Bellismo

argumate:

aisandetsarepeopletoo:

Apparently Ethiopian Baboons are starting to domesticate wolves, which is giving scientists new insights about what it might have been like when early humans did that. That’s cool pretty cool!

“not quite as cool as we thought!” scream scientists, as baboons riding wolves come pouring out of the forest

(via anerdyfeminist)

gardentechgodgnostic:

katjohnadams:

localgays:

updatepls:

supermegafoxyawesomehotnot:

cosima-wants-the-d-elphine:

story time.

the look in your eyes is what gets me.

“so i return to my body.. from the other plane of existence.. in which i scream”

DEAD

“Story time.

I have this one white friend.

And - [mocking] I have this one white friend, I’m not racist. And like - where was I even going with this? [laughs] She’s not even my friend, she’s just someone I know. Okay, whatever, ‘kay, so this one white person that I know - [under breath] (I know a lot, my entire town is white.) Anyway, um, one day, she comes up to me, and she’s like,

“Jenny, what are you?” and, you know, that’s like white person talk for like, [sarcastic mocking] “what FUCKING country do you come from? Like obviously you’re not from here.”  And I’m like, “um, I’m Chinese.”

And she’s like “What? You’re Chinese?”

And I’m like, “Yeah, I don’t know why that’s so much of a surprise.”

And she’s like “Well, I thought you said you were Asian.”

And - [deep breath] [pause] there was a moment, a good minute and a half, where I left my body and ascended onto another plane, and I screamed into the abyss of that plane [pause] because she did not know that Asian and Chinese are… I, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t even… you know, whatever.

So, return to my body, from the [pause] other plane of existence in which I scream. A lot. And I tell her: “You know, China, China, you see, the country that I’m from, is a part of Asia.”

And she’s like, “Where’s Asia?”

[whispers] She asked me. Where Asia is.

And I say, “Well, Asia consists of, you know..” and I list the different Asian countries and she’s like “Whaat?”

And I’m like [sarcastically] it’s, it’s this thing, you know, that you learn about in like third grade geography. It’s a continent! And she’s like “A continent?”

And I’m like “Yes.”

And she goes, “so it’s not a country?”

I’m like, “No.”

And she’s like “What’s the difference?”

And I’m like [deep breath] “America, you see, has like North, Central, South, so like, take somewhere from Canada; they are North American but they’re also Canadian…”

And she’s like “I don’t understand.”

And I’m like “It’s okay, just know that I am both Asian AND Chinese” and you know what, she is still confused to this day, and I [pause] am still on the other plane of existence, screaming, as I tell this story to you. So you can come join me, on the separate plane of existence.”

I WILL ALWAYS REBLOG THIS SHIT BECAUSE IT IS TOO REAL, TOO TRUE.

I’m actually crying

(via dice-gay)

glumshoe:

angrypolishenbie:

glumshoe:

acrylicmeme:

glumshoe:

glumshoe:

Binding is not safe. Long term, it is detrimental to your physical health. While the social and psychological benefits might outweigh the physical risks for many people, the choice to bind should be made with the understanding that the risks cannot be eliminated even with great care to ensure good fit and avoid overuse. Tightly compressing a large part of your body with many complex skeletal and muscular connections on a regular basis damages your body over time. Take off-days, wear the proper size from reputable makers, don’t sleep or exercise in them, and take them off as often as possible - all good advice that you absolutely must follow to be as safe as possible, but it’s impossible to guarantee that there will not be complications.

People tend to downplay the physical risks of binding because the payoff for self-confidence can be so profound. But seriously - even responsible binding is likely to cause complications ranging from sharp pains, nerve damage, dramatically decreased lung capacity, fluid buildup, skin issues, and back injury. Do not take it lightly just because it’s a piece of clothing that can be removed and does not need a doctor’s approval or informed consent to use.

If you must bind, be gentle with yourself. On your off-time, or if you choose not to bind at all, puffer vests are your new best friends. Seriously. Get your Marty McFly on. Not your style? Your loss, you unfashionable fool, but scarves, loose-fitting button-downs, and bomber jackets can help as well.

Okay shut the fuck up.

If it’s a decision between hurting myself but feeling confident, or killing myself because I don’t feel like I belong in my own body, I think I’d choose the former.

That’s your prerogative. I never told anyone NOT to wear a binder. However, it’s a major medical decision, and minimizing or dismissing the very real and common side-effects is not good for anyone, especially young people just beginning to transition. Like I said, sometimes the psychological benefits outweigh the physical costs - if not wearing a binder makes you suicidal, then clearly continuing to wear a binder is the correct decision for you.

The problem lies in presenting binders as a miracle solution that everyone can and should try if they are distressed by the appearance of their chest, or that only “incorrect” binding (as with ace bandages) poses any dangers. Some people may develop complications that make it impossible for them to continue binding. It is vitally important that people are aware of the potential harm before they begin and are able to make informed decisions by weighing their own priorities and exploring alternatives.

Unlike surgery or hormones, binders are not medically regulated and don’t require you to understand what you’re getting into. That means we have to look after each other, and in this case, that means being honest about safety.

Okay, now shut the fuck up twice. People are pushing the agenda, and have been pushing the agenda, for making studies about binding for YEARS. And some traito…. I mean, trans people, are advocating for it to happen, and advocating for medical personel to overlook trans person’s binding as a medical procedure in need of ‘professional regulating’. I don’t fucking care about you or your self-righteous quasi fight for ‘heath of trans people’, because it’s just gatekeeping, plain and simple. Now, get the fuck out off my face, you tool.

[Deep breath.]

I… really don’t know where to start with this. Are you suggesting that peer-reviewed scientific studies on the long-term effects of binding are a bad thing, and that trans people who want this information to exist are “traitors”? Is that honest-to-god what you’re saying here?

I’ve never met anyone advocating for binding to be “regulated”. If that’s what you think I’m saying, please read my post again. Binding can affect your body dramatically and irreversibly, and trans people deserve access to information about their health so that they can make informed decisions about their bodies. 

Reliable information on trans health issues is virtually nonexistent because it hasn’t been widely formally studied over decades. It’s nearly impossible for trans people to make genuinely informed decisions about their health. If we cannot talk about the risks or are shushed for talking about our experiences, people get hurt and make decisions they may later regret. Just read through the notes on this post for many, many examples. 

Hiding or downplaying the risks of binding, especially from young people, is wildly irresponsible. I have no respect for you at all if you think that it’s better for kids to accidentally hurt themselves because they aren’t aware of potential dangers, than to “gatekeep” by asking them to consider their options carefully before proceeding.

The nerve damage on my left shoulder blade that causes gentle hugs to be agonizing is not an “agenda”. The fact that I can no longer safely enter water deeper than my neck because my lungs and ribcage can only expand to a fraction of what they used to is not an “agenda”. The constant aches, the faint wheeze, the tissue degradation, the fact that I’m unable to truly pursue the active, outdoorsy life I hoped for until and unless I get a surgery I can’t afford? Not an “agenda” either. I’m lucky in that I can still bind routinely and function throughout the day.

I wish I had known what I know now before I started binding. Would I have made the decision to bind anyway? Yeah, I really think I would. But I am furious that no one hit me with hard truths beforehand so my decision could have truly been informed. 

(via feminismandmedia)

sango-and-coral-haveaniceday:

amazingakita:

people who dont even care about language: how can you just CHANGE grammar??? add new wORds?? unacceptable!!! language must never change!!!!!11 kids these days cant even spell!!

people who study language: ANARCHY!! ANARCHY!!!! LANGUAGE IS FLUID AND WORDS AREN’T REAL!! change! the! grammar! rules!! burn a dictionary!!! NO ONE CARES!!!!!

If languages weren’t able to change none of us would be speaking the languages we speak nowadays.

The current English language is a mix of German, French and Old English (or whatever language Anglo-saxons spoke).

The current Spanish is a mix of Vulgar Latin, Arabic, Occitan (really old French) and Basque.

Languages are alive because WE are alive. Languages change because WE change.

(via springloveswinter)

internetexplorers:

“mom im bleeding”

“oh sweetie there’s no need to be worried that’s just a sign that you’re becoming a woman”

“thank god, i was really starting to get worried about this axe in my shoulder”

(via democraticsenator)

yohoyohoadisneylifeforme:

smitethepatriarchy:

queerfabulousmermaid:

nynuwe:

geekgirlsmash:

sophiealdred:

thehippieconservatarian:

thinksquad:

A pregnant woman has had her baby forcibly removed by caesarean section by social workers.

Essex social services obtained a High Court order against the woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and her child to be taken from her womb.
The council said it was acting in the best interests of the woman, an Italian who was in Britain on a work trip, because she had suffered a mental breakdown.

If you are not absolutely terrified and outraged by this you are wrong. The precedent this sets put every person on earth in danger.

​oh my god read the article this is FUCKING HORRIFIC. she got back on her bipolar disorder medication and is in recovery but they won’t give her her child back “because of the risk she might relapse”. What you’re fucking saying with that is that mentally ill people shouldn’t even be allowed children even if they’re safe and well *just in case*, that we’re a permanent threat to ourselves and others even when we’re in treatment and recovery and living a stable life. I am FUCKING LIVID

Over a fucking panic attack. I’m fucking serious, all of this over a single panic attack. They took her baby in the most horrific way possible because she had a fucking panic attack.

From the Article:

She suffered a panic attack, which her relations believe was due to her failure to take regular medication for an existing bipolar condition.

It’s worth noting, that it’s very common for people on psychiatric medication to go off of their meds if they become pregnant, because of risk of side effects. 

I bolded the above. I wanted there to be no one to think that she was being irresponsible for not haven taken her meds regularly. She did it for good reason, for the health of her own baby. And she got punished for it.

i fucking cant

So she did what was best for her kid, has ONE SINGLE PANIC ATTACK WHICH IS A THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE WHETHER THEY HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS OR NOT and decide that they can literally violate her body in a horrific manner and take her kid away. But she’s the dangerous one.

Terribly sad. I hope this gets worked out in her benefit.

(via authorgirl1111)

radical-eirini:

rossjm:

higher-order:

China: *does this*
Inept activists in western countries: “Banning plastic straws in our bars and restaurants will save the planet guys :))))))”

This chart is extremely misleading because basically the whole world dumps its trash in china and other countries at the top of this chart. This isn’t the same as how much trash each country produces - if that were what the chart was measuring, it would look FAR different. I’m not saying this to defend China, but if you’re looking at who produces the most waste per capita you should look at countries like the United States of America, Switzerland and New Zealand - countries that all produce FAR more waste per capita than China does.

Like do you people SERIOUSLY think Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Vietnam have even close to the consumption capacity to produce 5 or 6 TIMES more waste than the US?

The reality is that first world countries pay poorer countries to dispose their waste there because disposing of this waste in a cheap way is now mostly illegal there (at least in Europe I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to burn it anymore) and any ways to do it in an environmentally friendly way are way more expensive. And of course, poorer countries don’t have the capacity (or the resources) to dispose of this waste in an environmentally friendly way (although this is actually changing for China specifically, if you look at the chart its somewhat old), so of course for them to get rid of it, it goes into the sea.

(via spiroandthelacktones)

lesbianchemicalplant:

Love to be cis and regurgitate transphobic misinformation about how Transitioning Is Too Easy And Accessible Without Really Thinking It Through These Days and Big Trans Is Allowing Children To Do Irreversible Things With Their Bodies They Grow Up To Regret

Imagine how disconnected from trans people you need to be to think that trans people are being traumatized by being allowed to transition too early and too easily, and that we’re not “presented with other options or lives to lead” by pretty much fucking everyone around us.

And this is one of the more widely-followed (cis) lesbians on this site.

I’ve posted all this before, but if anyone is seriously wondering about “Children And Teens Doing Permanent Thins To Their Bodies!!!’, her fearmongering flies in the face of established scientific knowledge and actual medical practice (if you think there’s actually anything true to “transitioning too early is so easy and so many people end up with regret”, please read)

Puberty blockers deliberately provide a lengthy period of time for the careful consideration of an individual’s gender identity and developmental course. These are long-acting injections or implants which temporarily prevent the development of the permanent physical changes that accompany puberty. This treatment does not have permanent effects – it is described as “completely reversible” in medical literature (de Vries & Cohen-Kettenis, 2012) [emphasis mine]. Instead, this protocol delays puberty for a number of years while the child and medical professionals can consider whether more permanent transition treatments like hormone therapy or surgery are appropriate. A child or teenager has the option of discontinuing puberty blockers if they decide they don’t want to transition; their own puberty can then proceed as normal. Such cases have been described by pediatric endocrinologists (Shumer, Nokoff, & Spack, 2016):

“A 12-year-old biologic male presented to the gender clinic after referral by a mental health professional. The child had been having dysphoric feelings about his male pubertal development, and was found to be at SMR rating 3. Treatment with a GnRH agonist was initiated. The child continued in therapy and by age 14 had developed a better understanding of their gender identity. The child accepts that they do not identify completely with a male or female gender identity, and begins to refer to themself as genderqueer. They prefer to be referred to using the them/they/their pronouns. After discussion with the family and mental health professional, the decision is made to withdraw the GnRH agonist medication and allow male puberty to progress with continued supportive counseling in place.”

If this protocol really did inexorably guide every child into a more permanent medical transition, this period of extended consideration would not be standard clinical practice. This time specifically serves to identify those youth who will stop experiencing dysphoria and will not want to transition. While Julie Bindel and others may speculate at length about how they “might” have pursued a medical transition, there is every indication that even if they had ever received puberty blockers, they would have had ample opportunity to recognize that transitioning wasn’t what they wanted.

Contrary to these media depictions, puberty blockers and transition treatments are not delivered in a scattershot or reckless manner. While Ditum asserts that 80% of children with gender dysphoria will lose this dysphoria in adolescence, this isn’t simply a spin of the roulette wheel. During the extra time provided by puberty blockers, extended evaluations are conducted to observe the course of an adolescent’s gender identity development, reliably distinguishing those who will continue to experience dysphoria from those who will not (de Vries & Cohen-Kettenis, 2012):

“During the diagnostic trajectory, information is obtained from both the adolescents and their parents to assess whether the adolescents meet the eligibility criteria. Therefore, first it is ascertained whether adolescents are suffering from a very early onset gender dysphoria that has increased around puberty, or whether something else brought them to the clinic (e.g., confusion about homosexuality or transvestic fetishism). About one quarter of the referrals in Amsterdam do not fulfill diagnostic criteria for GID and most of them drop out early in the diagnostic procedure for this reason or because other problems are prominent”

There are various specific factors that are recognized as potentially related to an individual’s likelihood to persist in experiencing dysphoria (Steensma, Biemond, de Bohr, & Cohen-Kettenis, 2011). These factors can be of diagnostic value during treatment:

“Starting around the age of 10, and for the subsequent years, the persisters indicated that their cross-gender preferences and behaviour and their gender identity remained stable, but that their dysphoric feelings intensified. The intensification of gender dysphoria was attributed to three factors; (1) Certain changes in their social environment, (2) The anticipation of and/or actual physical changes during puberty, (3) The first experiences of falling in love and discovering their sexual orientation.

… In desisters, the gender discomfort gradually decreased over the course of grades 7 and 8 (age 10 to 13). Both boys and girls indicated that their changing interests and friendships, and the physical changes during puberty made the gender discomfort diminish and eventually disappear. The desisters also reported that their first experience of falling in love and awareness of sexual attraction were factors that resulted in the disappearance of their gender dysphoria.”

One key component of this diagnostic process is that these youth are allowed to experience the earliest stages of their original puberty, which can be critical to their developing understanding of their gender (de Vries & Cohen-Kettenis, 2012):

“If the eligibility criteria are met, gonadotropin releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa) to suppress puberty are prescribed when the youth has reached Tanner stage 2–3 of puberty (Delemarre-van de Waal & Cohen-Kettenis, 2006); this means that puberty has just begun. The reason for this is that we assume that experiencing one’s own puberty is diagnostically useful because right at the onset of puberty it becomes clear whether the gender dysphoria will desist or persist.”

In effect, Bindel, Ditum, and others are baselessly criticizing these medical providers for supposedly failing to do something they have in fact been doing all along. Again, even if these individuals had undergone treatment with puberty blockers, this protocol would likely correctly determine that transitioning would not be appropriate for them.

…

Modern diagnostic criteria also make a clear distinction between clinically significant experiences of dysphoria, and a simple discomfort with cultural gender roles or desire for the social privileges afforded to another gender. The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 (2013) states:

“Gender dysphoria should be distinguished from simple nonconformity to stereotypical gender role behavior by the strong desire to be of another gender than the assigned one and by the extent and pervasiveness of gender-variant activities and interests. The diagnosis is not meant to merely describe nonconformity to stereotypical gender role behavior (e.g., “tomboyism” in girls, “girly-boy” behavior in boys, occasional cross-dressing in adult men). Given the increased openness of atypical gender expressions by individuals across the entire range of the transgender spectrum, it is important that the clinical diagnosis be limited to those individuals whose distress and impairment meet the specified criteria.”

The APA’s DSM-IV-TR (2000) similarly specified as part of diagnostic criteria for gender identity disorder that individuals experience “A strong and persistent cross-gender identification (not merely a desire for any perceived cultural advantages of being the other sex)”, and further explained:

“Behavior in children that merely does not fit the cultural stereotype of masculinity or femininity should not be given the diagnosis unless the full syndrome is present, including marked distress or impairment.”

Professional clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of gender dysphoria explicitly warn against misinterpreting gender nonconformity alone as an indication that dysphoria is present. The speculation that these treatments serve to target gender-nonconforming cisgender gays and lesbians is completely unfounded and contrary to modern medical practice.

Bindel and others imagine that they would have been guided toward transition if they were children today, and while this is vanishingly unlikely under current practices, suppose that all of these individuals ultimately did transition during puberty. What would the outcome be for them? Multiple studies have found no cases of persistent regret among youth who were treated with puberty blockers and later went on to transition (Cohen-Kettenis & van Goozen, 1997; de Vries et al., 2014). It’s also been found that after treatment, this group experiences psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety at a rate no higher than that of their cisgender peers. These commentators must invent hypothetical cases of regret because of the lack of any actual cases of regret that would support their argument. But what is supposed to be regrettable about this outcome – that a happy and well-adjusted transgender person exists?

Cis people would rather that a million trans people go without medical access than one cis person go on puberty blockers, reidentify with their AGAB, and finish puberty with no real lasting side-effects from those puberty blockers.

---

The OP of this particular post is widely followed on the cis lesbian side of tumblr. The notes on this post have a lot of TERFs, but also a lot of other cis lesbians who just happen to agree with this misinformed, transphobic tripe.

Incidentally: one of the TERFs in the notes also reblogged this post repeating the Gender Dysphoria Desistance Myth:

The ~study~ they link heavily cites data from Kenneth Zucker’s clinic, i.e. literal conversion therapy performed on trans youth, which is largely responsible for where all of this kind of “Genuine Concern” about “Not presenting dysphoric youth with other options” comes from in the first place. 

---

If cis lesbians could stop repeating misinformed and transphobic talking points about ~How Such Easy Access To Transition Is So Harmful To Dysphoric Cis Afabs And Is Basically Anti-Lesbian Conversion Therapy UwU~, or thinking that being dysphoric themselves makes them ~basically have as much a stake in these issues as trans people do~, that would be great!! :)

(via oddchartnotes)

thor-20:

smarmyanarchist:

stuckuptumblercunt:

smarmyanarchist:

smarmyanarchist:

god im just thinking about how much going to public school in the MCU would’ve made me hate captain america. every time i got caught giving some bitch the finger or writing on bathroom walls or ditching class or stealing books from the library cause i got a fine or what have you, and then they gave me lunch detention or ISS and i sat in that dumbass eraser-smelling room and im in My Chair (the chair i always sit in and yell at anyone else who tries to take it), fuming, arms crossed, full of teen angst and hating everyone around me, and AGAIN had to watch this stupid fucking video ive already seen so many times that i know it by heart and every word grates on my eardrums and i’d just see this fuckin familiar face

and i would be ready to LOSE MY SHIT

Villain Origin Story

god imagine Steve giving Peter his Captain America is Disappointed in You face/lecture over something dumb and Peter just fucking dissociating and zoning back in to “Peter! Are you even listening to me???” and looking him in the eye and being like “I’m completely immune at this point. You can’t even touch me.” and walking the fuck away

canon.

the real reason why Peter agreed to fight cap at the airport

(via spongebobssquarepants)

lettingthewaterholdmedown:

thatonebaritonechick:

dearbluetravelers:

indigo-night-wisp:

kintatsujo:

plenoptic07:

kintatsujo:

Me: I don’t know if I ever want to be pregnant, I’d rather adopt a kid or two that are a bit older

Someone: Are you SURE? Older adoptees present UNIQUE CHALLENGES

Me: We are discussing human beings not digital pets

Literally every child every born and/or parented presents unique challenges. It’s like people are unique individuals…..or something………….

An amazing and revolutionary concept

When people ask me, “Why do you want to adopt teenagers?” I always answer, “Because you asked like that.”

I’m real over it. If I become a foster mom to a 17 year old kid and I get the privilege of the option to adopt them? You better believe I am legally making that kid mine.

“They’ll be a legal adult in no time, why spend the money to adopt? They’ll be aged out of the system.”

There’s no aging out of family, Marvin.

“They might be rebellious or smoke or do drugs or steal things! What if they won’t listen to you?”

Then I guess I’ll have to step up and do some fruxking parenting, Stanley.

“You want to adopt problem children then?”

All. Children. Are. Problem. Children. If you’re not prepared to deal with the fact that at some point, any child ever, whether you birthed them yourself or adopted them at any age, could become a problem? Then you are NOT ready to have children, and should really just step off and let the people who actually want to be parents live in peace with their kids.

Hey I’m so glad this post is picking up

“Older children are so difficult why would adopt them??” ALL CHILDREN ARE DIFFICULT GUESS WE SHOULDN’T HAVE ANY GODDAMN

I love this post so, so much.

(via miscellaniousfeminismandactivism)