queer power!

hey folks! mod jay here. just thought i’d share this here -- i’m starting my very first zine, put together by a queer trans team (aka, me, my wife, and my cats lol) you can find us on instagram @thegenderrevolution!

the first issue will be covering queer celebration and trans joy! in a world where we focus so much on the struggles of trans folks, i’d like to take a moment to show our happiness.

any submissions of art, writing, photography (or literally any visual media i can print) depicting trans joy are welcome!! we’re especially looking for any photos of trans folks getting married or having celebrations of love -- i’m hoping to open this issue up with a collage of trans love. the current soft deadline is june 7, as i’m hoping to get this out during pride month.

This has been an effectively dead blog for about a year now, but I still get new messages here on a regular basis. I know that folks are looking for reassurance in such uncertain times. I know we are angry, we are saddened, and we are scared.

Institutional racism has been allowed to exist for too long in our nation. We cannot tolerate the state sanctioned murder of our black siblings. We cannot stand for the suppression of peaceful protest with militarized force.

We have to take action. I urge you to stand up for your black siblings. I urge my fellow white queers to use their platforms as a channel for justice. I urge those of you who can to protest the injustice of our nation, and I call upon those who cannot to donate to bail out funds (like the Minnesota Freedom Fund), black activist groups (like BLM Phoenix Metro), and mutual aid funds. We should seek to educate ourselves and participate in virtual forums and discussions of black liberation.

For those of us who do continue to protest in person, I hope we can do so without violence, but I understand how hard it is to contain our outrage. I am saddened and angry by the injustice that has happened and continues to happen in our country. I hope we can raise our voices together peacefully, but I refuse the notion that property destruction is an equal crime to murder. A building can be rebuilt. George Floyd, Dion Johnson, Breonna Taylor, and the never-ending list of black folk who have been murdered by the police cannot be brought back to life.

If you continue to protest in the following days, please remember to follow some basic safety tips: -- Be wary of folks, especially white folks, attempting to instigate violence in the crowd. Police often attempt to infiltrate and destabalize protests from the inside. -- At minimum, bring water, a face mask, and your ID. -- Write down any vital contact numbers somewhere on your body. -- Know that you may be arrested. -- Know that the police may turn to violent means to disperse a peaceful crowd. -- Know that gathering in a protest will put you at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. -- Know that despite these risks, fighting for what you believe in, standing up for others, is what is right.