#defend our histories

[thechronicmasochist]

The Internet Archive's digital lending library system is the only reason that I can access entire chunks of queer history that has been out of print for decades, and if publishers and corporations have their way we will lose it.

In the midst of waves of anti-queer panic, hate, and legislation it is as important as ever to defend our right to access and learn from our history.

Today (March 20, 2023) supporters of the Internet Archive are speaking out to raise awareness about the ongoing lawsuits they and other libraries are facing. Take some time to learn more by visiting the website below, and speak up to protect our communities.

[marzipanandminutiae]

quotes by Victorians about the 1920s view of their generation's women

"We are frequently told that the Victorian woman...generally behaved like a pampered and neurotic infant. This is all moonshine. I do not think that I ever saw a woman faint before I came to London in 1869, and not often after then...they enjoyed a hearty laugh, and a good many of them a contest of wits with any man." -Nineteenth Century, a Monthly Review, 1927 (written by a man born in 1850)

"What queer ideas the girl of 1929 has about the Victorian period- they are not a bit true...Marriage was by no means the end and aim of our existence. Oxford and Cambridge claimed quite a few of us after school days were over. We had great ideas about 'life' and what it all might mean to us." -St. Petersburg Times, 1929 (written by a woman born in 1853)

"True, debutantes were chaperoned at balls. But that fact did not prevent them from dancing as frequently as they chose with their favorite partners. The idea that girls in the Victorian era spent their days sewing seams and practicing scales is another fallacy." -Gettysburg Times, July 1, 1927 (quote from the Dowager Lady Raglan, Ethel Jemima Somerset, who lived from 1857 to 1940)

[tatersgonnatate]

Every day of the year, not just during Pride Month. Trans and GNC lives are ALWAYS important and ALWAYS relevant.

(Photo by me at a local pride parade)

[uncanny-tranny]

Trans people 🤝 transsexuals 🤝 transvestites

Being siblings in arms against those who'd rather bury us (and being mad hot while doing it)

[neechees]

I fasted for my nephew's safety because of his freak dad. My niece and nephew have behavioral problems because of their dad. We've all had to completely drop everything at a second's notice so we could go rescue my sister from her boyfriend. We've helped my sister move out multiple times because of getting kicked out by her shitty boyfriend. My sister gained a gambling addiction & she owes me over $1,000 because of her shitty boyfriend. We've endured 4 years of terrorizing from this shitty fucking boyfriend. And I don't want him in our fucking house.

[seek--rest]

Talk Shop Tuesday: which iteration of MJ do you think yourself most like?

None of them

I deeply identify with parts of MJ™️ at her core— putting up a mask, keeping everyone’s secret, a sense of justice— but I think I’m far more like Peter (specifically the MCU version) than MJ.

[navree]

someone needs to have a talk with taylor sheridan because between yellowstone having one of its main antagonists be an evil blood purist native american (whose evil crime is he doesn’t like that a white rancher acts like he owns land that, ya know, was stolen and  also said white rancher is treated as being in the moral right for using his undue influence over the government to have the native american guy arrested on trumped up legal charges and then tell him he’s not oppressed and can’t be mad about the treatment of other native americans he was elected to be responsible for because he went to harvard) and 1883′s main dutton character being a literal soldier in the confederate army, someone’s gotta check if everything’s on the up and up

[redgoldsparks]

My very last comic for The Nib! End of an era! Transcription below the cut. instagram / patreon / portfolio / etsy / my book / redbubble

The first event I went to with GENDER QUEER was in NYC in 2019 at the Javits Center.

So many of the people who came to my signing were librarians, and so many of them said the same thing: "I know exactly who I want to give this to!" Maia: "Thank you for helping readers find my book!" While working on the book, I was genuinely unsure if anyone outside of my family and close friends would read it. But the early support of librarians and two American Library Association awards helped sell two print runs in first year.

Since then, GENDER QUEER been published in 8 languages, with more on the way: Spanish, Czech, Polish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portugese and Dutch.

It has also been the most banned book in the United States for the past two years. The American Library Association has tracked an astronomical increase in book challenges over the past few years. Most of these challenges are to books with diverse characters and LGBTQ themes. These challenges are coming unevenly across the US, in a pattern that mirrors the legislative attacks on LGBTQ people. The Brooklyn Public Library offered free eCards to anyone in the US aged 13-21, in an effort to make banned books more available to young readers. A teacher in Norman, Oklahoma gave her students the QR code for the free eCard and lost her job. Summer Boismeir is now working for the Brooklyn Public Library. Hoopla and Libby/Overdrive, apps used to access digital library books, are now banned in Mississippi to anyone under 18. Some libraries won’t allow anyone under 18 to get any kind of library card without parental permission. When librarians in Jamestown, Michigan refused to remove GENDER QUEER and several other books, the citizens of the town voted down the library’s funding in the fall 2022 election. Without funding, the library is due to close in mid-2024. My first event since covid hit was the American Library Association conference in June 2022 in Washington, DC. Once again, the librarians in my signing line all had similar stories for me: “Your book was challenged in our district" "It was returned to the shelf!" "It was removed from the shelf..." "It was moved to the adult section."

Over and over I said: "Thank you. Thank you for working so hard to keep my book in your library. I’m sorry you had to defend it, but thank you for trying, even if it didn't work." We are at a crossroads of freedom of speech and censorship. The future of libraries, both publicly funded and in schools, are at stake. This is massively impacting the daily lives of librarians, teachers, students, booksellers, and authors around the country. In May 2023, I read an article from the Washington Post analyzing nearly 1000 of the book challenges from the 2021-2022 school year. I was literally on route to a festival to talk about book bans when I read a startling statistic. 60% of the 1000 book challenges were submitted by just 11 people. One man alone was responsible for 92 challenges. These 11 people seem to have made submitting copy-cat book challenges their full-time hobby and their opinions are having an outsized ripple effect across the nation. WE NEED TO MAKE THE VOICES SUPPORTING DIVERSE BOOKS AND OPPOSING BOOK BANS EVEN LOUDER. If you are able too, show up for your library and school board meetings when book challenges are debated. Send supportive comments and emails about the Pride book display and Drag Queen story hours. If you see a display you like– for Banned Book Week, AAPI Month, Black History Month, Disability Awareness Month, Jewish holidays, Trans Day of Remembrance– compliment a librarian! Make sure they feel the love stronger than the hate <3

Maia Kobabe, 2023

The Nib

[neechees]

Everything I see that happens to Palestinians literally happened & is happening to Native Americans like its insane

[girlfictions]

palestine is in a complete and utter blackout with israel launching hundreds of its heaviest airstrikes so far across gaza. this is a mass slaughter and we won't even know the extent of the casualties until it's over; israel have cut off telecommunications so they can commit their atrocities in the dark. there is a genocide happening right in front of our eyes and every person who has ever defended israel's "right to defend itself" has the blood of palestinians on their hands. we cannot ignore what is one of the most devastating massacres in human history.

[anarkhebringer]

If I were to ever have some impossible-to-follow DNI, it'd be that white Canadians aren't allowed within a thousand miles of me. I hate Canadians so fucking much, you don't know racism as a Native person until you meet a white Canadian.