i love love love your post about "defanging" and i wanted to pop in here and discuss this thought i had while reading it that was like. yeah, you're right on the nose!!! it DOES feel like defanging when i'm pushed out of my own community and expected to remain quiet and docile about issues that i'm facing by fellow queer ppl. community spaces should be the spaces where i CAN be loud, angry, and upset about what's happened to me and what i've faced. community spaces should be where i can "bare my fangs" without consequence.
on the other hand, when i'm made out to be a "confused young lady" who's being "manipulated into mutilating my body-" that feels much more akin to having my wings clipped. like, a chicken who got released and had its wings clipped. i can't make myself look bigger in the face of a threat, i can't get myself the few feet off the ground that i need to if a predator approaches me. sure, the people who clipped my wings didn't personally kill me, but any force of nature could now that they have manufactured this vulnerability. my agency in my own survival is gone and it's turned into a matter of time before i am. conservative attacks feel like having my wings clipped.
sorry if this is dramatic or weird i just rlly loved your concept / term for it and wanted to discuss more :]
these are some good analogies! :3
