Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.

killyfromblame:

I’ve been going back and forth on posting anything rebloggable about Eden Knight, because simply posting something feels like…such a non-action. But it’s worse to say nothing at all, and the people who loved her clearly want her story to be known. So I’ll try.

A Saudi trans woman named Eden Knight died by suicide after her parents hired two American “fixers” and a Saudi lawyer to traffic her back to Saudi Arabia and forcibly detransition her. Her loved ones have put together a document about this tragedy in hopes that something can be done:

Eden Abduction Details
Eden Abduction Details
docs.google.com

I feel like the cultural piece of this hasn’t get discussed, and i understand why; I’ve seen plenty of utterly sickening commentary from people who can’t be normal about the idea of a trans Saudi, but I feel I’m in a position to break the silence around this, as being a queer Arab myself, the nuances aren’t lost on me. So I’ll try that too:

Arab culture is patriarchal (like most cultures are), communal, and honor-based, which contributes to many Arab parents wholeheartedly believing that they own their children and that they need to control them to prevent any “dishonorable” behavior, even at the cost of death. This is not unique to Arab culture, and I’m really simplifying here, but this is why honor killings happen, and I think it’s remiss to not name the honor-based violence at play in what happened to Eden. She threatened her family’s honor by not adhering to the gendered role coercively assigned to her, and so they inflicted the conditions that led to her death upon her. And I can guarantee that, had her parents not had the money to hire some of their fellow monsters to destroy their daughter, they’d have recruited extended family to stalk her or found another way instead. Honor culture is self-policing.

It’s also remiss to not name the other forces that killed Eden: transmisogyny in both the United States and Saudi Arabia—the latter obviously being worse than the former, but fleeing to the former DID NOT PROTECT HER, so USAmericans can hold off from being smug about her being Saudi, thanks—and her migrant status. The State, capital-S, and its borders assisted Eden’s parents in this.

We need support networks that can actually help trans people with complex cultural/legal situations like this. We need support networks to prevent honor-based violence, which primarily impacts women and LGBT people of any gender. “Just cut off your parents” isn’t helpful when you’ve been raised to internalize this level of guilt and shame, and it especially isn’t helpful when your parents are willing to find you and abduct you to protect their image. There needs to be SOMETHING to prevent tragedies as horrific as this. I can’t say I have the answers. But there needs to be some understanding of how far this honor shit can go, how it can cross borders, and how even people who have found community outside their abusive families can still be very vulnerable to it.

I’m so sorry, Eden. You deserved the world. Rest in peace.

Madeline Can’t Afford To Live With Her Illness. She May Choose To Die Instead

chatelaine.com
For the past 20 years, the 54-year-old Vancouver woman has amassed $40,000 in debts trying to treat myalgic encephalomyelitis and other ailments. When her money runs out, she says a medically assisted death may be her only option.

normal-with-adhd-is-a-joke:

dimir-charmer:

hrefnatheravenqueen:

queern-bn:

allthecanadianpolitics:

Madeline was eight when her body started to rebel against the things she wanted it to do. She remembers being struck with blinding pain in her legs. She crumpled to the floor in the hallway of her family home and sobbed. Her parents took her to a doctor, who delivered a possible diagnosis: Her right leg was shorter than her left, and her spine curved from scoliosis. She never received treatment or therapy, and she does not know why. Madeline, who wanted to be an actress when she grew up, got used to dancing on sore legs.

Just before she started grade 5, she got mononucleosis. After that, she kept getting sick—colds, ear infections and coughs that dragged on. In her mid-teens, Madeline began to struggle with fatigue and weight gain. After high school, she moved to Quebec to study theatre. There, a new symptom arrived: chronic diarrhea, which sent her running to a toilet up to a dozen times a day.

Once she graduated from university, Madeline felt like her career as an actress was beginning to take off. She met with an agent and got her first professional headshots—black and white images showing off her impeccably straight teeth and dark eyes. She moved to British Columbia and starred in community theatre. That’s when she got mono again. Her health spiralled downward: body aches, an endless series of bladder and ear infections, exhaustion.

A doctor suggested a diagnosis: chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). It’s a poorly understood condition that some researchers believe arrives in the wake of a virus like Epstein-Barr, which can cause mono. It’s unclear why ME only occurs in some people and what, if any, genetic factors contribute. With ME, the body never seems to recharge to full strength, leaving a person struggling with debilitating exhaustion; postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which causes light-headedness; a racing heart; and other symptoms. With no cure or treatment, ME leaves many people confined to their homes; one study found that a quarter of people with ME are home-bound and, of those, about 15 percent are also bedridden.

In the two decades since her diagnosis, Madeline has not set foot on stage. Unable to work, she receives provincial government assistance for people with disabilities. But the money falls short of what she needs. Each year, she has fallen thousands of dollars further into debt.

Today, she is among the more than 1.4 million Canadians with disabilities who live in poverty. Many, like Madeline, receive some government support; despite that, 40 percent of Canadians with disabilities live below the poverty line. And people with disabilities often need more basic goods and services just to survive—things like mobility aids, home care, accessible housing and transportation, prescription drugs and health care services, not all of which are fully covered by Canada’s publicly funded health programs.

There is, however, one government-funded service available to some people living with disabilities: medical assistance in dying (MAID). Last year, the Canadian government voted to expand MAID laws to include people suffering with illness whose death is not imminent, like Madeline. This has put her in a quandary: She has government funding to die in comfort, but not enough to live at the same standard.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

From discussions I’ve had with MAID practitioners here in Manitoba, this change to the legislation around Medical Assistance in Dying was not necessarily pushed by MAID advocates themselves, but by the government.

The new legislation basically preys upon people with disabilities and severe long-standing mental illness, many of whom already feel like a burden to their loved ones. The government won’t provide a livable income to people who can’t work, because it’s actually cheaper for them to just let people live miserably until they decide being dead is better than living in poverty.

Many disability rights activist groups are strongly opposed to this change, and for good reason. MAID is an important service, but it should not be accessible to just anyone, and should not take the place of comprehensive support systems for those in need.

It’s eugenics. Pure and simple. Supporting the right to die is one thing. But when the government is making MAiD easily accessible while not providing enough support to help disabled people live comfortably, they are essentially encouraging disabled folks to off themselves legally.

It’s not a choice if you’re not given the opportunity to live a good life. Provide support to ensure people can lead safe and comfortable lives without worries, and THEN if they still want to opt for MAiD, that’s an actual choice, and that’s ethical. Otherwise, what the government is doing is subsidizing and legalizing the killing of the disabled, and that’s eugenics. Period.

My grandfather, 91, had terminal lung cancer with colonies in his throat. He was absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt going to die within the next six to twelve weeks. He opted for MAiD, and that allowed his whole family myself included to be with him when he passed, on his own terms, in his own home.


The entire time he was sick, he got a level of care that is absolutely not being provided to the chronically ill in this country. He got oxygen delivered to his house, he had a cleaner come once a week, and he got compassion and understanding from doctors who discussed and were able to actualize treatment plans that improved and prolonged his life.

I’m glad that MAiD is available for people who have no other option. But there are lots of other options for people who are chronically ill but we’re refusing to support, and that’s nothing short of a fucking travesty.

The leading cause of death for CFS/ME patients is suicide. We’re often given unhelpful and even abusive “treatments” like Graded Exercise Therapy, which is proven to not help and can sometimes make us much worse. There are no approved treatments for us. Many of us lose all contact with friends as our health declines. It’s an incredibly lonely, scary, and uncomfortable illness. We have lower QOL on average than several types of cancer patients. And on top of that, we deal with stigma and lack of aid from the government. Many of us need help with things like house cleaning, cooking, and cleaning ourselves, and without ample aid from the government we often either have to ask for charity from our families or go without vital care. It’s no wonder people with CFS/ME are turning to MAiD.

This is MAiD issue definitely, but it’s also a CFS/ME issue. Please donate to organizations that help us find treatments and spread awareness about our condition, especially if you have friends and family who are medical professionals. Often doctors are the least understanding and contribute our suffering to being deconditioned rather than suffering from a legitimate lack of energy.

You matter, you are loved, you are not alone.

wilwheaton:

It is common and understandable that, when you hear about the death of someone you care about, especially when it appears to have been a suicide, you can feel intense depression triggers. You may even have suicidal thoughts of your own.

If this happens to you, PLEASE TALK TO SOMEONE RIGHT AWAY. You can reach out to a crisis counselor, someone you trust who is in your support network, or your therapist.

A few resources to help, if you need it:

vivahate1988:

demigender-positivity:

piss-monster:

regenerateme:

tracyalexander:

trans-mom:

aiga-muamua:

trans-mom:

I’d like to point out that actual studies have linked trans suicides to constant misgendering as a cause (one of, I should add), whereas affirmation of gender is known to do the opposite. So intentionally misgendering trans people is pretty much legit trying to kill them.

In other news, water is wet.

Where the study/source?

I’m uber busy at work and I don’t have the time to pull up the specific spot it’s discussed. But, look up the work of Dr. Ry Testa. He’s a trans man tackling these issues.

Someone who knows how to navigate resources and has the spoons and time try and find the paper, save trans momma the trouble.

Sounds super legit though. Being misgendered almost always causes some dissociation and social withdrawal form me since it belittles my identity. I don’t get suicidal thoughts but I could sure as hell see how someone who does would be affected by that.

Hiya! 

I’m hoping I could help somewhat.

This is all the work Dr. Testa’s done.

Development of the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure.

Effects of violence on transgender people.

I think this is the one though; The relationship between gender-based victimization and suicide attempts in transgender people.

Misgendering a trans person is a violent act. It’s an emotional abuse that cuts deep into who we feel we are at our core. We have enough to deal with internally, adding external voices to that can destroy us.

@TERFs who insist misgendering is just ‘hurt feelings’

Also! Glaad Surveys that show statistics of outcomes of misgendered employees and students. I can’t find the file of the survey “Injustice At Every Turn”, but that was an integral part of my project with good statistics from 2011, fairly recent compared to most widespread resources. If anyone finds it or has the file, please let me know, I would love to have that again for reference.

Here’s “Injustice At Every Turn!”

thexfiles:

suicidal people deserve a space to talk about their suicidal feelings without risking hospitalization/institutionalization or being accused of being manipulative or attention seeking

grumpyoldnurse:

fatale-distraction:

fatale-distraction:

constantine-spiritworker:

its-thedinosaurman:

staying-happily-high:

butterscotchwm:

notnights:

soloontherocks:

my favorite side effect warning is for antidepressants

pros: you won’t want to kill yourself

cons: you might want to kill yourself

Back when I was in a psychiatric hospital, and was offered antidepressants, my mother had declined them due to that apparent side effect. So the staff actually explained about this effect antidepressants have, that give reason to that warning.
When first taking antidepressants they raise up your energy first. So that you have the energy to do the tasks you might have avoided doing due to your depression.
Because of this those who were already suicidal, now have the energy to go do so. Which is the ones this warning is given for.
It’s not that a side effect of antidepressants magically makes you want to kill yourself, it’s the energy it gives those who were already struggling with suicidal issues, to actually attempt the act.

Very informative…

Wow. I’m so glad you explained that. Now I understand

My high school choir/psych teacher actually told is about this. She also said if you have a suicidal friend who starts seeming like they might be getting better because they have more energy, that’s the time to be cautious because that’s when they may still be suicidal but they’ll actually have the energy to go through with it

THIS. a thousand times THIS. I had it explained to me in my AP psychology class in high school. super fucking important.

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT and I wish my doctors had explained it to me this well when I first started taking them.

JUST GONNA REBLOG THIS AGAIN TO ADD that my younger sister in law recently started on anti-depressants among other medications in juncture with therapy to help handle an extreme case of OCD and anxiety, and I was the one who had to explain this to her. Her doctor only explained the risks, and not WHY they would actually be considered risks, which put her off of taking medication for most of her life. I explained it, and she understood, and THAT is why she is now on medication that is significantly improving her life. DOCTORS NEED TO TELL US THIS SHIT.

Best description of why ‘increased risk of suicide’ is included in the warning for anti-depressants I’ve ever read.

Signal boost this to save a life.