new mini-zine I made at the pride event yesterday. it's therianthropy propaganda 🐶 it's not intended to be that serious. and the full file is on itch of course:

self portrait

I see lack of black trans joy on here so I wanted to doodle myself

black trans folks exist and we deserve love and respect, especially with how the world treats us!

ID: A screenshot from the Reddit post linked, with text reading:

"So I'm going to refute some of the more popular myths about trans women's vaginas by directly describing my own fully healed experience. (I had surgery several years ago using a fairly standard penile inversion technique that used some spare internal mucosa to supplement the vaginal lining. Recovery sucked, but it wasn't that bad.)

Yes, all the normal parts of vaginal anatomy are present. I have a vulva with clitoris and labia, a vagina, I can pee normally, etc etc etc.

No, I don't have visible scars. Some of us do, but they're usually not prominent, especially after a few years. Internally, thing must look quite normal too, since I've passed as cis during a pelvic exam with a speculum.

No, it's not an open wound and it won't heal shut if I don't dilate. It's not a piercing, it's a vagina. I don't dilate at all, and not only do I not lose depth, but I can take a fist if I want

No, I don't have to wash my vagina out. It has its own flora, so douching would generally be a great way to get an infection; luckily, it cleans itself. Yes, it smells and tastes normal.

Yes, I have totally normal sensation in my vagina, clitoris, g spot, etc. Yes, I can orgasm. Yes, I can self-lubricate. Yes, I have totally normal vaginal muscles (the vaginal canal transects the pelvic floor muscles, that's why you can grip and do kegels, though my pelvic floor is stronger than most through a lifetime of kegels).

No, I'm neither immune nor unusually prone to STIs, BV, yeast infections, or UTIs.

Yes, I can cis pass while having sex. No, I don't pre-disclose before casual sex, though I also tend to meet partners in trans-positive environments.

Yes, everything feels like it "should"; nothing feels out of place or misaligned, unlike before surgery, and really the only surprise was how unsurprising everything feels.

transfem ≠ a trans amab person

transmasc ≠ a trans afab person

an afab person can be transfem

an amab person can be transmasc

an intersex person can be transfem/transmasc

someone can be transfem and transmasc

these labels aren’t talking about genitals, they’re talking about the intersection of being trans and identifying/presenting in a masc/fem way

I get that we normally use these terms in this way, but it just presents another form of binary thinking if there is no flexibility to these labels, which is pretty ironic considering these labels were made to be inclusive of nonbinary people.

You say “these labels aren’t talking about genitals” but clearly a lot of the people identifying with them are talking about genitals, and, more broadly, about having “male” bodies or bodies with features that are considered “male”.

The usual definitions of transfem and transmasc don’t refer to any physical feature: a transfem, in the definition of someone who was assigned male at birth and then transitioned to a more fem identity and/or presentation, could have any genitalia, any hormone balance, and any physical appearance. They could be pre-, post-, or no-HRT, bottom surgery, top surgery, hair removal, and/or FFS. She could be intersex, with any chromosomes, internal anatomy, and endogenous hormone production. There is nothing exclusionary of intersex people about describing social experiences as related to gender assignment, a phenomenon which notably shapes intersex people’s lives.

You say “they’re talking about the intersection of being trans and identifying/presenting in a masc/fem way” as though using “transfem” and “transmasc” to mean “fem” and “masc” is somehow more inclusive and less binarist than using them to mean “assigned… transitioning”. The terms fem and masc already exist, are already used to refer to people’s identities and presentations, and already net plenty of complaints about being binary in concept and use.

The usual definitions of transfem and transmasc encompass people with nonoverlapping identities and presentations! Someone who was assigned male who identifies as a butch woman and presents exactly the way she did before she transitioned now with added pronoun pin can ID as transfem and someone who was assigned male who identifies as an agender femme who dresses like Margot Robbie Barbie can ID as transfem and someone who was assigned male and identifies as a bigender drag queen/king/nonbinary monster and dresses every way they’re physically capable of putting together an outfit can ID as transfem.

to clarify, im not saying anyone *cant* use these labels, im saying everyone can, regardless of if they are afab, amab, cafab, camab, or anything else. im saying that transfem and transmasc are not one specific thing.

both trans and intersex experiences deserve equal space to be discussed. sometimes someone's sex changes multiple times. sometimes that's willing, sometimes it's not. whether or not it's voluntary doesn't make it any more important or valid to discuss. people who were born one way but were placed on hormones and/or had corrective procedures done still had a sex change done to them.

i'm MtFtM because i want my body to go back to the way it was before i was forced to undergo "corrective" treatment and procedures. that doesn't make me cis, this is an inherently intersex experience, and it does encompass being both MtF and FtM. it's complicated because of what i've gone through, both of my own volition, and against my will.

Its always the image of a fully bearded, ten years on T post op trans guy walking into a women's bathroom, making the cis woman uncomfortable, and saying "welp, this is what you wanted, conservatives 🤷‍♂️" and the scenario ending just with that gotcha. With the centering of cis discomfort.

How about we actually acknowledge the real danger trans men are being put in here. What happens when that fully bearded trans guy is seen going into the "right bathroom" by a protective husband, father, brother, etc. You either get beat up as a man, or beat up as a trans person.

Typically, as soon as a baby enters the world, the family celebrates. my family was happy but simultaneously terrified. Terrified because they are met with a terrifying present and an unknown future.

The sounds that surround them daily are the sounds of bombs and drones, as well as the sounds of people screaming, wailing over the loss of their loved ones and the screams of those who are fleeing, rushing to a place of safety which does not exist

The smells that surround them are that of blood and corpses and burning flesh, instead of the scent of their favourite sweet treats, the scent of their mother's roses planted beautifully in their yard.

The scenery that surrounds them is the scenery of bombs falling on them as they look at the sky, their scenery of rubble and shattered memories, their eyes meeting the bodies and blood of martyrs scattered along the road, as if it were something natural. He may wonder: “Am I next?”

My family has 8 children under 16 years old. These kids aren't living their lives, they're just living.

Darkness and death surround them around every corner. But you can be their light by sharing this campaign and donating, even if it's a small amount. We pin our hopes on the free people of the world to support us.