adhdyke

some more lil rotomikus they make me happy ⚡️💙⚡️🧡

wow that's wonderful news im glad that a trans woman is getting to join a women's soccer tea-

...oh

This guy is out here the implying that trans people (let’s be real he talking about trans women) playing on teams that actually aligns with their identity is “unfair” and we’re expected to what? Clap for him?

What a fucking asshole.

you can't just put the work of someone who's currently trying to eradicate trans people on display without being questioned about it, especially if you claim to care about us.

Rhetorical dogwhistles are things that most people would not be able to identify as bigoted because they're INTENDED to have plausible deniability.

The wording changes are meant to be subtle enough that people really can mix them up accidentally when they don't have much information!

So when the gender critical movement calls trans women "transwomen", they're hoping for 2 things.

this usage will spread enough among people who don't know any better, to give transphobes the plausible deniability of not LOOKING like a frothing bigot constantly.

the usage grammatically places trans women in a different category than other women; it's changing "trans" from an adjective to part of a noun to make this distinction.

The more we can avoid this usage, the less deniability have transmisogynists have when using it, and the less rhetorical ground we cede to the degendering and misgendering of trans women.

Above: Amerila astreus with two large globs of defensive froth

Moths of the genus Amerila are often described as frother moths, because they're able to secrete a frothy, foul-tasting substance that helps to deter predators. The fluid is produced by the prothoracic glands, which are located near the base of each wing (just behind the moth's head) and a distinctive "sizzling" or "hissing" sound is emitted as the frothy substance bubbles out.

Above: Amerila astreus

As this article explains:

If molested, resting adults produce quantities of a frothy, orange fluid from their prothoracic glands, accompanied by a sizzling sound. The froth not only has an aversive odor to humans but also contains PAs (pyrrolizidine alkaloids) which are taste-repelling.

Above: a frother moth producing its defensive secretion

The adult moths of this genus are pharmacophagous, which means that they acquire the chemicals that are used to create their defensive froth by ingesting plants that contain toxic or noxious compounds; those chemicals are then sequestered within the moth's own body, where they are repurposed and transformed into a frothy secretion.

Above: genus Amerila

Frother moths also use aposematic markings to signal their toxicity and/or unpalatability. Their legs, thorax, and abdomen are all decorated with reddish-pink markings, and they have large black spots that stand out against their mostly-white bodies.

Above: Amerila crokeri and Amerila rubripes

The genus Amerila contains dozens of species, and they are all known to have this defense mechanism. They are widely distributed throughout many different parts of the world; depending on the species, they may be found in the Himalayas, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, Australia, or Africa.

Above: Amerila crokeri

Several other moths from the subfamily Arctiinae can produce a similar defensive secretion when threatened, but the color, consistency, and composition of the substance differs greatly from one species to the next.

Sources & More Info:

iNaturalist: Genus Amerila

Metamorphosis Australia: Australian Arctiid Moths

Australian Lepidoptera: Amerila crokeri

Metamorphosis Australia: Weird and Wonderful Moths

Entomo Brasilis: Defensive Froth in Arctiidae Species in the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil (PDF)

Moths of Australia: Adult Adaptations for Survival