Qween B. Amor

“According to a 2020 study from LGBTQ suicide prevention organization Trevor Project, "1 in 4 LGBTQ youth use pronouns or pronoun combinations that fall outside of the binary construction of gender.” 🌈

Watch: Chika Okoro’s must-see TED Talk exposes the damaging effects of colorism.

Today, students drowned out a small anti-transgender demonstration that took place mere steps from UBC’s Pride installation outside the Nest.

Two individuals not affiliated with UBC came to campus this afternoon with materials denying the existence of transgender people, while stressing conservative Christian values.

“I’m protesting censorship on university campuses and human rights commissions, and the imposition of transgender ideology and the inability to be able to freely speak out on this topic, as evidenced by some of the responses,” said Bill Whatcott, a demonstrator and well-known anti-LGBT activist.

This is not the first time Whatcott has hosted an anti-LGBT demonstration on university campuses, having appeared at the University of Calgary and the University of Regina in 2016.

Around a dozen UBC students responded by chanting “trans rights are human rights” and “trans bodies are safe here.” Some carried large Pride flags to block the demonstration from view.

China is putting Uyghur Muslims into Concentration Camps

This is one of the greatest attrocities and oppression taking place in the world today yet still it is one of the least talked about issues. It’s estimated possibly over 2 million Uyghur Muslims have been put into these concentration camps which China calls “re-edcuation camps” and the goals is to wipe out and clean them from their cultural and religious identity. They have built dozens of these camps with fortified walls and barbed wire fences which they hide from the world media.

China sees Islam as an ‘ideological disease’. Many of the people put in these camps don’t make it out alive due to to the harsh living conditions inside. Many leave behind children who are then sent to government run orphanages and are brainwashed from a young age removing their cultural and religious identity.

Straight Person™: No homo, but your haircut looks good on you.

Just know if you ever need anyone to wax lyrically about your love for the Mother and Daughter the same way the rest of them do about the Father and Son - I’m here. :)

Levi answered and said to Peter, “Peter, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who indeed are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. This is why he loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect man and acquire him for ourselves as he commanded us, and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or law beyond what the Savior said.”

Earlier I got a request for lesbian and asexual edits of this post. I changed the background color to gray in order to accommodate flags with black stripes.

Don’t kill yourself today

Because your Netflix trial still has a week left

Don’t kill yourself today

Because no one else will finish off the chicken in the fridge

Don’t kill yourself today

Because I know for a fact that Starbucks is releasing a new Frappuccino sometime next month

Yes, your mother will miss you

Yes your bully will make a sappy Facebook post about how what a a wonderful person you were

And yes

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem

You know that

You’ve known that

Everyone and anyone has been shoving that down your throat since they first learned what the word suicide meant

So don’t kill yourself

Until you finish your shampoo and conditioner at the same time

Don’t kill yourself

Until Doctor Who is finally cancelled

Don’t kill yourself

Until you tell someone your best pasta recipe 

Don’t kill yourself 

Because I will keep coming up with reasons for you not to

And I need you

To hear all of them

Don’t kill yourself

I love you

You’re important

It’s a bad day

Not a bad life

There is more to this

The world will keep spinning on its axis without you

But

Think of all the sunrises you’d miss

I know this sounds pointless

But when you’re sitting in front of everything deadly you own

Revising your goodbyes

There will be too much darkness 

To see anything else

But this is not about seeing anything else

This is about turning off the lights

This is about finding the bed instead of the noose

This is about giving yourself one more day

Even if it takes ten thousand of those

One more morning’s

Until

“I can’t wait for tomorrow”

This is about staying alive

Because there’s gonna be a new Marvel movie

No one should miss that

This is about staying alive

Because the future is coming 

And it’s ready for you

I don’ t need you to see it

I just need you to believe you can make it 

Until then

“I feel [thoughts, feelings]. What am I?”

We can’t answer that. The only person who can…is you. However, we are able to suggest terms you may identify with and encourage you. 

Maybe your friend said she doesn’t think you seem non-binary, or your mom said you don’t act like a trans guy would so you can’t be trans. It can be hard to do, but you need to push those comments aside and trust in yourself. 

Don’t let other people’s opinions determine how you identify- they aren’t the one in your head having your experiences and feelings, you are. And again, you are only one who can figure out your gender.

If you can’t meet other trans people in real life, we would recommend following trans people on tumblr or other social media. You can find plenty of people who would be willing to talk to you about your gender or their own experience with questioning. And this is a free Virtual Gender Identity Support Group you could join! 

What label should I use?

Gender identities:

NB Flowchart

Long list of genders

Neurogenders

Sexual orientations:

Sexualities

Non-binary sexualities

Mlm, wlw, nblnb, etc

We also have tags for different genders or sexualities (such as /tagged/bigender) if you want more info. 

Go to your browser like Chrome or Safari and type https://transgenderteensurvivalguide.tumblr.com/tagged/InsertIdenity if you can’t search the blog on your mobile app! 

“I didn’t suspect I am trans until I was [x age], so am I still valid?

Yes! Not everyone realizes they’re trans in childhood, and that’s totally okay. Some people realize as children, some people realize during puberty, some people realize in high school, some people realize as adults, and it’s all valid. 

Even our mods had different ages of discovery (When did you know you were trans?) and that’s totally normal! 

Check out the trans umbrella for a definition of trans identity if you’re not sure you know what it means.

Here are a few basic steps to get you started on your journey:

Daydreaming. Think of the future; maybe you have the perfect occupation, or children, or life partner(s), or all three? Or perhaps you’re supreme dictator of Earth? No matter where you are, what do you look like? A man, a woman, someone in between, both, neither, etc.? The image you have in mind could be indicative of who you feel you are, or who you want to be.

Stating your gender. Look in the mirror. State, “I am a boy/girl/etc.,” or, “I am not [assigned gender].” Does it feel right? Does it feel comfortable? This could be indicative of who you feel you are, or who you want to be! There’s nothing wrong with questioning and trying on a label for a while to see if it fits you.

Being called your chosen name/pronouns. (Please note that you do not have to change your name or pronouns to be transgender.) Think of a close friend who you trust and feel would support and respect you during this time. Say to them, “I am questioning my gender and I would like you to call me (insert name here) and use (insert pronouns here) for me when other people aren’t around.” A good friend will agree. If it feels right for them to call you your chosen name, that could be an indicator. 

It will feel weird at first to have your friend call you your chosen name, but you’ll get comfortable with it if it is right. The same goes for your gender pronouns! There’s definitely an adjustment period so don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t click immediately. 

However, you don’t have to tell your friends right away. There isn’t a time limit before it’s too late to come out, and you can come out whenever you’re ready to do so. If you aren’t ready to tell friends that you’re questioning, these three websites will help you practice pronouns:

http://www.practicewithpronouns.com (TW for some disturbing sentences, they’re modeled after the Welcome to Nightvale podcast)

https://minus18.org.au/pronouns-app/

http://www.pronouns.failedslacker.com/

Experiment. For people or beings who think they may be transmasculine, you could pack with a sock, purchase a chest binder, dress in “masculine” clothing, or talk to masc-identified people or beings! For people or beings who think they may be transfeminine, you can try on makeup, dress in “feminine” clothing, or talk to femme-identified people or beings! 

You don’t need to rush into anything. You can try things for as long as you want.

Gender expression ≠ gender identity, as shown on the genderbread person, so course it’s valid to be both gender non-conforming and a trans person, like being a trans guy who likes dresses, or a trans girl who is a tomboy, and liking a feminine or masculine presentation doesn’t inherently make you trans. 

If you decide you’re not trans, you’ve still had an adventure into gender that likely widened your understanding of your own self and your understanding of other people- no harm done.

Being yourself is important, even if you end up identifying as cis instead of trans, so don’t worry about whether you’re “allowed” to bind/paint your nails, etc, and just do whatever makes you feel comfortable because everyone is allowed to express themselves in whatever way they want to, and that includes cis people. 

Research. If you don’t know much about being transgender, look here to start. Google is your friend! Check out videos on YouTube, talk to people who are on hormones or have had surgeries, or check out our trans-masculine resources or our trans-feminine resources. 

Look into surgeries and hormones, if this is something that interests you- but don’t actually start the process of getting them until you’re 100% sure it’s what you need. Just becoming aware of your medical transition options might help- if you feel like it’s something you might want, then that might be an indicator of your identity. But please note that you do not have to want to get surgery or go on hormones to be transgender.

Avoid online “gender quizzes” that ask you stuff like your personality and your height or your hobbies to figure out if you’re trans. They’re pretty much nonsense- only you can figure out your identity, and the quizzes tend to rely on stereotypes and did we mention nonsense?

Here’s a few mod’s answers on what gender feels like for them. 

Questioning when Autistic

Questions to ask instead of “Am I trans?”

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

Writing things down

If You’re Asking, ‘Am I Gay? Lesbian? Bi? Trans? Queer?’ Here’s a Start

Some general advice

I Think I Might Be Trans: 8 Important Notes On Questioning

How do I know if I’m really trans?

The Gender Playbook: A Guide to Figuring Out Your Non-Binary Identity

Gender Questioning?

rules for questioning your gender

Still confused? Try this.

One in Every 137 Teenagers Would Identify as Transgender, Report Says

You don’t have to be super-duper uncomfortable with being the gender you were assigned at birth to be allowed to identify as trans. If you would be happier or more comfortable identifying as a different gender, you’re still trans enough. Gender euphoria is a thing!

There’s nothing wrong with questioning your gender, and it doesn’t hurt other trans people or take away from the community or anything. In the end, you’ll have just learned more about yourself and about the trans community- and that’s a happy ending regardless of whether you end up deciding you’re trans or cis.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask us, but we can’t tell you who you are since only you can know that. Remember, it’s okay to take your time to figure it out and the way you feel now is valid and important!