Hey if you have a chronically ill friend who is housebound, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you to make contact with them. See if you can visit them (offer to sit in their room with them, tell them they don't need to worry about how clean it is), offer to bring them a meal or help with tasks they can't do themself, offer to go with them to a doctor's appointment, if they can leave the house sometimes let them know that the next time they have the energy they're welcome to come lie on your couch.
Housebound people feel free to add your own input, my housebound friend was able to visit recently and I was reminded of how isolating it can be for her. I love you and you deserve to get to see people in ways that don't hurt you more than they have to.
Ok it has just occurred to me that probably not everyone knows about my favorite sex-ed resource, Scarleteen! They have loads of great articles with information about sex, birth control, etc. They also have ways for you to ask questions that you want answered!
They have articles on everything from having sex as a disabled person, a fat person, and/or an intersex person to how to get FREE birth control as a minor(!!!) asexuality 101 and so much more!!
This is an awesome resource and my go-to when I want to know something about sex, I highly recommend it for anyone with questions/curiosities about sex, and while it's largely teen focused, there will be something here that's helpful for just about anyone!
When I started writing this post I was just going to include a couple articles... but I found so many I like so here are a bunch that may be helpful under the cut (Disclaimer: I have not read all of them because there are so many, nor am I in every group of people they're about, for example I'm not intersex or disabled, so I can't speak to the accuracy of all of them, but I've generally found Scarleteen to be pretty reliable.)
The articles I've included are mostly less typical stuff and things I think are super important but not talked about enough, if you're looking for more basic sex-ed just going to their website will get you started.
Tagging a couple accounts on here who do sex-ed stuff incase they want to reblog (No pressure though <3) @certifiedsexed @batmanisagatewaydrug
ALSO APPARENTLY SCARLETEEN IS ON TUMBLR??? @hellyeahscarleteen amazing.
Anatomy
Quickies: Sexual Anatomy | Scarleteen
With Pleasure: A View of Whole Sexual Anatomy for Every Body | Scarleteen
Intersex stuff
(Inter)sex and Relationships | Scarleteen (A series of articles by an intersex person)
Supporting Your Intersex Child Through Puberty | Scarleteen
Trans stuff
Supports for Trans Youth and Their Families (and a few words for everybody else) | Scarleteen
It's a Trap: How to Spot Anti-Trans Resources | Scarleteen
Self-Care Amidst a Deluge of Anti-Trans Legislation | Scarleteen
Transmasculine Flow: Let's Talk Periods | Scarleteen
Welcome to Trans Summer School! | Scarleteen (At the top there's a drop down that says "This piece is part of Trans Summer School" which shows you all of the articles)
The Lowdown on Low-Dose Testosterone | Scarleteen
Finding Our Own Voices: Renée Yoxon and Gender-Affirming Vocal Therapy | Scarleteen
Some Books and Balms for Nonbinary Folks | Scarleteen
Fatness
Fat Bodies: Learning to Care for Your Rolls and Folds | Scarleteen
The Confidence of Fat Sexuality: An interview with sex educator Elle Chase | Scarleteen
Disability stuff
Disabled Sex: Sex for Two (or More) | Scarleteen
Wheelchair, Bound? Kink and Disability | Scarleteen
Consent Is Sexy: Sexual Autonomy and Disability | Scarleteen
We Need to Talk About Sex and ADHD | Scarleteen
Body Talk: Listening To and Learning From Your Chronic Pain | Scarleteen
A Disabled Persons Guide to Talking with Your Partner(s) About Sex | Scarleteen
Sex and Parent Caregivers | Scarleteen
Disabled Sex Yes! | Scarleteen
I really want to have sex, but I don't know how, and I'm queer, chronically ill and isolated. | Scarleteen
Birth control
Getting Birth Control May Be Easier Than You Think! | Scarleteen (Aka how to get FREE BIRTH CONTROL as a MINOR. Not just for the USA but also Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK)
How to Manage Pain with IUD Insertions | Scarleteen (Not even just about pain, super in-depth helpful guide)
Other
F*c&!ng First Aid: A Quick Guide to Common Sex Injuries | Scarleteen
From OW! to WOW! Demystifying Painful Intercourse | Scarleteen
Sex after rape. Where do I begin? | Scarleteen
Becoming Out: a totally non-exhaustive, step by step guide to coming out | Scarleteen
Your PMDD Primer: A Necessary Guide to an Under Researched Disorder | Scarleteen
Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Harm, Not Help | Scarleteen
Just the Basics, Ace: An Asexuality Primer | Scarleteen
In an order that in no way denotes how much I like each book
#1 Eat Your Heart Out, Kelly DeVos
A kickass zombie book that plays with the horror of diet culture! I had SUCH a good time reading Eat Your Heart Out, I love all of the characters, and the way Kelly DeVos plays with horror tropes and self-awareness is PHENOMENAL!! I have so many feelings about how the ways the characters view themselves fundamentally alters what outcome they receive.
For those who have not read it, Ms. DeVos gives a list of horror tropes with their percent chances of dying at the beginning, and the characters intentionally move in and out of the archetypes. I spent the whole book doing analysis of how likely each character is to die at any given time, I loved how each character experienced an outcome that was predicted by the statistics, and I have SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT IT ASK ME FOR A NON SPOILER-FREE POST ABOUT IT I DARE YOU
I have a vampire book by Ms. DeVos checked out called Go Hunt Me, I'm SO excited to read it :D
Also the cover art for Eat Your Heart Out is SUPER COOL and I recently found out the artist is on tumblr! Great job @ursuladecayart!! I was so excited to read it because it sounded right up my alley (and was) and I loved your art so much <333 You truly did it justice
And I truly love to see a fat girl who feels no shame, Vivian you deserve the world
#2 Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green
People who know me may think I only rant about this book because I'm very interested in infectious diseases, but in fact this book was also a MASTERCLASS in writing good nonfiction. John Green's writing talent really shows through, I loved watching him bring all the threads together, and it was a great read from beginning to end. John actually narrates the audiobook which I listened to! The book balanced informative, funny, heartbreaking, and incredibly relevant so well. Everything truly is tuberculosis.
#3 A World Without Heroes, Brandon Mull
It's been several years since I read Brandon Mull's Fablehaven and Five Kingdoms series, and I decided it was time to read something else of his! As much as I loved Fablehaven and enjoyed Five Kingdoms, I think his Beyonder's trilogy may have surpassed them as my favorite!
I'm horribly attached to many of the characters, and having not finished the last book yet (I'm maybe a third of the way through? No spoilers past book two to be safe please!) I'm terrified some of them will die. Brandon Mull writes great fantasy that has been incredibly inspiring for me, I was delighted all the way through the first book! It's just so perfectly the kind of book I love and while I haven't been reading much recently (by my standards) this drew me in.
I can't wait to finish it, and then maybe reread Fablehaven and finish Dragon Watch!
#4 Over the Woodward Wall, A. Deborah Baker
This book was written by one of my favorite authors (Seanan McGuire) under one of her pen names! A truly delightful book with a narration style I loved, this kind of book has a special place in my heart. It was beautiful and real and not real and I really appreciated the balance between exploring the themes of abuse while still preserving the feeling of childhood and all of the delightful whimsy.
I love the Crow Girl, she has my heart, and I feel so much hope for her. I will be reading the other books in the series.
#5 Youngblood, Sasha Laurens
Me: I hate cheesy romance
Also me: I need to read this lesbian vampire boarding school romance NOW
One thing about me is that I hate romance unless it's lesbians in which case it can do no wrong (unless the characters suck). My beautiful, angsty teen lesbians are in a former-friends-forced-proximity-surprise-roommates relationship at vampire boarding school and need to do vampire social justice.
I haven't actually finished the book (I KNOW I'M SORRY) but I plan to, and it was just such a fun silly time to read this summer while I was really stressed, so fun, 10/10! Here's a photo of my favorite silly exchange between my girls:
OH ALSO I really really love Indexing (Seanan McGuire) but I think I read that at the end of last year and I haven't finished Indexing: Reflections yet so I'm not including it
Ok I'm not going to edit this I just wanted to share my book joy from this year! I'm going to tag some of my mutuals in case any of y'all want to do a top five (or however many you want) books of 2025 list, or some other kind of list, but anyone is welcome to participate even if I don't tag you!! I will not remember to tag all of my mutuals who might be interested
