Friendly reminder that if you support reproductive rights and bodily autonomy but say that disabled people shouldn't have children because they'll pass down their genes which is "cruel" or "abusive", you do not support reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. Reproductive rights do not only concern abortion for cis white abled women.

I've been seeing a lot of "delete your periode tracking apps" coming up due to the recent life-ending, gut-wrenching news BUT

There IS an option. Clue is a German based tracking app and the US and NO JURISDICTION over them, which means they that can PROTECT YOUR DATA.

As someone with a shitty fucking uterus who had to spit out 500 bucks under my Canadian health care system for birth control that would finally allow me to live WITHOUT debilitating pain I know how fucking important it is to TRACK THAT SHIT.

Keep a book!! Use apps like clue that aren't based in the US!! Pen and fucking paper I don't CARE but please, uterus owners-

Birth control and the right to an abortion are basic fucking human rights and I know you are so EXHAUSTED and TERRIFIED, I am too. But please, please, please remember to take care of yourself. In all of the ways. It sucks that you have to do this but you have to adapt, you have to stay so fucking vigilant, you have to protect yourself and take care of your mind and body.

Please DO NOT neglect yourself out of fear and hopelessness because your government is neglecting you. Protect yourself, protect your body. And DO NOT STOP FIGHTING.

I've read some of your content on eugenics and my question for you is .. what is your opinion on a 16, year old girl intentionally choosing to become pregnant

My opinion is that it should be her choice, no one else's. No one should have the right to interfere in her reproductive choices.

That doesn't necessarily mean I would recommend it. If a hypothetical 16 year old approached me and said "I want to have a baby, do you think I should do it now, or wait until I'm 18?" I would recommend waiting until you're 18. Everything is so much more legally complicated when you're a minor. It will be much easier to make major medical decisions when you're legally free to do so. I would suggest you spend the next couple of years planning, preparing, everything you need to have a baby, get all of that prep work out of the way so that you can confidently hit the ground running when you're 18. Plus, while everyone's body is different, it's common to experience some pelvic growth between ages 16 and 18, which reduces the risk of pregnancy complications.

But ultimately the decision is yours, no one else's.

I'll always remember Hozier as a writer of protest songs and Swan Upon Leda has just strengthened that feeling. Lamenting the loss of an ancient land, its culture, and people due to illegitimate colonial occupation needs to be sung about more often because state-sponsored media routinely suppresses these brutalities, and imprisons whistleblowers and activists who dare bring the truth to light. I'm also in awe of how he tied the occupation of a country to the occupation of a body, the encroachment of sovereignty to the encroachment of reproductive autonomy. It's beautiful, profound, and heartbreaking all at once. I have never heard a person sing so tenderly about something so sadistic. It is a rare talent. I can't wait to hear what other treasures he has recorded for Unreal Unearth. Revolution and decolonisation are eternal processes. Yet, I hope in this lifetime, childbearers reclaim their constitutional right to abortion. I hope women and other hijab wearers of Iran win their freedom. I hope I see a free Kashmir, a free Palestine, a free Ukraine, a free Tibet, and that all other occupied territories may see the walls of their open-air prisons demolished.

thinking about women and reproductive ability. thinking about trans men and reproductive rights. thinking about intersex people whose bodies are closest to female and reproductive autonomy.

thinking about how Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (an intersex variation) affects around 13% of people assigned female at birth - which is a lot - and includes debilitating symptoms like chronic fatigue and extreme period pain and ovarian cysts, and yet 99% of treatment, research, and doctor concern is focused on infertility (and weight loss).

thinking about how difficult it is as a trans man to access reproductive care. how difficult it is to access a hysterectomy. for everyone, but especially trans men.

thinking about how the first thing my father's friend said when he found out i was a trans man was "i hope she doesn't do anything that will take away her ability to have kids". how my parents took my transition mostly in stride but how upset they were when i told them i was having a hysterectomy. how they insisted that I'll want kids some day, even though I'd consistently said my whole life that i didn't.

i hate the whole "women as walking wombs" thing because its so easy to slip into radfem, terf, right wing ideology. but sometimes it feels true.

I'm 19 but I already decided some years ago that I never want to get pregnant, and I'm on birth control but I know that's not a garunteed protection. Am I too young to have my uterus removed? I don't really have any need for it

Hi Anon,

Good for you for being proactive with your reproductive goals!

The good news is that there are a number of birth control options (hormonal and nonhormonal) that offer protection as good or better than tubal ligation (getting tubes tied), and some last as long as 10 years at a time.

The bad news is that you are unlikely to find a provider willing to perform an elective hysterectomy on anyone under the age of 35 without medical reasoning. There are several justifications for this; some are reasonable, and some are stupid (NOTE: in my opinion).

Let's talk about these two things separately. (2 posts!).

HYSTERECTOMY

Removal of the uterus, while a very common surgical procedure, is still a surgical procedure that has significant costs, risks and potential life-long side effects (and I'm NOT talking about fertility). Risks include everything from acute problems (hemorrhage, perforation, etc.), to longer-term health problems (increased risk of stroke, loss of bone density, urinary problems, heart attack, etc.) and sexual functioning issues (vaginal atrophy and dryness). It's not just like snapping out a Lego piece.

So when it comes to the prevention of childbearing, with no other medical reason given, many doctors will be unwilling to take these risks when there are safer alternatives. Medical reasons can include persistent heavy menstrual bleeding, fibroids or other uterine growths, gender-affirming surgery, endometriosis, etc. Even for these conditions, a hysterectomy is usually the treatment of last resort, and those seeking one may still struggle to get one.

Now . . . here's where the (in my opinion) stupid part comes in. We live in a country where an 18-year-old can choose to get elective cosmetic surgery like breast implants. I think there is a marked inconsistency in logic when we say that that young adult can make an informed decision about that surgery, but not in this situation. I do think it's a holdover from patriarchal handwringing about the ability of people with uteruses to make decisions about those uteruses. And yes, some doctors are overly concerned with preserving people's fertility even when the patient is adamant they don't care about preserving it. I don't know what the "right" age is to let young adults make these decisions for themselves, but I do think it should be consistent at least!

---

So Anon - The TLDR is: I think you should be able to make this informed decision with the consultation of a gynecologist who gives you all the information you need, and who will take the time to verify that you do understand what you are consenting to, short- and long-term. But, you are also going to have a hard time finding that at this point in your life.

I hope you can get what you need (security from pregnancy) by using one of the long-acting reversible contraceptives I will mention in my other post.

finally some good news

I'm writing a story and I'd like to how trans people get/treat STDs. If they haven't had bottom surgery is it no different than someone with those parts who is cis? But if they have, what differences are there? How about someone with no genitals?

In general it's pretty much the same as it would be for cis people. Bloodwork and a urine sample are the standard, and aren't really any different based on what someone's genitalia is like.

Pap smears and other sorts of exams can be dysphoria inducing as well, and there's some situation where it may be difficult to use a speculum because of atrophy (which can be for all sorts of reasons, hormones, vaginismus, imperforate hymen, intersex stuff). And people whose vaginas are surgically constructed don't typically have a cervix, so pap smears don't really get done as far as I know. (Sometimes speculums are used for other things though, like making sure everything is healing right, trimming or removing stitches from surgery, etc.)

But for the most part, the differences for STI testing specifically are mostly social, and can go different ways based on who is administering the test. Pap smears are in particular stressful for trans people who may have genitalia that's been altered by hormones. (I know it's irrational but the worry about getting a boner during a pap test, for instance, has crossed my mind a lot.)

Some other testing can be thrown for a loop because of the way procedure etiquette works. I had to have a transvaginal ultrasound once to check for ovarian cysts and there were definitely parts of it that were weird for me. (Transvaginal ultrasounds involve the ultrasound wand going inside the front hole for an accurate reading of specific parts of the reproductive system.) For instance, the ultrasound tech was a cis man and as part of their protocol, a cis woman nurse had to be in the room while I underwent this procedure. I hadn't asked about that ahead of time or really thought anything about it - I was in the emergency room trying to get to the bottom of extreme abdominal pain and I figured I could endure what I needed to. But in an ideal world, I'd be able to ask for a non cis person to be in the room with me I think. (I came in an ambulance, which would not take my partner with me.) (It turned out to be a 4mm kidney stone by the way, no ovarian cysts.)

Another anecdote that may be relevant to this topic is that sometimes doctors get weird about not knowing what you're testing for, because they don't know what body parts you have (and which were added at what points, made of what material). Prior to the transvaginal ultrasound, a doctor asked me what "chromosomes" I had. I honestly told him I did not know, I hadn't ever had a karyotype test as far as I knew. The doctor stumbled over himself a lot and I don't remember what else he said right after that, other than he was fumbling, got corrected, and that he was clearly Trying His Best. I interrupted the second or third useless question with, "are you asking if I have ovaries in case it might be a burst ovarian cyst or something?"

He was instantly relieved and said yes, so I told him.

There's a big problem I've noticed, that when people talk about these sorts of topics, they aren't specific enough in order to address what they mean. We use euphemisms like "assigned female" because people don't know that someone "assigned female" can have literally any body type. People seem afraid to name body parts, so they use euphemisms that rely on stereotypes and assumptions in order to be understood. But when you realize that people "assigned female" can be intersex, can have hysterectomies, can have testes, can have phalloplasties, and that everyone's parts are more or less analogous (skenes gland = prostate, etc), you realize how useless these broad categories are. If you want to ask if someone could carry a pregnancy, ask if they could carry a pregnancy. Not if they have certain chromosomes or were DFAB. Specifics matter. If I knew I was XY, that doctor would probably have assumed that the pattern of people with XY chromosomes not menstruating would include me. And if I did have ovarian cysts, or even a pregnancy, this could have dramatically impacted my health outcomes. (There have been stillbirths because of situations like this where people did not act fast enough because of ignorance around trans bodies.) I could have given in and guessed my chromosomes when the doctor asked, but what if my answer turned out to not be true? And what if the lack of confidence in my answer saved my life in some way?

I realize this is pretty far deviated from your original topic, but in terms of testing difficulties, it does feel like the sort of anecdote that would be very informative about these issues.

- mod nat

Fucking what.

Still has so much empty space on it!!! I will definitely be adding more patches as I figure things out and troubleshoot them. as a joke i started putting the places i’ve worked down one arm, so far i just have the two patches, but im pretty sure i could find more if i back through my things (do you throw away old work clothes? I’ve started keeping them as painting/crafting clothes for when things get messy, then i dont have to ruin my clothes)

It’s NEVER been about states’ rights. They will do this as soon as they get the chance and try to push a NATIONAL BAN.

VOTE, VOTE GODDAMNIT.

I have the nexplanon arm bar insert so I don’t get periods very often. But today I did. For the first time in 5 months. Fuck this. Science should have beat this by now! Prioritize women’s medicine! And while I have you here: sedate women for IUDs!!

Holy shit when I got my insert they asked if I had any questions and I asked “does it hurt” and she’s like “huh, that’s a good question”. Bitch, yes or no! I can take it if you fucking warn me. Why do doctors not care about our pain? They’re totally blind to it like we’re oranges they’re practicing stitches on.

Then they just numbed it locally and told me to look away. They fucking sliced my arm and stuck a plastic bit in there and then made me feel it because you’re supposed to be able to feel it. Blech. Then they cleaned me up and sent me on my way like I didn’t just get minor surgery. And I had to drive myself 45 minutes home and my arm hurt SO BAD.

Just be honest with me and tell me to get someone to drive me home because I’ll be sore after. Then I couldn’t lift my arm to type for 3 days! I would have just taken off of work if I knew there was a recovery time. I can no long cross my arms naturally because my right hand would tuck under my arm and hit my insert, I can’t rest hand on the center console in the car because mg inner upper arm would rest against the seat. I can’t lay on my left side in bed anymore. If I had known it would affect all these things, I would have put it in my right arm! But there is no thought to care outside of the doctors office.

There’s no consideration for women’s pain at all. My nexplanon story is still WAY better than any IUD story I’ve heard, even when it goes well! Birth control is a nightmare and medicine needs to speed the fuck up in making not having babies less horrific. Because having babies is most horrific of all! Why can’t there be one option that doesn’t feel like a punishment? It would be a bad idea for me to become pregnant because my body can’t handle it. My periods are so painful and debilitating, even when I only get them three times a year. I’ve found that the arm bar insert is the best option for me because remembering to take the pill at the same time every day was something I found stressful. Now I don’t have to think about it for 5 years, that’s great. I love having the option to not get pregnant, I just wish it wasn’t so awful and that doctors cared more about patient pain, but because it’s about women having sex, it’s too taboo to even think about making it easy and comfortable

Republicans own Alabama’s IVF ruling lock, stock, and barrel, a direct consequence of their war against women’s reproductive freedom. GOP members in the U.S. Senate and House as well as in state governments across the nation are currently proposing “personhood“ and “Life at Conception” laws. They must not be allowed to run away from It by proclaiming support for IVF. No!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/25/cancer-ivf-alabama-embryos/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/25/cancer-ivf-alabama-embryos/

Other people have written about how being childfree by choice is not an excuse to be ageist against children. Children are a marginalized class who deserve to be liberated from ageism, and choosing not to create any yourself does not absolve you from your obligation to support children's rights, existence, and opportunity to thrive. I would also like to add: Being childfree, or choosing to delay having children, is not an excuse to be ageist against young(er) parents, including your own parents, if applicable (how warped is societal ageism that people are infantilizing their own parents?). Young parents are also a marginalized class (though not nearly as much as children are) who also deserve equal acceptance for their reproductive choices. And as people get more and more mask-off about supporting things like forced sterilizations, forced abortions, and eugenics, it's more important than ever to affirm this. Completely reasonable, valid statements that we should respect:

"I don't ever want to have children."

"I don't feel ready to have children at this point in my life, but I might some time in the future."

"People in my social circle are having children, and I'm not, and I'm having some feelings about how I fit into that social circle now."

"Now that I'm the age my parents were when I was a child, I can look back on the events of my childhood with more empathy for my parents' perspective, and I can now understand my parents as whole, separate, complex, flawed individuals, in a way that I couldn't when I was younger."

Harmful, ageist statements that we should absolutely not respect:

"I can't believe it's acceptable for people MY age to have children! We're too young!"

"It's so sad to see these poor young girls throw their lives away having babies."

"My friends are giving up their ambitions to have babies? I thought they were smart?"

"I can't believe my mom had me when she was only [age]. Just a child. Just a baby. I'm [that age] and I'm much too young to have kids! So sad!"

See the rather glaring difference? I'm not naming the specific ages I've seen this discourse around, because it doesn't matter -- ageism against parents of any age is always wrong regardless -- but I will point out that this is the kind of rhetoric I grew up hearing about "teen moms" (also not okay! teen moms are awesome!) now being applied to people in their 20s and even 30s.

The female reproductive system looks similar to a sharks brain.

I did not know this but I am surprised it does, I wasn’t expecting it to be so similar