Levi

However, the idea of what a man can be has not expanded in the same way. Every man has to be stoic, loud, take up space, and never show weakness. Allowing men to be sensitive, emotional, soft, pretty, and feminine used to be one of the goals of feminism. After all, how are we supposed to see ourselves as truly equal if we still have such strict rules guiding gendered behavior?

Recently, I have seen feminism (trans exclusionary and trans inclusive) solidifying those strict rules of manhood instead of breaking them down. The idea that all men are agressive, stubborn, and will physically overpower you has been parroted so many times, it almost feels like fact. It is forcing —not the men themselves— but the idea of men into the role of the evil wrongdoer. The ways in which terfs have used this image to harm trans women are myriad and obvious.

It used to be common knowledge that feminism also ought to benefit men in this way. If the sexes were truly equal, then men could act feminine, and women could act masculine without social repercussions. This breakdown of gender roles is a good thing! It is freeing for all of us to remove the arbitrary rules guiding gendered behavior.

Part 2 of me doodling some roughs for more TMA characters in the world of The Watching Beast

A freind who lives in Missouri sent me this screenshot.

The work isn't choosing better categories: it's learning to think without need categories in the first place. I mean- Please Stop trying to shove people into tidy little boxes! I escaped my box!

But how do we help people notice they're thinking in binaries without immediately sorting 'binary thinking' into another binary? This is why I say "labels are traps".

but there's a better hypothetical: ask what they would want to happen if they were a victim of a hate crime. should the perpetrator be merely rehabilitated? locked away for an arbitrary amount of time? executed on the spot?

https://transformharm.org/ab_resource/what-about-the-rapists-and-murderers/

Read a fucking book.

Also?

"what they would want to happen if they were a victim of a hate crime. should the perpetrator be merely rehabilitated?"

Yes.

I am a rape and murder attempt survivor. I am a hate crime survivor.

I am also a prison abolitionist, because I have this crazy, stupid idea that they are human rights, not good person rights & that the golden thread of justice is Innocent Until Proven Guilty Beyond All Doubt. I would rather 10 guilty people go free than even 1 innocent person be wrongfully convicted.

I would prefer the man who raped me, the people who abused me, the man who tried to kill me, the people who assaulted and harrassed me for hateful reasons still retain their human rights, because they are still human beings. I don't want to go anywhere near them, and I would prefer that they see social consequences for their actions--because that's the thing. Prison abolition doesn't mean victims and their families don't get a say, doesn't mean I don't want consequences to be visited on them. To put it in a pithy, memey way:

This is a silly way of pointing out the difference between social consequences and legal ones, but there is a difference nonetheless. Do I have the emotion of anger at the people who have been cruel and sometimes left me with permanent harm? Yeah I'm pretty angry at them. I'm mean to them when they come up in conversation, I insult them a lot and I would insult them to their faces if I ever saw them again, and mock them openly and my friends would too, and if we lived in the same community anymore I would warn people about them and try my best to make sure they were shunned and avoided so others would be safer. But there's a vast chasm of difference between what I think I should be allowed to feel and think and say in social situations and what I think the State should be allowed to do to them.

I believe in Restorative Justice, because it prioritises repairing the harm done to the community and not punishing the sinful guilty. While you can't therapy someone into different morals, you'd be surprised how many people benefit from education and having their needs actually met. You know what I want from the man who tried to murder me? I want my cats and my stuff. You want to know what I want from the people who hate crimed me? I want them to be told what they did was a hate crime and that they owe me reparations.

See, us prison abolitionists want prison replaced with things like UBI, free food for all, universal healthcare, repealing harmful laws like those for loitering and sleeping in public, mental health crisis teams, conflict de-escalation + basic therapy skills and other life skills training being compulsory in public education, harm reduction centers, decriminalisation of sex work and drug use, free daycare, Montessori education, and other things that make sure people have what they need to thrive and don't have to live in a state of desperation and fear. And this is proven to cut down on ALL crime.

We also think slavery is wrong, no matter what you have done. Slavery is wrong. I cannot believe you are sitting there arguing that slavery is okay if you are deemed a bad enough person (because that's what prison IS). That's a very cruel point of view and I am tired of not calling the prison system what it is: slavery. It's slavery. Let's stop beating around the bush. It's slavery. "Slavery should be okay if someone is convicted of x crime" No. Slavery is evil and wrong PERIOD.

Further Reading:

- Hiring sign language interpreters

- Ensuring venues are step free

- Making dedicated sensory safe spaces

- Providing free masks

- Including braille or audio described signage

- Using plain language in speeches

Hiring a mobile changing places toilet for people who can’t use standard accessible toilets– these are fitted with an adult size changing table, hoist and room for a someone with a large wheelchair and two carers to move around in.

If your event is on grass create pathways with mats to avoid people getting stuck in mud if it’s rained recently

Covering cables in a way that allows wheelchairs users to go over them independently and painlessly (please install a ramps if you use those ones that look like speed bumps)

Wheelchair access to any stages especially if acts are inviting members of the audience on stage at any point… maybe you have no wheelchair users performing, but you never will if it’s not accessible

It's rude. You're making someone take their time to read something you couldn't bother to write. You're telling them they were so unimportant you couldn't be bothered to actually take the time to say something yourself. And frankly, you're lying about it while you're at it.

“I want to be good again.”

.