#Inclusive planning

[bixels]

Jesus man, relax.

[mayakern]

the true miniskirt prototypes are in and im SO excited!! we’re hoping to have these in some time in july

[queer-crip-grows]

If you are involved in climate activism and if you work in town planning and purchasing, or anything similar, I am begging you to please, *please* start thinking about disabled folk, elderly folk and parents with young kids when you are talking about walking and biking to places.

Cycles are absolutely inherently more pedestrian-friendly than cars, but they are still perfectly capable of injuring or even killing pedestrians, particularly frailer people, small people, and pets.

A lot of pedestrians, especially elderly and disabled people, have developed this instinctive terror of cycles and cyclists purely because poor planning so often shoves cycles into pedestrian spaces that aren’t actually even that ideal for pedestrians, and people who already have difficulties - elderly and disabled people, dog walkers, parents of small children - in those spaces start accumulating experiences of injury or even a succession of near-misses, which are perfectly capable of producing trauma even if physical injury is avoided.

And that only plays into the hands of polluters and governments who are in their pockets as well as increasing the marginalisation of already-marginalised people.

I can’t blame cyclists who are too afraid to ride cycles on the roads along with motor traffic. It’s terrifying and incredibly unsafe. Cycle paths, Cycle lanes, and other specific spaces for cyclists are absolutely essential, with as little need to share space with motor traffic *or* pedestrians as possible. Even in wide city boulevards, laid-out cycle paths and spaces are essential. They literally only need paint! And let electric scooters back on them in the UK too.

If you are providing any form of public rentable cycles, please, *please* accommodate elderly, frailer and disabled people too. We tend to be the ones who are in the most need of alternatives to get places, but traditional bikes are inaccessible to frailer people and most people with balance and fatigue issues. Please buy a selection of bikes, including adult-size tricycles, scooters with seats, and bikes with seats and tow options for small children. Parents exist, and are mostly desperately in need of transport as they have small humans with short legs and limited energy, and most prams and buggies are incompatible with traditional cycles.

We know so damn well how right-wing governments and corporations benefit from setting us against each other, and how adept they are at using marginalised people to distract the majority of exploited workers from the larger issues said governments are doing poorly or not tackling at all.

Disabled and elderly people, and parents of small children, are very vulnerable to climate change and the issues it causes. We are not the enemies of the climate movement; but we equally need to be *included* in it and *accommodated* by it.

If you are only looking for solutions that work for abled, healthy young adults, you are, frankly, not doing your job effectively. Listen to disabled people, older people, and parents. If you are doing large-scale planning work, invite us into the planning process *early*, not at the end when any changes will seem too burdensome and expensive to make, and, honestly, pay us for our time and expertise.

Oh, and if you make or sell bikes or electric bikes, sell more accessible options like adult trikes and ones with child seats and towing options too, please. And don’t charge enormously more for them than standard bikes. Financing options would be good too. Most disabled people can’t afford to run a car, and your bikes are often more expensive than that, if you offer them at all.

[noballoonsinspace]

Can’t stand when people go “its just not in the budget” when they’re the ones that wrote the damn budget in the first place. Just say it wasn’t a priority to you. Just say that. Take responsibility.

[xcziel]

has anybody else thought about how jk could easily manage sofia's parts of slow dance or is it just me?

[moonstruckdraws]

Sage & Luci

As said before, I want this to be a QPR & I spent a while relearning what I already knew to double check myself lol. I still find these to be so fun because of the flexibility this kind of relationship has & I'm excited to explore it.

Sage is the more physically affectionate out of the two

I just love size differences lol. Luci isn't really one to ramble unless it's to rant, but she does it with Sage. She feels like she can say anything to her & Sage will being paying attention to everything. Sage is quite the bubbly person, but often enjoys listening to people instead of speaking.

Nicknames! Luci doesn't like romantic pet names. She either cringes or feels dead inside when addressed that way. In an ask Helli made to me, I said that Luci likes drinking floral teas & then it came to me; Sage addresses Luci by whatever tea she drinks that day. I thought it was so cute!! Luci would get tea from Bao's tea shop every so often & would probably be where she & Sage meet up. On days that Sage is either late or days Luci comes into the tea shop without planning on meeting up, I think it'd be funny if Sage just bursts into the shop to interrogate Bao on what tea Luci drank that day lmao.

Sage is gloooowing. I just wanted more color on the page lol. But moths are attracted to light, so when Luci learned Sage is bioluminescent, she was beyond excited & thought it was so cool. Seeing the colors & brightness made Luci come up with nicknames for Sage. She calls her a nightlight, at first in a joking manner before it stuck.

I think it'd be best to talk about Luci's view & opinions of romance, and then her & Sage's partnership so imma do that-

I don't believe I've said this fun fact yet, but Luci watches romance shows & movies practically constantly. If someone wants to watch anything romance, Luci will have a recommendation. She started watching romance because of the relationships around her. I think it's not a secret that Luci is friendless & isn't exactly the best at socializing. Her interactions with people or reselling/buying others' stuff, shouting at said customers when they tick her off, or hating people (cough Pico & Todd cough). The only time she gets along with others is during DIGG concerts (another fun fact is that she's a giga fan of them) when jamming out with people in the crowd. So, as said in Luci's introduction post, she meets Bao by going to his tea shop after being extremely heated. Making Bao her first friend. Of course, that leads to her learning Bao & Pico are together. The only other people in a relationship she'd know of would be Warren & Hypno, because of Repo. It'd leave her puzzled on the subject of a lover. She knows people date & get married & all that, but actually knowing people who are is a shock to her. Like knowing something exists but not really registering it until you've seen it in person. While trying to wrap her head around it, she sees a show playing on the TV Repo left on, it being romance. She'd take this as an opportunity to figure this strange concept & it turned into her binging and watching a bunch of them. Through watching romance is how she'd find out things that were cringe or confusing to her, & things that peaked her interest. (I think she'd just ask Bao straight up, "Why the f*ck are you dating?" That'd probably be her reaction to the news lmao in the sense of "Why Pico?" but also just "Why?")

Repo never talked about romance with Luci unless she asked, and with the lack of people she's around, she never dealt with being questioned on her interest in others & having that expectation of needing to find someone. So that kind of relationship has never been on her mind. What she's interested in, from all the shows & films, interactions she's seen, and by pure description has been the intimacy of those close relationships. It's more of a second thought that might appear time to time when watching romance that'd linger. But aside from that, she doesn't care for any of the rest.

Luci is not an affectionately giving partner that likes receiving attention. With the way she's raises & how she views Repo, she always liked getting attention. The way she grew up also made her not the most considerate person in the world unless it was for Repo (later on others), so she isn't the most showy with affection. She shows affection with others, aside from Repo, by just her presence. Even if she just doesn't talk, her being there with someone is her way of showing care. Sage loves expressing her affection through words. She may not talk as much in a conversation, but when giving praise or compliments, those are likely to make that person be in a good mood for the rest of the day. She likes making people feel good, it's a reason she's an herbalist. She manages to say all the right words & takes pride in that. They do standard cuddles & head resting and is pretty much all they do. They like to go on outings, Sage more than Luci, or just sitting around doing nothing. But they do have this thing with holding hands. They hold hands a lot when doing just about anything, but Sage would always reach for Luci's second pair of arms. And that Luci would never be the one to let go of hands, it'd always be Sage who'd have to do it & I just thought it was sweet lol.

okay that's enough rambling for me lol

[coochiequeens]

April Hutchinson may not be able to compete for two years for speaking the truth but she won my heart and respect.

By Genevieve Gluck. November 8, 2023

A female competitive powerlifter for Team Canada who spoke out after a trans-identified male athlete set a women’s national record at a championship in Manitoba has been informed that she is facing a two-year suspension from her sport as a result. April Hutchinson shared the news to X (formerly Twitter), where she has received an outpouring of support after she slammed the situation as a “horror show.”

“I now face a 2-year ban by the [Canadian Powerlifting Union] CPU for speaking publicly about the unfairness of biological males being allowed to taunt female competitors & loot their winnings,” Hutchinson wrote.

“Apparently, I have failed in my gender-role duties as ‘supporting actress’ in the horror show that is my sport right now. Naturally, the CPU deemed MY written (private) complaint of the male bullying to be ‘frivolous and vexatious.'”

Alongside her statement, Hutchinson shared images of the notice she had received, which reported that a discipline committee had convened on October 23 and had “determined that there is sufficient evidence for Major Infraction as a result of repeating offences, including prior warning.”

“Based on the information provided, the Discipline Panel is recommending that [April Hutchinson] have her membership to the CPU suspended for 2 years. We strongly feel this is a case of a repeated offence, and should be treated as such,” the notice read.

Hutchinson was reported to the CPU on August 23 by Anne Andres, a trans-identified male athlete who set a women’s national record at a championship in Brandon, Manitoba, on August 13. Hutchinson had publicly condemned his participation in the women’s category, and appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored just days after the championship competition.

“I’ve been a powerlifter with the Canadian Powerlifting Union for about four years now. Over the last year, I have been fighting my federation to ban trans women — also known as men — from competing with women in powerlifting,” Hutchinson told host Rosanna Lockwood.

“They have ignored my pleas, as well as many other women who don’t agree with it. They’ve actually threatened to suspend me for speaking up about the matter,” she added. “The threats keep coming, and disciplinary action for speaking up has been ongoing over the last year.”

“The whole thing is disgusting. It’s disgraceful. It’s disheartening,” Hutchinson remarked. “I’ve been threatened with suspension. Two weeks ago, I received a letter from my Federation, stating that I cannot call Anne a biological male.” In response to news of Hutchinson’s potential ban, The Daily Mail reached out to Andres for comment. He responded by telling the journalist who contacted him that “the blood of LGBT people” was on her hands, and added, “Get straight f*cked.”

Andres, 40, currently holds multiple records in the female division, including the women’s deadlift and bench press, and has placed first in nine out of the eleven competitions he has participated in over the past four years.

At the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s (CPU) 2023 Western Canadian Championship, Andres participated in the Female Masters Unequipped category, and beat out Michelle Kymanick and SuJan Gil for the first place award — with a total powerlifting score that was over 200kg more than the top-performing female in the same class.

A “total” is the sum of the heaviest weight lifted for the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Andres’ total would have placed him amongst the top-performing male powerlifters in the entire championship had he participated in the men’s category.

The Western Canadian Championships was held under the umbrella of the Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU), which announced a gender self-identification policy earlier this year. The policy, which garnered mass backlash from women’s rights advocates, explicitly allowed any males to participate in women’s competitions on the basis of self-declared “gender” alone.

In February, the CPU’s “Trans Inclusion Policy” was released, containing an explicit statement that the CPU supported allowing transgender powerlifters to participate in the sex category of their choosing based on a guidance from the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES).

“Based on this background and available evidence, the Expert Working Group felt that trans athletes should be able to participate in the gender with which they identify, regardless of whether or not they have undergone hormone therapy,” the document reads, deferring to the “inclusivity in sport” guidance from the CCES.

Just prior to the CPU’s announcement of a gender self-identification policy, Andres gained significant notoriety after sharing a video of himself appearing to mock female athletes, asking why female powerlifters were “so bad” at bench press.

The widespread outcry against males in women’s powerlifting events, prompted by news of Andres’ participation and taunting of female athletes, motivated the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) to issue a policy change on August 21.

“For a transgender athlete to compete in the sport of powerlifting at any level, he/she must declare before competing that he/she is a transgender athlete. If an athlete fails to declare that he/she is a transgender and competes that violation leads to Disqualification of the result obtained in that Competition with all resulting Consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes,” the IPF said in an updated policy document.

Increasing reports of male athletes identifying as female in order to compete in women’s events have attracted significant criticism. As previously reported by Reduxx, a Canadian powerlifting coach self-identified into the women’s category earlier this year and broke the Alberta women’s bench press record. Avi Silverberg was attempting to highlight the unfair advantage males have when competing in women’s athletics, in protest over the CPU’s recently implemented gender self-identification policies.

Not to show my age but the thought of men competing in women’s sports was funny when it was this guy

Say what you will about the 90's at least we had common sense about this issue

[stepfordgoth]

Dude what if I actually take a really nice trip for my birthday. Like I could literally go to Cancun. It's a realistic option. The Cleveland airport has a direct flight to cancun. I could just do it and turn 30 on a fucking beach. Literally unreal

[vvelegrin]

i'm really enjoying pathologic 2, actually. i mean, i didn't think i wouldn't enjoy it as much as i was worried it would just, i don't know, muddy the water. and maybe it will, but i'm not really bothered by that anymore. that said, i do think patho 2 took a fairly unsubtle game and increased its unsubtlety by about tenfold.

well. calling og pathologic 'unsubtle' doesn't feel quite right, but i'm not sure what word would feel right. maybe it's 'distinct in its sensibilities'. I think og patho felt more obtuse, whereas patho 2 is like. here. take it. do you get it. here is the information. do you see the themes. i am announcing them to you in such a way that you know that i am saying something thematic. i'm not far enough into the main story of 2 to be able to say that there's less reading between the lines, but it feels very much so far like there's less reading between the lines. whereas the original had a somewhat different... i don't know, affect? it felt like a hostile workplace where everyone recited shakespeare about even the mundane. in patho 2 nothing feels mundane in the first place, everything feels loaded in a way that og patho was but didn't feel, if that makes sense.

but i think that's okay. at the very least, it feels very much like leaning into the 'theater' aspect of it, which is enjoyable. pathologic 2 feels to me more like... bonus content? not to be Stuck Up For Pathologic HD but i enjoyed the feeling of grinding my face against a cinderblock, having to tease out information and conclusions. it felt like a game that you had to figure out, but you actually weren't really doing any ground-level figuring out of much; you're not a doctor, your character is, so the puzzle of Solving the Plague belongs to The Story, whereas the question of What the FUCK is This Town's Deal is your job. it's a very linear game in most respects, but all three playthroughs come through as a thematic package deal.

i so far get the impression that pathologic 2 can be played on its own and be enjoyed in its own right! however it exists to me as like. director's commentary. i'm really liking the playing with different character relationships and alternate things, the expanding of steppe language and the kin, love my worm guys, but i like it because of how it enriches my eternal mind rotation of og pathologic. sorry guys i played the original pathologic and it broke me and remade me in its image. sorry.

[tirsynni]

So today's random take: you can judge a business by how it does its pizza parties.

Not in the "capitalistic hellscape thinks it can distract its workers from poor pay and poor work conditions through pizza parties" sense. In the "is management aware of everyone's dietary needs and restrictions and is willing and able to compensate for it" sense.

I worked in one place which prided itself on its support of "diversity" and "inclusiveness" and then repeatedly served food at different events without ever adding labels. Do you have religious restrictions? Health restrictions? You're better off bringing your own food. One person was terrified of dying due to her nut allergy and never knowing what was in ANY of the foods.

Imagine working somewhere boasting about its inclusiveness and celebrating with a pizza party, and you're standing in a corner, smiling awkwardly, empty-handed, because you can't eat a single thing there. What the hell. We're doing a Halloween thing at work now, and someone who was helping decorate stated that she couldn't eat any of the snacks she was putting out due to dietary restrictions. I asked what the restrictions were and she told me between apologies and assurances that I didn't need to worry about it. To hell with that! Imagine putting together a celebration with the full awareness that you're excluding a portion of the office for no real reason!

In one office, we made a point of having a variety of treats available so everyone had an option, including healthier items and gluten-free items and vegan items. If you made something at home for the office, you brought in the list of ingredients so no one needed to worry about dying eating a tasty snack.

This is easy stuff. This should be common sense stuff. Is there a religious holiday coming up which involves fasting? Maybe have a party which focuses more on non-edible forms of entertainment. If it's a small work environment, it should be even easier to figure out dietary restrictions!

It's amazing how many inclusive places never think to do this. It's awful how many people apologize for having restrictions or different diets. To hell with all of that! It doesn't take much more time or money to create an inclusive environment. Places shouldn't call themselves inclusive or say anything about "teams" if they can't even figure out that half of their office can't eat the offered pepperoni pizza.

[hyperpsychomaniac]

I need this as a B plot right now.

[nishnormp]

very tempted to make a longfic/fic series about the tfc team but like . the hell am I going to do with cscout and csoldier

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks

YA contemporary + a little sff

follows a boy who suddenly finds himself able to teleport when he walks through doors, often against his will

and has to figure that out while dealing with a new crush, the end of high school and the queer club, and figuring out whether he definitely wants to train to be an ASL interpreter like his father

[sadhorsegirl]

fuck it posting moiraine playlist on main

[bigdickevans]

jay “moderately sensitive to animal violence” bauman vs. mike “i liked it [the animal violence]” stoklasa

[stellamancer]

speaking of tropes mao likes, I was thinking of [redacted fic name here] and about geto and about a sub plot where reader has essentially been kidnapped by geto and I had to squash that idea then and there because that's supposed to be a gojo fic.