Octavia con Amore :pink_moon_and_stars:<p>Hey everyone, you can already see me in my intro post (rtx-on model) and videos/streams (mostly rtx-off model), so I figured I'd do something a little different :frog_think: </p><p>I want to cover two things: why it matters, and what non-trans people can do to help :bugcat_nod: </p><p>---</p><p>:zerotwo_learn: Queer folks are, for the most part, not raised within the community. We're most often born in non-queer families and often go through a large chunk of our lives not even knowing queer folks exist, that anything outside of the cis-het structure even exists.</p><p>Racial representation gives us role-models, shows us that it's ok to be, in my case, mixed-race, that our struggles are seen. Queer representation, on the other hand, shows us that queer folks exist, that that is something even *possible* to be. I went 3 decades without realising that the feelings I was feeling were gender dysphoria, without realising there was something I could do about it, without realising that doing those things about it would finally make me feel like I was me, not just a husk of a meat-mech I was piloting around waiting for some unknown thing to happen :frog_blush: </p><p>However, trans visibility can be deadly to trans folks :cat_frown: Being visible in our current society isn't just a physical danger to us, it can often be a danger to our social lives and financial stability. Trans people are homeless at a staggering rate, both due to families often shunning them as well as jobs firing and not hiring them.</p><p>In fact, even here on fedi, where some of the space is decently protective of trans people (though major servers tend not to be), every few months, there is a wave of posts talking about how "2D 'anime' (read: anything including picrews) profile pics (pfps) mean bigots and nazis", which, if you've read the last 3 paragraphs, you can see why a first-name-last-name-real-face account might be existentially dangerous to trans folks.</p><p>Being able to be out, to even show our faces, on trans day of visibility is a risk to every person who does it. It's a risk taken with the hope that it will help make the world survivable for all other trans folks, both currently existing and every one who will exist in the future :hug_love: </p><p>---</p><p>Now, what can you do about it if you're non-trans? Stop falling for transphobic talking points. Stop letting a person use another marginalisation as justification for being transphobic. Stop supporting organisations that support (or Lyssa fuckin' forbid, are *run by*) people who espouse transphobic rhetoric.</p><p>But more than that, if you have some money to spare, help trans people not starve. I'm not saying "send one $500 a month" (I will not object if you do, as a note), I'm saying maybe find a few trans people that need it and contribute $10 or $20, something within your means. Super bonus points for setting aside a little every month.</p><p>I know ko-fi and patreon allow for it in an automated way to make it easier, too, though on ko-fi, you usually have to click from single-time to monthly :blob_nod: </p><p>---</p><p>If you've read this far, thank you. I hope this has been interesting to read, and hopefully, given you tangible ways to help :espeon_love: </p><p><a href="https://cutie.city/tags/Queer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Queer</span></a> <a href="https://cutie.city/tags/Trans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trans</span></a> <a href="https://cutie.city/tags/SocialJustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SocialJustice</span></a> <a href="https://cutie.city/tags/TransDayOfVisibility" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TransDayOfVisibility</span></a></p>