#please don't assign morality to health

[moki-dokie]

been seeing some stuff on blue eye samurai and big yikes to nearly everyone pushing extremely western ideals onto these characters.

this is early edo period. 1600s. the japan you know now did not exist yet.

yall. please. there was NO concept of sexuality in pre-modern japan. that came with both the influx of christianity and western influence very very late in history. like, mid-1800s. (yes, there was christianity pre-1800s but it was not a widespread idea yet and wouldn't be until about the 1800s since, y'know, missionaries were routinely murdered before then)

"so and so is either bi and hasn't figured it out yet or..." no. that isn't how it worked then. nobody gave a shit what was between your legs. anyone could be attracted to anyone else. it was a little more common for male homosexual relationships to be between an adult and younger male - like many other places around the world - but two adult men could bang and love each other just as easily. relationships between women were quite common - especially since so many men were often away at war. there's tons of pornographic prints from the time depicting all manner of fun queer relationships. sex itself had absolutely no moral assignment to it. good sex was good health. it didn't matter who with. (well, social class/caste mattered more than anything else tbh but that didn't stop upper and lower class from fucking.) that isn't to say people didn't have preferences. of course they did. that is human nature. preferences arose more from physical appearance, caste, and circumstances with gender being about the last thing one would look for in a partner - romantic, casual, or otherwise. the only role in sex where gender actually mattered was for procreation.

there would be no queer awakening moment, no sudden switch flipped, no stigma to have internal conflicts about because it simply did not exist as a concept whatsoever. you were either attracted to a person or you weren't, it was that simple. gender played no role when it came to sex and sexual attraction. the japanese were lightyears ahead of western cultures in this particular area - like most cultures were before christianity came in and ruined everything with its backwards morals and strict good/evil dichotomy.

yall have got to realize queer rep will not and should not always adhere by modern western standards. there was no straight, gay, bi, or anything else of the sort. the closest they ever got was referring to roles during sex - as in who is giving and who is receiving.

i know this is mostly a made up story but it is still set within a very specific time period and culture, which should be honored and respected by not making it fit into our box. tons of research went into making this show historically accurate (albeit with some discrepancies but tbh they aren't really that huge) right down to the calligraphy writing. please please please don't whitewash the culture from these characters.

i say this mainly because without this knowledge, so many of you are going to build these characters up on a foundation they aren't meant to be on and then you'll rage about queerbaiting and bad queer rep if it isn't somehow super explicitly stated, if it doesn't match your very modern, very western ideal of what queer looks like. don't try to force this plot and narrative and characters into something they canonically and historically aren't. headcanons are a thing, AUs are a thing, fanfiction is a thing - leave your western thinking for those and let these characters simply exist as they should otherwise. this is one of those times where the queerness really does not need to be examined at all beyond what we get.

i know it can be hard to wrap your head around - sexuality is such a huge part of our identity in the western world and has slowly started to spread amongst other parts of the world in importance. but just keep in mind with these particular characters, that concept would be so very alien to them.

#blue eye samurai #i'm gonna bite people if i see complaints about queer anything in this show

[mixelation]

Once again I am Posting to give you all a friendly reminder that most popular Covid-19 posts on this site contain some level of misinfo. Common types of misinfo include:

"heard from a friend of a friend" medical advice, including "twitter thread of things a nurse told me" or "opinion of a random unverified doctor on social media"-- NEVER follow this type of health advice without checking with proper sources first

anecdotal data provided as fact

misunderstandings or misrepresentations of what disease agencies like the CDC are doing, should be doing, or what it would even be possible for them to do

assigning numbers and statistics to things OP just made up. this ranges from saying something like "only 2% of people mask" to mean "anecdotally i see only a very small number of people masking in my community"* but the actual number is misleading to seem to seem like a real statistic.... leading all the way to people just making numbers up

overly dramatic language**

assigning moral values to things which have no moral weight (e.g., "I haven't gotten covid because I'm a good person who....")

misrepresenting the conclusions of current research. this one is tricky because you'd think linking a study in a high-tier medical journal would be a good source, but I frequently see the following mistakes: overly definitive language, including asserting causation when causation has not been established, or claiming a single study definitively has definitely proven something; not understanding appropriate extrapolations from a study's design (something that happens to cell in a petri dish is NOT definitive of what happens in a body); incorrect biological conclusions/assumptions, or else oversimplification that loses nuance; cherrypicking studies. Remember that Covid-19 is still a very new disease and the research is still evolving. A study that seems extremely important in one year might turn out to be bunk later, not because the study was poorly designed, but because we were missing key info. There is a lot we simply do not know and cannot know and we need to careful of our language when reporting on it.

just straight up made-up facts

Please keep this in mind if you choose to interact with a covid-19 post. Remember to click through on any sources to verify them, to be wary of a lack of verifiable information, and that a post making you feel overly emotional is a sign to double-check the facts and message.

*Clarification: assigning an estimated number to things you see is an innocent rhetorical device in terms of informal communication, which is what tumblr is for. I say things like this in casual conversation too. It only becomes an issue when whatever post is mass reblogged. I'm not saying don't post like this..... I'm saying know to recognize this in things you choose to interact with.

**Again, emotive language is fine for blogging. It's a natural part of human communication, and I do it too. I'm not criticizing that. I'm warning you to be aware of it as a potentially misleading rhetorical device before you hit reblog.

#brought to you by a post claiming measle infections are on the raise bc covid nukes your immune system #and makes you susceptible to measles again i guess? #except if you look it up the rise in measles cases is mainly driven by lower vaccination rates #which IS linked the covid-19 in that lockdown lead to people missing vaccines #ripping my hair out etc

[gentlemanbutch]

Florida's genocidal legislation against transgender people: a basic guide on what's happening

Preface

Queer people in Florida -- ESPECIALLY trans people of all ages -- are in trouble and it's largely going unreported. State senators and representatives openly called the trans community demons, imps, predators, and called for the erasure of the LGBTQ community this legislative session. Media outlets are largely not reporting on this/mainly focusing on pride events being canceled, and while that’s obviously terrible, that’s a tiny fraction of the problem.

I wrote this to help spread the word because my friends, family, community, and I are being affected. They are trying to kill us and all I can do is keep screaming and hope that someone hears me.

Please note, this focuses on Florida's anti-LGBTQ laws. Bills targeting immigrants, BIPOC folks, education, how history can be taught in schools, and more were passed this session as well. The NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Equality Florida, and the Florida Immigrant Coalition have all released travel advisories warning Black, Hispanic, queer people, and immigrants from traveling to the state. I reference some of these laws in this post but don't go in depth on most of them; I'll put some sources at the bottom if you'd like to do further reading.

As of May 22, 2023, here is what's happening in Florida:

Health care

SB 254 (gender affirming care ban)

Gender affirming health care has been dramatically limited/essentially banned for transgender people of ALL ages. This law, SB 254, went into effect immediately upon signing (May 17, 2023).

Youth care was already banned by ruling of the Board of Medicine in February; SB 254 puts it into law. Trans kids who were receiving care prior to the ban have been grandfathered in and can continue their care; no new minors can receive care (puberty blockers, HRT, surgery, etc.).

Physicians and health care workers could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor for providing gender-affirming care to children not grandfathered in.

Adults who were on HRT/are looking to be put on HRT must get their prescription in person from an MD or DO. (About 80% of trans people in FL were getting care from nurse practitioners/telehealth.)

Adults also must sign an informed consent document created by the Florida Board of Medicine before they can receive care. That document does not yet exist. Some providers are theorizing it may never exist. Another concern is that it could be used to create a state registry of trans people.

As of now, places like Planned Parenthood have had to pause gender affirming care because there is no informed consent document. Pharmacies are (inconsistently) declining refill requests for HRT.

SB 1580 (right to discriminate)

While this bill does not directly reference trans people (that I know of), the “Protections of Medical Conscience Act” — which is colloquially being referred to as the “Let Them Die Act” — allows health care providers or payors to deny service on the basis of “a conscience-based objection.” This includes any ethical, moral, or religious beliefs, and the bill provides no definition for what constitutes a moral or ethical belief.

This bill puts trans, queer, BIPOC, disabled, and otherwise marginalized people at risk of being medically neglected or otherwise discriminated against without repercussions.

Access to public life

HB 1521 (bathrooms)

With the signing of HB 1521, as of July 1, 2023, trans people will be required to use the bathroom that correlates with their sex assigned at birth in certain public areas. These include buildings owned/leased by governmental entities, schools, universities, private colleges, hospitals owned by universities, some sports arenas, convention centers, city parks, beaches, airports, and more.

If a trans person is in a bathroom with a cis person and the cis person complains, an employee can tell the trans person to leave. Refusing to do so would bring a trespassing charge against the trans person. This can carry a sentence of up to a year in jail.

Gender markers/updated birth certificates will not protect trans people from this law. The law says that sex is determined as “indicated by the person’s sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth.”

SB 1438 (drag ban)

This law went into effect immediately upon being signed. It's written vaguely but bans kids and teens from attending certain performances in private venues, such as drag shows (including family-friendly ones).

Additionally, it bans cities, counties and other governments from issuing permits for events that feature drag performers. If this aspect of the law is violated, the organizer of the event would face a first-degree misdemeanor.

The law defines "adult live performances" -- which minors cannot attend -- as a show, exhibition or other presentation that "depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, (or) specific sexual activities," which include exposing breasts or genitals, "lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts" when it's offensive to "prevailing standards" and is "without serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for the age of the child present."

As a slight side note -- it was during a discussion for this bill's companion House bill that Florida Rep. Randy Fine, a Jewish man who also helped pass a bill against anti-Semitism, characterized queer people as predators and called for the erasure of the LGBTQ community: "If it means erasing a community because you have to target children, then damn right we oughta do it. I just don’t think you have to inherently say 'cause you’re lesbian or gay you have to target children.' I find that statement to be offensive to them."

As of May 22, Treasure Coast Pride, Tampa Pride, and St. Cloud Pride canceled their events/parts of their events as a precaution because of this bill.

Education and families

SB 254 (cont.)

SB 254 allows the state to remove a child from a parent if the child is receiving gender affirming care/if the child is “at risk” of receiving care, or if the parent is trans/suspected of being trans. PLEASE NOTE I am not a parent and I am a little less familiar with this aspect of the law. I believe this only applies in custody cases. Tiktok user @/frogexecutive has been posting a lot about this because they just fled Florida; their page has more info.

HB 1069 (education)

House Bill 1069 expanded the “Don’t Say Gay” bill through 8th grade. It also bans schools from using students’ or teachers’ preferred names or pronouns. It goes into effect on July 1, 2023. Separately, the Board of Education voted to ban the teaching of anything related to gender/sexuality through 12th grade, but that wasn't signed into law. I'm not sure if/how that will be enforced.

*Note: SB 266, Florida's STOP Woke Act, and other bills prohibit public colleges/universities from using funds for diversity and equity programs, impact what can/can't be taught in classrooms, and limit teachings on queerness, race, history, etc. I'm not going in-depth on these bills but if you're interested in education in Florida, those two laws especially are ones to look into.

Further reading

I pulled much of my information from some of these sites (as well as the actual text of the laws). I'm also listing sites with more information on the other laws put in place this session. Please reblog with more sources for info, resources for queer people, etc!

Erin in the Morning (trans reporter)

Alejandra Caraballo (trans instructor/reports on social media)

Report: Trans adults left without care

Don't Say Gay expansion

Equality Florida travel ban + news

Florida teacher being investigated for showing Disney movie with gay character

How anti-trans laws are threatening Florida clinics

Florida anti-immigrant law prompts travel advisory

Diversity and equity ban

NAACP issues travel advisory for Florida

Again, please reblog with more resources, and please feel free to add additional information or correct any errors. And please, please share this. We are fighting for our lives here in Florida.

One final note: Please do not comment telling people to move or making jokes about abandoning Florida/cutting it off/hoping it sinks into the sea. It is full of people who cannot leave. Your glee at the idea of abandoning Florida just hurts those of us who voted against this fascist monster and ended up having to live under his thumb anyway.

#florida #florida trans ban #trans ban #trans healthcare ban #trans health care ban #trans health care #trans bathroom ban #trans bathroom debate #transgender #trans #trans youth #trans medical care #trans rights #trans rights are human rights #drag #drag queen #drag queens #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt pride #lgbtq pride #ron desantis #trans genocide #fascism #leftist #mutual aid #resources #information

[exlibrisfangirl]

New Year's platitudes and resolutions so often emphasize health, and they leave such a sour taste in the mouths of chronically ill folks. “Healthy” just isn't an attainable goal for most of us. It is not something we can ever fully achieve through any available means - eating well, exercising more (or even at all, for some!), positive thinking, practicing yoga, drinking enough water, or doing x, y, or z - and it hurts to be constantly reminded of that with a nonstop barrage of wishes for “a healthy New Year”. Please be mindful of what you say to chronically ill/disabled folks in regards to health, at this time of year especially. <3

#chronic illness #disability #spoonie problems #spoonie life #new year's resolution #ehlers danlos syndrome #hypermobile eds #postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome #mast cell activation syndrome #gastroparesis #gastrointestinal dysmotility #chronic migraine #etc. etc. #toxic positivity #please don't assign morality to health #people who aren't healthy are not morally inferior to healthy people OR morally culpable for their illness

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

Fic: Late Night Whispers

Fandom: Triple Frontier

Ship: Frankie Morales x Jay ‘Lady’ Ray

Warnings: (Planned) pregnancy and being cute together.

Summary: Just Frankie and Lady having a moment in bed together. Ugh so sweet.

Words: 892

A/N: I just needed Frankie being a soft girl-dad-to-be. Frankie x Lady masterlist.

Frankie enters the dark bedroom on soft feet, undressing as quietly as he can so he won't disturb Jay, who seems to be asleep. She was not far in dreamland when Frankie's return home from his night at Tom's roused her and brought her back to reality.

"Hi, babe," she murmurs from her pillow, not bothering to even open her eyes. He stops for a second before pulling his jeans down his legs and kicking them off. The rustle of the denim and the clank of the belt buckle hitting the floor are familiar sounds to Jay, and that curves her lips up in a small smile.

"Sorry for waking you," Frankie apologizes as he comes around the bed.

"Wasn't completely asleep..."

He gets in behind her, fitting his form to hers and wrapping one arm round her waist, hand coming to rest on her six months pregnant belly. He can't keep from touching it, especially now that she's finally started to show properly. For the longest time, Jay's well-trained abs kept the belly from rounding too much, causing Frankie to worry about the baby's development. Ridiculous shit like "what if she gets stuck in your spine or something?" was said, and Jay tiredly pointed out that she couldn't very well take the kitchen knife and just cut off her stomach muscles, could she? Her OB-GYN assured both of them that it was normal, the baby was developing as it should, and that it would start showing soon enough. At six months, Jay finally sports a neat little bump, and Frankie is crazy about it.

Jay opens her mouth in a big yawn which ends in a soft hum, and covers Frankie's hand with hers, fingers plaiting together.

"How was Tom?" she asks quietly. Their former captain has had a hard time adjusting to life outside the military, and it's causing a rift between him and his wife.

"The sa-hame." The yawning is contagious.

"So he's still a miserable prick," Jay sums it up. She knows from personal experience how difficult adjust to civilian life is, but she still finds it hard to feel sorry for Tom. If he wasn't so busy brooding over what he has lost, he would see that what he still has - a family and his health - could maybe be enough.

She has to learn some humility. Just because she beat alcohol addiction, got into school, and is halfway through her physical therapist education, it doesn't mean that everyone has the same drive. And Redfly's older than she is.

"Hey. He's not havin' it easy." Frankie, ever the loyal one.

"Who has it easy?" she retorts with a small scoff. Working at the gym, studying for exams, and doing clinical practice while fighting morning sickness and pregnancy fatigue has been a bitch at times, but Jay has gotten through it by treating it as any military assignment. After the first few months, it got easier.

Frankie caresses her stomach slowly.

"Tough day?"

"Just tired," she sighs. "Lots to do."

"And the little one?"

"Heavier to lug around each day." The discontentment is plain to hear and Frankie presses his lips to her neck.

"She's so tiny yet. You're giving her weight issues before she's even born!"

"Oh, fuck off and let me sleep," Jay mutters, shifting a little to get more comfortable. A short pause later, Frankie speaks again:

"Can I say good night to her? Please?"

Jay can't deny him that. Her relationship with her own father was good and he was taken from her way too early. Frankie's devotion to their unborn child is unwavering and she wants him to have every chance he can at connecting with the baby girl they're expecting.

"Just don't wake her up," she asks him as she softly rolls over onto her back.

"I won't," Frankie promises as he folds down the covers to expose Jay's torso. The bedroom is dark and he doesn't bother with lights, but finds the hem of her t-shirt by feel alone and pulls it up to her ribs. He lies down next to Jay, his face level with her stomach, and caresses the warm, small bump with a callused hand.

"Hola, mijita..."

Jay closes her eyes and lifts one hand to Frankie's head, threading her fingers through his soft locks. She listens to him whisper sweet words in Spanish to the daughter she's carrying, enjoying the occasional, gentle brush over the tightly drawn skin of the bump. When he finally kisses her stomach with a soft "Buenas noches, mi alma", Jay blinks her eyes open in the dark.

"I like Alma."

"Hm?" Frankie straightens out her shirt before coming up to place his head on the pillow next to hers. He tucks both of them in, leaving his arm curled around the bump.

"Alma. I like the name Alma."

"Alma?" He tastes it. "I like it, too. You think that would suit her?"

"We'll have to wait until I pop her out," Jay yawns again, eyes drawing shut. "You never know, suddenly she's something completely different."

"Given her spirit, I'm sure she's an Alma."

Jay murmurs something incomprehensible and turns her head so she can press her face to the crook where Frankie's neck and shoulder meet.

"Sleep, amor. We can talk about it in the morning."

Jay doesn't hear that: she's already asleep.

#my fic #triple frontier fanfic #francisco catfish morales #francisco frankie morales #frankie morales #frankie x lady

[persephone-is-here-omg]

Hi! What do you think about all this stuff going on with Seb and his fans calling him out for going to the vacation in Spain and for his new girlfriend? Thankyou for answering. P. S. Forgive me I couldn't find the posts about it on your blog.

Hey, you didn't find any posts about it because I decided to not post about it.

I am going to be honest about this: I don't give a fuck if he's vacactioning in Spain or who he's with. I don't even know the name of whatever person he's with and I don't care to know it, either. Is his money and his european passport he's using. As long as he isn't putting anyone at risk and is following the rules set by place he's in? More power to him, I hope he enjoys his time.

But I'm gonna go on some facts about Spain during the pandemic.

1) In the last 24hrs Spain has registered 263 new COVID 19 cases. And three deaths. Nowhere near the situation in the USA.

2) Ibiza, where he's supposed to be vacationing has a total of 22 active cases. Most of which can be traced back to people who traveled from mainland Spain without being tested.

3) The Baleares, the group of islands Ibiza belongs to, has registered since the start of the pandemic a total of 2.271 cases. Compared to other parts of Spain, seems that they have managed to keep things reasonable.

4) To even enter the Spanish territory Sebastian Stan and whoever is with him would have needed to first give the Spanish ministry of health a lot of personal information to clear them of suspicions of possibly carrying the virus with no symptoms or having been exposed to it. This must be done in the period of 48 to 24 hours before you travel. At arrival you must pass a physical test, in case you fail to pass this physical exam, your case will be assigned to a health care professional. And you must remain at the disposition of the Spanish Ministry of health at all times. And this is without counting the fact that he most likely was tested before he traveled. If the rumors of FATWS being cleared to continue production are true, he most likely will be tested again before he travels for that. And then, he'll be tested on the regular while on production.

I'm not one to put celebrities on pedestals and, therefore, while yes I would climb him like tree was I presented the chance I do not see his actions as a reflection of my morality and I won't fall into the fake outrage that this fandom descends into every time he fails to live to its ridiculously high and impossible to uphold purity tests. I want to point out that, for all the outrage that has been going on this past week or so, I don't see any outrage at the way those pictures were obtained. Because last I checked those were paparazzi pics, which lead to the conclussion that those were obtained by means of stalking... No? I thought people here were against paparazzis. I guess that's only when it serves their need to be morally superior.

If anyone can point me to proof that he has caused a new outbreak in Ibiza or that he has not followed tge Spanish government's guidelines, please show me in that direction.

I'm not one to pretend to be on any kind of moral high-ground, so I'm not even going to bother in pretending that if I had the money to hire a private plane, a yatch and a suite or house with a private beach where I could have some fucking down time and follow simple preventive guidelines after these hellish past months, I wouldn't because I am self-aware enough to admit that I would.

I am from Venezuela, last week a so called local "celebrity" closed a clinic because his new girlfriend was about to have a baby. In a country where the healthcare system was falling to pieces before the pandemic. So, yeah, that's more troubling to me than a celebrity that would have had to travel to Europe any way having some down time.

Hope this clarifies where I stand on this "situation"

#ibiza drama #fake outrage squad

[jewelsgallegosmerced]

A Philosophical Child's Poetry

"I'd never come up with a single thing about celestial phenomena if I did not suspend my mind up high, to mix my subtle thoughts with what's like them - the air. If I turned my mind to lofty things, but stayed there on the ground, I'd never make the least discovery. For the earth, you see, draws moist thoughts down by force into itself" The Clouds, Aristophanes

I have been prone to philosophical thinking since I was a very small child who would brutally dissect every Dr. Seuss book I ever read, pestering my mother with questions about the underlying existentialism and morality themes in Seuss’ books. She did the best she could to answer but when I became precociously debative she would eventually give up and take me to the library to help me find books on humanity, good versus evil, life and death - you know… the books a typical 5-year-old would read. Later, as an adolescent who fell in love with hard science fiction, authors like Aldous Huxley, Stanisław Lem, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and cerebral story tellers like George Orwell, C. S. Lewis, and Philip K. Dick would keep my questions mounting.

Then there was poetry. I guess Dr. Seuss should be credited with influencing that as well. He was THE master of rhyme. l wrote my first poem when I was 4-years-old.

kitty kitty

you are

my pretty

I love you

kitty so

please don't

bite me

I still have the original poem, lovingly save by my grandmother with a book she gave me. I come from a family of artists and poets and my grandmother believed I was an extension of centuries of “the Gallegos creative spark, a gift from God,” or as she would say, "la chispa creativa de Gallegos, un regalo de Dios.” It was through these early influences that my natural progression as a writer would lead to philosophical poetry. I have volumes of the stuff. I’ve been a prolific journal keeper since first grade, when a teacher assigned keeping a diary during the school year. Unlike the other kids, my entries were rhymed formalist poems. That teacher would never know the impact his assignment made on my life. He would never know how journaling and writing poetry would one day literally save my spirit and mental health during a time of what seemed insurmountable hardship.

my poetry on Instagram

#philosophical poetry #philosophy #philosophical quotes #poetry #dr. seuss #jewelsgallegosmerced #journalist #journalism #poeticj3w3ls #writers and poets #poetsandwriters

[kincringeemporium]

mytranshealth is literally a site with a team that works with actual doctors who have studied about, worked with, and treated trans people for years. trusting a system that even ADMITS to being behind on lgbt related health as a whole over people who have been doing research and treatment for years kinda further proves the point as to why you are wrong. added to that, none of y'all have proof of detransitioned people on tumblr, not that they don't exist, but where is the proof?

1) mytranshealth.com. COM. com as an ending means it is not a legitimate organization and cannot be used for research on various topics

2) please consider the following:

Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues. APA Web. 2015.

In a diverse, varied society like this one, it can often be difficult to discern what is real and what isn’t; especially among adolescents, the struggle to challenge ‘the norm’ while also fitting in with one’s peers can lead to behaviors that adults may not understand. Adolescence is a time of turbulent change for anyone, but for transgender young people, it is perhaps doubly so. To provide a brief definition, the American Psychological Association states that gender dysphoria is “a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the [one] with which he, she, or they identify” (APA). Gender dysphoria ranges from minor to severe; symptoms include long-lasting anxiety and depression, distress regarding one’s sex characteristics, and a strong desire to live as a gender besides what is assigned. Much lesser known are nonbinary people, or those who experience an atypical kind of dysphoria that causes them distress when treated as male or as female; they are neither, and make up possibly a third of the transgender population - while less than five percent of the overall population is transgender (Webb).

Scientific explanations like these have helped to ease societal confusion and thus bring more understanding to what transgender people experience. Even so, a large portion of society remains stubbornly opposed, believing that transgender people do not deserve to be treated as their mental, self-identified gender. However, an Internet community known as ‘MOGAI’ or ‘marginalized orientations, .genders, and identities’ has begun to reignite the public’s confusion about transgender issues; MOGAI believe that gender dysphoria is not necessary to be transgender, that personality traits equal genders, and that transgenderism should not be listed as a result of a mental condition.To highlight the inaccuracy of what MOGAI believe are genders, an example from their community is: “hircinic: a gender that feels both human and nonhuman with an underlying tone of power and otherworldly energy” (mogai-watch). This community shows us the other side of transphobia: promotion of rhetoric that could ultimately lead to transition therapies no longer being covered by insurance. Life-saving treatments would be listed as cosmetic, and transgender young people would struggle even more to live as their authentic selves, stunting their emotional development and ruining their mental health.

The Microsystem: Home

Transgender children and adolescents still living with their parents are the first to suffer from MOGAI misinformation. As blog posts, articles, and online quizzes are so readily available, even parents most unfamiliar with social media have at least once been exposed to mentions of transgender issues. In an ideal home, when a child attempts to come out as transgender male or female, their parents or guardians understand that the child’s gender is due to their dysphoria; they are aware that the child needs to ‘transition’ (gradually change their characteristics and traits to those of their self-identified gender) in order to alleviate their distress. In an intolerant home, the child would not be accepted; common outcomes of parental rejection include homelessness, heightened anxiety and depression, and at worst, suicide – over half of transgender youth will have attempted suicide by their twentieth birthday (Marsh, 2011). However, most parents only are aware of strictly binary male and female transgender people, regardless of their feelings toward these people. When a child attempts to come out as nonbinary, parents frequently confuse MOGAI ‘genders’ with the child’s legitimate atypical dysphoria.

Exosystem: The Internet

Not only parents are gathering dysphoria-related misinformation from online communities, so are adolescents. MOGAI ideologies have permeated the information that reaches our adolescents’ homes, or microsystems.  When one searches for ‘nonbinary’ on social media sites like Tumblr, the results are overrun with false MOGAI genders such as hircinic. Formal studies have not yet been published detailing the effects of common transphobia and MOGAI transphobia on specifically nonbinary youth. Regardless, an overwhelming majority of nonbinary social media users describe their parents confusing their real identities with MOGAI identities; this suggests that the Internet, which acts as an exosystem, has a direct and detrimental effect on the home, or the microsystem.

It is important to clarify that youth who ascribe to MOGAI beliefs are not at fault; rather, adolescence is a time of defying social norms while simultaneously seeking like-minded peers. For adolescents struggling to define their gender, the MOGAI community holds a strange allure: they can be as unique as they want to be, even going so far as transitioning while not experiencing gender dysphoria. Yet despite their uniqueness, they can still feel solidarity with young people in similar situations. The MOGAI community also touts a sense of rebelliousness and rejection of the current political climate; what with so many adolescents speaking out against the openly transphobic Trump administration, they seem to fear the idea that MOGAI is in any way transphobic. The Internet is driving the MOGAI issue forward, confusing parents and adolescents alike; if the exosystem and microsystem are so closely linked, do the iterations of the problem in both systems share a solution?

The Solution: Education and Science

The answer is yes: educating MOGAI adolescents and misinformed parents is critical to ensuring the well-being of transgender youth. Social media users who support the medicalization of gender dysphoria have already begun attempts to prove that MOGAI ideologies harm the transgender community, but frequently resort to insulting or shaming their opponents. Both sides are rife with name-calling, strawman arguments, and unnecessary hatred toward ignorant but not malevolent teenagers.

Many adolescents in the MOGAI community believe that being cisgender is oppressive, thus that they will not be accepted if they are simply cisgender and non-conforming. Already suffering from confusion about their identities – and likely bullying for cross-dressing or other non-conforming behaviors – they fear further rejection by their peers.

As teens are overwhelmingly more apt to listen to peer, more adolescents must learn for themselves why MOGAI ideologies are harmful; they must then share what they have learned and refrain from engaging in Internet discourse battles with those who do not agree. Difficult as it is for adolescents to take the ‘moral high ground’, coping methods must also be learned; the first step to avoiding a heated argument is to stay calm and focus on the facts. In the case of an online argument, one of the most effective things a person can do is simply blocking the offensive user. When ‘trolls’ no longer have a platform to send inflammatory comments, arguments tend to ceae.

While adolescents are more intelligent and more resourceful than often thought, both coping strategies and facts cannot come only from teen Internet communities. Instead, information from healthcare professionals – and even parents of transgender children – is needed. With more and more adults skilled in social media, opportunities are arising for them to become involved in issues like the two sides of transphobia. Explanations that acknowledge atypical gender dysphoria while at the same time separating nonbinary identities from MOGAI may have higher success than explanations that don’t. Any explanation mentioning gender as a choice or glossing over the importance of dysphoria should be avoided; some adolescents take offense to these and ignore the information, while some believe the information as fact.

MOGAI is an unfortunate issue that cannot be solved with one seminar, article, blog post, or study; as well as professionals and youth working together, time is a key ingredient. In the end, teens’ MOGAI phase is often just that: a phase. Those who have moved on from believing these ideologies are in a unique position to share their experience with younger, less educated teens; not only can doing so lessen online controversy, but can provide parents with the facts that they need to take comfort among the confusion.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. What is Gender Dysphoria? APA Web. 2016 February.

Hircinic. mogai-watch.tumblr.com. 2 February 2018.

Marsh, Amy. The Fatal Effects of Transphobia. GoodTherapy Web. 22 November 2011.

Webb, Arielle et. al. Non-binary Gender Identities Fact Sheet. The Society for the Psychological

~delta

#long post #truscum #tucute #transmedicalist

[verratensduo]

"No, please don't!" ( eren nu wat u doin ;o;o;o; )

((ima angst you up here hehe. @ari-rivaille-ackerman hope you don’t mind)

“No please don’t!” It wasn’t that Ari’s words fell on death ears, they simply fell on ears that knew an unfortunate truth about this world, it was cruel. A cruel world that would take, take, and take. Just when one thought they could not lose anymore, the world took some more, without even as much as an apology.

Now was one such a time. When his friends....Reiner and Bertholdt had betrayed him. A lot had happened since then. He’d been tortured relentlessly by the Riese family, saved only by the strength of Historia’s resolve to save her friend, having her pick a friend over humanity. That was the only reason he still drew breath, the only reason the coordinate remained inactivated. The resilience, the resolve, and her growing up quite a bit from when she was all about being the hero.

Now it was Eren’s turn to have to make a grown up decision, and not one that was very popular with the young girl. One that required ending the lives of two dear friends, or at least people who had been dear friends. This was no walk in the park exactly.

A singles tear slid down Eren’s cheeks as he heard Ari’s plea on repeat over and over again within his head. The plea for him not to do it. How could he explain this concept to such a little girl? Mikasa had been nine at the time they met, but the situation was also entirely different, they had to kill to survive.

In this case, he would be trying to explain his choices and actions to a girl far younger than that, one that had yet to see the realities and cruelties of the world on the level Eren and Mikasa had so early in life. The days they lost their innocence, the day they gave up their morality, the day they saw his mom day and lost innocence all over again. That was why he was here now, that was why he had to make this choice.

“Ari, listen to me, I know you’ll never understand this. At least not for a long time, but I need you to try and listen to me, to open your ears and let me explain why I am making the choice I have to make.” He turned slowly to the girl, sinking down so he was on eye level with her, so she knew he was trying to communicate to her like he would one of the adult scouts.

“I don’t have any other choice. Reiner and Bertholdt are too dangerous, and if Ymir has chosen their side, so is she. They were my friends too. It hurts..but this world is cruel. Sometimes, you don’t get a choice. At least, not one that is easy to make, or one that exactly falls in line with the morals that people want you to keep to.” Though he couldn’t keep the tears from falling now.

“It’s not that I want to kill them Ari, if I had my way, we wouldn’t need to kill them, we could only capture them and make them tell us why they did what they did, but that isn’t an option. Not when they have such powerful titan forms. They are a threat, and it’s clear they have no intention of siding with us.” They kept flowing, he hated showing Ari this weakness, but he had no choice.

He knew the chances of the girl understanding where slim to none. He knew this answer was going to break her heart, and that no matter what he would seem to be the bad guy to her, but at least that was because she was young, and not because she already assigned Eren an emotion he had to feel to do what he had to, unlike so many others. Others that had already decided that to do what Eren knew needed to be done he had to want to kill.

“I just have to kill them. I can’t see any other way out of this. They are trying to take what we have here from us, they are keeping us away from freedom. They are traitors, and unfortunately, sometimes traitors must be punished with death. It’s the only way to save what we love.” He wiped his tears away, though his voice still shook.

“One day maybe you will understand, but I don’t expect that day to be today. Ari, just please trust me when I tell you it’s not something I want to do, it’s something I have to do. And there are unfortunately times other than chores where that has to be done...”

He stood up and turned to head towards his horse to ensure it was in perfect health.

“I am not asking you to understand.” Once more a small tear ran down his cheek. “I am just asking you to forgive me for what I must do.”

#i decided to go after the rebellion arch #it just seemed fitting to the prompt #sorry ari #eren has to do some very bad things #but he has no other choice #here ya go gi #hope this is okay #ari-rivaille-ackerman #{{don't ask my opinion if you don't want it}}; asks