eshusplayground:

tearingdownthatfence:

vegansexy:

Bisexual friends, just a reminder:

Describing your bisexuality by talking about other people’s genitals is not cool. Since one gender has the room to encompass a lot of different kinds of people with different bodies, any sexual identity has enough room to encompass people with a myriad of genital configurations. It is not unique to bisexuality and it’s not what makes bisexuality distinct from other identities. 

So by saying “oh I like dick AND pussy” as proof of your bisexuality, you’re engaging in cissexism because you presume different genital configurations have to be spread among multiple (usually in this case described as “two”) genders, rather than acknowledging that one gender has the room for both and more.

Saying “I can stick my hand down someone’s pants and not care what’s down there!” is also not inclusive or progressive, it mostly just makes me cringe. Reducing people to their genitals is just not cool regardless, and it impacts us trans folks in uniquely bad ways because of the fetishizing (most often directed at AMAB trans folks) that occurs. Folks might think it communicates an enthusiasm for diversity, I suppose, but mostly it just tells me you haven’t thought this through and you haven’t earned any trust by saying it to me or many others, either.

Perhaps the best way to talk about your attraction (when it comes to talking about why bisexuality is distinct) is to always center around discussing your attraction to people and not bodies, because that restores the personhood to people whose bodies are used as a way to deprive them of it. Talking about your attraction to multiple genders is a good way to talk about bisexuality without engaging in cissexism on a linguistic level (although that isn’t the only way it manifests; vigilance in all areas is still required).

Everyone should read this.

*makes note to self*

(Source: idatandgaudior)

Graphic reads: I am not confused. I am not going through a phase. I am not experimenting. I am not half gay and half straight. I am not greedy. I am not lying. I do not need to make my mind up. I am not just trying to be cool. I am certain. I’m not saying everyone is, but I Am Bisexual.

I identified as bisexual from about 7th or 8th grade until my Junior or Senior year of high school. When I was in 8th grade, I told my mom and the first thing she said was, “Are you sure you’re not doing this because it’s the cool thing to do?” Needless to say, I was extraordinarily hurt by this, and have not trusted many adults or adults in my family since, especially my mother. After coming out to her and my dad as trans* in November of 2011, her response and reactions since have reminded me why I resolved never to confide in her again.

Please note: I no longer identify as bisexual.

(Source: mindenkitfelulmulok)

roseandtrilby:

sengis:

cheatthis:

stitchmedown:

psylum:

youcouldfuckingkissme:

nolanslifeisaverage:

YES

YESYESYESYES

GSM COMMUNITY THANK YOU

GSM FTW

idgi, are these the colors associated with our ~groups?

Pardon my Ignorance, but what does GSM stand for?

Gender and Sexual Minority.

I’m also ridiculously “Ehn” about these flags, but I only feel qualified to talk about the bi and pan stuff, so shutting up now.

ETA: Also it’s pretty arguable whether the rainbow one is actually for GSM overall or if it’s just gay pride/queer pride. I dunno, I’m not interested in having that argument, just want to point out that there’s a debate.

Yeah I wouldn’t be comfortable with saying that the pride flag is representative of all GSMs, since it is a specifically queer symbol and a lot of people who fall under GSM do not fall under queer.

I’m increasingly uncomfortable with the spreading use of Gender and Sexual Minority to mean LGBTQ people on tumblr. it’s a term used in research, not an identity, and it includes a lot of unrelated groups- swingers, fetishists, circumcised women, etc.- not just queer people. I really dislike being lumped in with straight people during discussions of LGBTQ issues, and that’s what using the term GSM does.

I support using GSM because although I don’t class myself as being ‘queer’, asexuality could do with the help and support of community. As I’m sure other minority groups could. Why do I not like using the term LGBTQA?, because you have to include A on the end to include us. But it’s not just us is it? There are other groups that need this support network. But sticking more words onto the end of LGBTQ is going to make it ridiculously long (I’m pretty sure there is a VERY long version that tries to cover all the ‘minorities’) and the term is going to lose it’s meaning.

I’m not overly thrilled with the term GSM because it’s used in scientific (and negative) ways, but at least it allows for minority groups to feel included.

I’ve heard people who are bisexual, pansexual, asexual etc. complaining they don’t feel like they have a place in the LGBTQ, perhaps because it doesn’t solely focus on sexuality. I’ve also heard transgendered and genderqueer people saying they feel they don’t fit in because it focuses too much on sexuality…. both statements are contradictory. I think they’re contradictory because the LGBTQ doesn’t have a central meaning or ideology outside of ‘we’re different from the norm’. I personally think it would be better to separate sexuality from gender, giving both groups a central ideology instead of ‘we don’t fit into society’s expectations’ (which is what will happen if anymore letters get stuck on the end of LGBTQ$%£&”!!).

Obviously I’m not saying we destroy the LGBTQ community and build separate camps (it’s served an amazing service to so many people), but perhaps alternative ideas could be thought up to allow everyone to feel part of a community.

I did not know a fair amount of the points that have been brought up. They are quite valid, and it is clear to me now that I need to do more research on the term ‘GSM.’

The updated version of this banner, which reflects the rainbow flag as a symbol of the LGBTQ* Community, can be found here.

I’ll make a post about the term ‘GSM’ after I’ve done more research. Keep watch on my blog, transgenderstudentlife, for updates!

My updated banner, which reflects the rainbow flag as a symbol of the LGBTQ* Community.

cheatthis:

stitchmedown:

psylum:

youcouldfuckingkissme:

nolanslifeisaverage:

YES

YESYESYESYES

GSM COMMUNITY THANK YOU

GSM FTW

idgi, are these the colors associated with our ~groups?

Pardon my Ignorance, but what does GSM stand for?

Gender and Sexual Minority.

I’m also ridiculously “Ehn” about these flags, but I only feel qualified to talk about the bi and pan stuff, so shutting up now.

ETA: Also it’s pretty arguable whether the rainbow one is actually for GSM overall or if it’s just gay pride/queer pride. I dunno, I’m not interested in having that argument, just want to point out that there’s a debate.

Yeah I wouldn’t be comfortable with saying that the pride flag is representative of all GSMs, since it is a specifically queer symbol and a lot of people who fall under GSM do not fall under queer.

Interesting.

I simply thought the term ‘GSM Community’ encompasses all LGBTQ* identities better than ‘queer’ (which not everyone identifies with) or ‘LGBTQ*’ (the acronym doesn’t include a lot of identities, and I think is rather divisive).

I also thought the rainbow flag was the symbol for all identities within the LGBTQ*/GSM (?) community; I didn’t realize it was a queer-specific symbol.

Are GSM & LGBTQ* interchangable terms?  I’d love to hear more thoughts! Hit up my ask box or submit!

- Noah Eitan, Admin. of transgenderstudentlife

The updated version of this banner, which reflects the rainbow flag as a symbol of the LGBTQ* Community, can be found here.

I sincerely apologize for the recent lack of updates. I have been taking time off of my life for while to deal with some mental & emotional health issues. Content should be back up sometime next week. 

While I’m gone (or any time really), I highly recommend checking out the following blogs for some great LGBTQ* content: 

• gcvsa
• fuckyeahgenderstudies
• oppressionisyucky
• gaywrites
• blackenedbutterfly
• thisgenderedlife

knowhomo:

LGBTQ* Quips and Quotes

There’s a little bit more to it than that. — Candye Kane

This all takes place in NW Georgia, USA during the year 2005-2006

I went to a regular, public middle school. I was a regular teenager. Acne ridden, confused, emotionally unstable, etc. But while other teenagers were experiencing their first kisses, and some were experiencing so much more, I was just trying to grasp who I was. In fourth grade, I had come out as gay to my mom. I had no other word for anything that wasn’t completely cis and hetero-normative. In the fashion of my mom as I remember her to have been at the time. She rolled over, told me it was probably just a phase, and promptly tried to get back to sleep.

Now I was in eighth grade, my mom and my sister had moved away and my dad and I were at ends. I went to school everyday and I tried to understand who I was and what I was. Was I a crossdresser, was I bisexual? I didn’t know, I was trying to grasp for some form of self - identity, and the ways I did it gave plenty of ammunition to the bullies in my school.

I ‘went out’ with this guy that year, it was the most stereotypical of trivial middle school relationships. He was constantly ‘cheating’ on me and dumping me. And still, because we went out at all, (let me say that I don’t regret it, especially not for the reasons I’m about to talk about) people became rude and crude.

I imagine the baby blue eyeliner running down my cheeks and the purple lip gloss on my lips didn’t help.

But I couldn’t walk from class to class without hearing faggot yelled half a million times. And back before I’d even had my first kiss, people were asking me if I was the ‘pitcher’ or the ‘catcher’.

And they’d walk away from me with binders and books covering their asses, like because I wasn’t heterosexual I was automatically some feral creature that wanted to and would fuck anything and everything.

Then, as now, I just want to be loved.

The worst part was the kid who was like my next door neighbor. I have a quarter-mile long drive way, and at the time I had to walk it to get from my bus stop to my house. This kid would get off the bus after me and get on his 4-wheeler to catch me on the way down the drive way.

And he’d tell me we wouldn’t have any problems if I just wouldn’t say anything.

If I wouldn’t act so weird.

If I’d just keep my faggot mouth shut and act like a ‘normal’ fucking person.

And when that didn’t work, he’d bring his cousins out, all bigger then me, except for the one that was younger then me. And, standing in a half circle around me, they’d tried to entice me, a pacifist, into a fight.

Because I was queer and they didn’t like it.

My name is Jessica, I’m now a first year freshman at a local community college. Then I identified as a bisexual crossdresser. Now I identify as a Transgender Lesbian.

(Source: longhairedpoet)

justabitradical:

Culturally, socially, and physically, we assign humans a gender based on appearance. Popular culture has very rigid definitions of ‘male’ and ‘female’ and imposes them on today’s youth at any costs. Seventeen, Teen Beat, the list goes on. How to make the cute boy in homeroom notice you with this new pair of jeans, this new brand of makeup, and so forth. Or, for the boys…If you buy this fancy car/watch/gadget, you’ll get her attention. However, GLBT youth and trans/gender non-conforming youth are ignored in mainstream media.

Where is the message for transgender or non gender-conforming youth? It’s not. There is, quite literally—No mention of gender variant youth in popular culture. These children can’t open a magazine, read a book, watch television (okay, maybe TV—but then one would have to consider is said gender variant youth portrayed in a way that is mentally stable, non-stereotypical, etc.) These youth are often ignored or made to feel inadequate or damaged by adults and their peers. If a child that is a girl, born in a male body—Attends school as a girl, often there is an outcry. Why? Underlying transphobia, homophobia, etc. Just because a little girl (yes, she is a girl. Despite her physical gender.) wants to be able to use a restroom in peace without her entire school knowing she has a ‘special situation’ means nothing. It does not mean this child is going to endanger other children.

Why does society see transgender and gender variant individuals as somehow ‘bad’, ‘sick’, or wrong? Do we need to go back to the phobia of the unknown? The homophobia that, “Oh, no, a trans woman said hello to me! She’s going to teach my 16 year old son to do body shots off another boy in a leopard print bikini if I dare to let her speak to my son’s class about her journey!” or, “That’s not a man, that’s a woman. What could she possibly have to teach my daughter besides how wrong she is for mutilating her breasts with surgery?!” I have seen this reaction to so many of my transgender brothers. It hurts.

Yes, things are getting better. Schools are more open, some even have policies in place to protect their trans kids. Some, however…Don’t. Are we going to let these schools and these kids slip through the cracks because their demographic and geographic locations will “Never change?” are we not going to march into the backwater places in Texas, in Kentucky, in the bible belt, the third world countries and the hovels. The ghettos and the barillos, the hollers and the mountaintops. and yell “Bring me your sons, that you force to wear suits when they would rather wear dresses! Bring me your daughters who hide in shame because they cannot escape their own bodies and the sexualization of a body part they quite possibly never wanted in the first place! Bring me your children, that desperately wish for you to see them as they see themselves!!” Yes. Yes we are. Why? Because these children need to know there is HOPE. They need to know that there are others out there like them, championing and supporting them. That they are not sick, not damaged nor broken.

They need to know that it’s okay to feel this way. That it’s normal and safe.

We need to become a caring and informed populace with the tools to enable today’s youth to safely transition. To turn miserable young sons into confident and beautiful daughters that make their parents proud.

To turn daughters into sons, strong and efficient young men that will grow up and accomplish their dreams.

These children need to know there are others like them. In the media. Portrayed normally, just like everyone else. At home, they need to be accepted and loved, not forced into a role they can’t fit. In schools, they need to be treated with respect and dignity.

I challenge you to reblog this. To spread the word. Silence is deadly. I will not be silent any longer.

IMPORTANT

gcvsa:

From the article at OutServe Magazine:

“The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) means that gays and lesbians can serve openly in the military without fear of discharge.

However, the ban on transgender service remains intact. Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is considered a mental disorder by the American Psychological Association, and the military considers it a medically disqualifying condition. Not only are transgender individuals who wish to join the military prohibited from doing so, but those already serving honorably in the Armed Forces can be ousted if suspected to be transgender or found cross-dressing.

As the LGBT movement, both military and civilian, has zeroed in on the marriage and partner benefits issues, transgender service members still find themselves living under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” conditions many of us thought no longer existed. They struggle every day to pass as their biological sex and risk losing their careers if they are outed, despite the impressiveness of their service records.

This past month, I had the opportunity to hear from four transgender service members and two veterans affiliated with OutServe Trans. Three are transitioning from male to female (MTF), and three from female to male (FTM). They are serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Army National Guard. Four are enlisted and two are officers and West Point graduates, a company commander and former Special Forces officer, respectively.”

qbits:

A Day in Our Shoes - Homeless LGBT Youth (by itlmedia)

There are an estimated 3,800 homeless youth in New York City. About 1,500 of them identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Government funding provides fewer than 200 shelter beds for all homeless children in the city.

barebackobama:

“As people of faith, affirming the Christian teaching that before God all people are equal, we will no longer participate in this discrimination,” the church’s statement says.

The vote was unanimous and brought tears to the eyes of some of the 100 or so members who stood to vote in favor of the “statement on marriage ceremonies.” 

Although there are major holes in the fight for marriage equality across the entirety of the LGBTQ* community (*ahem* what about the rights of transgender* people to marry?), this is still a wonderful story. There is a deep divide between anything religious and the general LGBTQ* community (whether perceived or in actuality), and it is statements such as these that I hope will contribute to the long journey of evening the divide and bridging the gap- we are all humans and what this church did is stand in solidarity with fellow humans (even if there is further work to be done about gaining full equal rights for the whole of the LGBTQ* community, as well as including LGBTQ* people in anti-discriminatory policy).

pflagmom:

An Oxford College Hoists First Ever Rainbow Flag

Wadham College, an Oxford University campus, has raised its “first-ever rainbow flag” above a main school building in commemoration of its annual Queerfest celebration, according to PinkNews.

Queerfest organizer and…

fuckyeahlgbtqlatinos:

New blog trying to make its way! Spread the word, please! Gracias! We do submissions! Follow! Submit! Or just reblog this to support! Blog is not an exclusive Latino blog, but open for anyone to read, learn, and enjoy.