from Ghost Boy, the first song in The Civility of Albert Cashier; a trans-produced musical about Civil War soldier Albert Cashier who fought for the Union and lived most of his life as a man until he was outed in old age and forcibly detransitioned. Young Albert is played by actor Dani Shay (they/them) and the music was done in part by musician Joe Stevens (he/him). The entire show can be watched (without captions; the captions in the above video were added by me) here.
sorry i can't ever shut up about this musical but this show is a foundational text in transmasc studies. to me.
these lyrics from the above song ("Ghost Boy"):
Take me away
to a place
where I'm not strange,
and I'm not alone.
The world's not safe
and I am afraid
at the end of today
I know I'm on my own
and I'm never going home.
always fucking hit. tell me this doesn't strike at the heart of so much transmasc pain. (more lyrics under the cut)
and there's also a scene between Albert and his cis male love interest, Jeffrey, who loves Albert in a gay way but proposes that he detransition so that they can live together as a married couple after finding out Albert is trans. and there's a heartbreaking song ("The Perfect Home") where Albert is refusing the offer and trying to explain that to the man he loves that he simply cannot give up his life as a man, even if it would be easier and safer and allow them to be together:
Jeffrey:
We could have children -
Albert:
God, Jeff!
Jeffrey:
Teach them to stand up and live free
I'd keep your secret,
No one would know but you and me
Albert:
But that isn't free
Jeffrey:
But you'd be with me
Albert:
It's not my dream
Jeffrey:
But don't you see?
Albert:
Don't you see me?
and this is followed by another song in which Albert considers the life ahead of him & finds meaning and hope in choosing himself and his freedom:
Could I be satisfied
To live someone else's life
It doesn't feel right
And I don't know why
Deep in the heart of me
I know what I believe
To live as I want is a sacrifice
It's quite a mountain to climb
But I gotta try [...]
Like a cloud has been lifted here
I can see it all so clear
I don't want to disappear
But I can't live a lie
Goodbye
(also, there is the song "Excuse Me, Sir" which is about Jeffrey looking for Albert after he was taken by Confederates, and him slowly realizing that the feelings he has for his Brave Handsome Smart Boy Best Friend are, in fact, romantic love)
& then there is the song "Woman to Woman" which is set when Albert is aging and has been outed, and is now on trial. the cis nurse who has been targeting him, and iirc outed him, comes to speak to him in private. she's trying to convince him to admit his male identity is a mental illness and willingly detransition, threatening that if he doesn't he will be institutionalized. she projects her own experiences under patriarchy onto him, insisting that if she wasn't allowed to become a doctor, he shouldn't be allowed to get away with (what she sees as) trying to escape the burden of womanhood. which to me anyone interested in cis woman/trans man dynamics should watch that scene/song.
Nurse Smith:
Who cares about the truth? Do you know what happens when we don't fit in? We suffer. We fall out of step. I did my work, I followed the rules, and so must you
Albert:
Are you happy?
Nurse Smith:
Life isn't about being happy. We must submit, accept the pain. Now I'm asking you, one last time
Albert:
I'd rather die for the truth than live a lie like you
Nurse Smith:
I see.
You're undone at the stitch,
You ungrateful old bitch!
I'm not here to be scolded by you
I have stated my mind
And I think you will find
That the world won't be kind
To you.
and then. well. the penultimate song is "Breathe. Walk. Home." which is about Albert's final moments, having been forcibly transitioned (and eventually dying as a direct result of this, due to an injury he got from being forced to walk in dresses after a lifetime of wearing pants). and we see him have a conversation with his younger self, while wondering if he wasted his life trying to be a man:
Old Albert:
I don't recognize what I see
That person there, that's not me
I lived my life the way that I -
The way that I saw fit
This isn't it!
This isn't it
Where's the world I used to know? [...]
Old Albert (to reflection):
What did you do?
Young Albert:
I survived. I lived my truth.
Old Albert:
How did you know?
I didn't know, I just kept moving.
What else could I do?
Both:
What else can you do?
Old Albert:
They took my name -
Young Albert:
They can't take your name
Old Albert:
They took all that I owned -
Young Albert:
Let them take what they want
No, they can't take your soul
Old Albert:
But if you're old like me
You've lived long enough to know
Both:
We can't ever go home
We can't ever go home
There's some battles you face
And there's some where you run
You must fight all your days
It's not done 'til it's done.
RIP Marjane Satrapi, author of the amazing graphic novels Persepolis about living during the fundamentalist revolution in Iran in the 70’s and 80’s. She also created the animated movie based on the graphic novels, which is where these gifs come from.
Reblogging in honor of Marjane Satrapi, one of THE great graphic novelists. Her comic Persepolis was a crucial text for shaping my belief that comics can deeply explore identity, culture, politics, and history.
I hate the atla fandom with a passion. You spend 99% of the time glazing zuko for shit that never happened. He's not anyone's dad especially not on team avatar. He has never once been responsible especially not for any member of the gaang. He spent most of his time trying to kill them, he constantly blow up and gets angry over the littlest of things. Hes the definition of irresponsible.
Also stop trying to turn katara into a parent we have toph call her a mom in ONE episode and suddenly she's team mom which was never the case prior to book 3. Yall are killing me with this bs.
People will cite the traits in Zuko that make him parental to them and it'll be traits Toph (voted least parental) also has. Like genuinely. It'll always be just because Zuko is the most 'serious' and the oldest boy in the group that apparently makes him the most 'mature' and parental.
Happy Pride Month everyone!! This Pride Month, don't forget about intersex people!! Intersex people aren't some weird anomaly nor a fictional thing, we are real and we deserve a voice and a space and a community. Intersex people may be straight or not (including lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, or any other sexuality)! They also might be cis or trans or neither or both!! Intersex gender identities can have a very wide variety just like anyone else, and this may be exacerbated by frequently being inconsistently gendered or raised as one gender when their body has traits as what other people may view as the "opposite" (though really men and women aren't all that different so I don't really think there is an opposite, but that's not what this post is about). There are disabled intersex people, intersex people of colour, fat intersex people, old intersex people, young intersex people, and any other type of intersex person you can imagine! It is very possible that you know an intersex person even if you (or even they) don't know it.
This Pride Month, remember to love intersex people and make them feel included in the 2SIALGBTQ+ community!! (I spell the acronym this way since Two Spirit, Intersex, and Asexual and/or Aromantic people are often forgotten or spoken over)
We belong in the queer community, and we deserve to have a voice. Be kind to intersex people and most importantly, try to make an intersex person smile every day this Pride Month!!
“A kiss may be grand, but it won’t pay the rental, on your humble flat, or help you at the automat.”
Like literally the most famous song about how much girls love jewellry is just explaining the importance of getting jewellry for when your partner leaves you penniless and alone.
The founder of Girl Scouting in the US, Juliette Gordon Low, funded her first troop by selling her pearl necklace, which was her only belonging after her husband died and left everything to his mistress.
She founded Girl Scouts to teach girls self-sufficiency so they wouldn’t have to go through what she went through when her husband died and she didn’t know how to take care of herself.
While we’re on the subject, let’s please also remember that historically disenfranchised communities who had to worry about frequently being run out of town often bought expensive jewelry with their limited funds not because they were greedy or tacky or classless, but rather because you can’t sew a real estate investment into the lining of your coat, and the powers that be can’t freeze a diamond necklace the way that they can freeze a bank account.
Speaking as a jeweler in America right now, I cannot tell you how many people are buying jewelry as an emergency fund. The business my spouse started and I’ve been helping with for nigh on 20 years now, we sell to the queer community. Other people, sure, but I cannot tell you how many queer folks I’ve made jewelry for.
And they are buying as much as they can right now. Genderweird people, gay men, bi folks in same gender marriages, lesbians, anyone who looks around and realizes that the noose is tightening? They’re buying what they can afford. Sometimes a little more than they can afford.
People are asking about metal purity in our jewelry. This has never happened before, not even during the first trump debacle. People are worried, wondering how they can get out if things go real bad. And I tell them how to sell their stuff for cash if they need to. How to find places that won’t cheat them.
How to get the most out of the jewelry they already have.
They play it off as a joke, most of the time, and I’ll play along to make sure they’re comfortable, but we all know the joke is only funny because it’s true.
I have warned people that they won’t get what they paid back. People who buy jewelry are trying to make money, and they don’t care about the hours put into hand crafting a piece. They care about the metal, the stones, and not much else. Folks I tell this to understand, and sometimes ask if we sell bullion. Or coins. Something that they can use in the emergency they expect is coming.
I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish more people worried about what it says when people are planning on fleeing their homes with only what they have on their back. I wish I didn’t have a plan for what happens when my genderqueer ass is declared illegal.
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