#We Have Always Been Here

[enbycrip]

EDITED TO ADD: Sources from the OP in the comments

#trans #nonbinary #trans nonbinary #ancient history #sumer #gender #we have always been here #historical trans people #you cannot legislate us away and you cannot wipe us out while humanity still exists #we are as perennial as the grass #inanna #trans is sacred

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Havin' feelings about them again (the galli, priests/priestesses of Cybele who were assigned male but presented femininely)...

(Galli)

#my heart... #we have always been here #queer history #gallus #ancient rome #jlrrt speaks #art #sculpture #cybele #trans? #trans

[1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt]

IDIC: Star Trek and LGBT+🖖🏳️‍🌈

In case anybody needed to hear this reminder today:

Let's not forget what long time Star Trek writer (TOS, TAS, TNG) David Gerrold had to say about Star Trek and the LGBT+ community:

" Well, here's a little message for the pearl-clutching drama queens . . . 

Get over yourselves.

I was there when Gene Roddenberry promised to include gay people in Star Trek. I heard him say it to fans. I heard him say it to staff.

It was a promise he was never allowed to keep because of studio homophobia.

I know why it didn't happen. I know who's responsible for thirty years of keeping gay Trek characters in the closet.

But I know what Gene intended. He intended to include everyone.

If Star Trek hadn't been all-inclusive, not only would there not have been tribbles,

There wouldn't have been George Takei,

There wouldn't have been Bill Theiss' costumes

Or Mike Minor's art direction.

There wouldn't have been Merritt Butrick,

and at least a dozen other people who've made major contributions to the show.

But you don't get to define Star Trek, that's Gene Roddenberry's job." - David Gerrold

🖖🏳️‍🌈 IDIC

We have always been here. 

#IDIC #star trek #infinite diversity in infinite combinations #lgbt #lgbtqia #diversity #star trek tos #star trek tng #star trek voy #star trek ds9 #star trek ent #star trek disco #star trek picard #star trek snw #tos #we have always been here #remember their names #we would not have the star trek we have today without queer people and their contributions to the show #gene roddenberry #queer history #queer culture #queer representation

[shepherds-of-haven]

went to my town's teeny tiny library for the first time today (just moved!) and spotted We Have Always Been Here!!! i was so excited to see it out in the wild- especially since the library is so teensy! i pulled my sister over said 'look!! i follow the author on tumblr/patreon!!!' and pulled my copy out back at the house to show her!!

AAAAA this is so cool to hear, thank you so much for letting me know! 🥹 It is really wild to see the book in places I don't expect; I went into a tiny independent bookstore while on a roadtrip in a different country once and I was shocked to see the book on display in the window, like :O And seeing it in a library is the absolute best: libraries (especially teeny tiny ones) are my favorite places, so that's so cool that you saw it there! Thank you so much for reading WHABH and sharing that you saw it with me, that made my day!! 💖💖

#my friends and family have made it a little game to check every new bookstore and library they happen to visit lol it's very sweet #and it's usually like an 80% chance it'll be there so far! which is so surreal but I'm very grateful! 🙈 #We Have Always Been Here #WHABH #novel #original novel #me #personal

[coldalbion]

Is it possible, perhaps, that such cultural use of plants and animals to treat injuries and illness was inherited from a common ape-like ancestor millions of years ago?

As in humans, self-medication in wild animals is not uncommon –individuals from a diverse range of species, including chimpanzees, select particular plant foods that contain chemicals known to treat infection by parasites.

For example, caterpillars ingest plant toxins when infected by parasitic flies and gorillas consume a wide variety of plants that contain known compounds important in human traditional medicines.

Some species, such as wood ants, even anticipate infection, adding antimicrobial resin from nearby trees into their nests, which reduces the colony’s exposure to microbes.

To date however, this widespread behaviour almost always centres on self-medication with plant material. Never before has the use of insects on wounds been observed.

Over a 15-month period, beginning in November 2019, the team observed 76 open wounds on 22 different chimpanzees. There were 22 events of insect application by ten different chimpanzees. On 19 occasions, various individuals were seen applying an insect to one of their own wounds.

They caught an insect from the air, which they immobilised by squeezing between their lips. Then they placed it on an exposed surface of the wound and moved it around using their fingertips or lips. Finally, they extracted the insect from the wound.

But the use of insects didn’t stop there. In a remarkable act of “allocare” (caring for another individual) a mother was seen applying insects to her offspring’s wound, and a further two adult chimpanzees treated the wounds of another community member.

Wake up babe, new/old "Law of the Jungle" lore just dropped!

#cripkult #disability #we have always been here

[ehditaan]

You can not put us back in the closet. We know what it is to be free. We know what it is to live as ourselves.

We have strength as a collective, as a society. We will keep fighting for each other. But there is nothing you can ever do to extinguish us. We have always been here. We do not proselytize, we do not convert. We simply exist, and we learn to love ourselves over and over again whatever you throw at us. We learn who we are, and we learn our history over and over again, however many books you burn and ban. You can not destroy us. We are part of human nature, and we will continue to be born, we will continue to break free of your limited worldview. For all of time.

#trans positivity #trans pride #trans rights #we have always been here #we have always existed #trans love #transgender #nonbinary #gender fuckery #genderqueer #queer community #queer rights #human rights #gay rights

[blacksapphhicmaddonna]

can we just kiss a lil (a lot) and oil each others scalps before we go to bed? really could be simple

#black sapphic #sapphic #black queer love #we have always been here #clearly I am yearning again

[enbycrip]

"I feel better when I wear a dress".

Sticker found in Ramallah, Palestine

#trans #trans is beautiful #trans is human #gender fluidity #nonbinary #radical graffiti #palestine #queer graffiti #we have always been here

[artificial-horizon]

TIL about Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman, a badass aviation pioneer who was the first Black and Native American woman to obtain a pilot's licence. Not sure if the Americans of Tumblr already know about her, but as a Brit I unfortunately did not until now, so I wanted to share her story here! (Image IDs in alt text.)

Born in Texas on January 26, 1892, Bessie was the tenth of thirteen children in a family of sharecroppers. From the age of six, she attended a small, segregated school, where she excelled as a student and eventually won a scholarship to the Missionary Baptist Church School aged 12. When she turned 18, she moved to Langston, Oklahoma to study at the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University, but had to drop out after one semester due to financial difficulties and returned to work at the acorn fields back home.

When she was 24, Bessie moved to Chicago, Illinois and worked as a manicurist in a barber shop, where she discovered her passion for aviation after hearing the stories of some of the clients, who had been pilots during World War One. She then decided to become a pilot herself, taking on a second job to save up for flight school. However, no flight schools in the US would admit Black or women students, so another of the barber shop's clients, Robert Abbott - a Black philanthropist and publisher of the Chicago Defender newspaper - suggested that she move to France and learn to fly there. He and Jesse Binga, another Black philanthropist and banker, gave her the financial support to do this, so in November 1920, Bessie set off for France to begin her training.

On June 15, 1921, Bessie Coleman was awarded an international pilot's licence by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, becoming both the first Black woman and the first American to do so. Following this, she returned to the US, but found it difficult to make a living as a pilot, as commercial flight did not yet exist - her only option was to become a stunt (aerobatic) pilot. Once again, the US's racism and misogyny prevented her from receiving stunt training there, so in 1922 she went back to France, and by September that year was back home again for her first stunt flight. On September 3, Labor Day, she became the first Black woman to stage a public flight in the US, flying at a show sponsored by the Chicago Defender and held in honour of the veterans of the all-Black 369th Infantry Regiment of WWI.

Bessie soon became a media sensation, earning herself the nickname "Queen Bess" and performing at air shows across the US and Europe in a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplane (example pictured above). She refused to fly at any shows that did not permit Black people to attend, and went on speaking tours at schools and churches to encourage fellow Black aspiring aviators to take to the skies. Her dream was to open a flight school to train Black pilots, and she tirelessly raised money for this with her shows.

Sadly, on April 30, 1926, while flying with her mechanic William D. Wills, Bessie's plane unexpectedly went out of control and dove into the ground, killing both of them. An investigation revealed that this had been caused by a wrench that had been accidentally left in the plane and had jammed its controls. It was a devastating loss, and her funeral, which was held in Chicago and led by Ida B. Wells, was attended by around 10,000 people. In 1929, the Bessie Coleman Aero Club was founded to continue her work promoting Black participation in aviation, and to this day there are several scholarships in her name aimed at high school students interested in careers in aviation.

"I knew we had no aviators, so I thought it my duty to risk my life to learn." - Bessie Coleman

Fly high, Queen Bess, blue skies forever! 🛩💙

#aviation #aviation history #black history #bessie coleman #planeposting #my writing #long post #planes ily #the only source not linked here (for the quote at the end) is The Aircraft Book by DK cos i have the physical copy #but that's where i first heard of her and i got genuinely emotional okay #as the only mixed/black + queer person who went through the atc recruitment process i just went thru i felt 1000% like the odd one out #it felt like the odds were very much stacked against me #but that's what it's like for us (in white majority countries anyway) so if i have to be my own sort of pioneer then so be it #we belong in aviation PERIOD #in the cockpit or the tower or the TRACON or the hangar or on the ground at the airport or anywhere else #we have always been here #and we will always be here #and we can fucking do it!!!! #sorry for any mistakes or shit writing i have covid rn dkljfklfslkja

[strangevoyages]

It’s been one year since the release of my debut science fiction thriller novel, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE–and what better way to celebrate than with the brand-new paperback edition of the book? 😉🚀

And even better, let’s do a small giveaway to commemorate the occasion! The prize is a free signed paperback copy of WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, a WHABH bookplate, and a Shepherds of Haven bookmark of your choice! 

Rules:

1) Be a follower of my author blog, @strangevoyages, and like and reblog this post with the hashtag #we have always been here! You get an additional entry if you leave a comment about your favorite moment or character from the book in your reblog as well! :-) 

2) The deadline is August 31st, 2022 (11 PM MST).

3) Entrants will be assigned a number, and the winner be selected via random number generator. The winner will be messaged for their preferred shipping address here on Tumblr, and a new winner will be selected if there’s no response within 72 hours.

Additional guidelines: Entrants must be 18 years or older to be eligible. The signed book can only be mailed to a US address, but should an international follower win, they’ll be sent a swag pack of both WHABH and Shepherds of Haven stickers and bookmark merch instead! This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Tumblr or any entity other than myself. 

That’s all! I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the one-year anniversary of my debut novel and the release of its paperback version! Thank you so much for your support! ⭐️

Links:

Author site

Hardcover, paperback, and e-book editions

Audiobook

#We Have Always Been Here #Lena Nguyen #science fiction #science fiction author #scifi #sci-fi #sff #speculative fiction #sff author #debut author #author #novel #debut novel #whabh #daw #daw books #penguin random house

[sapphicbookoftheday]

We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib

Today's sapphic book of the day is We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib!

Summary: "How do you find yourself when the world tells you that you don't exist?

Samra Habib has spent most of her life searching for the safety to be herself. As an Ahmadi Muslim growing up in Pakistan, she faced regular threats from Islamic extremists who believed the small, dynamic sect to be blasphemous. From her parents, she internalized the lesson that revealing her identity could put her in grave danger.

When her family came to Canada as refugees, Samra encountered a whole new host of challenges: bullies, racism, the threat of poverty, and an arranged marriage. Backed into a corner, her need for a safe space--in which to grow and nurture her creative, feminist spirit--became dire. The men in her life wanted to police her, the women in her life had only shown her the example of pious obedience, and her body was a problem to be solved.

So begins an exploration of faith, art, love, and queer sexuality, a journey that takes her to the far reaches of the globe to uncover a truth that was within her all along. A triumphant memoir of forgiveness and family, both chosen and not, We Have Always Been Here is a rallying cry for anyone who has ever felt out of place and a testament to the power of fearlessly inhabiting one's truest self."

#sapphic #wlw #queer #lgbtqia #lgbtq #lgbt #books #book recs #booklr #book recommendations #nonfiction #nonfiction books #memoir #biography #autobiography #we have always been here #samra habib

[shepherds-of-haven]

howdy! just wanted to let you know i love your work! i read We Have Always Been Here and am currently listening to the audiobook. thanks for sharing a wonderful and captivating story!

Hi there, thank you so much for reading (and listening to!!!) WHABH and for sharing your very kind words about it, it truly means the world! 🥹💖 You made my week--thank you again!

#We Have Always Been Here #whabh #novel #original novel #!!! #lovely #<3

[peach-tea-leaves]

Just One More Page Challenge Day 3: Currently Reading

Fun fact! I actually got this from a “FREE BOOKS” box outside of a professor’s office.

The premise of this is super interesting and I can’t wait to dig in! Although I admit I’m a little intimidated by how teeny-tiny the font size is!!

#justonemorepage #jompbpc #just one more page challenge #we have always been here #lena nguyen #we have always been here lena nguyen #sorry for the spam!!! i lost track of time oops

[samwisethewitch]

Rainbow is cool, but what about Pride gear that 1.) was designed by a queer artist, and 2.) honors and celebrates our queer ancestors?

Elagabalus, also called Heliogabalus, was the emperor of Rome from 218 to 222. Elagabalus is sometimes referred to as a woman in contemporary sources, and is said to have had a husband as well as five wives. She is said to have worn makeup and wigs, preferred being called a lady and not a lord, and sought gender-confirmation surgery. Because of this, historians see Elagabalus as a transgender figure.

This design is based on a contemporary Roman bust of Elagabalus.

You can get this design as a T-shirt or tank top in US sizes XS-5XL, or as a canvas print, poster, water bottle, tote bag, sticker, or tapestry at samwisethemerch.com! Use code QUEER to get free shipping in the US!

#pride #pride month #no cops at pride #ancestor worship #ancestor work #ancestor veneration #elagabalus #trans #transgender #transgender history #trans history #we have always been here #queer history #queer #lgbtq history #lgbtq+ #lgbt #lgbt history #lgbtqia #queer art #queer artist #history #history is gay #roman empire #religio romana #roman paganism #cultus deorum #classical literature #ancient rome #roman history