(I know this is getting ridiculous, but I moved yet again to update my username, so another intro :blobcat_mlem:)
I'm a trans girl trying to figure herself out and be more open. :ablobcatwave:
I'm also autistic (self-ID), possibly also ADHD/Kinetic.
I'm a GNOME developer at Purism, maintaining libadwaita. I will occasionally post updates about it.
I support 🇺🇦🇦🇲🇵🇸.
Otherwise I'm into video games. Currently mostly Touhou and osu!, previously Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, Crypt of the NecroDancer/Cadence of Hyrule, etc.
I also listen to a lot of video game music and their covers, and should probably be posting more about it than I did previously.
I can also talk about languages, though I almost never post about them.
I'm part of a system - we have a shared account at @rainbow_phoenix, though we haven't been using it. We're trying out separate accounts - a couple of us have accounts already at @cobalt and @primrose.
Also, I have a cat! @RagdollAngel I love her very much. 🥺❤️
In 6 days #Trans children and adults in #Missouri will lose their #healthcare as part of a violation of their basic human rights. Some of them will die as a result, and that is the goal of the Republican Party. This is genocide.
Just got my testosterone procedure done! I do this cool, less common form of testosterone called “testopel”. It’s basically a procedure where your doctor makes a very small incision in your hip / butt cheek area and inserts rice-sized pellets of testosterone. The incision heals within days and the pellets gradually release testosterone over time. It lasts for 4-6 months; SO convenient! It also keeps your hormone levels more stable than most other forms of T.
If any of you are looking to become an #endocrinologist I highly recommend seeing if you can work with a doctor who specializes in testopel!!! Not many doctors specialize in it at the moment, and there is an increasing demand for it. I asked my doctor how many testopel patients he has and he said “hundreds”. I was like 🤯 damn! He always has an in-training medical assistant with him because we need more doctors who specializes in testopel.
Any and all support is highly appreciated. Anything left over after the bills and basic groceries goes straight to top surgery fund 🐼 https://ko-fi.com/blackwood
You can now report a "transgender concern" on a Missouri government website. It would be a shame if it was filled to the brim with garbage submissions.
I have a very dear friend wanting to join Mastodon from elsewhere, but he's hoping for a server that's going to help him stay dialed into his work in #trans :transheart: activism. I said I'd put it out there and see if anyone had any recommendations. What say you, Fediverse?
A lot has been written and said about the nightmarish situations facing trans people in the United States. The UK situation has become almost as terrifying. We have to act now.
A few absolute shockers in the list of websites the Washington Post has revealed are used to train Google's generative AI tools. Apparently including the likes of 4Chan, Breitbart, and RT.
From WaPo:
"Meanwhile, we found several media outlets that rank low on NewsGuard’s independent scale for trustworthiness: RT.com No. 65, the Russian state-backed propaganda site; breitbart.com No. 159, a well-known source for far-right news and opinion; and vdare.com No. 993, an anti-immigration site that has been associated with white supremacy.
"The top Christian site, Grace to You (gty.org No. 164), belongs to Grace Community Church, an evangelical megachurch in California. Christianity Today recently reported that the church counseled women to 'continue to submit' to abusive fathers and husbands and to avoid reporting them to authorities."
Both the Fediverse and TikTok have been vital and invaluable forums for trans people. Here, we are seeing their lives and their stories. Learning of their bravery against cruel reactionary forces that wish to dehumanize and unalive them all around the country. I've been grateful and honored to strike up phone and email friendships and to become more mindful. Really, it's been an education for the head and the heart. And while the mainstream media plays to the crowd of throwback bigots growling in the bleachers, incapable of seeing souls, it is here -- in these more enlightened corners -- that we learn of the real fight and we are reminded why we must stand together and oppose intolerance with every fiber of our being and every principled bellow in our voice.
We have a lot of new faces around here, so time for another #introduction.
I'm Quin, a fully #blind#trans girl. I'm interested in #programming, #books, #music, and #cats. I eventually want to become a #Salesforce developer, or a #accessibility analyst. I also love debating with people about a wide range of topics, but mostly political issues, including queer rights. I'm honestly not that interesting, but am always open to chatting with new people! :)
Joscelyn's #TransFem guide to body affirming basics
The following is what I've found helpful for me with clothes, skin care, hair care, perspective, etc. to feel better and more euphoric in my body and my face. Of course, your mileage may vary and I want to encourage you to find how you can use these things to affirm yourself in the way you need. Don't just put a cookie cutter model of transness onto yourself but nurture your needs and cultivate your garden of queerness :QueerCatHeart_Trans:
One of the most common triggers for dysphoria for a lot of trans folks, both masc and fem, is the silhouette of your body. Pay attention to what contours of a silhouette help you see yourself in your reflection, and pay attention to how clothes do that. Before we wore off the rack, fashion was designed to create the silhouette, not force your body to do that work. Think about how you can use clothing to make your silhouette happen.
For me: I now wear the waistline of my clothes at the narrowest part of my torso - the place where your waist actually is. This is above my belly button actually, and that's not unusual. By wearing high-waisted jeans, skirts, and dresses with an intentional stitch there, it helps me have a more "hourglass" shape and emphasizes the curves of hips and boobs. When I wear shapeless dresses or low-waisted jeans, it makes me look boxy, a trip to dysphoria town
You might also try out spanx, waist trainers, and corsets to help with this. These should not be worn super tight, but rather just help adjust fat and such up or down to help engineer that narrower waist and emphasized curves. Until HRT did it's magic, I wore spanx for a long while, and they were a pain and it's annoying when they slip, but it helped with some clothing. Just moving my waistline did wonders too.
You will be amazed what applying a face cream once or twice a day can do for seeing a softer, more euphoric look in your face. I apply some after my shower in the morning and then once before bed, and it helped me with so many areas of dysphoria on my face even before HRT. This is particularly important for us girls that are 30+: get a face cream with some SPF. UV damages and ages the skin, and protecting it allows it to recover.
I have ADHD, so I keep things simple. My skin care routine:
Morning after shower:
Step 1) apply an eye cream, especially that helps with wrinkles, under the eyes - it will lighten dark circles and help tighten the skin.
Step 2) Basic SPF face cream for the rest of the face and neck
Done!
Night:
Step 1) Wash face
Step 2) Apply a night cream to the entire face and neck
Done!
I only use brands I can easily find in the grocery or drug store. Some of these I've had to switch in different countries, figure out what works for you.
Eye cream: Olay Regenerist moisturizing (red jar)
[Note: you can get this with retinol, which is supposed to help, but I'm allergic so go without]
SPF cream: Cetaphil 15 SPF face cream (High SPF is deminishing returns, 15 is enough, reapply if out in the sun a few hours)
Actively search out images of body diversity among cis women
Something that has helped me immeasurably is a perspective shift. I've done this by paying attention to the bodies of friends and through instagram. Take note of the shear variety around different parts of the body and it will help you see: you are part of the natural diversity of women's/feminine bodies!
Boob gap: I kept feeling dysphoric about how wide my chest is and how hard it is to get cleavage...until I started paying attention to how many cis women have wide chests and the same problem! Helped me learn to see my body as feminine too
Forehead: My hairline and forehead were sooo dysphoric...until I noticed one day my mom has the exact same forehead and hairline! I look like my mother's daughter!!!
You can still wear "masculine" clothes, but you might find the cut/fit helps
Wearing button-ups, flannel, and t-shirts can still be euphoric as heck. Before HRT did its magic, a big step of reclaiming these for myself was wearing ones with a "women's" cut or fit - usually narrower at the waist, low neckline (v-necks are great), and possibly flared out below waist.
I wrote this for Pride last year, and I've been thinking about it, so resharing here.
Being trans means growing up knowing that words run through your core that can never be said. It means building a shell around those words, and knowing that this shell is all people want from you. It is watching yourself die inside as you live in a way that makes others comfortable. If these things sound familiar, you are probably gay, or trans, or some other flavor of queer. /1