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Joined 11 months ago
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Cake day: July 23rd, 2023

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  • No - it was the language that I said was transphobic, not the author. Given that there were two different word choices (“transsexual” and “perceived gender”) that reinforced each other, it seems more likely than not that they reflected the mindset of the author, but not having looked further for their other writings I was not sure. That’s why I said " transphobic language" and not “transphobic author”.



  • There’s nothing wrong with the example in and of itself, but the word “transsexual” in place of “transgender” is not generally random. It is explicitly chosen by Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs) as well as by right-wing transphobes as a dog whistle to conflate gender dysphoria with drag queens and cross-dess fetishists so as to delegitimise transpeople and suggest some sort of sexual deviance. Coupled with the equivocation of “perceived” gender, motive doesn’t even have to come into it. The words themselves and the concepts they reinforce are transphobic and harmful.

    A witch hunt would have been for me to say that the author is a transphobic asshole whose writings need to be wiped from the internet - which is very far from what I actually posted, which was regret for the way the language they chose distracted from the flow of their argument by reinforcing the social stigmatization of trans people. (Edit: That was a deliberate choice on my part. Not knowing enough about the author to be sure of motives and having no desire to deep dive into their history, I decided that it was only appropriate to point out the hurtful nature of the language and not imply motive.)









  • Having known multiple trans people and heard them talk about the arguments for and against early disclosure: Fear.

    1. They may not be public about their status, and fear exposure to family or coworkers seeing their public profile.

    2. They may fear harassment from transphobes. This could range from DM accusations of pedophilia to religious screeds to doxxing to death threats.

    3. They may be trying to avoid “chasers.” There are some people for whom a trans body (particularly a transfem body) is a fetish, who don’t actually care about the person inside. Plenty of transpeople don’t appreciate that kind of attention.

    4. Fear of rejection. They may believe that nobody will respond if they’re open about not being cis.

    Also two less fear-related (and less common) possibilities:

    1. Ideology. To some people, specifying “transman” or “transwoman” reinforces a social distinction they find invalidating or don’t accept. How many profiles have you seen that specify themselves as “cisman” or “ciswoman”? For these people, it’s a way of rejecting cisgender normativity.

    2. Maybe they just aren’t ready to talk about their genitals yet, or have their first conversation be about their surgical plans or history. Not only can get really repetitive having that be the first conversation with every single match, it means they don’t get any of the information they’re looking for about a potential partner until much later in the process and have to invest a lot of their own time up front. Just like you want the salient information you care about early on, so do they.






  • Sadly* no. Florida doesn’t allow convicted felons to vote unless it’s a state felony that would not prevent them from voting in the state where it was charged - and New York doesn’t strip felons of voting rights.

    Even if they did, Florida voting rights can be restored by the governor and a review board appointed solely by him. Despite their history of personal conflict, don’t think for a second that DeSantis wouldn’t capitalize on the boost with his political base from handing Donald Trump the voting booth photo op as a personal gift.

    • I say “sadly” because it’s just one more case of him getting privileges others don’t. There are excellent arguments against stripping anybody of their vote. That Florida does, and makes it extremely difficult (and entirely discretional on the governor’s part) to get it back even after completing the court sentence, makes it a bitter pill to swallow they Trump is once again exempt from that consequence.

  • Except he will. Florida doesn’t allow convicted felons to vote unless it’s a state felony that would not prevent them from voting in the state where it was charged - and New York doesn’t strip felons of voting rights.

    Even if they did, Florida voting rights can be restored by the governor and a review board appointed solely by him. Despite their history of personal conflict, don’t think for a second that DeSantis wouldn’t capitalize on the boost with his political base from handing Donald Trump the voting booth photo op as a personal gift.



  • Silly as it sounds, this is exactly how to support him. That and writing letters. It means so much to incarcerated folks to have the few things from commissary that make life just a little less miserable, and what to spend it on is a bit of choice and independence in a system designed to take every bit of those things away as a means of grinding inmates down.

    Letters are just as important - a lifeline to the outside. Sometimes literally. Guards know who is in regular contact with people outside, and who doesn’t have anyone to report abuse to. Being able to communicate things like unmet medical needs so someone can set up a call campaign can be life or death.