my venmo is catboycecil8 and you can dm me for paypal or zelle, if you have anything to spare for a queer fighting to survive. i know everyone is in need rn, so obviously i hold nothing against anyone who can’t donate, but i would appreciate it a lot if you can share this post to reach people who can.

i’m trying to get a job, but my prospects have been dry or slow-moving at best, so i’m posting this earlier in the month than last time and im not turning off reblogs on this if i hit my needs for the month this time. i’ll only end up making a new post in the near future if this one loses traction before i’m employed again and on the right track. anything i receive more than my immediate needs will go towards next month’s needs, better care for my cat and my bf’s dog, and other important crap like that. thanks for reading

FREE downloadable guide to nonbinary language in Spanish - spread the word! 💛🤍💜🖤

How do we take a traditionally gendered language like Spanish and adapt it to be more gender inclusive?

Language is a powerful tool - this new EduGuide is amplifying non-binary voices, dismantling stigmas, and teaching us how to take a traditionally gendered language and adapt it to be more inclusive.

Our pals at It Gets Better Mexico collaborated with Homosensual to address this crucial issue within the language — download their guide for FREE and share it around to friends, family, your school, and your community: itgetsbetter.org/blog/spanish-eduguide-for-the-inclusion-of-nonbinary-people

Education like this helps create a space where every identity is seen and celebrated!

---------

El lenguaje es una herramienta poderosa - esta nueva EduGuide amplifica las voces no binaries, desmantela los estigmas y nos enseña cómo tomar un lenguaje tradicionalmente basado en género y adaptarlo para que sea más inclusivo.

Nuestres amigis de It Gets Better México colaboraron con Homosensual para abordar este tema crucial dentro del idioma — descarga tú guía GRATIS y compártala con amigues, familiares, tú escuela y tú comunidad para participar en estas importantes conversations: itgetsbetter.org/blog/spanish-eduguide-for-the-inclusion-of-nonbinary-people

¡Una educación como esta ayuda a crear un espacio donde se ve y se celebra cada identidad!

I see you.

I know how you are treated in your ethnic culture, in your family. How they tell you "it's a white thing" even though it was your vibrantly-gendered culture that was steamrolled into a binary by Western colonisers. I know how it feels to not be able to use your correct pronouns in your mother tongue because no one knows the neopronouns you have to use in your binary gendered language. I know how you try to mix and explore sides of your native culture that you have never explored before. That you never knew you could blend so euphorically back when you used to live under the binary. I know the guilt you feel for not fitting in, for not being able to pass up your racialised binary gender experience. The ethic sisterhood, the racialised brotherhood. I know how it feels, to be able to pass as something amongst white people, but then the sweetness of that is taken from you as you remember that it is rooted in the racist binarism that continues to subjugate the binary members of your race. I know how to feels to feel invisible in the non-binary community, when most of our representation is white. I know how it feels to view androgyny or gender neutrality as impossible unless you are white; it was the same feeling you felt towards masculinity and femininity when you were binary gendered. I know how it feels to want to transition in a masculine or feminine way, but remembering those who pass as men or women in your ethnicity get killed and sexually assaulted at random by the system. I know how it feels to not want to risk it, to want to hide forever. I see you. I. See. You.

But I do not only know your struggle. I know the beauty of finding other enben of colour, who understand the intersections, the history. I understand the joy that is uncovering that history before colonialism, of the many different genders and modalities of you ancestors gone by. I know the smile that comes on your face when your chosen family (which can include blood relation) uses the right pronouns, the right neopronouns. I know the understanding that it's okay to still understand your racialised binary experience will forever be a part of you that white trans people might not understand. I know the joy of expression through hair, and the absolute ecstasy that comes when you too will realise that androgyny and gender neutrality is not just for white people, not just in white expression. It works in your ethnicity too. I know the feeling of peace that comes from being gendered in your desired way by a member of your race, realising you are surpassing the binarist system.

@engineering-a-better-world asks:

I often see media of Hispanic people being mechanics and am wondering if I am playing into this stereotype with one of my secondary characters. I did not find anything on your blog about this particular trope and do not know how harmful it is/why. The main five characters are all scientists specializing in different fields. My mc’s best friend is mostly Argentinian with some Nicaraguan ancestry. She is a mechanical engineer with a specialty in prosthetics and makes her own above knee prosthetic legs. There is a Mexican character shown later who is a captain of the city guard and very much a leader and not handy. Are there pitfalls to avoid in this representation? Does her specialty fit negative stereotypes and why?

Hi, thanks for asking. #rubber stamp approved (per Masterpost rules, I cannot give these out any more. This is sort of a joke, but really, this is a great ask to explore ideas of Latino-Americans and Labor stereotypes.) 

It sounds like you have a variety of Latino representation planned for your story. That’s fantastic (and the make or break for me.) You plan to showcase Latinos in different professionalized fields, which is positive. The “ethnic menial labor” trope or “Latino mechanic” trope become problematic when it’s the only representation given for Latino characters, or they’re showcased as one dimensional side-notes to non-Latino MCs. Having variety will offset the heavy (and often negative) overuse of Menial Labor and Hard Labor jobs.

I’m also not trying to reinvent the wheel, so you can check out more about the trope on this TVTropes page on “Ethnic Menial Labor”, and more about Latino representation in media in this Writeinclusion.org factsheet.

Important Note On Latinos and Menial Labor

Many of my Latino family members and friends are trades workers or do ‘hard-labor’ or ‘menial-labor’ jobs. My father was a roofer before he changed careers. My grandfather worked the racetracks. My best friend’s dad managed a restaurant. These jobs, whether ‘hard-labor’ or ‘menial,’ put food on the table and are not indigent. They take care of our families.

As long as Latinos in these jobs are not framed as less-than, I have no problem with the range of experiences being displayed. The fact that your characters fit into jobs across the socioeconomic spectrum mitigates your concern about stereotyping.

Seeing more professionalized Latino characters is great, and I can’t wait to read it.

Melanie 🌻

Notes:

Meet Melanie, our newest WWC mod (as of this post)!

The news outlets are barely reporting what is going on and I'm trying to do my best to share the minute to minute from within the country.

For context: Hi, my name is Shan, I'm older than 20 years old. I'm a Venezuelan reporting from within the country, specifically from the center north of Venezuela.

I started my reports in English after the events of January 3rd, when Trump broke several local and international laws to attack Venezuela and take Nicolas Maduro and his wife. I'm trying to deliver my perspective of the current events so people can be better informed. Although my reports are not perfect and they're only one version of the facts, I'm hoping it might encourage people to engage with what's happening to us.