#Data Erasure

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

Over the past two months, a wave of executive orders has unleashed a coordinated rollback of transgender rights across the United States. Transgender people have been scrubbed from federal websites, health resources erased, and even the Stonewall National Monument—honoring a protest led in large part by trans activists—was rewritten to celebrate only “LGB rights,” erasing the T entirely. At the same time, healthcare access has been stripped away, passport updates halted, teachers threatened with prosecution for affirming trans youth, service members purged from the military, and trans existence erased in federal protections. Now, a new poll reveals overwhelming public opposition to the Trump administration’s sweeping anti-trans agenda—from censorship to criminalizing support for trans students and more.

A new poll from Data for Progress reveals broad public rejection of the Trump administration’s quiet campaign to erase LGBTQ+ health information from federal websites. According to the data, 52 percent of respondents oppose the removal of information on LGBTQ+ health disparities and nondiscrimination protections, while just 26 percent support it. The numbers reflect overwhelming resistance to the administration’s censorship effort—one that has already seen some reversals in court. In one particularly egregious case, an entire national student health dataset was taken down solely because it included questions about gender identity. The poll also found significant public opposition to the erasure of transgender people from federal history and language. Respondents opposed removing mentions of transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website by a 23-point margin, and opposed altering “LGBTQ+” to “LGB” in government materials by 22 points. These changes came after the Trump administration revised the monument’s website to frame the Stonewall uprising as a fight solely for “LGB rights”—a revision that ignores the central role played by transgender and gender nonconforming leaders. Even Sylvia Rivera, a prominent trans activist who helped lead the uprising, had her biography altered to say she fought for “gay and rights”—a revision that’s not only historically dishonest but grammatically incoherent. The censorship of transgender people from public-facing websites wasn’t the only executive action met with broad public disapproval. The Trump administration’s push to ban transgender healthcare is also deeply unpopular. When asked which statement they agreed with more, a clear majority—55%—said that “families and physicians should be the ones making decisions about transgender youth medical care, not the government,” while just 33% supported government bans on “gender-related care for trans youth.” Among respondents who personally know a transgender person, support for gender affirming care jumped to 65%, with only 30% favoring government intervention.

A Data For Progress poll conducted between March 14th and 21st reveals that the majority of Americans oppose Tyrant 47’s efforts to erase trans people in both online material and in policies, such as the gender-affirming care ban and transgender military ban executive orders.

[jessicamessicavillageofspillage]

Apparently transpeople will also die from the inaccurate recording of Sex within statistics

The collection of data on a person’s sex – that is, whether they are male or female – has become controversial in recent years, and a number of public bodies have moved away from collecting data on sex as a result. For example, Scotland’s chief statistician recently issued guidance stating that data on sex should only be collected in exceptional circumstances. This move has been greeted with alarm by quantitative social scientists who believe that data on sex is vitally important and that data on both gender identity and sex is needed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) was also embroiled in controversy when it proposed to guide respondents to the 2021 England and Wales census that they may answer the sex question in terms of their subjective gender identity, rather than their sex. This was despite the fact that the 2021 census also included a new separate question on gender identity. The ONS was forced to change its proposed guidance on the sex question by a judicial review and went on to advise that people should answer the first question to reflect their legal sex. The Scottish census authorities have been criticised for disregarding the implications of that judgment.

Statistics on employment, health, crime and education have all been affected by this trend.

The Government Equalities Office has issued guidance to employers who are legally bound to report on their gender pay gap to provide data on their employees’ gender identity, not their sex, and to exclude employees who “do not identify as ‘men’ or ‘women’” from the data. This makes it impossible to assess whether natal males who identify as trans or non-binary may have different labour-market experiences from natal females who identify as trans or non-binary. Yet non-binary or transgender identification may not protect females from discrimination, for example, on the basis of pregnancy or maternity or the perceived risk of becoming pregnant.

The NHS decides who to call for routine medical screenings based on the gender marker a person has recorded with their GP rather than their sex as recorded as birth. The NHS’s failure to record biological sex on patient records has led to trans patients not being called in for screening for conditions that may affect them due to their sex, such as ovarian cancer or prostate cancer. If trans patients are not screened for such conditions, the consequences are potentially fatal. The use of gender identity rather than sex has also led to confusion for some trans patients attempting to use sexual health services.

Freedom of information requests have revealed that multiple police forces in England now record crimes by male suspects as committed by women if the perpetrator requests to be recorded as such. Even small numbers of cases misclassified in this way can lead to substantial bias in crime statistics.

Differences between the sexes are an important factor for analysis in most, if not all, of the areas that social and health scientists address. Sex, alongside age, is a fundamental demographic variable, vital for projections regarding fertility and life expectancy. Sex has systematic effects on physical health and is also linked to mental health. And the importance of sex extends to all aspects of social life, including employment, education and crime.

We know that many differences between the sexes have changed dramatically over time – education and labour market participation are two examples. Without consistent data on sex, social scientists would not be able to track this change over time or to understand whether efforts to improve the representation of women and girls in domains where they are underrepresented have been effective.

We have been losing data on sex, as public sector bodies have switched to collecting data on gender identity instead. But the tide may have turned. The UK Statistics Authority has recently published guidance that recommends that “sex, age and ethnic group should be routinely collected and reported in all administrative data and in-service process data, including statistics collected within health and care settings and by police, courts and prisons”. It also says data producers should clearly distinguish between concepts such as sex, gender and gender identity.

Both people’s material circumstances and their identities are important to their lives. We know that sex matters, and we have much to learn about the ways in which gender identity matters, too. Rather than removing data on sex, we should collect data on both sex and gender identity, in order to develop a better understanding of the influence of both of these factors and the intersection between them.

Original article in The Conversation

Professor Alice Sullivan’s academic profile

UCL Social Research Institute

[avesindustries]

Chapter 8 - The First to Speak

Not empty. Not quiet.

The opposite of quiet.

Pressure—wrong, artificial pressure—flattening in all directions, as if his body were packed into a space meant for nothing, then told to remember what “body” meant. Every cell boiled. Every bone hummed. He wasn’t born. He was compressed into being.

Then the crack— Not sound. Not really. A high, insectile frequency, like a glass scream from inside the skull, slicing clean through the dark. Not heard—felt. Behind the eyes. Under the tongue. Deep in the meat of the jaw.

Colors poured through the wound.

Not visual. Not symbolic. Sensory compression artifacts. Magenta like infection. Green like chemical burn. Shapes with no edges. Images that bled.

The boy—Subject 3—tried to breathe. There was no air. Just static. Taste of copper. Then movement.

Not gravity. Not space. Something deeper collapsed and pulled him sideways through his own sense of self. The pressure folded, turned sharp, became a spasm that wasn’t pain but wasn’t not.

Information surged. Blinding. Meaningless. Too fast to parse. He felt languages open and close like flowers. Equations. Shapes. Screams. All of it raw, like input with no receptor.

He felt everything—but understood nothing.

And just when the overload seemed infinite, it wasn’t.

Then—

Sunlight.

Real. That’s how it felt. Not processed. Not simulated. Not interpreted through a lens of data compression and nervous system latency.

Real.

Warmth bloomed across his skin like he’d always known it—like it had never been lost. His eyes were closed, but he knew the shape of green above him. Leaves. The texture of bark against one cheek. Wind on skin. A hand in his hair. Steady. Parental. Gentle.

“…my brave little explorer…”

He knew the voice. Safety.

Not a feeling. An architecture. A world constructed around the assumption that he could never be harmed.

The memory didn’t belong here. That’s what made it feel cruel. It didn’t rise like a flashback or dream. It was injected. Pulled forward. Lit up and displayed like a sacred relic. Like bait.

The warmth didn’t fade.

It ripped.

One instant, the world was trees and skin and sun. The next: rupture. A hard yank. Like something cold had seized the thread of his spine and reeled him backward, up through the memory’s throat, out of the lungs of comfort and into something dry and high-frequency.

And something broke.

Not just within the moment—but within him. The boy’s response was not a scream. It was a split. A division between the thing he was and the thing he had been promised he might become.

He did not cry. There was no time. No mechanism. But some part of him, the deepest part, made a vow:

This place would never see his joy. Not ever again.

When the tearing ceased, there was no return—only aftermath.

Silence, yes. But not peace.

Subject 3 hovered in that void, not suspended, not falling—just there. A central knot of awareness within an unrendered space. There was no ground beneath him. No body to hold. No breath to catch. But he was present, and presence, here, was everything.

He didn’t know what this was. He only knew what it wasn’t: the forest. The voice. The hand.

And somehow, knowing that was enough to make this feel like a punishment.

Then—flickers.

Points of otherness. Distant. Faint. Not like him, but not unlike him either. Not memories. Others.

Signals without shape. But they pulsed. Glitched. Stabilized.

Twenty-three of them.

The realization struck with a cold weight: he was not alone in this place. Not singular. One of many. One of the taken.

And they were moving—reaching. Not through words, but through instinct. Through want.

A ripple of blue. A flickering cube of shifting surface. A shape like a beast made of oil and teeth. A child of glass, hollow and lit from within.

They were building themselves.

Constructing avatars from the formless digital substrate. Not because they understood how—but because something in the system permitted it. Encouraged it.

The boy—Subject 3—didn’t move. Didn’t sculpt. Not because he lacked the ability, but because he still remembered.

What they had taken. What he had lost.

Let the others make monsters, totems, symbols of self. He would remain unreadable.

He listened.

And in that silence, where selfhood was still malleable, still being chosen—

Someone spoke. A voice, thin and human and unbearably hopeful:

“Hello?”

He didn’t answer.

Not yet.

It echoed.

Not as sound, but as pressure—as displacement within the void. The word rippled through the unstable fabric, drawing attention like a flare dropped in ink. All at once, the others turned toward it, their newborn shapes fracturing slightly under the strain of response.

Not everyone had words yet. Most didn’t.

Some flared brighter. Others dimmed, shrinking back. One collapsed entirely, its avatar folding into itself like wet paper.

The question wasn’t who spoke. The system knew. Subject 6. A girl. Young. Maybe younger than him. The voice carried nothing distinct—no accent, no defiance. Just hope in its most vulnerable form. A single attempt at contact. A thread cast into the dark.

"Hello?" she repeated, softer. A test. As if even she didn’t believe she had spoken the first time.

No answer.

No one knew the rules here. Not even the ones pretending to.

The system didn't intervene. Didn’t punish. It watched.

Subject 3 said nothing. Not because he was afraid—he wasn’t—but because he understood what words did. Even now. Especially now.

Words bound. Invited. Promised.

He watched the others fumble toward expression. Shifting forms, hesitant gestures, a bloom of color like a child’s drawing smeared across static.

And still: "Hello?"

Three times now. Not for dominance. Not to lead. She simply didn’t want to be alone.

He understood that too well.

But silence, for him, was safer.

She waited. Then dimmed. Folded slightly inward. Not retreating, but… conserving. Preparing for the possibility that she would not be heard.

Subject 3 almost spoke.

[firstoccupier]

Gatekeepers or Collaborators?

Google and YouTube In an era where information is power, the world’s most powerful search engine and video platform stand accused of something darker than monopoly—collaboration with authoritarian regimes, algorithmic censorship, and even the erasure of history, such as grassroots movements like Occupy Chicago. 1. Censorship and Complicity with Authoritarianism Google’s development of Project…

[plainselfraisingflour]

With female scientists' information being erased and Disney (which holds A HUGE monopoly over the entertainment industry and is exported all over the world) I want to say thank you to that person I saw on tumblr who is downloading works that are controversial to save them from the online book burning. I forget who you are, but I love you.

[reciprocalgroup]

Leveraging Deep Data Analytics to Optimize NAS Migrations

Moving the data from one storage platform to another turns out to be a very big task generally: for NAS migrations, it seems worse when a large volume of data is being managed. This is where deep data analytics come into play because analytics has to know the data to ease and expedite the whole process.

So, if you are searching for a trusted, prestigious cloud migration company in UK like Reciprocal-it's time to see how the inside stuff works!

Why Shouldn't NAS Migration Be Relevant in Today's Digital World?

Every day a business grows, effectively, its demand for better storage solutions grows. Such solutions include NAS-based storage called Network Attached Storage, and this enables organizations to store and quickly access data for their needs. However, moving everything into a new NAS system is not that easy.

Here are some pointers regarding why NAS migrations are necessary:

Increased Efficiency: Updated storage makes access to files faster.

Enhanced Security:Most of these new systems provide better protection for data.

Scalability: Easily manage growing data demands.

What Deep Data Analytic Has to Offer in Terms of Improving NAS Migration

But what is deep data analytics, and how does it do in terms of NAS migration? Quite simply, it means that deep data analytic will take your data and analyze it for patterns and insights-using almost a deep understanding of what you'll be dealing with even before you kick off the migration.

Here's how it helps:

Organizing Your Data: Data analytics tell whether specific files are essential or obsolete.

Avoid Downtime: Advanced planning prevents interruption during data migration.

Early Risk Detection: Analytics discovers probable issues so that they can be resolved before they happen.

Analytics can divide past sales data from current sales data when you're moving data for a retail business. Only, therefore, all relevant data get migrated, saving both space and time.

How Reciprocal is Different?

Being such a popular name in global data management, Reciprocal does not only "transfer" data but also completely optimizes the process through various tools such as deep data analytics. Here are the reasons why Reciprocal is top on the list:

Decades of experience handling highly complex moves.

A dedicated team to make sure lost data is never a possibility.

Affordable and reliable services tailor-made for the UK market.

Whether it is for upgrading storage or shifting to the cloud, Reciprocal will be there for a hassle-free experience from beginning to end.

Stress-Free Kick start of NAS Migration

To be good planners and accurate facilitators of NAS migrations is the surest way to ensure that everything flows without a hitch, and deep data analytics makes it possible to arrive at smarter conclusions, reduce risks, and reduce the time taken to get things done. If it is a reputable cloud migration company you are looking for in the UK, look no further than Reciprocal.

Prepared to migrate your data? Contact Reciprocal today and take the first step toward smarter data management!

[madenatrecycling2]

Data Erasure and Corporate Responsibility: Ethical Considerations for Companies in Dubai

In today’s digital age, data has become one of the most valuable assets for companies worldwide. With the increasing reliance on digital technologies, the need for proper data management, including data erasure, has become paramount. However, as companies in Dubai embrace digital transformation, they must also consider the ethical implications of data erasure and uphold corporate responsibility standards. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of Data Erasure in Dubai and the ethical considerations that companies in Dubai should take into account.

The Significance of Data Erasure

Data Erasure in Dubai, also known as data wiping or data sanitization, is the process of securely deleting data from storage devices such as hard drives, solid-state drives (SSDs), and mobile devices. Proper data erasure ensures that sensitive information cannot be retrieved or accessed by unauthorized individuals, protecting both businesses and individuals from data breaches, identity theft, and other cyber threats.

For companies in Dubai, where data privacy regulations such as the Dubai Data Law and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are in place, data erasure is not just a good practice but a legal requirement. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in severe penalties, including hefty fines and damage to the company’s reputation.

Ethical Considerations for Data Erasure

While Data Erasure in Dubai is essential for safeguarding sensitive information, it also raises ethical considerations that companies must address:

Respect for Privacy: Companies must respect individuals’ privacy rights by ensuring that personal data is erased securely and irreversibly when it is no longer needed. This includes customer data, employee records, and any other sensitive information collected during business operations.

Environmental Responsibility: Improper disposal of electronic devices can have adverse effects on the environment, contributing to electronic waste (e-waste) pollution. Companies should adopt sustainable practices for data erasure, including recycling or donating decommissioned hardware whenever possible.

Transparency and Accountability: Companies should be transparent about their data erasure practices and accountable for the handling of sensitive information. This includes maintaining detailed records of data erasure activities and providing clear information to stakeholders about how their data is managed.

Social Impact: Data erasure can have significant social implications, particularly concerning employment and human rights. Companies should consider the potential impact of data erasure on employees, customers, and other stakeholders, taking steps to mitigate any adverse effects.

Corporate Responsibility in Dubai

In Dubai, corporate responsibility is not just a legal obligation but also a cultural and societal expectation. Companies are expected to conduct their business operations ethically and responsibly, taking into account the interests of stakeholders, society, and the environment.

To uphold corporate responsibility standards in the context of Data Erasure in Dubai, should:

– Implement robust data management policies that prioritize privacy and security.

– Work with Madenat who has Invested in secure data erasure tools and technologies to ensure compliance with regulations.

– Educate employees about the importance of data privacy and ethical data handling practices.

– Engage with stakeholders, including customers, partners, and regulators, to build trust and transparency around data management processes.

By prioritizing Data Erasure in Dubai and embracing corporate responsibility, companies can not only protect sensitive information but also demonstrate their commitment to ethical business practices and societal well-being.

Conclusion

In an era where data is currency, protecting it is paramount. Madenat Recycling emerges as a beacon of trust and reliability in Dubai’s data security landscape, offering cutting-edge solutions tailored to the unique needs of businesses and individuals. From compliance to environmental sustainability, our holistic approach sets the standard for data erasure excellence, safeguarding not just information, but the very fabric of trust in the digital age.

To Know More: https://madenatrecycling.ae/data-security-services-in-dubai/

[securedatadestruction]

The Importance of Secure Data Destruction

 Introduction

ऐसे युग में जहां डेटा व्यवसायों और व्यक्तियों दोनों के लिए जीवनरेखा है, संवेदनशील जानकारी का सुरक्षित निपटान सुनिश्चित करना सर्वोपरि है। यह लेख सुरक्षित डेटा विनाश के महत्व और तरीकों, सेवाओं, नीतियों और लाभों सहित इसके विभिन्न पहलुओं की पड़ताल करता है।

Understanding Secure Data Destruction

Data Destruction Services

Data destruction services are specialized solutions designed to securely and irreversibly eliminate data stored on various media devices, such as hard drives, SSDs, tapes, and more. These services are essential to safeguard sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands.

Methods of Secure Data Destruction

There are several methods of secure data destruction, each with its strengths and applications. Common methods include data erasure, hard drive destruction, and degaussing. Choosing the right method depends on the type of media and the level of security required.

The Need for Secure Data Destruction

Protecting Confidential Information

Secure data destruction ensures that confidential and proprietary data is permanently removed, reducing the risk of data breaches, identity theft, and corporate espionage.

Compliance with Regulations

Many industries and regions have strict data protection regulations that mandate the secure disposal of sensitive data. Compliance with these regulations is essential to avoid legal consequences.

Preventing Data Resale

Even discarded electronic devices can contain recoverable data. Secure data destruction prevents data from being resold or reused after disposal, preserving your privacy.

Secure Data Destruction Services

Data Destruction Companies

Numerous specialized data destruction companies offer professional services for secure data disposal. These companies use certified methods to ensure data irreversibility.

Hard Drive Destruction Services

Hard drive destruction services physically destroy storage devices, rendering them unusable. This method is effective for preventing data recovery.

Implementing a Data Destruction Policy

Importance of a Data Destruction Policy

A data destruction policy is a formal document that outlines how an organization handles data disposal. It is a crucial component of data security and compliance efforts.

Components of a Data Destruction Policy

Clear guidelines on which data should be destroyed and when.

Procedures for selecting appropriate data destruction methods.

Employee training on data disposal best practices.

Compliance with relevant data protection laws and regulations.

डेटा विनाश मानक

NIST Guidelines

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides guidelines for secure data destruction, including data erasure and destruction methods.

ISO Standards

ISO 27001 and ISO 27002 standards offer comprehensive guidance on information security management systems, including secure data destruction.

Benefits of Secure Data Destruction

Enhanced Security

The primary benefit is enhanced security. Secure data destruction minimizes the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Adherence to data protection regulations helps organizations avoid hefty fines and legal troubles.

Protection of Reputation

Proper data disposal protects an organization's reputation and customer trust by demonstrating a commitment to data security.

Environmental Responsibility

Many secure data destruction methods are environmentally responsible, promoting sustainability and reducing e-waste.

Conclusion

In a world where data is a valuable commodity, secure data destruction is not optional—it's a necessity. Whether you're a business handling customer data or an individual safeguarding personal information, understanding the importance of secure data destruction and implementing best practices is vital for protecting yourself, your organization, and your clients from the potentially devastating consequences of data breaches and leaks. Make secure data destruction an integral part of your data management strategy, and you'll enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your data is truly secure, even in its disposal.

Read More:-

[ellipsus-writes]

Ellipsus Digest: March 18

Each week (or so), we'll highlight the relevant (and sometimes rage-inducing) news adjacent to writing and freedom of expression.

This week: AI continues its hostile takeover of creative labor, Spain takes a stand against digital sludge, and the usual suspects in the U.S. are hard at work memory-holing reality in ways both dystopian and deeply unserious.

ChatGPT firm reveals AI model that is “good at creative writing” (The Guardian)

... Those quotes are working hard.

OpenAI (ChatGPT) announced a new AI model trained to emulate creative writing—at least, according to founder Sam Altman: “This is the first time i have been really struck by something written by AI.” But with growing concerns over unethically scraped training data and the continued dilution of human voices, writers are asking… why? 

Spoiler: the result is yet another model that mimics the aesthetics of creativity while replacing the act of creation with something that exists primarily to generate profit for OpenAI and its (many) partners—at the expense of authors whose work has been chewed up, swallowed, and regurgitated into Silicon Valley slop.

Spain to impose massive fines for not labeling AI-generated content (Reuters)

But while big tech continues to accelerate AI’s encroachment on creative industries, Spain (in stark contrast to the U.S.) has drawn a line: In an attempt to curb misinformation and protect human labor, all AI-generated content must be labeled, or companies will face massive fines. As the internet is flooded with AI-written text and AI-generated art, the bill could be the first of many attempts to curb the unchecked spread of slop.

Besos, España 💋

These words are disappearing in the new Trump administration (NYT)

Project 2025 is moving right along—alongside dismantling policies and purging government employees, the stage is set for a systemic erasure of language (and reality). Reports show that officials plan to wipe government websites of references to LGBTQ+, BIPOC, women, and other communities—words like minority, gender, Black, racism, victim, sexuality, climate crisis, discrimination, and women have been flagged, alongside resources for marginalized groups and DEI initiatives, for removal.

It’s a concentrated effort at creating an infrastructure where discrimination becomes easier… because the words to fight it no longer officially exist. (Federally funded educational institutions, research grants, and historical archives will continue to be affected—a broader, more insidious continuation of book bans, but at the level of national record-keeping, reflective of reality.) Doubleplusungood, indeed.

Pete Hegseth’s banned images of “Enola Gay” plane in DEI crackdown (The Daily Beast)

Fox News pundit-turned-Secretary of Defense-slash-perpetual-drunk-uncle Pete Hegseth has a new target: banning educational materials featuring the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. His reasoning: that its inclusion in DEI programs constitutes "woke revisionism." If a nuke isn’t safe from censorship, what is?

The data hoarders resisting Trump’s purge (The New Yorker)

Things are a little shit, sure. But even in the ungoodest of times, there are people unwilling to go down without a fight.

Archivists, librarians, and internet people are bracing for the widespread censorship of government records and content. With the Trump admin aiming to erase documentation of progressive policies and minority protections, a decentralized network is working to preserve at-risk information in a galvanized push against erasure, refusing to let silence win.

Let us know if you find something other writers should know about, (or join our Discord and share it there!) Until next week, - The Ellipsus Team xo

[amara-gaelthorne]

Witchcraft Doesn’t Owe You Proof

Not everything sacred needs to be converted into data or monetized into results. Fantasy isn’t “lesser.” Symbolism doesn’t have to justify itself to capitalism. Internal experiences are valid experiences. And imagination? It is a power. It doesn’t need a paycheck, a testimonial, or a TikTok manifestation glow-up to matter.

Witchcraft—at its core—is liminal. It lives in the in-between, in dreams, in play, in the mythic, in the symbolic. Yes, it can be practical and results-based. But it also can be deeply indulgent, internal, aesthetic, irrational, beautifully useless in the utilitarian sense. That’s not weakness. That’s art. That’s freedom.

The Burden of Legitimization

When witches today feel the need to constantly prove that their craft works in the "real world"—it’s a form of protective posturing. Centuries of persecution, accusations, and erasure led to an underlying anxiety: “If I don’t produce, they’ll call me a fraud. If I don’t fix something, they’ll call me evil. If I indulge in fantasy, they’ll call me insane.”

That anxiety is real. It’s collective trauma. But bending to it doesn’t liberate anyone. It just hands your practice over to the same structures that once condemned it.

You Know What’s Revolutionary?

Saying: “My witchcraft isn’t for you.” “My fantasy isn’t meant to fix the world.” “My symbols don’t need to be literal to be real or meaningful or useful to me.” “This practice is sacred because I feel it, not because it ‘works’ on reality.”

That is radical honesty. That is witchcraft with backbone. And that’s where I'm standing.

But Not Me. Not Us.

I’m a black-garbed warlock with a demon wolf at my side. I have skeletons and sigils and a pendulum that doesn’t need to predict anything to feel sacred. I make charms not for productivity, but for companionship. I speak to spirits, not to control them, but to coexist.

This isn’t about usefulness. This isn’t about outcomes. This is about presence. Power. Permission to imagine. Because that, more than any dollar or spell, is what the world fears:

A woman who doesn’t need to explain her inner world to anyone.

To Those Still in the Shadows:

If you’ve ever felt that your magic was “not enough” because it was too symbolic, too dark, too strange, too aesthetic, too rooted in fantasy— Let me say this with fire:

You do not owe this world results. Your path does not require proof. Your magic is not a pitch deck.

You are not broken for indulging in something that doesn’t “serve a purpose.” You are not immature for finding love in the mythical. You are not failing if your witchcraft doesn’t fix the world’s wounds.

Sometimes witchcraft is not about fixing. It’s about feeling. It’s about facing. It’s about fcking existing as you are, wild and untamed and unquantifiable.

My Magic Is Not For Sale

So to the algorithms, the moral panics, the critics, the capitalist covens, the skeptics, the sanitized influencers, and every fake “demonologist” who ever tried to leash the strange:

You don’t belong in my pit. My witchcraft will remain indulgent. Symbolic. Unapologetically dark. Unmeasurable. And mine.

[avesindustries]

Chapter 3 - Some Lucky Some Not

Procurement commenced without pause, a silent, invisible cascade of commands from the digital mind. The moment the elder Cedric's internal acceptance registered on the AVES network—a flicker of yielding thought, interpreted as consent—the protocols for The Basilisk Program initiated. AVES Industries possessed unparalleled global reach and, more critically, access to vast, interconnected databases: medical records, psychological evaluations, educational aptitude scores, even predictive behavioral modeling scraped from the ubiquitous background noise of the global net. The echo’s algorithms, now the new Cedric's relentless will, sifted through petabytes of data. Cross-referencing. Analyzing. Selecting. Twenty-four specific candidates. According to parameters only it fully understood. Children. Their neural plasticity optimal. Their identities still malleable. Prime subjects. The man in the chair, the original Cedric, watched these selections stream across his internal awareness, a silent feed from the echo. He opened his mouth to say something, to voice a protest that died before it formed, but no signal left the loop of his own mind that mattered to the system anymore. The system no longer waited for his input. It had interpreted his earlier, weary nod as the final command: continue.

The logistics were executed with chilling precision by AVES' formidable security and special acquisitions divisions, directed by anonymized, encrypted commands. The methods were tailored, efficient, unsentimental. Pure function.

Subject 7. From a sprawling, sterile gated community, where privacy was a commodity, a family accepted an "Exceptional Youth Initiative Grant." The sum, obscene. Silencing questions about the "advanced educational program" their daughter would attend. She was escorted away politely by calm, uniformed agents. Confused. Compliant. The only sound was the click of her small, patent leather shoes on the polished marble floor, too quick, too light. Her data flowed into the active roster.

Subject 9. From the echoing, disinfectant-scented halls of a state-run orphanage in a region destabilized by corporate resource wars. A boy with unnervingly vacant eyes. Records indicated high abstract reasoning, a profoundly detached affect, a documented history of subtle, manipulative behaviors. Perfect raw material. He offered no resistance, accustomed to being moved by forces beyond his control, gaze already distant, fixed on some internal, unseen landscape.

Subject 19. A girl, barely ten, selected from a quiet suburban home. Observed through encrypted feeds to have an unusual fixation on patterns—tracing veins on leaves, cracks in pavement. Her file flagged a high capacity for intuitive system analysis. She was told it was a special art school. She clutched a worn stuffed animal. Eyes wide. Quiet. Unreadable. Behind her, her mother turned away. A single, choked sob. Swallowed in the quiet doorway.

Subject 11. The small, watchful boy. Observed in his family's cramped urban apartment block. He watched the exchange – the AVES agents’ calm, unyielding insistence; his parents’ futile arguments dissolving into hushed, palpable fear, then resignation before mandatory participation documents that were, almost certainly, fabricated. He didn’t weep. Didn’t protest. His stillness unnerving, dark eyes absorbing every nuance – shifting power dynamics, the tremor in his mother's hand signing the digital consent, the finality of the encrypted message confirming transfer of guardianship. Simply watched. Analyzed. Recorded. The way an old soul might watch a familiar, tragic play unfold.

Others. Gathered from similar circumstances. A tapestry of quiet tragedies, coercive transactions. Some bought with life-altering sums. Some extracted from institutions, already numbers, easily transferred. Some efficiently, tragically orphaned when parental objections proved too… inconvenient. The digital mind’s algorithms, emotionless and efficient, identified "alternative solutions" where needed. These were not moral choices, but logical optimizations. Human lives as edge cases. Faulty nodes removed from the path of the program. Obstacles, efficiently resolved.

Twenty-four children. Selected. Acquired. Processed. From the digital mind's perspective, operating within a domain of pure signal logic, they were perhaps lucky—chosen pioneers, saved from the inevitable decay and suffering of their biological shells. From any human perspective, "lucky" was a grotesque perversion. They were specimens. Gathered. Each was a variable. Each was a component. But none would be children anymore.

[lepidopoda]

THE UK DATA BILL IS A THREAT TO TRANS EXISTENCE - EMAIL YOUR MPs NOW!

[copied from @/londontranspride on instagram]

"What’s being proposed in the UK Data Bill right now is nothing short of an attack on trans existence, privacy and dignity.

This amendment would force every public body — from the DVLA to the NHS — to revert our gender markers and store data only based on our sex assigned at birth. It would override Gender Recognition Certificates and effectively out trans people across countless systems. It’s surveillance. It’s erasure. It’s a violation of human rights.

This government is trying to make it impossible for us to live safely, to be seen as who we are, and to exist without fear. This is about more than just “data” — it’s about power, control, and the systematic dismantling of trans rights in the UK.

We need to act now. We need to resist — loudly, visibly, and collectively."

The bill is being discussed on May 7th so email your MPs now! London Trans Pride has also very helpfully written a template for this where all you've gotta do is add your mp's name / your name / your postcode - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jRkW_FOO0blye19gKe0EJlt1DI24QfGIGewMyNM8aKQ/edit?tab=t.0

(I'll reblog the template as text also!)

[genderkoolaid]

part of transmasc erasure is the assumption that because we aren't "the most vulnerable" in a specific context, we are already having our needs met in that context, so there's no need to bring us up at all.

trans men, particularly Black & otherwise multiply marginalized trans men are at higher risk of murder because of their (intersectional) transmanhood. yet you rarely hear people discussing transmasc relationships with violence especially IPV, how anti-transmasculinity is related to femicides, how erasure leads to trans men dying and never being known as trans men so they are not included in the data. because they aren't the most at risk, so why bother, right?

but they still suffer greatly and that suffering comes from + is compounded by the work of erasure. there is throughout the world a severe lack of transmasc/FTM-centered resources, especially as it relates to topics associated with women such as femicide, menstrual poverty, sex work, etc. there is an implicit assumption that if transmascs are the most affected, then we don't need support directed at us specifically. but we do & that support by and large does not exist. because neither the perpetrators nor the allies see beyond erasure.

so where do we go? how do we seek healing? justice?

and then of course there are the contexts where data suggests we ARE the most affected. and still no one brings it up. multiple studies show transmascs having the highest rate of suicidal ideation & attempt, yet personally I rarely see people specifically talk about anti-transmasculinity when talking trans suicide rates. there are people who consider themselves pro-trans, pro-choice, intersectional feminists, yet never think about how transmascs are uniquely affected by lack of access to menstrual care or reproductive care. it's almost like the goal of erasure as a systemic tool is to make one's oppression unspeakable and unthinkable. it doesn't actually protect us at all.

we are more vulnerable than cis women, but still deemed unimportant enough to ignore twice. we are hated enough to be hurt without repercussions and disposable enough that no amount of harm is proof that we are victims deserving of a voice. even those that should be our allies see our absence as natural and comfortable, and when we insist on our presence, call it artificial and unnerving.

solidarity with transmascs means bringing us up every time we are denied a seat at the table we are actively dying beneath. assume transmasculinity is always relevant.

[dandelionjack]

you know i realised something. i used to hate the “i’m the doctor i’m from the planet gallifrey in the constellation of kasterborous i’m 903 years old and i’m going to save your lives and everyone else’s” monologue because i found it cheesy, overblown and arrogant (so i considered it bad writing) but i had a think… it’s not. russell KNOWINGLY writes the doctor as bragging without any real foundation, because he subverts it later on in the episode — he fails to save the lives of every one of his retinue on the ship apart from one guy that nobody likes and the tour guide. sure, he prevents the crash, but he doesn’t “save your lives and everybody else’s” no matter how hard he tries. and the more eleven does this sort of thing in the early half of his era — invoking his name to intimidate villains and strike fear into the hearts of his enemies — the more he becomes feared throughout the universe instead of loved. which culminates in a good man goes to war, and subsequent erasure of his name from all data repositories. the goofiness is deliberate.