You are not a baby for melting down because of under/overstimulation. You are not being immature or “just throwing a tantrum” when you have meltdowns. The discomfort and pain and fear you feel due to your sensory issues is real and valid, and shouldn’t be dismissed as silly or unimportant by people who don’t understand it.
I have so many feelings about being a 4 eyed genderless alien in a dying solar system. Trees are magic. Marshmallows are universal. Music will make the world.
I’ve found myself wondering “Where are the trans people of color?” a million times.
In my life, I’m often the only person of color in a room of trans people. I’ve noticed it is harder to find pictures and reviews of products (like packers) in the non-white skin tones. I see fewer pictures of POC post-surgery, and fewer people of color documenting their changes on HRT. Selfies of trans people, binary or non-binary, tend to skew towards the white and AFAB side. Hopefully, this blog can provide a sense of community and inclusion for all trans people of color.
This blog is a place where we can answer that question. Where are the trans people of color? We’re right here! We’re talking about how our day went, about our families, about coming out, about our pets, about our transitions, about our ups and downs. We are here. We exist. This is a new blog for TPOC (trans people of color) to submit selfies of themselves! Anyone and everyone is allowed to follow us, all support is welcome, but only TPOC can send selfies.
y’all know that you don’t have to be a top or a bottom right?? and i dont mean that in a ‘switches are valid’ way i literally mean that you dont have to reproduce power dynamics while you’re having sex!! you and your partner can just… fuck… without anyone being in charge or submissive or touched exclusively or not touched at all. im saying this especially to the young queers out there who i know follow me and read fanfiction and engage in online dialogue re: sex, tumblr/twitter/fic-based discourse tends to get muddied and i just want you all to know that it’s really okay to just have sex without worrying about fitting into any specific role!!
A quick and easy guide for anyone looking for ways to support the transgender community right now.
[Image description: Text reading “How To Help” in all-caps on a trans flag background]
Before anything else — if you’re transgender and struggling right now, here are a few resources:
Trans Lifeline US: 877–565–8860 / Canada: 877–330–6366
Trevor Project Call 1–866–488–7386 / Text START to 678678 / Chat via their website
Crisis Text Line Text START to 741–741
National Suicide Prevention Hotline Call (800) 273–8255
LGBT National Hotline Call 1–888–843–4564
More: Mental health page
If you’re a cisgender (not trans) person, there are lots of ways to support trans folks. Here are just a few.
Educate yourself
Make sure you understand what being trans means. Listen to trans voices. Here are a couple of resources to get started:
This Short Film Shows What It’s Like to Be a Black Trans Woman in America
TRANS IN AMERICA: ACLU Short Film Series
Trans and gender nonconforming people speak out: stories of discrimination
Building Community Through a Syllabus
Tips for Allies of Transgender People
More: Ally resources
Speak out
Don’t leave it up to trans folx to have this conversation with each other. Cisgender allies need to speak out and demand better for the trans community.
Contact your representatives at every level and ask what they are doing to protect trans people. Demand that they publicly commit to taking action to protect the most vulnerable.
Look for local organizations fighting for trans equality in your neighborhood.
Donate
If you have the resources to donate even a little to support trans folx, please do.
Click here for a thread of GoFundMes where you can directly donate to support trans individuals raising money for their needs.
Donate to the Transgender Law Center to support the legal needs of the trans community, including supporting those who are incarcerated and isolated.
Donate to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, another organization which provides legal services to the transgender community with a particular focus on people who are low-income, people of color, and/or immigrants.
Donate to the Trans Lifeline here to support their hotline service.
Donate to the Trevor Project to support their hotline service, text line, and chat.
Donate to the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network’s Mental Health Fund to support low-income queer and trans people of color get access to therapists who understand their experiences.
More: @brownandtrans has a #donations tag where you can specifically donate to individual trans people of color who are struggling
Check on your friends
Above all else, reach out to your trans friends and let them know you’re there for them. Ask how you can support them right now. Offer to do little things for them, and tell them you will keep fighting on their behalf.
Even though you may have started questioning your gender after a friend of yours came out, it's still likely that you would have had to deal with being nonbinary anyway.
The difference is that you embraced a possibility presented to you rather than being left to suffer in ignorance for years on your own.
Learning from each other is an important part of being human, and it's very natural that this tendency would apply to gender questioning, too.
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