Transphobia is about to be signed into law in the UK. We can fight this.
I am begging the UK trans community and its allies to attend the Mass Lobby at Parliament on June 25th, 11am-4pm, organised by Trans Solidarity Alliance.
Last year we broke the record for an LGBT+ mass lobby of Parliament. Will you help us break it again? Join us on 25th June 2026 to demand be
The new EHRC Code of Practice pushes trans people out of toilets, hospital wards, and community spaces. It normalises gender policing based on appearance and stereotypes. It becomes statutory guidance in the UK by the end of June.
Trans people are now legally their assigned gender at birth and must join gendered spaces accordingly, but if they are perceived as their lived gender, they can also be ejected from those spaces. The guidance says: either break the law, or don’t pass too well.
A mass lobby is where you invite your MP to discuss your concerns with you in-person. Ask your MP to:
Demand full parliamentary scrutiny, debate, and use their free vote on the EHRC Code of Practice.
Support any motions rejecting the EHRC guidance. As of June 4th, Labour MP Nadia Whittome has submitted a prayer motion - Early Day Motion 240.
Write to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities about our concerns
Your MP does not have to be an ally, they do not have to respond to your email for you to show up and greencard them (details below the cut.) What matters is that as many people as possible show up.
I cannot stress this enough: Showing up in person matters. It is much more effective than petitions, emails, and letters.
It is a horrible, stressful time, and I am so sorry if you're trans and live in the UK. But I was at last year's mass lobby and the line for greencarding alone stretched around the back gates. It was a record breaking mass lobby and made us impossible to ignore. Let's do even better this time. Details under the cut:
Worried about what to say?
Bring your personal worries about transphobia being signed into law, and trans friends being excluded from public spaces. You are a living person who deserves dignity. Remind your MP of that. You will also get guidance and brochures from Trans Solidarity Alliance that outlines our demands. This is mine from last year.
Money issues?
Trans Solidarity Alliance provides a travel bursary that you can sign up for via the link.
Got a refusal or no response from your MP?
Come anyway! You can request a same-day appointment with your MP through a process called greencarding. They will come and see you if they’re already in Parliament. Even if they don’t, they’re made acutely aware of your cause because you showed up in person. This is my greencard from last year.
Here is the EHRC Code of Practice in full. It's a tough read, but some highlights are:
Organisations can’t provide trans-inclusive, single-sex services, or they risk being sued for discrimination.
e.g. domestic violence support for women including trans women, men’s rugby group including trans men (12.68).
Trans people will have nowhere safe to pee.
If you’re a trans man, businesses can't allow you to pee in the men's, and you can also be ejected from women’s bathrooms if you’re perceived as a man. Vice versa for trans women. EHRC suggests a ‘third space’ bathroom, which is discriminatory and unworkable for most businesses. (13.130-133)
Sports organisations must exclude trans people from single-sex competitions (13.73).
A women’s only sports competition must exclude trans women because of their biological advantage or face potential lawsuits (13.74), but a trans man who has undergone testosterone treatment can also be excluded based on fairness rules (13.81).
Trans women are stripped of the legal definition of ‘lesbian’, and therefore no longer have legal protections if they’re discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. (2.50, 2.92).
Here is the Good Law Project's better explanation of the EHRC Code.
I have also made a PDF printout of QR codes for the government petition, email your MP tool, and mass lobby link to pass around your communities. DM me and I'll send it to you.
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I love that Leverage really goes out of it’s way to show us that just because you break the ‘rules’, it doesn’t mean you’re breaking the rules. Rules and laws and society are all made up, at the end of the day, and all you really have is your own moral compass and sense of justice; is this just to you? Is it right? Should it be OK for companies to put people in insurmountable debt for the rest of their lives just because our medical care is so expensive in this modern day and age? No law or rule should change what you know in your heart is right and wrong, and I think that’s the key thing that makes someone a good person in my eyes.
#there was a time when parker wouldn’t have noticed, #not because she lacked the capacity to care, #but because she had narrowed herself, #to stay alive she cut off as many unnecessary things as possible, #watching her get them all back, #is one of the glories of this show (via @seananmcguire)
This scene hit me like a brick. My parents were hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt when I was 16 bc I’d had cancer the year before (my treatment ended up being free but the initial ER bills and such were not).
But somewhere along the line they just… Disappeared. My mom says they’re not being paid and they’re not in collections. It’s almost as if someone out there did…exactly what Parker did.
Ever since I saw this the first time, I’ve imagined it was Parker doing it. That she and Hardison had a free weekend and decided to take it out on a collections agency. That I was one of the lucky ones who got a little Leverage.
Okay but like yeah, that is actually a thing that happens, albeit not exactly like this. I don’t remember the exact process but basically there’s a booming industry to sell peoples debt - the business you owe money to sells it to someone else for a fraction of the money owed, wipes their hands of the whole affair, and now whoever bought your debt is riding your ass to get you to give the money to the. But it’s also entirely possible for people to just… buy up massive amounts of debt for pennies on the dollar, and then just. Forgive it. Because capitalism is a living nightmare, but the system is broken enough that it’s possible to exploit it for good sometimes.
Like, the main reason I know about this is because John Oliver did a piece on debt buying a few years ago, and ended it by revealing that he’d bought 15 million dollars worth of medical debt just so he could forgive all of it. Both to expose how broken the system was because some random fucker like him could buy millions of dollars in peoples debt with zero regulations, and also just to take the record for biggest TV giveaway in history.
yes! if you want to help with the medical debt crisis in the US and have some extra money please donate to RIP Medical Debt if you can. They’re completely legit and really do what they say - you really CAN relieve an incredible amount of debt for the needy with even a small donation. I’m a monthly donor and receive a quarterly report of the debt they’ve abolished, and it truly is amazing. Based on those reports the average amount of debt abolished per person is actually I would say about $600 - which means, if you’re doing the math, that with a $6 donation to RIP Medical Debt, you can potentially pull one person out of a poverty spiral - maybe even one family. For six dollars. that’s a pretty good deal, I think.
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What’s it called when you have Can’t Talk Disorder? (Or Talk Weird Disorder?)
So, you’re neurodivergent¹ and you can’t talk. Well ... you CAN talk ... some of the time ... but it hurts, or people don’t understand ... and, like, you can tell SOMETHING’S wrong ... but they’re saying you shouldn’t call it ‘going nonverbal’ ² and, well, what DO you call it?
The answer is complicated. There is SO MANY terms for various ways to not speak, have limited speech, or have weird speech. And they all seem to be pretty narrow. ‘Mute’ refers to all people who can’t speak, no matter the cause, and ‘nonverbal’ technically means the same thing, though it’s more often used when there seems to be a neurological (brain) reason for the lack of speech. But there doesn’t seem to be similar terms for ‘speech is hard’ that doesn’t have a cause baked into it.
‘Aphasia’ and ‘apraxia of speech’ are limited to brain injuries. ‘Dysphonia’ is limited to physical injury to the vocal chords. ‘Language disorders’ are limited to things diagnosed in children at a young age when their speech/understanding is delayed. ‘Selective mutism’ refers specifically to trauma affecting speech ability. Etc.
Rather than a broad term that everyone can use, I’ve discovered some more narrow descriptors of various difficulties that someone could have. But, before I get into them, I want to discuss WHY it can be helpful to have this language. And why it can be unhelpful.
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I’ve known there was ‘something wrong’ since I was a kid. Talking hurts my head. It’s exhausting. I make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes I’m reduced to tears and shaking. But I’ve never had the words to describe what’s wrong. And it’s made me feel like I’m faking, being lazy, or imagining things.
Not having set terms also means that other people tend to interpret what I’m saying as normal difficulties with communication. Everyone has trouble finding the words sometimes, and says the wrong word occasionally! It’s really hard to communicate the scale of my issues, especially since they aren’t bad enough to get a professional diagnosis. They’re just wearing me down daily and making me avoid all social interaction. (Please mentally insert sarcastic/rolling eyes emoji here. I don’t understand emoji enough to do it myself.)
Having terminology helps me be patient with myself, and research things that might help. It helps me recognize patterns, and that certain behaviours and experiences are related - that they're not a whole bunch of separate issues.
On the other hand, many of these terms ARE pathologizing normal behaviours. (That means treating them like they’re signs of disorders.) Especially with psychotic disorders, it seems like EVERYTHING gets treated like a sign that you’re broken.³ Please don’t look at these terms and think they mean that your harmless behaviours are actually things that are wrong with you!
It’s only a problem if it’s hurting you, okay?
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¹ The working definition for ‘neurodivergent’ in this post is limited to autism, ADHD, tic disorders, PTSD, and mental disorders in the psychotic, anxiety, and mood varieties. Because those are the things that turned up during my research.
² The reasons that people object to the phrase ‘going nonverbal’ are complex. I don’t understand all the nuance. For me, the heart of the issue is that it makes it harder for nonverbal people, who already find communication hard, to find resources for themselves and connect with other people experiencing the same things. It makes a term less clear for the people least able to be flexible with terminology. And it implies a connection with the experiences of people who are often frustrated with people talking for and over them.
³ If you’re dealing with a psychotic disorder, the term ‘thought disorder’ exists for these challenges. It’s ... well. I found it a good starting point to find many of the more narrow terms! I think the behaviours it describes are real! The way things are framed seems gross and ableist, though, so look it up at your own discretion.
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Anyways, on to the terms I’ve found for specific language issues!
(If anything feels like it might fit, look it up and find out more! These are VERY brief summaries. Just be prepared for the ableism. There's a lot.)
added sounds/words/phrases -
If you produce extra, unintended, syllables and words while trying to speak, or substitute syllables/words with incorrect ones, it's possibly 'paraphasia'.
If you use confused language, with seemingly unconnected words and phrases, it's possibly 'incoherence', or a 'word salad'. If this is due to schizophrenia, it's possibly 'schizophasia'.
If you involuntarily swear or say obscene words, it's possibly 'corprolalia'.
If you involuntarily make sudden and/or repetitive sounds, words or movements, it's possibly a 'tic disorder' and you have 'tics'.
repeated sounds/words/phrases -
If you involuntarily repeat your own words/phrases, it's possibly 'palilalia'.
If you involuntarily repeat the words/phrases that another person/show/etc has said, it's possibly 'echolalia'.
If you repeat sounds/words, prolong sounds, and get 'blocked' (have periods where no sounds will come out), it's possibly 'stuttering' or 'stammering', and you 'stutter'.
If you speak rapidly, repeat yourself, and use too many words, it's possibly 'logorrhea'.
If you involuntarily make sudden and/or repetitive sounds, words or movements, it's possibly a 'tic disorder' and you have 'tics'.
prolonged sounds –
If you repeat sounds/words, prolong sounds, and get 'blocked' (have periods where no sounds will come out), it's possibly 'stuttering' or 'stammering', and you 'stutter'.
wrong sounds -
If you produce extra, unintended, syllables and words while trying to speak, or substitute syllables/words with incorrect ones, it's possibly 'paraphasia'.
If you pronounce specific sounds weird, it's possibly a 'speech sound disorder', an 'articulation disorder' or a 'phonemic disorder'. Subsets:
If you pronounce sibilants ('s' sounds) weird, it's possibly 'lisping' and you 'have a lisp'.
If you pronounce rhotics ('r' sounds) weird, it's possibly 'rhotacism'.
abnormal word use -
If you use confused language, with seemingly unconnected words and phrases, it's possibly 'incoherence', or a 'word salad'. If this is due to schizophrenia, it's possibly 'schizophasia'.
If you use overly formal, flowery, fancy, 'dictionary' language, it's possibly 'stilted speech'.
If you use confused language, with seemingly unconnected words and phrases, it's possibly 'incoherence', or a 'word salad'. If this is due to schizophrenia, it's possibly 'schizophasia'.
If you speak rapidly, with erratic rhythm and poor grammar/syntax, it's possibly 'cluttering'.
added ideas/words/length of speech -
If you speak rapidly, repeat yourself, and use too many words, it's possibly 'logorrhea'.
If you chain together words based on rhymes, alliteration, or idea, without logical connections between them, due to mental illness, it's possibly 'clanging', 'association chaining' or 'glossomania'.
If you can't eliminate irrelevant/inappropriate details about something, it's possibly 'overinclusion'.
If you can't answer a question without a lot of unnecessary detail, it's possibly 'circumstantial speech' or 'circumstantial thinking'.
unconnected/abnormally connected ideas -
If your next thought is replaced by something connected/similar but not actually appropriate for the conversation, it's possibly 'evasion', 'paralogia', or 'perverted logic'.
When you think random, unconnected things have important meanings related to you, it's possibly 'referential thinking'.
If you chain together words based on rhymes, alliteration, or idea, without logical connections between them, due to mental illness, it's possibly 'clanging', 'association chaining' or 'glossomania'.
If you abruptly jump between ideas/topics, it's possibly a 'flight of ideas'.
If you frequently jump to unrelated, or barely related thoughts, it's possibly 'derailment', 'loose association', 'knight's move thinking', or 'disordered thinking'. (This is one of the ones they praise if you’re not mentally ill, by the way.)
If you can't answer a question without a lot of unnecessary detail, it's possibly 'circumstantial speech' or 'circumstantial thinking'.
get stuck on ideas -
If you get stuck on words or ideas, and can't change to another topic, it's possibly 'perseveration'.
rapid speech -
If you speak rapidly, without pauses and spaces to interrupt, it's possibly 'pressured speech'.
If you speak rapidly, repeat yourself, and use too many words, it's possibly 'logorrhea'.
If you speak rapidly, with erratic rhythm and poor grammar/syntax, it's possibly 'cluttering'.
erratic rhythm/no rhythm control -
If you speak rapidly, with erratic rhythm and poor grammar/syntax, it's possibly 'cluttering'.
limited speech -
If you add less detail than expected, say few words, or communicate very little with your words, it's possibly 'alogia', or 'laconic speech'. (The Wiki article for this one is kind of disgusting. Sometimes psychologists make me mad.)
loss of ideas/point/words -
If you frequently jump to unrelated, or barely related thoughts, it's possibly 'derailment', 'loose association', 'knight's move thinking', or 'disordered thinking'. (This is one of the ones they praise if you’re not mentally ill, by the way.)
If you lose your train of thought due to noticing things around you, it's possibly 'distractible speech'.
If you wander off topic and don't return, it's possibly 'tangential speech' or 'tangentiality'.
If your trains of thought abruptly stop and you may not be able to start them again, it's possibly 'thought blocking', or 'obstructive thought'.
If you can't speak, either entirely or in certain situations - due to anxiety, stress, trauma, or other psychological issues – it's possibly 'selective mutism' and you are 'selectively mute'.
If you repeat sounds/words, prolong sounds, and get 'blocked' (have periods where no sounds will come out), it's possibly 'stuttering' or 'stammering', and you 'stutter'.
genusniebla
Hey just so you know you don’t have to have a brain injury to have aphasia. People can have aphasia from migraines and other neurological disorders that disrupt the functioning of the brain. Symptoms that act the exact same way as types of aphasia are reported a lot by patients with fibromyalgia and ME/CFS (both are part neurological disorders) and some autoimmune conditions, but there’s been no solid research into this because of course there hasn’t lol. For migraines it tends to be be categorized as “transient aphasia.” This can also happen with epilepsy
MAZE
Solve the World's Most Challenging Puzzle
by Christopher Manson
A maze in the shape of a book, now in the format of a tumblr blog.
I invite you to enter my Maze. I say it is mine, because despite who else I might be, I am the architect as well as your guide. Your first goal is to find the shortest route through the Maze—a simple task, I assure you, if you know what to look for. I have planted clues throughout for your interpretation—or misinterpretation. Indeed, you will be fascinated by the Maze's ambiguity, stimulated by its mystery, stymied by its riddle. But fear not! I will be with you all the way. Fear not, that is, if
you truly believe that my clues or I can be trusted.
Enter room 1. Which door should you take from here? Someone in the narrative uses the word “story,” and the same word appears above the door to room 20. Is that the connection? Is there a connection? Give it a try and go to room 20, which is peculiar in its own way. Just inside the door to room 27 you see what looks like the bottom half of an archer’s arrow—an arrow pointing the way perhaps? I will not tell. Perhaps it wouldn't help if I did. It is up to you to decide, as you move from room to room, hoping that fact is not illusion and that your best judgment has not led you astray.
Tempted? Test your wits against mine. I guarantee that my Maze will challenge you to think in ways you've never thought before. But beware…one wrong turn and you may never escape.
DIRECTIONS
CONTEST RULES
PROLOGUE
Transcriber's note: it is my belief that the translocation of the Maze into an online, interactive Tumblr format constitutes a transformative work and is as such a fair use of Mr Manson's intellectual property, especially as the original book has long since gone out of print. However, admirers of the Maze and respecters of Mr Manson's artistry are strongly encouraged to seek out and purchase one of the remaining copies of the original book through online or brickspace retailers.
From the Nashville Zoo’s fb page! Here’s the petition, please please please take a moment to add your name (even if you’re not from Nashville!). If you are from Tennessee, contact your representatives and make it clear that the people do not want this data center. This is an AZA accredited zoo which is home to several species of critically endangered animals, we NEED to protect it. Make your voice heard!
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USians, find your reps and call them. This is yet another book ban bill targeting transgender people and anything that mentions race, civil rights, or historical figures of color.
HR 8705 text if you want to dig into it.
Sample script for blue reps:
My name is [_____] and I live in [zip code/district/neighborhood]. I'm calling about HR 8705, the latest attempt by the GOP to erase entire communities from the story of the United States. If passed, it will have a suppressive and damaging effect on our schools and libraries. Teaching a full and honest picture of U.S. history is not indoctrination. Editing and sanitizing that history in favor of patriotic propaganda and white nationalist talking points, however, is. Please do everything in your power to block this horrible bill.
Sample script for red or purple reps:
My name is [_____] and I live in [zip code/district/neighborhood]. I'm calling about HR 8705, the so-called Civics and History Advancement to Restore Learning, Integrity, and Education Act. That's a lot of words being thrown around to say the federal government should get to decide what our local schools teach and how they teach it. If it passes, it will be such a huge waste of time and money. I am opposed to this kind of big government overreach, and I hope Representative [____] opposes it too.
Doing a museum themed stamp rally for WHA at Denver Fanexpo!
Here's my prize piece, based on Monet's "Bridge over a pond of water lilies" :D
I think it turned out rather nice <3
This is at least the second version of The Stygian Library (2024); there was definitely a hardcover prior to this (I know because I owned it) and it is within the realm of possibility that a softcover, zine or PDF version was released prior to that (possibly all three). My rooting around has proven inconclusive. This edition was put together by Soul Muppet to match the clothbound revision of The Gardens of Ynn (see tomorrow’s post!) and it’s a notable improvement over the previous hardcover. In addition to being a lovely, properly bookish object, some layout issues have been resolved and the book feels much more usable (though this might be a trick of my memory).
It very much lives up to its subtitle: “a dungeon for bibliophiles.” It’s another place, accessed through a mundane library, archive or bookshop of requisite size, where someone has died. If the proper door can be found, players can enter into what is essentially an endless indoor space lined with books where, periodically, locations of interest can be found.
The Library is created on the fly, using tables to determine the next point of interest, as well as random events and encounters. The deeper the players go, the stranger the library becomes. Color coded librarians carry out their duties. Strange creatures lurk. Wondrous books wait to be found. I hesitate to say more. The material drifts effortless between darkness and whimsy and there is just so much to discover that I’m frankly a bit in awe of Emmy Allen’s creativity.
The only thing I can think of that seems to capture a similar tone is Electric Bastionland. Which is interesting, because Alec Sorensen illustrated both. I find I like his work here a smidge more, if only because I understand libraries more than I understand bastionlands, so the illustrations seem more grounded to me. I love his mind flayers, er, neurovores!
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If you notice there's less lightning bugs around then there was when you were young, you aren't going crazy. Lightning bugs/fireflies are becoming endangered!
Above is a video from one of my favorite youtubers, Ze Frank, that goes into more detail.
Lightning bug conservation is not being funded, so the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation requires donations to further their research. The aim is to establish lighting bug sanctuaries and begin habitat restoration efforts.
Studying these little guys has done so much for us in many different fields including medicine! It's important that lightning bugs are protected so future generations can experience that magical feeling of sitting in a field surrounded by little lights.
Fireflies are cherished, but they are also declining. Based on assessments published on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s
Summertime is approaching, prime lightning bug season. Bringing this post back because there's still work to be done! The Xerces Society does more then just protect lightning bugs, but butterflies and bees too!
They also have a free PDF guide on how to make your yard/property/garden as firefly safe as possible!
Fireflies are some of our most celebrated insects. They have immense cultural, biological, and economic importance and are important compone
Something that I get chills about is the fact that the oldest story told made by the oldest civilization opens with "In those days, in those distant days, in those ancient nights."
This confirms that there is a civilization older than the Sumerians that we have yet to find
Some people get existential dread from this
Me? I think it's fucking awesome it shows just how much of this world we have yet to discover and that is just fascinating
@makaeru peer review cos this made me check when the Sumerians happened and I forget how recent history is for every other continent. 7000 - 8000 years ago just isn't that long when you're in Australia, and the amount of detailed history we have access to here is wonderful and should be recognised more internationally
Source (non Aboriginal)
And a quote I picked out from a longer interview with an Aboriginal local elder about the area where he touched on the history
Source (the rest of the interview is really interesting and all transcribed, have a look if you're curious)
This is part of my Ancient Civilizations class that I teach, which does a whole week about Australia and the Torres Strait Islands because I was sick of never seeing them represented in USAmerican history contexts. With the help of @micewithknives and @acearchaeologist I've learned so many incredible things about Australia's past and it's been incredibly rewarding to share them with students.
My favorite fact about Aboriginal oral history is the fact that we pretty recently discovered that the Aboriginal myth of the 7 Sisters, an origin story for the Pleiades star cluster, accurately reflects a point TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO when two stars in the constellation got close enough together to no longer be distinguishable by the naked eye.
The story? 6 sisters running from something that took their 7th sister.
