npthg-blog

[enoughbykelela]

My other post lost traction, but Brittany Delaney, a young Black single mother from Minnesota, is fighting for her life against cancer and lupus. Her first two rounds of treatment were unsuccessful and she has spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital, all while suffering from medical racism. Her need for support grows more dire with each day that passes. Her c@sh@pp is $survivinglupus30 and v3nm0 is Brittany-Delaney-3. Her gofundme is linked in the article, and you can also find more details about her situation. Please spread. Thank you!

[uncanny-tranny]

Medical racism isn't important to address just because it's mean to be racist to patients (I mean, it is mean), but because medical racism kills people. It contributes to systemic suffering of those deemed non-white, and the disinformation that spreads about non-white people.

[genderkoolaid]

In my gender studies class today we were talking about immigration and asylum specifically in regards to trans women, and it was a very interesting topic, but when someone asked if we had any data or stories about the struggles trans men faced when seeking asylum, the teacher said no. This isn't the teacher's fault, I don't expect her to go out and personally collect data, but it's sad to me. We never talk about trans men or transmascs when talking about trans issues. The one time trans men were mentioned was the briefly say that they got periods, and that was just a sidenote.

This is not to say that trans women aren't important, it's important to hear about these issues, it's just something I noticed. idk

I don't know of any studies on immigrant transmascs (or abinary people for that matter), but I do know of some specific situations that may be relevant:

Yuen "Chin" Tzu is a diabetic Chinese trans man who was held in solitary confinement by ICE for 19 months and denied medical care; the article talks about imprisoned trans people are specifically targeted by solitary confinement.

A Ukrainian trans man talked about how he had to detransition while fleeing the country with his mother

Possibly less relevant but there is also Chriton Atuhwera, a trans man and Ugandan refugee who was killed in a refugee camp in a suspected hate crime and a Tunisian refugee who was stabbed to "make an example out of him"

I would send these to your teacher as things she can talk about alongside the information on trans women.

[tyrianludaship]

im just gonna add my own two cents here, in the case of medic and demoman, the idea that either of them would be abusive, is an ableist rhetoric. for demoman, it's because there is already a heavily perpetuated stigma that alcoholics and people with addictions are inherently abusive or violent (it's also racism! you are literally putting the "violent black man" stereotype on him!)

as for medic, while he is definetly not canonically autistic or anything like that, he is definetly coded as neurodivergent or mentally ill so pushing the idea that he's a narcissistic abuser cleverly tricking everyone with his facade is um. bad!

I once wrote something about addicts and how them being stigmatized irl is so normal for many people, that even thinking about a fictional addict makes them hesitant.

(I think about the tags I wrote for him often. i was fucking cooking with this here)

Also absolutely, "the violent black man" stereotype is one of the probable reasons for him being depicted so terribly. Not the only reason I bet, there could be a shit-ton of factors including racism that mix together (ableism over addictions for example). But it doesn't help with how underutilized, oversexualized, domineering, aggressive and abusive he's been written as in some cases; and it fits with instances of how other black characters and POC in general are written in fandom spaces.

I recalled a mutual with antisocial personality disorder suggests that medic resemble some of the symptoms. And it honestly doesn't surprise me for medic to be written as an abuser, since that's the common consensus for how people view others with ASPD in real life. I'm diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so I don't personally feel comfortable explaining ASPD since I'm not diagnosed with it. However I agree that he may not have been written with the word "neurotypical" in mind, so he resembles many types of nuerodivergency. And seeing him in particular get hcs of being abusive and manipulative to his partners...is a choice.

[zilodak]

Hey I was wondering if Maggie's injury/eyepatch was inspired by Anatoli Bugorski, the Soviet scientist who had a particle accelerator beam accidentally go through his head but survived? Their injuries are on the same side of the face, but Bugorski lost his hearing, not vision (tbh tho I'm kinda hoping...Maggie does in fact have some cool trick under there like, a fake eye made out of Uranium glass or smth). Anyway, I get hyped any time you post abt Sim Spring I can't wait for the comic!

She was inspired by him, yes! There will be instances in Sim Spring where I use real life incidents such as Bugorski's to explore how states and healthcare systems fail on people disabled or affected by nuclear incidents or inproper disposal of nuclear waste, and how often history forgets about them in a way (i hope) that respects victims in real life.

Bugorski is a better known case of a state completely failing to compensate and recognize victims of nuclear accidents. But there are many others such as him who don't get the publicity that he got because they are not considered "fascinating" enough, so many people lost to history, which i can only hope to shed some light upon. Downwinder towns, Indigenous people who were and are still being displaced, their rivers poisoned, their land irradiated, women (most notably WoC) working in plutonium production lines without any protective gear.

The very core of nuclear history centers around how states, governments and people in charge view human life as expendable for a greater imperial goal. And unfortunately, you cannot separate nuclear energy from its colonial and imperial roots.

If you read me rambling about this topic and want to know more about Anatoli Bugorski's incidents here are some links to get you started:

Kyle Hill

Wired Article

The article I quoted:

Toxic Workplaces, Nuclear Homes, and Irradiated Landscapes

[fatliberation]

would you be willing to share some of the survey results on this blog? not necessarily people's personal experiences, but just overall findings/conclusions/trends?

Yes - I received over 200 responses, so here are some of the (unfortunately) common experiences I found:

(Big TW for medical abuse here.)

Of course "LOSE WEIGHT!" was by far the most common one, in other countries too - even for things like sinus issues and migraines. in one instance a doctor even suggested weight loss to cure anxiety and depression... without any prescribing medication.

There were multiple reports of outright verbal abuse and public humiliation towards fat patients, including refusal to help a patient get up from falling

Misogyny, misogyny, misogyny. Women and AFAB individuals reported their symptoms being downplayed and receiving incredibly sexist and false information from male doctors

An AFAB person's fertility is valued more than their quality of life

There was a trend of doctors/psychiatrists claiming they can “cure” autism by selling vitamins

"You're too young to have pain / X problem" was VERY common

A lot of pain / breathing problems were blamed on anxiety, even when patients did not have an anxiety diagnosis

Doctors dismissing symptoms as the patient being drug seeking because of assumptions based on race

Quite a few participants shared with me that they were taken seriously ONLY after posing a threat to themselves

Gaslighting, saying that someone's past trauma never actually happened to them

And the number one thing I saw the most of - participants expressed that they no longer wish to seek medical care (to the point where their symptoms progress) because they are afraid of experiencing more trauma.

To the 200+ people who filled out the survey and shared their experiences with me: THANK YOU. I read every single entry. Some of them kept me up at night. You all deserve justice. I believe you. Keep fighting.

[thewomanwholaughed]

Songs I associate with Joker

Please see tags before clicking any links, those with a * mean triggers are involved in the video clips!

This is America - Childish Gambino *

Serotonin Killer - TIMMS *

Que Sera, Sera - Doris Day

No one knows my name - Nate Leath & Sarah Jarosz

Only you - The Platters

Coconut - Harry Nilsson

Applause - Lady Gaga *

Mercy - Jacob Banks

That's entertainment - Judy Garland

Carmen, ACT II: Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre - Bizet

The Finger Of Suspicion - Dickie Valentine & The Stargazers

Razzle Dazzle - Chicago (Musical version)

I can't Decide - Scissor Sisters

Joke's on you - Charlotte Lawrence *

Mein Herr - Cabaret (Musical version)

Circus - Britney Spears *

Tagged by || @sanguine-salvation & @ratwhsprs tyyy~ Tagging || @the-cobblepot-colony @clawsextended @frostise @cinnamunspice (For the Al'Ghul!), @peranarkia, @masquenoire and anyone else who wants to steal this please do!!!

[trans-axolotl]

Sorry that this topic is heavy, but your posts are always very well thought out and I value your insight and antipsych perspective. What are your thoughts on some countries (now possibly including canada) allowing medically-assisted euthanasia for young mentally ill people if they request it? There was a story recently about a belgian terror attack victim being euthanized at 23 at her request. I personally believe that committing suicide is a right that every person should have because I think that punishing suicide attempters is the worst thing you can do for them, and ultimately, it’s their life and they deserve ultimate autonomy over it. Not that I think suicide should be encouraged, either, and having a specific government-endorsed suicide program seems sort of bad…? Like euthanizing young people comes with a lot of ethical complications — but I don’t know how to express why it feels weird given my personal beliefs about suicide being a right. (additionally, it feels even weirder because I do support these types of programs for the elderly (although i know what an ethical minefield those are too)). What are your thoughts?

Hey, anon. Thanks for bringing this up!

I have a lot of mixed thoughts about MAID (Medical assistance in dying) and also about what it means to consider suicide a right and in what ways I think that should play into mad organizing.

Firstly, I think the way that Canada's bill C-7 was written and the way it's being put into practice is just blatant eugenics. The rhetoric while legislators were debating and passing the bill made it clear the way they saw disabled lives as unworthy. In a context where many disabled people are forced to live in poverty, where treatment is often impossible to reach, where accessible affordable housing is often nonexistent, where the medical system is filled with ableism and stigma--it is incredibly fucked up to add suicide as an option on the table when there are so many coercive factors at play. Instead of working to make society more accessible and do things that improve the quality of life of disabled people of any age, the government and doctors are using MAID as a way to completely ignore structural ableism and spread narratives that disabled lives are not worth living. I am incredibly, incredibly infuriated about the way MAID was expanded in Canada. I would recommend that people check out the amazing work of the Disability Fillibuster to learn more about MAID in Canada.

Although I don't think every instance of MAID is inherently unethical, I am VERY wary of any bills that expand MAID like Bill C7 because I think that in the context of an ableist society that already doesn't consider disabled lives worth living and tells marginalized people every day millions of reasons why they wish we were dead, MAID bills will come with dangerous levels of coercion that cannot be safeguarded against. For example, the American medical system, with a long history of eugenic sterilization, medical experimentation on Black Americans, and widespread institutionalization, is not a system I ever trust to be able to handle the power of MAID without treating marginalized people's lives as disposable. (Link to read more about the history of medical experimentation: content warning for antiblack racism, sexual exploitation, slavery, and medical abuse of many types. )

At the same time, I am deeply invested in noncarceral approaches to suicide, and I believe that in order to effectively fight against psychiatric incarceration, we have to expand our understanding of the right to autonomy. The psych system, like many institutions of total control, weaponizes a fake concept of safety to justify depriving people of autonomy. In the context of prison abolition, Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie use the phrase "carceral safety" to talk about the ways that police use the rhetoric of "safety" to continue perpetuating a violent system of incarceration:

"The state’s carceral safety robs our communities of the conditions and nutrients that would allow true safety to grow, forcing us into the position of constantly reaching for more security from the very institutions that make us collectively less safe." (from Reclaiming Safety, August 2022).

Similarly to police and prisons, the psych system wants us as mentally ill people to believe that the only way safety and suicide prevention can occur is within institutions where autonomy is deprioritized and any kind of abuse is acceptable if it can be explained as a "life-saving" measure. So part of noncarceral suicide prevention involves rethinking the way we think about autonomy, and prioritizing autonomy and freedom as inherent rights, regardless if people are making risky or harmful choices about their own wellbeing. Suicide should never be criminalized and I think that a step towards decarcerating suicide requires us to embrace the importance of autonomy.

Rethinking autonomy to include the right to harm ourselves is something that I think is an important topic to grapple with in noncarceral suicide prevention, but I think it's one we also have to be careful with and approach with a lot of nuance when talking about it publically. Approaching suicide prevention with a bodily autonomy framework does not mean that we need to support government-sanctioned suicide, does not mean we need to advocate for eugenic policies, does not mean that we should advocate suicide for marginalized people who are already so used to being told that the world wants them dead. Suicide prevention is incredibly important to me, and it will never feel liberatory to me if I'm using my understanding of bodily autonomy to promote suicide in any way. Liberatory suicide prevention includes more than just noncarceral crisis response and helping people map through their distress. It also includes advocating for the material conditions we need to survive in our everyday life, and in my mind, that includes things like advocating for disabled people to have our basic needs met so that we don't have to live in poverty, inaccessible housing, and aren't coerced into suicide through eugenicist bills like Bill C7 in Canada.

Definitely think there is a LOT more to say on this topic and that my opinion is not the only way of looking at this, so I absolutely encourage followers to jump into the discussion.

[gillianthecat]

I had somewhat forgotten what it was like to take classes that are emotionally challenging. The "hard" sciences can be intellectually difficult, but we weren't covering material that breaks my heart or enrages me.

Anyway, I'm off to finish a documentary about the horrific racism and medical cruelty of the decades (!) of Tuskegee syphilis "research."

[januscorner]

I know I said that I didn’t want to talk about my stay in the hospital but I have to mention how funny it was trying to explain BRCU to my friends. Like “she’s a queerphobic racist murderer who kidnapped a baby and married a terrorist, she’s also my amazing wife and I love her so much” and then the kid who tried to kill three people looks at you like you’re insane.

[ilhoonftw]

at least 105 kids died because of her and now she's given a platform??? what about the unaccounted deaths

i bet the hbo documentary will be just another propaganda piece for evangelicals

[sigynpenniman]

well this is gonna be a semi disturbing post but it’s in my head so. woe horrible medical knowledge be upon yee all I guess

[loveisbraveandwild]

just finished the immortal life of henrietta lacks and its one of the best books ive ever read highly highly recommend! the audiobook is amazing and it's super accessible- i know like next to nothing abt science and cell culture, but thoroughly enjoyed the book

[corpsehoney]

International museum of surgical science

[llycaons]

god mrs. breedlove's section...the medical racism/misogynoir of being treated like a literal animal when going to the hospital to give birth....and then since she grew up around animals, she knew that the doctor didn't know what he was talking about because of course even horses have pain too!

but then what interested me too was this bit about how much she loves putting the fisher's house in order to the neglect of her own family? I was going to say 'well I guess not all parts of the story always have to pertain to the protag' but actually mrs. breedlove's preference for her wealthy white employers' house and child really do tie into pecola's abuse and self-hatred, don't they?

[theforesteldritch]

Reading about how intersex athletes have been treated is so fucking horrible. The countless lies and human rights violations. The discrimination and how it's ruined the lives of so many people is so awful. There has been no apologies from any athletics comptetions or organizations. They have blood on their hands. Just a tw for intersexism and mental health issues and suicide in the next paragraph because it can get pretty heavy.

Annet Negesa, who was a middle distance runner. She was suddenly barred from competing due to her hormones. No one told her why. She was then told she needed to take medication to lower her testosterone, then what she was told was switched. She was lied to about a surgery that she was told was like an injection and would let her compete again. She woke up with scars and had had a gonadectomy. That violation of basic human rights and medical ethics combined with inadequate postsurgical care basically ended her career. She deserves justice. She deserves apologies from the Olympics and everyone single doctor who was involved in it, and compensation and the promise that it should never have happened and will never happen again. She. Needs. Justice.

Pratima Gaonkar needs justice. She was a rising track and field star. After forced sex verificatiom she killed herself. The way media and news treated her after her death was disgusting. She deserves and needs justice. Her family deserves justice.

Santhi Soundarajan had her medals stripped and was treated as an outcast after forced sex verification showed she had androgen insensitivity syndrome. She was treated as an outcast, her gender was mocked. She's spoken out about how much discrimination she's faced, and how badly she's been treated. She now works as a coach, but was barred from competing. She deserves justice.

Caster Semenya deserves justice. Francine Niyonsaba deserves justice. Margaret Wambui deserves justice. Barbra Banda deserves justice. Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma deserve justice.

The racism and intersexism and horrible human rights violations and medical abuse these women have faced for the supposed crime of being intersex and good at a sport is horrible. They deserve justice, but the organizations that perpetuate these atrocities don't seem to care. It's so fucking horrible.