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my friend’s want me to go to long beach pride but a part of me would rather sit at home and critique the concept of pride from a trans women of color perspective….

what does this say about my life?

lol ;)

The Challenge

atriptothemorg:

The queer radical community is one that I have long identified with. Ever since I came out as queer, and later as trans*, it has been this community that I have been consistently drawn to. Regardless of what city I’m living in, I always seem to find the radical queers. I have organized with and marched along side with radical queers. From facilitating a workshop on queer activism to marching at Queer Bomb (in Austin) or the Dyke March (in Boston) to staffing a drop-in center for queer youth, I have done a lot of work with the queer community and I hope to continue. Not only because I am queer but also because these are my people and I want to work with them.

Which is why it’s so frustrating, not to mention problematic, when I’m the only trans woman of color in radical queer space. Over and over again, I find myself in a room full of cis queer women and trans men. Over and over again, I find myself in a room full of white people. The radical queer community positions itself as representative of all queer people and advocates for the needs of the queer community. It supposedly fights against those systems of power and oppression that keep all queers oppressed. And yet at the same time, trans women of color are nowhere to be seen; even though they are the most vulnerable in our community.

One has only to glance at the case of CeCe Mcdonald to see all the worst intersections and manifestation of white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism. She was arrested and is being charged with second-degree murder, the same charge as George Zimmerman, for being the victim of a hate crime and fighting back. She is being charged, basically, for being a poor, black, trans woman. And while there has been a very strong movement of people organizing to free her, this is the exception to the rule.

The last 20 reported cases of trans* murders have all been trans women of color. What, than, does this say about the radical queer community when we are not centering the needs of the most vulnerable in our organizing? How can we purport to create a fully equitable world if we are not making space for them?

The reason for all this is that transmisogyny and racism is rampant and often unchecked in radical queer spaces. From TWoC lack of presence to their lack of “desirability” to their outright exclusion, it’s clear that the radical queer community is not accountable to us. They assume that since white cis queers are oppressed, they couldn’t possibly be oppressive themselves. Somehow, they think that people’s queerness excuses or erases the other ways in which they are privileged. But this is a myth that needs to be constantly challenged. The radical queer community needs to be aware in the ways that they are being oppressive, especially when it is unintentional. They need to know that there are reasons why trans women of color don’t show up to their functions or their rallies. And its because you don’t represent us.

How many black and brown trans women need to die before you put our needs first? In April alone, there have been 3 reported murders. 3 women killed in a community that is already small and nearly invisible. Coko Williams, Clay Paige, Brandy Martell. And if these are the reported murders, can you imagine the number of unreported murders? The unclaimed bodies and forgotten names?

So I challenge you, dear radical, to put your money where your mouth is. If you are really committed to this work, put us first. Be aware of our struggles, of our triumphs. Hell, be aware of our existence! Don’t just mourn us when we are murdered, but celebrate and work with us in life. Actively participate in making this world a safer place for us.

But most of all, I challenge you to see us. To know us.

Both race and racism are profoundly historical. Thus if we discard biological and thus essentialist notions of “race” as fallacious, it would be erroneous to assume that we can also willfully extricate ourselves from histories of race and racism. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we continue to inhabit these histories, which help to constitute our social and psychic worlds.
Angela Davis (via theraceproblem)

nepantlastrategies in response: transmisogyny & privileges among dfab folks

nepantlastrategies:

possiblysilently:

^^ Every part of this post is so fucking important.

to quote (one part):

an easy example (at least an example that immediately comes to mind for me) is when dfab non-binary trans folks who are masculine are called out by openly identified trans women, and respond with “i’m not a man.” and everyone agrees that they aren’t men, they can’t possibly benefit from masculinity- so they get to both “pass”/be validated as non-binary and masculine. at the same time, trans women who are told they pass end up being subjected to mechanisms of silence, because passing then means that they are only looking at gender in terms of a binary, and that they cannot address the complexity of someone identifying with & presenting masculinity without identifying as a man. so their validation as trans women is then used against them- so really, it’s a strategic validation that isn’t trying to help or empower, but box in and silence.

I want to acknowledge how many of their/her points apply to dfab femme genderqueers like myself. our struggles as femmes does not change the fact that we (like other dfab genderqueers) don’t experience transmisogyny and often perpetuate it. 

<3

(Source: tranqualizer)

tranqualizer: tendertough: osolibre: b8nc-str8: [TEXT: Thugzmansion asked you: i’m not sure what your intentions are with laying these claims about me and i would like to see how you arrived at them. i have never verbally attacked anyone online, let alone poc communities, and i am not wearing earrings in that picture. i can understand your frustration with the idea of me designing the shirt but i am a little confused as to why you are slandering me in order to undermine my work. i also don’t identify as a trans man and am disappointed to see my identity invalidated by someone who seems to be grounded in anti-oppression politics.] okay so i legit wasnt gonna respond to you b/c i honestly don’t give a fuck abt what you think, but since i’ve had so many folks show interest in how yr fucked up, lemme lay it out a lil you, as a transmasculine person, made a joke about “dont let your gurls round us”, which is clear rape culture and misogyny, and you have yet to account for that you started a clothing line centered around butch-hatred as a largely butch-presenting cafab transmasculine person which is misogynistic against butch women, and particularly lesbian culture at the same time you appropriate lesbian as a label when you are not a woman and clearly engage with systems that oppress specifically lesbians you consistently say transmisogynistic things to trans women, like the time you went at juliana huxtable and her ppl (all black queers) for using the word “cunt” saying that it wasn’t theirs to use DESPITE the fact that she illustrated, in detail, why it was okay for her and her ppl to use it you designed a t-shirt line based off black female scholarship and resistance and profit off of that as mocosyamores pointed out, your url is “thugzmansion,” which is not appropriate for you to use seeing as how that is signifier that belongs to black culture you consistently appropriate hood ways of dressing and speaking to make yourself look cooler (“okurrr” is not a word anywhere, u not only look like a fool, but u also insult us with that bullshit) you appropriate black and hood girl culture, and make the statement, as is the case with juliana, that as a non-black cafab trans person, you deserve that culture more than black and hood trans girls. even if you’re not wearing earrings, you’re still making hood face in that photo, which is a disgusting mockery and appropriation of the ways in which people from the hood learn to express ourselves with each other and lastly, a quick stroll thru yr blog illustrates your fetish for black culture and black people pretty clearly, so i dont think i need to say much else. to address yr actual message? i’m not tryna undermine your work, im tryna discredit you. because you don’t deserve the money or credit for what you do because what you do is appropriative, misogynistic, anti-black, and fucked. also idgaf if you id as a trans man or not. my point still stands, misogynistic cafab trans ppl who shit all over women and make rape jokes about them and pretend because they got a certain genital configuration they suddenly understand misogyny. news flash, you don’t. now you can take yr shit elsewhere because i dont feel like talkin to you anymore. this post is so important, not just because it’s a refreshing critique of someone who takes up a LOT of space on tumblr, but because it’s a reminder that light-skinned transmasculine faab folks (like me) continue to dominate queer “cultural production” (aka queer appropriation of blackness) with the full support of the tumblrverse. real talk: i wrote a post about the absurdity in the contradictions of criticizing Juliana Huxtable and lumping her with “gay male misogyny” over a tshirt with the word cunt on it….. then  as a “response” photoshopping your product based upon the work of black, caribbean, and chicana women onto the body of a black girl so you can sell it …  except i got too exhausted and nervous and angry at gay area popularity bullshit whatever so i am glad this posts exists terry youre fucking up and you need to sit down and think about your life choices we (non-black poc, dfab non-black queer/trans/gnc poc) really need to pay attention to this shit. 
Zoom

tranqualizer:

tendertough:

osolibre:

b8nc-str8:

[TEXT: Thugzmansion asked you: i’m not sure what your intentions are with laying these claims about me and i would like to see how you arrived at them. i have never verbally attacked anyone online, let alone poc communities, and i am not wearing earrings in that picture. i can understand your frustration with the idea of me designing the shirt but i am a little confused as to why you are slandering me in order to undermine my work. i also don’t identify as a trans man and am disappointed to see my identity invalidated by someone who seems to be grounded in anti-oppression politics.]

okay so i legit wasnt gonna respond to you b/c i honestly don’t give a fuck abt what you think, but since i’ve had so many folks show interest in how yr fucked up, lemme lay it out a lil

  • you, as a transmasculine person, made a joke about “dont let your gurls round us”, which is clear rape culture and misogyny, and you have yet to account for that
  • you started a clothing line centered around butch-hatred as a largely butch-presenting cafab transmasculine person which is misogynistic against butch women, and particularly lesbian culture
  • at the same time you appropriate lesbian as a label when you are not a woman and clearly engage with systems that oppress specifically lesbians
  • you consistently say transmisogynistic things to trans women, like the time you went at juliana huxtable and her ppl (all black queers) for using the word “cunt” saying that it wasn’t theirs to use DESPITE the fact that she illustrated, in detail, why it was okay for her and her ppl to use it
  • you designed a t-shirt line based off black female scholarship and resistance and profit off of that
  • as mocosyamores pointed out, your url is “thugzmansion,” which is not appropriate for you to use seeing as how that is signifier that belongs to black culture
  • you consistently appropriate hood ways of dressing and speaking to make yourself look cooler (“okurrr” is not a word anywhere, u not only look like a fool, but u also insult us with that bullshit)
  • you appropriate black and hood girl culture, and make the statement, as is the case with juliana, that as a non-black cafab trans person, you deserve that culture more than black and hood trans girls.
  • even if you’re not wearing earrings, you’re still making hood face in that photo, which is a disgusting mockery and appropriation of the ways in which people from the hood learn to express ourselves with each other
  • and lastly, a quick stroll thru yr blog illustrates your fetish for black culture and black people pretty clearly, so i dont think i need to say much else.

to address yr actual message? i’m not tryna undermine your work, im tryna discredit you. because you don’t deserve the money or credit for what you do because what you do is appropriative, misogynistic, anti-black, and fucked.

also idgaf if you id as a trans man or not. my point still stands, misogynistic cafab trans ppl who shit all over women and make rape jokes about them and pretend because they got a certain genital configuration they suddenly understand misogyny. news flash, you don’t.

now you can take yr shit elsewhere because i dont feel like talkin to you anymore.

this post is so important, not just because it’s a refreshing critique of someone who takes up a LOT of space on tumblr, but because it’s a reminder that light-skinned transmasculine faab folks (like me) continue to dominate queer “cultural production” (aka queer appropriation of blackness) with the full support of the tumblrverse.

real talk: i wrote a post about the absurdity in the contradictions of criticizing Juliana Huxtable and lumping her with “gay male misogyny” over a tshirt with the word cunt on it….. then  as a “response” photoshopping your product based upon the work of black, caribbean, and chicana women onto the body of a black girl so you can sell it … 

except i got too exhausted and nervous and angry at gay area popularity bullshit whatever so i am glad this posts exists

terry youre fucking up and you need to sit down and think about your life choices

we (non-black poc, dfab non-black queer/trans/gnc poc) really need to pay attention to this shit. 

(Source: b8-n-cstr8)

You guys know about vampires? You know, vampires have no reflections in a mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, “Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist? And part of what inspired me, was this deep desire that before I died, I would make a couple of mirrors. That I would make some mirrors so that kids like me might seem themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.

Junot Diaz, Speaking to students at Bergen Community College, (via aliceincrohnsland)

 

(via bitch—craft)

immigrants, poor people, queer people of color, disabled folks, women (esp trans women of color) and gender-nonconforming folks if you are in academia and you don’t feel smart enough, remember that you are in the playground and training grounds of the elite. academia was not designed to include you. you are surviving something that has been systemically designed to exclude you in order to keep power in the hands of white, middle class, able bodied cis-men.


knowing this, don’t let academia train you to believe that elitism is the right way to make it through school. you can learn shit, hold the knowledge of your people in your heart, discard shame for your humble beginnings and/or marginalized identities. move through this experience knowing that the changes it offers you don’t have to include accepting academic elitism, inaccessible language or superiority. you can can simultaneously own the privilege that comes with being college educated and connections to your roots. academia does not have to kill your spirit.

fabian romero- indigenous immigrant queer boi writer, facilitator and community organizer (via fabianromero)
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