#queer activism

Dem candidate for Ohio governor throws trans kids under the bus, as reported by Erin Reed/Erin In The Morning: “I do not support boys playing in girls sports." Progressive orgs have *deleted* their online critical comments.

Add Amy Acton to the list of Dem darlings in red states who are trying to win by crushing trans Americans underfoot (looking at you, Josh Turek, Iowa Senate race!).

How the hell are we supposed to turn this country around if the only Democrats we can vote for are supporting MAGA bigotry against LGBTQ+ Americans? (Rhetorical question.)

If Blue MAGA is the only way we can regain control of Congress, someone please explain to me how that’s going to make any difference in the short or long term for *any* of us – and having Blue MAGA incumbents for years to come will ensure we’re all screwed in perpetuity.

Damn it all to hell! Many of us have spent our lives fighting for the equal treatment that the Constitution promised us, and *this* is what we get? The Democratic establishment is telling us we’re disposable, expendable, second-class Americans.

Right now, I don't have a clue what we can do about this, but I'm not going to sit down and shut up, and I'm open to suggestions and brainstorming and coming up with a workable strategy to push back hard on this retrograde nonsense.

What I do know for sure is that the Democratic Party is worse than useless right now, and we need to realize that unless and until they get with the damn program, they are not our friends, they do not support us, they will not protect us or save us or prevent the loss of our civil rights and ability to participate in civil society - and they sure as hell don't deserve our support.

We won't stay home, we won't vote third-party or pull the juvenile stunts that we saw the anti-Kamala and the "Trans For Trump" Bluesky brigade indulge in two years ago, we're not going to cut our own throats, but we ARE going to make sure these Blue MAGA Dems are held to account with the old reliable activist tactics that got things done during the AIDS crisis.

This is my last rodeo. After 40 years of frontline LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activism, and well into my 60's with a family for the first time, I cannot march forever, and I want to make sure I leave it all on the battlefield, I want us all to have a chance at a better future, and I want to see these bastards get crushed at the polls before I head to the farm upstate where I can chase squirrels for the rest of my days!

Grampa Mutt loves you and wants you to have a happy life and a fabulous future. Let's get this done.

Celebrating queer activists for Pride Month!

(Reposted from Georgia Equality's instagram since they don't have tumblr)

[ID: The image is captioned, "May 17, 2026. International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia." Vertical stripes representing the pride and transgender flags are on the left side of the image with a centered white heart. In the bottom right is the organization logo, a dark blue silhouette of the US state of Georgia with a rainbow stripe going through the middle.

/EndID]

I myself distrust most men, due to years of repeated trauma at the hands of multiple men. I distrust them, and I dislike a majority of them. I’m not a misandrist.

I think men need to learn, and they need to be better because so many of them are misogynistic whether they want to acknowledge it or not. But I’m not going to treat men the same way they’ve been treating women for centuries, just to “get back at them” or to give them a taste of their own medicine.

I’m not going to act like abusing men is funny. I’m not going to act like male victims deserve to be abused. I’m not going to victim blame men, or promote abuse or violence against them, or condone cheating, etc.

I’m tired of people using their struggles as an excuse to abuse others. Misogyny is one of the biggest problems in the world today, but that’s not going to be fixed by misandry. Abuse is never the answer. Anyone who thinks otherwise can kindly fuck off.

And misandry doesn’t just affect cis white straight men. It also affects trans men, queer men, black men, disabled men, etc.

I don’t think people understand that misandry affects men outside of just hurting their feelings or pissing them off. There will be little boys bullied to suicide for being victims, just like little girls have for centuries. There will be men denied help in DV situations who end up dead in a ditch, just like women. There will be trans men who will see higher rates of violence against them. POC will be attacked more and it will be covered up as gender based violence rather than racism.

Fighting abuse with abuse doesn’t fix anything, it only spreads the abuse. Do I think that misogyny and the damage it has caused warrants some sort of punishment or something? Yes! But I will never condone furthering the cycle of abuse because of those struggles. Misandry only adds to the hurt without fighting for or fixing anything.

I understand why people are misandrists. I understand why they’re angry. I understand why they want revenge. But please, use that energy to actually make a change. Use that energy to fight for progress! We are never going to get anywhere if we keep pushing the cycle of abuse to get back at the people who hurt us.

I think heaps of younger queer folk would appreciate understanding the difference between an elder, and a community Elder.

Please keep in mind, this is my own personal opinion based on experience, and anecdotes from other members of my communities.

In everyday language, an elder is someone who is senior to you, traditionally in age, by nature of their life experience. This is your grandma. This is the trans guy who finally got to transition at 60 (finally!). This is your landlord who is in his 90s and still insists on doing the maintenance himself.

A community Elder, however, is typically someone who has EARNED or been GRANTED seniority, based on merit, life experience, skill set and knowledge holder status, or community need (among other reasons), regardless of age. This is the trans lady who was at the first pride. This is the guy who watched all his closest friends die of AIDS. This is the aboriginal woman who holds thousands of years of songlines and history. This is the nonbinary person who transitioned when they were forced to pick a binary gender and pass.

As you can imagine, these two concepts overlap a whole lot, but not always. As mentioned, age is not necessarily a prerequisite for community Elders.

How I've typically seen it work in LGBTQIA+ spaces is, Elder status is commonly respected in the following groups of people:

Older people who have been around and Seen Some Shit (HIV/AIDS, medicalisation of trans bodies, riots, being illegal, etc.) tend to hold Elder status by account of they were there Gandalf.

Queer people who have lived through significant shifts in laws around bodily autonomy, homosexuality, intersex rights, and access to gender affirming care (and may even have been instrumental in changing those laws)

Community leaders who are widely recognised due to their community building efforts, activism and being a positive role model and public figure.

People who have just been around a really long time and are generally good role models and fondly regarded. Typically knowledge holders as well as just being respected community members.

This is not an exhaustive list but you can hopefully start to see the difference between someone who is Actually a community Elder, and someone who is just old. However, not everyone who falls into these categories is considered to be a community Elder. You may have noticed a common theme. Good role model. If people are shit, if they're just generally really unkind, difficult and bad influences, they generally are not considered to be community elders. They are not granted responsibility, a platform, or the same respect.

So what does an Elder even do anyway?

Anything they fucking want.

No seriously they earned the right to have the audacity.

Ok but actually seriously, typically community Elders serve as community leaders, mentors, senior activists, knowledge holders and role models. These responsibilities are taken on both formally and informally. They may recognise their status as an Elder, or they may not. Elder status can be revoked. Elder status may be a formal title, or a an informal community understanding. A lot of people aren't even aware it's a social dynamic they're participating in, for example.

Please keep in mind: people who brag about being a community Elder, or hold it over other peoples heads, are very rarely Actually community Elders. Please use your discernment around these kinds of people. They're usually trying to build cults of personality around their ego. Talk to older members of your community and make sure people are actually regarded as Elders. Just cuz they're old, doesn't mean they're respected members of the community, or Elders.

And not everyone agrees on who is an Elder in a community. For example, there are many trans-exclusionary lesbian cis women in the community who are considered 'Elders' by virtue of their life experience and merits. However, trans and gender diverse people, and our allies, may not agree that they are Elders due to being poor role models, and having active hostility towards members of the community.

Additionally, I have noticed a particular trend of much younger people (usually people in their teens) referring to other young people, in their early 20s for example, as community elders. The only reason I've seen cited is that they have been on HRT for a few years. I'm really sorry to inform you, these individuals are neither elders, or community elders. They're just regular people with a platform.

Highly recommend reading up on Actual community elders, who have done some AMAZING incredible things. Big recommend for trans masc folk is 'We both laughed in pleasure' the diaries of the late great Lou Sullivan. A gay trans man who revolutionised trans health care for homosexual and bisexual trans men through his activism in the 80s and 90s.