aleph sq

[zjemptv]

Real science talk, is there some mathematical or topological property of balls that makes it take longer to shave them than the entire rest of your body? Like some Banach-Tarksi weirdness or something?

[alephsq-blog]

What comes to mind topologically is the Hairy Ball Theorem, which states that there is no nonvanishing continuous tangent vector field on even dimensional n-spheres, like the surface of a ball. Or, as it is more usually put, "you can't comb a hairy ball flat without creating a cowlick."

I realize it is combing and not shaving.....but it is mildly relevant? Maybe?

[wilwheaton]

Issuing a plea to set prejudices aside and adopt a more open-minded, progressive approach to accepting things solely on their inherent worth, Orson Scott Card has asked that people stop persecuting the upcoming Ender’s Game simply because he is a homophobe. Card—who has been anti-gay all of his life, despite propaganda that may suggest homophobia is a “choice”—has increasingly come under fire for his sociopolitical orientation, ever since coming out as a homophobe through statements such as “Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books… to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society’s regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.” Over the years, Card’s homophobia has only grown prouder and more flamboyant, as the author continued to take aim at “dictator-judges” who would force laws granting marriage to “tragic genetic mix-ups.” And time and again, Card has been met with angry intolerance for his angry intolerance. […] Sadly for Card, we may not yet have reached that more enlightened era, when homophobes are allowed to live freely without fear of their movies suffering a slight dip in profits. Nevertheless, Card is here, he hates queers, and he suggests you get used to it in time for the movie’s premiere.

Ender’s Game author Orson Scott Card issues plea for tolerance of his intolerance of gays (via wilwheaton)

[zjemptv]

What they say: “So your gender identity is female but your physical sex is male"

What I hear: “Hey look, I found a way to constrain your existence as female to this one little category so that I can still keep thinking of you as male in some capacity ISN’T THIS GREAT?"

[whichoneisworse-blog]

Sharecropping Ron Shelton’s 1992 film White Men Can’t Jump WHICH IS WORSE?

[nannerlies]

[thepeoplesrecord]

Fourth of July celebrates whose independence again? 

[fandomsandfeminism]

An Open letter to Dr. Doe and the Sexplanations creative team,

We need to have a talk about your most recent video, Interthoughts. My name is Rosie. I’ve been a nerdfighter for about five years now, and I really love this new channel. Much of the video in question was very informative and enjoyable, however, the conversation about allies and their potential inclusion within the LGBTQIA+ label is very, very troubling to me. As much as I respect you and enjoy this channel, the comments made in that discussion were very upsetting and disrespectful. I fully believe that this was not your intention, but I feel that it needs to be addressed all the same.

Read More

[tumblingdoe]

This is a HanksChannel video about Objective Truth where he describes the youtube community’s ability to discuss religion constructively. He also talks about his beliefs, one being the belief in objective truth. It was a fun watch in the context of the Sexplanations’ discussion about allies inclusion-exclusion and a great inspiration for me to sexplain the sexually-related initialisms. 

Objective Truth: one of the As in an adaptation of the 1980s LGB alphabetism stands for Allies.

This is a fact.

Should A for allies be included in the initialism?

It depends on which initialism it is. (There are many many.)

If the initialism is being used to describe sexuality-related minorities, then nope, don’t include ally.

Use in a sentence: “My friend identifies as a cisgendered, heterosexual  ally; and understands that I need LGBTIQQA+ to describe my experiences as a minority and the people able to relate to those experiences."

If the initialism is being used to describe a community, an event, or resource with ally participation, then yes, ally can be represented by one of two As, or one A can represent both allies and asexuality.

Use in a sentence: “The Gay Straight Alliance at my school hosts regular meetings and events for LGBTIQA students."

Here are other letters with meanings related to sexuality: Q Q U C I T TS 2 A SA A P P H O K F B D S M MSM FTM FTF MTM MTF FSF …

You can find the history of LGB-adapted alphabetisms here. You can also read about the order of the letters, length of alphabetisms, and debates regarding them.

If you’re uncertain what the letters mean or what intention someone has for the alphabetism in use, it is okay to ask.

In the Ask Lindsey and Interthoughts videos, the alphabetism refers to a community with ally participation. Another way to do this is by saying “LGBT and allies." I will more likely use QUILTBAG or GSM to refer to the minority groups.

I’ll introduce my favorite neologism for sexuality-related minorities soon.

~The Spoon

[alephsq-blog]

I read through most of those comments, and I really don't think anyone cared whether or not you personally include allies in your choice of initialism. I also doubt most of us disagreeing with you needed these initialisms explained. (I realize this is not a direct response to that discussion, though.)

We disagreed with your claim that allies must be included in queer communities in order for those communities to be inclusive, and that not including allies in queer communities amounted to reverse discrimination. 

[ngjenkins-deactivated20221105]

Our new episode. An interview with the WONDERFUL Eden Atwood :D Interthoughts (by sexplanations)

[tumblingdoe]

Eden is talent.

[alephsq-blog]

As always with this show, a good video. But because I'm a nitpicker, and some of these things are things I think about a lot, I'm going to nitpick :-)

(1) Defining cisgender as "you are born with a body and a gender identity that match" is troublesome. Did everyone else have a gender identity at birth? Because I don't think I did. Does no one's gender identity change over time? Mine did. 

(2) "I think that the letters we call alphabet soup are supposed to be a community that is inclusive and by pulling allies out by saying they aren't sexual minorities and don't deserve that recognition that [...] we are being exclusive and it's reverse discrimination and I don't like that." 

First off, the community can be pretty exclusive of any number of people who are sexual minorities.* Look at what happened with HRC and the trans* community during the Supreme Court cases. 

Secondly, allies who aren't sexual minorities aren't sexual minorities and do not deserve that recognition because they aren't sexual minorities. That's the plain old truth of the matter, and I'm sorry, but if you aren't a sexual minority you aren't a sexual minority.  

Thirdly, reverse discrimination is not a thing. Really. Just like affirmative action is not reverse discrimination, some queer people deciding they'd rather not include non-queer people in something is not reverse discrimination. It is dealing with the reality of a long history of oppression that might take more than just saying "but I'm an ally!" to get past.

*I'm not a fan of this term, but I'm using it because it is what Dr. Doe used in her statement.

[alephsq-blog]

Don't ever hesitate. Reblog this. TUMBLR RULE. When you see it, REBLOG IT.

The original post only has US helplines. I've added UK helplines underneath. It would be great if people could add numbers from everywhere in the world.

Depression Hotline: [phone]

Suicide Hotline: [phone]

LifeLine: 1-800-273-8255

Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743

Eating Disorders Hotline: [phone]

Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673

Grief Support: 1-650-321-5272

Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-843-5678, 1-800-621-4000

Exhale: After Abortion Hotline/Pro-Voice: 1-866-4394253

Child Abuse: 1-800-422-4453

** UK Helplines:

Samaritans (for any problem): 08457909090 e-mail [email protected]

Childline (for anyone under 18 with any problem): 08001111

Mind infoline (mental health information): 0300 123 3393 e-mail: [email protected]

Mind legal advice (for people who need mental-health related legal advice): 0300 466 6463 [email protected]

b-eat eating disorder support: 0845 634 14 14 (only open Mon-Fri 10.30am-8.30pm and Saturday 1pm-4.30pm) e-mail: [email protected]

b-eat youthline (for under 25's with eating disorders): 08456347650 (open Mon-Fri 4.30pm - 8.30pm, Saturday 1pm-4.30pm)

Cruse Bereavement Care: 08444779400 e-mail: [email protected]

Frank (information and advice on drugs): 0800776600

Drinkline: 0800 9178282

Rape Crisis England & Wales: 0808 802 9999 1(open 2 - 2.30pm 7 - 9.30pm) e-mail [email protected]

Rape Crisis Scotland: 08088 01 03 02 every day, 6pm to midnight

[yung-lysenko-deactivated2014040]

Why did the libertarian fail algebra?

He refused to solve inequalities.

[maximumultraist-deactivated2013]

i wonder how many angry libertarians have reblogged this

[thisfeliciaday]

You are officially spoiled if you read below, NO COMPLAINTS!

Up front I will say I enjoyed this latest Star Trek movie a lot. It was super noisy, but enjoyable, beautifully executed, and I particularly like some of the secondary characters, Spock was excellent, etc etc. I just want to share an...

[allprideinside]

[lesbilicious-amazon]

This is important to see and understand for everyone. Please, if you see someone in a public restroom that you think might not belong there because they don’t look like you, don’t scream or yell at them, have some compassion and go about your business.

[lacigreen]

^^ 90% of trans* kids don’t feel safe at school, and one part of the problem is that they have no safe access to bathrooms.  kids have been expelled for using the “wrong” bathroom, others are bullied or beat up, trans adults are chased out by security, harassed, and humiliated.  something as simple as going to the bathroom becomes a daunting, scary, and even dangerous endeavor and its got to stop.  we all deserve privacy, dignity, and safety in the restroom. 

[brave-void-deactivated20160326]

[radtransfem]

Why are we not having debates within feminism that at least accord trans people, particularly trans women, the respect of our identities and experiences? Why must each debate be restarted from scratch each time? Rahila’s piece relies on one googled statistic, a trans woman who supports her own position, and her own beliefs and prejudices about trans people.

…

This keeps happening because unthinking prejudice is continually given weight, not only above both trans experience and statistical evidence, but also above accounts by any communities which include trans people.

Excellent article by an excellent writer; we don’t agree on everything but we certainly agree here. The article’s a lot wider-ranging than this quote shows - click through for the whole thing.

[surrealitytelevision-deactivate]

[alephsq-blog]

Not to sound antagonistic or anything, but I feel like maybe it is time for queer communities to stop sharing this without explicitly acknowledging its oversimplifications, particularly wrt gender. It's a very helpful image, to be sure, but too many people seem to think it is also "the truth", especially since it is so frequently promoted without disclaimer by people who seem to have some kind of authority on the matter.

[queertubers-blog]

Ryley Things.

[alephsq-blog]

What did I just watch....

[alephsq-blog]

assimilation

Ozy on assimilation:

The assimilationist mindset is “we’re people just like you, you should give us rights.”

If that's assimilationism then heck, with one caveat (that rights cannot be given), I'm an assimilationist. In fact, if that's assimilationism, pretty much every anti-assimilationist queer I've ever spoken to is assimilationist.