I don't know who needs to hear this, but:

It is absolutely fine to use a label, only to realise it doesn't suit you anymore. Labels aren't there to bind you to them. They serve as a way to better describe how one feels and what ones lived experience can be like.

I had two pipelines of relabeling myself simultaneously.

From bi to lesbian, and back to bi.

From asexual to demisexual (because I thought, that one day, maybe I feel this kind of attraction, as sex-ambivalent and oscillating were terms I related with, and still do), and back to being asexual.

Does that make me less sapphic or a-spec? Absolutely not.

And to be honest: I still haven't figured out if I'm demiromantic or aromantic. And that is perfectly fine. We don't own anyone an explanation, but ourselves.

If the label felt good at that time, but doesn't anymore, let it go and take the one that feels more fitting. ♡ We are human beings. We are allowed to grow. You are valid, no matter which label you choose.

Labels are made to describe your current identity It's OK to use a label that may not have fit you in the past or may not fit you in the future, just so long as it fits who you are now.

Oops, wrong blog

Well, enjoy these pigeons anyways!

Today's birds are these pigeons!

Today's birds are these pigeons!

“If a society puts half its children into short skirts and warns them not to move in ways that reveal their panties, while putting the other half into jeans and overalls and encouraging them to climb trees, play ball, and participate in other vigorous outdoor games; if later, during adolescence, the children who have been wearing trousers are urged to “eat like growing boys,” while the children in skirts are warned to watch their weight and not get fat; if the half in jeans runs around in sneakers or boots, while the half in skirts totters about on spike heels, then these two groups of people will be biologically as well as socially different. Their muscles will be different, as will their reflexes, posture, arms, legs and feet, hand-eye coordination, and so on. Similarly, people who spend eight hours a day in an office working at a typewriter or a visual display terminal will be biologically different from those who work on construction jobs. There is no way to sort the biological and social components that produce these differences. We cannot sort nature from nurture when we confront group differences in societies in which people from different races, classes, and sexes do not have equal access to resources and power, and therefore live in different environments. Sex-typed generalizations, such as that men are heavier, taller, or stronger than women, obscure the diversity among women and among men and the extensive overlaps between them… Most women and men fall within the same range of heights, weights, and strengths, three variables that depend a great deal on how we have grown up and live. We all know that first-generation Americans, on average, are taller than their immigrant parents and that men who do physical labor, on average, are stronger than male college professors. But we forget to look for the obvious reasons for differences when confronted with assertions like ‘Men are stronger than women.’ We should be asking: ‘Which men?’ and ‘What do they do?’ There may be biologically based average differences between women and men, but these are interwoven with a host of social differences from which we cannot disentangle them.”

— Ruth Hubbard, “The Political Nature of ‘Human Nature’“ (via gothhabiba)

Yes.

Please please please think of trans people of color when you’re going to make a generalized statement. When you’re making posts about passing tips, medical treatments for transitioning, even light hearted stereotypes include people of color in your sentiments.

As a black trans person it is so fucking isolating to see stuff I’m supposed to relate to only to find that they weren’t talking about me or people like me.

how do you manage to live if your parents don't accept you and you're underage?

it's shitty living with unaccepting parents, and there's not much you can do but wait to move out on their front. i recommend seeking friends who will support and love you unconditionally- and remember to be easy on yourself; it's not a small feat to get through having to shackle your identity. dress in what affirming ways you can- slowly collect things that affirm you. you can do this, you can make it. you are valued, loved, and you deserve to be here and make it. <3

I feel the sudden urge to write about people assuming my gender and my reactions to it, so...

I'm agender, right? (Hecking autocorrect just corrected that to "a gender" which I most definitely am not. Grrr. Anyways.) I was also assigned female at birth, because I have body parts that are considered "female" in the eyes of doctors.

Because of the fact that I'm perceived as a girl, I hate hate hate being called a girl. I don't like people using feminine labels on me, such as "woman" "ma'am" "lady" "queen" "gal" etc.

I feel good about myself when people think I'm a boy, or when they are confused about my gender, because it means that I don't look like a girl.

I do not feel good about myself when people think I'm a boy and proceed to group me with boys. (When I say "group" I mean address a bunch of boys and me as "gentleman" or "boys" or something along those lines, not physically putting me in a group of boys, which I don't like but don't care as much about, because I can correct them.)

I would really, really like it if people were always confused about my gender and would ask me instead of just taking a guess and hoping to be right (because chances are, they won't be right). But that's not the case, because society hasn't progressed that much, unfortunately.

But yeah. Thanks for reading.

- Cass, any/all except she/her

It's random shout-out time!

Shoutout too...

Trans femboys!

Disabled queer people!

People who have changed their labels many, many, many times!

Closeted queer people!

People who experience tertiary forms of attraction!

Trans people who don't pass!

Asian queer people!

Lesbians! Because it's Lesbian Visibility Week!

I hope you are having a good day :D

(Note: People who don't fit any of the above-mentioned identities are still loved, appreciated, and seen. I just chose to shout-out some identities, chosen randomly.)

Image ID: A screenshot of a Tumblr post made by the user wsswatson that says: "Why is it always 'queer people are projecting their identities onto characters' and never 'straight people are presuming that their identity is the default'? End Image ID

YESSS

I made this quick info post about using no pronouns bc there’s not a lot of resources on it! Reblogs appreciated :D

[Image ID: Simple blue and white graphic. First slide is titled “Guide to Using No Pronouns” and has a figure waving with a speech bubble that says “Hi, I’m Bee! I prefer using my name in place of pronouns.” The second slide is titled “Reasons to use No Pronouns” and the bullet points read “When no pronouns seem to fit. Sometimes you just don’t vibe with any of them! Avoids misgendering someone who’s not out yet. For fun!” An additional bubble reads “you don’t have to have a reason!” The third slide is titled “Introductions” and reads “Introducing yourself: “Hello, my name is ____. I use my name instead of pronouns.” or “My name is ____. I don’t use pronouns.” Introducing someone else: “This is ____. ____ doesn’t use pronouns.” or “This is ____. You can use ____’s name in place of pronouns.” I find that stating that you use your name in place of pronouns makes your introduction more clear. I would also include a quick example of how to use your name: “So instead of using they/them/their, you can say “Bee is calling Bee’s parents.”““ The fourth slide is titled “Examples” and reads “Here’s some examples using my name! Instead of: “Bee is working by themself.” Do: “Bee is working alone.” Instead of: “They are proud of their work.” Do: “Bee is proud of Bee’s work.” Instead of “I went with them and they were amazing!” Do: “I went with Bee and Bee was amazing!”“ The fifth slide reads “Thank you for reading! Have a good day!”]

Quick FAQ/additional notes under cut:

Keep reading

Dear transphobes, you cannot expect me to become upset when you call me a woman, as this is our traditional men’s clothing.

These are Baloch men. In Zahedan, the city where I was born, all men wear long clothes, and women wear similar attire but more colorful and with decorations. In Iran, people in each province have their own traditional clothes, and men mostly wear long garments. If you would like to see more, I can turn this into a series.

happy lesbian visibility week

Hey, PSA for younger/newer transmascs:

Tumblr has been showing targeted ads for "FTM binders" off Amazon. They look like this:

Do not buy these.

A binder is a piece of medical equipment. If you use one incorrectly, or use a poorly made one, you can really fuck up your ribs. This article from the Cleveland Clinic talks about how to bind safely.

A $14 binder is guaranteed not to be safe. There's a reason reputable companies charge more- sometimes a lot more. They have to carefully design binders so they don't crush your ribs or make you sick.

You know how everyone says Don't Bind With Duct Tape? Don't bind with Amazon binders.

I love having queer or strong ally friends because the other day, someone made transphobic comments about me, and when I told them about it, they were able to immediately turn it into something funny that we could all laugh about instead of feel upset about.

Like, I'm still really annoyed at the transphobe, but I feel less upset about the comment now. I think about their comment and I'm like, "Wow, that's stupid" and I think about the jokes my friends made and it doesn't hurt as much to think about it anymore.

Queer people need supporting friends. We lift each other up.

(Note to transphobes if you see this: This is not a way to excuse making transphobic/queerphobic comments. They still hurt and they don't help us at all.)

(Also, note to other people - it's important to also take people seriously when they say they were affected by queerphobia. Don't make jokes if the person affected doesn't want to make jokes.)

HAPPY NONBINARY PARENTS DAY

you're the only one who can live your life, your experience, your truth- so live it, and live it well. it's beautiful for each crack and scuff it has, i promise.