Icon by @ThatSpookyAgent. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. BlueSky: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. The X-Files. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.

cypsiman2:

teratomarty:

my-feminism:

In the Netherlands, abortion is freely available on demand. Yet the Netherlands boasts the lowest abortion rate in the world, about 6 abortions per 1000 women per year, and the complication and death rates for abortion are miniscule. How do they do it? First of all, contraception is widely available and free — it’s covered by the national health insurance plan. Holland also carries out extensive public education on contraception, family planning, and sexuality. An ethic of personal responsibility for one’s sexual activity is strongly promoted. Of course, some people say that teaching kids about sex and contraception will only encourage them to have lots of sex. But Dutch teenagers tend to have less frequent sex, starting at an older age, than American teenagers, and the Dutch teenage pregnancy rate is 9 times lower than in the U.S.

I endorse evidence-based medicine, and evidence-based activism.

astrangertomykin:

i realised there was no gender neutral for “my sister from another mister” or “brother from another mother” and so I present to you all “my sib from another crib”

rivendellrose:

prideandpen:

yulinkuang:

yulinkuang:

In the next couple days / weeks / always, I’d like to remind people to check the sources and dates of articles they’re sharing/reblogging. Misinformation spreads via clickbait titles on disreputable/non-news sites, or old articles with relevant titles but out-of-date information. 

This is, at best, extremely frustrating and at worst, very very dangerous. There are people out there, for whatever reason, who are taking advantage of public sentiment and creating false news stories that play to our worst fears. Every time you share a false news story, you make it less likely that people will believe the real ones that come after them.

Please check your sources. Don’t help spread misinformation.

It’s really heartening to see this post gaining as much traction as it has. So on that note, here’s a bonus anecdote:

When I was in elementary school and turning in my first writing assignments, my teacher asked to see me after class and said, “You’re not consistent about your periods and punctuations. You have to use those at the ends of sentences.” And I remember thinking distinctly, Really??? Like, every time??? That’s so hard to remember ugh 

And then I eventually managed to adopt it as habit. I don’t have to think anymore before ending a sentence with punctuation. I mastered grammar and punctuation enough that I could even use it creatively, in ways that were fun.

My point is, for a lot of people, checking sources/dates on posts is not a habit. It’s an extra step you have to think about, and you can’t help the impulse of irritation that’s like, Really??? Like, every time??? Ughghghhhhhhghhh 

But keep doing it - because it actually is the right way to approach information, and eventually it will become a habit that you don’t have to think about. Like this period I’m about to use. Except with bonus ‘yay being a responsible informed citizen’ feels.

Snopes has a fantastic Field Guide to Fake News Sites and Hoax Purveyors right here: http://www.snopes.com/2016/01/14/fake-news-sites/

And while you’re at it, you can also just google “[insert crazy thing here] snopes” and if there’s a Snopes article on it (which there probably is if it’s something that’s getting passed around a lot, whether or not it’s real, and then you’ll know the truth!

And this is a cool document listing and categorizing “false, misleading, clickbait-y and/or satirical “news” sites”: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10eA5-mCZLSS4MQY5QGb5ewC3VAL6pLkT53V_81ZyitM/preview

Seriously, guys - you don’t want to be responsible for a bunch of people believing dangerous stuff that isn’t true. Check your sources, check the dates on stuff, and use your brain. If something sounds too good/bad/crazy to be true, it probably is. And if it is actually true, there will probably be plenty of reliable sources yelling about it.

sashayed:

[Image of two scripts created by Samala for speaking to your elected officials about the appointment of Steve Bannon as chief White House strategist. They read as follows: 

“For Democratic Senators and Representatives (except for Harry Reid and Adam Schiff, CA, who have already denounced the Bannon appointment):

–Hello, my name is [your name]. I am a constituent, living in [address, district]. I am horrified at the news of Trump appointing Steve Bannon, a white supremacist, as one of his closest advisors. Please publicly condemn this appointment
–Does [legislator’s name] agree with Harry Reid that Bannon’s appointment sends a dangerous signal that white supremacists “will be represented at the highest levels” in Trump’s administration? If so, please publicly condemn this appointment immediately.
–I am frightened by this as a [woman, as a Jewish person, as a Muslim person, as a black person, a queer person, etc.] American and I am asking [legislator’s name] to speak out against this appointment immediately, to make it clear that this is not acceptable. Can [legislator’s name] commit to standing with Harry Reid and speaking out publicly?

“For Republican Senators and Representatives:

–Hello, my name is [your name]. I am a constituent, living in [address, district]. I am horrified at the news of Trump appointing Steve Bannon, a white supremacist, as one of his closest advisors.
–How does [legislator’s name] feel about this appointment? Does this appointment represent his/her views? I am frightened by this [woman, as a Jewish person, as a Muslim person, as a black person, a queer person, etc.] and I am asking [legislator’s name] to speak out against this appointment immediately, to make it clear that this is not OK with mainstream Republicans.
–I believe that Bannon’s appointment sends a dangerous signal that white supremacists will be represented at the highest levels in Trump’s administration. Can [legislator’s name] commit to speaking out publicly against this appointment?”]

I know I’ve posted a lot of potential scripts for speaking to your elected officials about the appointment of reprehensible white supremacist Stephen Bannon, a misogynist, racist antisemite, to the position of Chief White House Strategist. But these are some of the most useful I’ve come across. They are customizable, concise and straightforward and make it easy – even for those of us who consider the telephone a demon instrument designed to humiliate us – to make these important calls. You can do it!!!