could help them in return.

Lately (maybe over the past 2 years?) we’ve been drifting apart. I think it has a lot to do with the fact we don’t have many common interests anymore (they stopped caring about mine, and stopped sharing theirs with me), but we still do a lot together. They’re my coworker, a member of my ttrpg group, etc. etc.. Due to social anxiety they were my only friend for many years but now I have a few more, so I don’t mind not being as close to them (and I dislike putting the burden of me being reliant/clingy on them). However, they’ve recently been making it harder and harder for me to keep that friendship.

They smoke weed, get shitty stick and pokes, binge energy drinks and shoplift. I don’t have any moral issue with any of those things, but it’s concerning to me because I know they are not in the the right headspace to make those decisions about substances (and the rest). We have both struggled with mental illness, self-harm, and eating disorders. Part of the reason I drifted away from them is because they have no filter and “vent” about their problems to the point where it is very triggering to me (especially in terms of sh and ed). I don’t mind lending an ear but I also have boundaries that I put in place for myself… But yeah, even though they have access to treatment it seems not to be working, or there’s something hindering it. It really hurts to see them in such a bad place because we started out in similar places in regards to our mental health and now that I’m in a better place, they’re not.

I genuinely love and care about this person, but it’s so hard to help them when they shut down every form of help I + the rest of our mutual friends can offer. They’re very manipulative, I would like to think without meaning to, to the point where they twist my words around (for example, recently they did something extremely inappropriate and when I told them I was concerned for their well-being, they said they were sorry for making me “uncomfortable”). They’re also one of those people that plays oppression Olympics, and insists their parents are homophobic and tried to send them to conversion therapy— I know their parents very well, they are literal leftists who have pride flags in their front yard, campaign for politicians that support queer and trans rights, and attend one of the only completely gay-friendly and supporting churches in the area. But the way they talk about them causes other people to dislike them and think they’re homophobic, which they have noticed. I think it’s cruel to them, and also symptomatic of a larger problem that my friend has— they don’t seem to understand that their actions and words have consequences for other people.

I guess what I wanted to ask was: is it worth cutting this person off? I have a feeling that we were naturally grow even farther apart as we go to university, because our values are very different… They’re an anti, I’m not, they have a very surface-level views of politics and believe everything they read in Instagram infographics, I don’t. I don’t consider myself very mature, but they look very immature next to me. Besides, being around them often ends up negatively impacting me as well. However, I worry that cutting them off will makes things worse for them. I don’t want to see them get even more hurt. My confrontations haven’t been doing anything, but maybe they’ll come to their senses eventually.

I really don’t know what to do in this situation, but I’d appreciate any advice from anyone willing to offer it.

--

Since you're about to go off to college, I'd let the friendship naturally fade.

It's not your job to save this person, and I do think you need to get away from them since they don't seem to be making an effort. But since you're naturally drifting away anyway, I don't think having a big, dramatic friend breakup will help anything.

On another note, everyone should have a moral objection to shoplifting. Not only is it dishonest and a sign that something is fucking wrong with you to shoplift, but shoplifters directly hurt retail peons who will get their pay cut as a result of store losses.

People who do this aren't sticking it to the man. They're parasites who hurt other nobodies.

The fact that a lot of teens (American teens?) think this disgraceful behavior is normal enrages me.

[galaxy-quartz-stars]

CW: ableist, bullying, False information, ABA.

Eileen lamb aka @/theautismcafe Is a mother with two children with Neurodiversity disabilities and she is well known as she works for Autism $peaks And when it comes to her free speech and her saying that we are bad guys, She is also pulling the Victim card on us because we are the ones that are treating her like trash but guess what she is the one that is putting the blame on herself because she doesn’t want to listen to us she cares about Her precious fans and tells them That she’s being bullied,

If you don’t know why here is two images of her crying about autistic people Harassing her and another one that she said that she’s “autistic” but she’s being called an ableist woman when she said that she’s “autistic” Which she using autism as excuse to being a ableist person In fact it could be many ways that people would use Autism as an excuse like using it as a crime, using it as a way to hurt and abused people for sexual abuse Or to manipulate people etc. in fact their are just too many bad people that use Victim blame to Cover their tracks, But many people Are going to the comment section and be like why are you saying that in fact Eileen is not a ableist person in fact she listens to everyone and she is a good mom Well yeah like I see this one right there that she said that otherwise that she would listens to us,

But what bothers me the most is that she wants to compare ABA to life skills, helping parents, and to have a better life for their Autistic children, It’s like everything that Non-disabled people want is trying to convince them that ABA is not abuse like you can’t change the history and Research you know it was made by a homophobic man Who he wanted people with sexuality and gender to be straight and Cis that is Called “gay conversion therapy” And it’s the same thing to ABA knows as “applied behavior analysis” for autism, But yet again this is like a slap in the face when she said stuff like “I disagree in fact ABA is not abuse like come on stop being a Bunch of Snowflake”

And another thing is that when she said that AAC is helpful but in reality she doesn’t like AAC So the company Autism $peaks wants to pass a bill for schools To not allow access for Nonverbal autistic kids for the use of AAC Or other helpful and Good alternatives, In fact This posted had been one year later and she came up with the use of pulling up Another victim blaming And another destructive lies of trying to cover their tracks but with this time By blaming a another Autistic advocates by the name of @notanautismmom

In fact this poor young woman has been Fighting for the right simply because she’s telling the truth of Autism $peaks trying to take away AAC for Nonverbal autistic kids and she has been facing in harassment by Eileen lamb,

In fact I am sick and tired of her bullcrap just because that she’s being called out and saying that she is upset by autistic people but she being an ableist woman she is not a good person whatsoever and people should not be defending Eileen lamb at all like in fact why can’t people just listen to us why can’t people just let us be who we want to be instead of treating us like We’re burdens This is why that she is just making excuses for us excuses and for all that she works for autism $peaks just proves how ableist she is, Also I don’t care if Eileen lamb is autistic In fact autistic or not she needs to not pull the victim Card Nor treat us like garbage it is not right it is disrespectful and she knows that what she’s doing is wrong and that including her working for Autism $peaks and for her Disgusting behavior In fact as an autistic person like myself you know I don’t support hate groups like this I support love and Accept I support the parents of autistic children who Actually love them for no matter what, No one deserves to be punished no one deserves to be treated like we’re Puzzle pieces or burdens, no one deserves to be treated like we are disease, we deserve to be treated like We’re human Like we are welcome to this world in fact we deserve better #Nothingwithuswithoutus

[tubularfem]

the implication that ‘unlearning your biases’ is no longer having boundaries. That people who call gay people bigoted for being homosexual think like this, would rather you be guilted and triggered by attempting to be open to the opposite sex, than admit that they just aren’t actually female or male, and for gay people it is a REQUIREMENT their partner be male or female for gay men or lesbians, respectively. Not a preference. They want people to validate them sexually, which is a right no one has.

attempting to change people’s sexual orientation is conversion therapy. Guilting people, pushing people into encounters or situations they don’t want is rape culture, it’s rapey and creepy that gay people are especially targeted. It’s creepy that these true bigots want to have sex and believe THEY SHOULD have sexual access to people who are not attracted to them and do not want to be having sex with them, but are pressured to make attempts in the name of inclusion

[mentalisttraceur]

The average conversion-therapy enjoyer: just like, don't be gay/trans/whatever. Maybe pray about it? Ooo! Think about how bad and evil and amoral it is. Sinful. Inappropriate? Unhealthy? Unnatural! Can we connect this to your guilt somehow? Idk, I don't actually care, I have no real coherent evidence-based model of how this works, I've never considered the possibility that your experiences have anything valid or healthy in them. I just feel icky about it and I'm throwing stuff at the wall hoping that you stop existing in a way or form that requires me to do any effort to fix that or cope with it.

Me, a mind-terraforming connoiseur: I, personally, can change my sexual orientation, at least in some ways. I've done it enough to know what it would take to lock in those changes. Years of skilled, subtle, surgical thought movements, repeated on countless occasions over and over in all sorts of situations. I've never seen signs of anyone else having the relevant skills, internal access, and theoretical understanding to pull it off as a genuine and healthy change. Even if learnable, it's on the level of becoming the world champion of a highly competitive sport. As approximately the leading expert on the matter, and as someone who actually critically reverse-engineers and questions their every belief and emotion, aaand as someone who has rigorously built their ethics from first principles - and especially as all of those combined - I can confidently say fuck conversion therapy. You are good as you are. You don't need to change.

[brettdoesdiscourse]

Hey sorry for the late, follow up, I've been busy and plus I have ADHD.

Rowling herself has never posted the words "F your pronouns" and besides ther eason people do that is'nt personal hate, it's about getting people to acknowledge objective reality. Here's an analogy: A blond, white skinned person saying "I REALLY AM a black person!" would be denying objective reality and offending actual black people. Furthermore, someone who hates trans people would never dare say this: "

I believe the majority of trans-identified people not only pose zero threat to others, but are vulnerable for all the reasons I’ve outlined. Trans people need and deserve protection. Like women, they’re most likely to be killed by sexual partners. Trans women who work in the sex industry, particularly trans women of colour, are at particular risk. Like every other domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor I know, I feel nothing but empathy and solidarity with trans women who’ve been abused by men.

So I want trans women to be safe."

And furthermore, you use the term TERF the way most people use the term "Klansmen" or "Proud Boy", like it's some kind of malevolent genocidal hate group. But unlike The KKK or Proud Boys, TERFS are a legitimate group who are not malevolent or genocidal. Try reading feminsitcurrent's section on the trans movement sometime.

Rowling herself has never posted the words "F your pronouns"

But the openly supports them. If I proudly support a shop that sells "bring back segregation" merch, would you say that I'm racist? I mean, I never said those words. I just supported someone who did.

And those are personal hate things. Posting something that says "transition=conversion therapy" IS personal hate. Supporting someone that posts that IS personal hate.

She also proudly supported someone who disregarded gender laws and was found to be promoting hate by both her company and a court system. The woman she supported even said she knew her words were disrespectful and rude, but it was her own personal belief.

So, yes. She does support personal hateful behavior.

Here's an analogy: A blond, white skinned person saying "I REALLY AM a black person!"

You do realize there are tons of people who are blond and appear white skinned who ARE black people? Not only do black people experience albinism and still ARE black. But biracial people also exist and if biracial people regard themselves as white or black then that's their business and I don't think other people's opinion on that matters.

Also, if you're again bringing up a person who is white identifying as black. Again, these two things aren't comparable to one another. We currently have science that backs up being trans, science supports that some people are in fact transgender and should be treated as their gender.

This is like saying you don't believe humans have ever been to the moon because humans haven't gone to mars before. One is currently scientifically backed up and regarded as very, very possible.

Furthermore, someone who hates trans people would never dare say this

You realize there are varying degrees of transphobia, right? Just like there are varying degrees of every other type of bigotry.

And just because you say you support someone doesn't mean you actually do.

For instance, let's say someone opposes gay marriage. They think gay people shouldn't be allowed to be married. But they say they oppose violence against gay people. And they say even though they'll always believe that person's actually straight, they'll support gay people's right to believe they're gay.

Would you say this person supports gay people? Would you say other people are wrong for calling them homophobic?

So I want trans women to be safe.

Did you know people can say things without actually believing them?

You can SAY you want trans women to be safe all day, but if you're actively opposing them having access and resources where they're provenly safer....Do you really want them to be safe?

Trans women have had access to women's spaces for ages, believe it or not. Passing trans women have flown right under your radar and always gone into women's bathrooms, locker rooms, etc. Both pre op and post op.

And there has never been a significant number of attacks on cis women by trans women. There has never been a significant number of cis men pretending to be women to access women's spaces for nefarious purposes.

But do you know what there is a significant number of?

Trans women being assaulted in men's restrooms. Trans women being assaulted in men's locker rooms. Trans women being assaulted in women's restrooms because of transphobia. Trans women being assaulted in men's prisons. Trans women being in unsafe situations because they're barred from women's shelters and feel unsafe in men's shelters.

JKR does not want trans women to be safe because she fights to keep them from places to keep them safe. And for what? To keep a hypothetical she created in her own head from occurring. She's fighting to keep trans women in spaces where they're proven to be unsafe because of an issue she thinks might happen with proof saying it doesn't happen.

So, no. JKR does not want trans women to be safe because she fights to ban them from places that keep them safe. And for what? A hypothetical thing she's invented in her head, meanwhile the harm trans women experience is not hypothetical.

And furthermore, you use the term TERF the way most people use the term "Klansmen" or "Proud Boy", like it's some kind of malevolent genocidal hate group. But unlike The KKK or Proud Boys, TERFS are a legitimate group who are not malevolent or genocidal.

Again, varying degrees of bigotry.

If your beliefs are based on exclusion, you are in fact hateful. And TERFs beliefs (ie trans women are dangerous, trans women don't belong in women's spaces, trans women are just men playing dress up and shouldn't be regarded as women) do lead to harm against trans people.

Like I stated before, trans women are at very high risk of violence, especially when not regarded as women.

But also, these kinds of beliefs are the reason so many bills get passed that bar people from transitioning. And it's been proven not being able to transition leads to a high rate of trans suicide. Helping to bar people from life-saving medicine is malevolent. Spreading false information about a group is malevolent. Forcing a group into spaces where they're harmed and killed is malevolent.

If you can't understand or don't believe that, please refrain from sending more asks because your mind will not be changed. If science and statistics don't change your mind, I really can't help you.

[alecbicheno]

Blog post 6 - LGBTQ representation in games

History of representation

Over the history of video games, the LGBTQ representation within them has evolved over time, reflecting the societal changes. The 2000s were a turning point for representation with some choose-your-own-adventure style games allowing the romance option with the supporting characters regardless of gender. The Sims (2000) had this feature too with same sex relationships as an option, however there would still be a lack of LGBTQ characters within mainstream games until we would see a rise in them over the 2010s.

Games with representation

Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014) featured a character named Dorian who the player was able to pursue as a romantic option, provided they made choices that pleased him. His backstory described how he was forced to undergo an in-game form of conversion therapy, which didn’t work and only strengthened his resolve, something that some players may deeply resonate with. He will also only be with and marry a man, so if the player has a female character, they don’t have these options. Furthermore, Dorian is a gay man of colour, something rare, though we do see another example of this around a similar time in Steve Cortez from Mass Effect 3 (2012), who can also only be “romanced” by the male player character.

The Last of Us (2013) had Ellie, one of the protagonists alongside Joel who are both trying to survive their journey across a post-apocalyptic United States. While we don’t find out much about her personal life until the near the end, where she mentions a girl she loved, the expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014) explores her past with said girl more deeply. Then in The Last of Us Part II (2020) we see Ellie with her girlfriend Dina, but also see Lev, a trans character who escapes his abusive family. There was some controversy of course, with the simple inclusion of Lev and Ellie drawing fire from anti-LGBTQ groups, but the LGBTQ community also had issues with the game, specifically with how graphic what Lev goes through is, after we already know about their traumas. Despite this, I think it represents progress within the games industry as these characters have depth and are being handled with greater care, instead of being some stereotypical portrayal.

It isn’t just narrative driven games that feature LGBTQ characters, several multiplayer games feature characters which represent different parts of the community. The popularity of these games helps significantly represent these parts too as it’s relatively easy to find this information about them. Overwatch 2 (2022) features Tracer who is a lesbian, Baptiste who is bisexual, Soldier: 76 who is gay and many more. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (2015) features Flores who is gay, Pulse who is bisexual, Sens who is non-binary, Osa who is trans and many more. There are several other games like this which feature a cast of characters which represent different aspects of the LGBTQ community, while there isn’t much focus in the characters themselves, they are still being represented and portrayed to a wide audience and done so in a respectful manner.

Improvements to be made

In recent years there has been a notable increase in positive LGBTQ representation in video games, with the above mentioned Last of Us II receiving acclaim for the portrayal of LGBTQ characters and storylines despite the controversy and criticism. However, even with this progress, stereotyping, lack of representation and harassment by players persist. The industry is continuing to navigate the complexities of this topic, by promoting inclusivity, diversity, and challenging stereotypes to create authentic representations of sexual and gender identities.

Bibliography

Anon., 2022. The diversity of our LGBTQ+ characters through the eyes of their writers. [Online] Available at: https://montreal.ubisoft.com/en/the-diversity-of-our-lgbtq-characters-through-the-eyes-of-their-writers/ [Accessed 1 December 2023].

Anon., 2023. LGBTQ representation in video games. [Online] Available at: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/collections-highlights/lgbtq-representation-video-games#:~:text=Life%20is%20Strange%20(Life%20is,relationships%20in%20an%20organic%20way. [Accessed 1 December 2023].

BIOWARE. (2014) Dragon Age: Inquisition. [DISC]Xbox One. Redwood City: Electronic Arts

BIOWARE. (2012) Mass Effect 3. [DISC]Xbox 360. Redwood City: Electronic Arts

BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT. (2022) Overwatch 2. [DISC] Xbox Series X. Irvine: Blizzard Entertainment

Differ, M., 2023. Video Games Celebrating The LGBTQIA+ Community. [Online] Available at: https://www.thumbculture.co.uk/video-games-celebrating-the-lgbtqia-community [Accessed 1 December 2023].

MAXIS. (2000) The Sims. [DISC]PC. San Mateo: Electronic Arts

NAUGHTY DOG. (2013) The Last of Us. [DISC] PlayStation3. Santa Monica: Sony Computer Entertainment

NAUGHTY DOG. (2014) The Last of Us: Left Behind. [DISC] PlayStation3. Santa Monica: Sony Computer Entertainment

NAUGHTY DOG. (2020) The Last of Us Part II. [DISC] PlayStation3. San Mateo: Sony Interactive Entertainment

UBISOFT MONTREAL. (2015) Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. [DISC] Xbox One. Saint-Mandé: Ubisoft

Villemez, J., 2020. The history of LGBTQ representation in video games. [Online] Available at: https://outinjersey.net/the-history-of-lgbtq-representation-in-video-games/ [Accessed 1 December 2023].