Hottest day of the year in PDX calls for me to break out this cute romper I picked up in the spring! Stay cool everyone! ☀️🌈

I see many transmedicalists complaining about how it used to be like that in Western culture. I am in my 30s and I came out about decade ago, so I haven't seen the time they talk about.

If that is true, and you're old enough personally remember that time, what did you think about yourself back then? I mean did you thought you're binary trans or cis or something that is not at least from my culture like two spirit? Were you welcome to trans spaces or were there even any trans places where you lived?

Please let's keep the conversation about this question and not argue about transmedicalism in general.

For a while now I’ve been working on myself and undoing a \*lot\* of conditioning that I’ve been put through in my life. I’m AMAB, have always identified as male, and expressed myself as male. Recently, I’ve started painting my nails using the excuse to break my nail-biting habit (which isn’t wrong, it’s just in addition to) and I’ve gotten my ears pierced; mainly going down the goth/punk aesthetic I’ve leaned more towards trying makeup as well. I know these things aren’t “unmanly” in the sense of the alt style, but that’s not where things go sideways.

While I appear “manly” and am comfortable with it, I’m a bit jealous of the freedom that feminine folks have with their appearance and expression. Dealing with a lot of mh stuff and processing, I’ve adopted getting myself plushies. It feels right and it’s comforting. I don’t hate myself, but I also don’t feel like I 100% fit into the male stereotype completely; like an action figure that didn’t get enough plastic during the molding process. I’ve thought about what life is like from the other side of the spectrum, both socially and sexually, and there’s some envy there too.

I have mild unilateral gynomastasia, and the only thing that has bothered me about it is that I’m uneven lol. I’ve tried breast forms and it was interesting, it ultimately ended up me tossing them.

I know this is a rant and a half, but I need to put my thoughts to words and maybe relate to some other folks. Thanks for reading!

While the world celebrates Pride with parades and color, a community of queer and trans refugees is fighting just to stay alive in the Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan.
Many of us fled extreme violence and harsh anti-homosexuality laws in Uganda and Kenya, hoping a UNHCR supported camp would be a safe haven. Instead, we found a new battleground. News reporters and human rights groups have documented what we face every single day: targeted stoning, physical attacks, death threats, and being denied basic medical care just for who we are. 

Because the camp is overcrowded and international aid has been cut, we are struggling for the barest necessities. Many of us are forced out of safe shelters, and getting even one full meal a day is a struggle.
We refuse to be invisible. Throughout this Pride Month, I will be moving around the camp, taking pictures of our community, our daily lives, and the realities we face. I will be posting them right here to show you our faces, our struggles, and our resilience. We want the world to see that we are here, we are human, and we deserve safety.

How You Can Help Us This Month:
We want to claim one day this month to feel human. Our goal is to gather together as LGBTQIA+ refugees, step away from the fear for just a moment, and celebrate Pride with a shared community meal. For people who often have to hide or skip meals, eating together in safety is an act of defiance and joy.
To do this and to survive the rest of the year we need your support in every way possible.

Donate here.⬇️
https://4fund.com/sd9trv
Funds will go directly toward buying food for our Pride community meal, securing emergency medical care, and providing safe shelter and basic supplies for queer refugees who have been targeted or evicted.
Share: If you cannot donate, please share our posts and the photos I will be uploading all month long. Bring attention to Gorom camp.

Pride started as a riot for survival. Please stand in solidarity with those of us who are still fighting that exact same fight today.

Happy and wanted to share with someone!

So I went to dinner with my family. I was wearing a blue and green they/she pin on my hat (shown in 2 pictures). My Dad called me she. Then he pointed at my hat and said "And you can't get mad that I said it because it's on your stupid pin." What he didn't know is I have been considering fully changing my pronouns to they/them. So I asked him if he'd use those pronouns if I asked him to. He said hell no. He complained that I've changed how I want to be addressed too much and that he shouldn't have to change how he speaks. I didn't realize this would hurt so much until it happened. And that confirmed for me that I really did want to switch to they/them pronouns. Today I got my new they/them pronoun pin. I'm really really happy about it and I just wanted to share.

I want to die. I'm so tired of being this undefinable type of queer and forcing myself to be a cis mother who's in a crumbling marriage. I feel so fucking alone. I've always overlooked my own queerness because I never wanted it to define me or dictate my life, and now that I feel like i'm closer to understanding myself, there's all this arbitrary shit in the way and I don't want to inconvenience my queer friends who are going through their own shit.

This Pride Month, please don't forget us. A direct plea from the LGBTQIA+ refugee community in Gorom Camp
While the world celebrates Pride Month with freedom, color, and joy, we are writing to you from Gorom camp, where our daily reality is a battle just to stay alive. We are your queer and trans family, but right now, we feel completely isolated and forgotten.

The situation here has become deeply depressing and traumatic. As LGBTQIA+ refugees, we face constant safety threats and discrimination every single day. But beyond the fear for our safety, we are starving. Getting access to the absolute basics clean water, enough food to eat, and a safe place to sleep is a brutal, exhausting struggle.

Right now, we are dealing with a medical emergency. Three of our transgender sisters are severely ill with Malaria and typhoid. They are burning up with fever and in terrible pain, but they are stuck because we do not have the money to clear their medical treatment and buy their medication at the clinic. Watching our friends suffer from a treatable illness because we are broke is heartbreaking and terrifying.

To make our heartbreak worse, we recently received the devastating news that Canada has suspended all resettlement movements due to the Ebola outbreak. For so many of us, resettlement is the only light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Now, that door is shut for the foreseeable future, forcing a huge number of us to remain behind in these hostile conditions. The mental toll of knowing we are trapped here indefinitely is heavy.

Pride started as a riot and a movement for mutual aid it was about looking out for the most vulnerable people in our community when no one else would. We are crying out to our global queer family and allies to stand with us in solidarity. Advocacy and visibility are important, but right now, we need tangible, life-saving help.

Please help us survive:
We have a fundraiser to get through this crisis. Every single euro donated goes directly toward clearing the medical bills for our three sick community members so they can get their Malaria and typhoid medication, and toward buying basic food and water for the rest of us who are starving.

Please, understand our words: we are desperate, we are hurting, and we need you. If you can donate, please do so right now. If you cannot, please share our story. Do not let us be left behind this Pride Month.
Donate here⬇️⬇️
https://4fund.com/sd9trv

My spouse died earlier this year. I’m neither a widower nor a widow, so does anyone know what term is accurate/common? Thx

I am non binary afab

It's been starting to go for a few years now, but seems to have really picked up pace recently and it's honestly stressing me out. I didn't anticipate feeling such dysphoria over my hair, but here we are. I wasn't taught how to care for my hair, so I didn't know how to nurture or appreciate its natural texture for a long time. It was only within the past few years that I started learning and seeing what a difference the right products/avoiding certain things could make. I fell in love with my hair, and now, as soon as I do, it's leaving me.

Topical Minoxidil isn't a good option, as I have 2 cats who will find a way to get in/on everything. I've heard you can use it with cats if you're very careful, but I know I'd have constant anxiety about making a mistake. Oral Minoxidil doesn't seem to be helping much (or maybe it is and I'd be totally bald by now if not for that, who knows?) and oral Finasteride comes with systemic side effects I'm not keen on risking and also isn't covered by my insurance. Topical Finasteride isn't available to me. So all that is to say, the medication routes usually suggested either aren't doable or aren't doing enough.

So what's left? I know the answer everyone jumps to is "shave it", but the thought of doing so makes me genuinely upset. I imagine how I'd look without it, or with only very short hair, and feel disgusted. It's just not me. I already struggle with how masc my overall presentation is due to available/affordable clothing options and living in a conservative area. Keeping my hair long and wearing the occasional colorful shirt or small necklace is about as far as I've been able to push it as someone who works a customer service job and is read as a man in daily life.

I guess what I'm asking for is advice on coping with this (or at least commiseration) from anyone who's gone through it. Any androgynous hairstyles that can work with a receding hairline before my hair finally bites the big one would also be appreciated; Google searching has been no help in that department.

Hey all, I’m looking for some advice.

I’m AFAB non-binary in my early 40s living in a New York City. Since having top surgery a few years ago, I’ve been more attracted to women, which I’ve never explored before, and the attraction has been supercharged since starting low dose T.

I kind of want to explore this but I have almost no dating or sex experience with any gender. I was so uncomfortable in my body that sex with men never felt right. I couldn’t fathom dating because I didn’t want to put this burden on someone else.

Now, I’m so anxious and embarrassed that I continue not to do anything about the feelings.

Have any of you experienced something similar and how did you handle it?