I was hanging out at the karaoke bar, chatting with a beautiful woman, and we were really hitting it off. I threw a couple of flirtatious comments her way. She giggled nervously, but abruptly stopped and looked at the floor.
She told me that she was too nervous to hit on people because she's trans and worries that people will view her as a predator and that she might get hurt.
My heart sank. I let her know that she could hit on me in whatever way she wanted and I would LOVE it. We spent the rest of the night hanging out and flirting. We ended up making out. It was great.
But I can't stop thinking about how that wasn't the first time a trans woman has said that to me. About how unsafe it is for some women that they feel the need to give out fucking disclaimers to have normal interactions with people.
We have GOT to make the world a safer place for trans women. It pisses me off that there are men at the bar who are openly predatory towards me without fear of consequence, yet a trans woman is too scared to even fucking call me pretty. And that's because she IS more likely to face worse consequences for lesser things! Like what the fuck!
You need to always check on your internalized biases. Being queer yourself doesn't absolve you of transmisogynistic thoughts and behaviors. Being bi/pansexual doesn't mean you don't hold those biases either! If you feel differently about a trans woman hitting on you than you feel about a cis woman or a man hitting on you, you need to evaluate that.
Trans women, I love you so fucking much. You should be able to express attraction and love as freely as everyone else. I hope you can always feel safe around me. And I'll never stop fighting until you can feel safe period.
Even as the strike ends, the Palestinian genocide has not.
Now more than ever, there are so many conflicting voices. People with their own self-serving, hateful motivations speak over us, and sometimes our own voices can turn against us. We may feel like our voice isn't enough or we aren't doing enough.
This is why it's so important to learn to shut down that noise. No matter how much people scream that what we're doing is useless or a waste of time, keep talking. Keep talking about Palestine. Keep talking about Palestine for as long as this goes on, both online and in real life. If Israel won't end their genocide, we won't end our protest.
Below is a list of what you can do and the poem transcript.
Check and spread this post which contains a comprehensive list on how to help Palestine.
Learn about the history of Palestine and how the displacement and eventual genocide of Palestinians started in 1948.
Learn more about Palestine, the myths surrounding it and the arguments debunking it.
Boycott companies who are either directly or indirectly supporting and finding Palestine's genocide.
Click a button to raise funds for UNRWA – an organisation aiding Palestinian refugees.
Attend a protest.
Help Gazans stay connected by purchasing eSims for them.
Donate to the following organizations – any amount, no matter how small, goes a long way:
UNWRA
Care for Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians
Palestine Children's Relief Fund
Islamic Relief
Here's another post detailing more charities you can donate to
And most importantly of all: Don't Stop Talking About Palestine! However you interpret it as – creating art, talking to the people in your life, emailing and calling your representatives, even reblogging and making posts – make your voice loud and clear!
finally posting art again :D
I found a new style I like, shout out to the memelion brush pack for krita (specifically the ribbon pen, it's so good RAH)
@mnvart // Kaveh Akbar, 'Calling A Wolf A Wolf' // @PinkRangerLB on Twitter // @kosmogrl // @devinsturk, '15 Proverbs for the Fellow Chronically Ill' // Jasmine Deporta // Anaïs Nin, House of Incest // the gentle wisdom uquiz by @inkskinned // Rora Blue, 'Sweet Dreams' // Hala Alyan, Dear Layal
My kid Kinan trying to stop me from going out because there’s bombing | Gaza [@/ MuhammadSmiry on X. 01/08/24.]
This baby is still learning to talk but he says "قصف"= "bombing" loud and clear. He lost his childhood before it even started. [@/ RudaynaIbrahim on X.]
The IOF continues to steal the childhoods of countless Palestinian children. I've seen so many videos of very blatant symptoms of PTSD -seeing emotional and psychological responses to triggers from sudden sounds and movements. You can see stress and anxiousness and fear in their eyes -even when we see videos of them smiling/being hugged and comforted by journalists, doctors, and neighbors/relatives in their communities -they have been robbed -so many of them for decades now and continuously of just being able to be children -to be free from violence and oppression.
I have also seen videos of their entire lives being changed instantaneously with a debilitating injury or amputation due to their communities/hospitals/homes being air-striked, to losing their entire families and being orphaned. I've seen videos of them lifeless in their parents arms -something no parent SHOULD EVER have to record and share to get the world to fucking pay attention.
These are 'experiences,' and circumstances NO child should EVER have to face in their life. I'd say where the hell has UNICEF been -because aren't you supposed to be protecting children's rights ALL around the world? Are Palestinian children not worthy of protection? Over 10,000 of them have been MURDERED by the IOF.
Children shouldn't have to be worried about hearing BOMBS -they should be talking about their school lives, their friends, how excited they are to go to the beach, to try new foods at a restaurant they want to go to, to travel -to do so many wonderful things but THIS is what they have to live with right now even with glimpses of light and hope...
I will say this time and again -the United Nations is disgraceful.