Brooke Mels
@brookemelz.bsky.social
Jurisprudence nerd and Georgia legislative advocate
they/them
they/them
Reposted by Brooke Mels
99% of trans people I've met feel exactly this way
despite all the fear mongering about trans people and the attempts to abandon and actively harm us from both political parties in the US, transitioning is still the greatest decision i’ve ever made, only regret i have is not doing it younger, and that it has only made my life infinitely better
October 27, 2025 at 10:03 PM
99% of trans people I've met feel exactly this way
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Hi friends 👋🏾 I'm raising funds for North Kordofan ERR, which is in dire need of support.
The situation in areas like Bara, Sheikan & Alrahad is extremely dire. Summary in the thread below.
Every little bit helps: paypal.me/BSonblast
Ven/Cash: BSonblast
#KeepEyesOnSudan
The situation in areas like Bara, Sheikan & Alrahad is extremely dire. Summary in the thread below.
Every little bit helps: paypal.me/BSonblast
Ven/Cash: BSonblast
#KeepEyesOnSudan
Pay Sara Elhassan using PayPal.Me
Go to paypal.me/BSonblast and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.
paypal.me
October 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Hi friends 👋🏾 I'm raising funds for North Kordofan ERR, which is in dire need of support.
The situation in areas like Bara, Sheikan & Alrahad is extremely dire. Summary in the thread below.
Every little bit helps: paypal.me/BSonblast
Ven/Cash: BSonblast
#KeepEyesOnSudan
The situation in areas like Bara, Sheikan & Alrahad is extremely dire. Summary in the thread below.
Every little bit helps: paypal.me/BSonblast
Ven/Cash: BSonblast
#KeepEyesOnSudan
Reposted by Brooke Mels
In February, @madycast.com reported that some sexual violence nonprofits had quietly erased trans victims of abuse from their websites, out of fear of Trump.
The story went viral and was picked up by other outlets. One org restored resources, and told us that our reporting spurred the reversal.
The story went viral and was picked up by other outlets. One org restored resources, and told us that our reporting spurred the reversal.
Capitulation: RAINN, NSVRC, and NCMEC Remove Nearly All Mentions of Trans and Nonbinary People
Three sexual abuse nonprofits have removed all or nearly all mentions of trans people from their blogs and articles. All three receive federal funding, but are independent organizations.
transnews.network
October 31, 2025 at 7:34 PM
In February, @madycast.com reported that some sexual violence nonprofits had quietly erased trans victims of abuse from their websites, out of fear of Trump.
The story went viral and was picked up by other outlets. One org restored resources, and told us that our reporting spurred the reversal.
The story went viral and was picked up by other outlets. One org restored resources, and told us that our reporting spurred the reversal.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Australia, March 2025: The hate and sexual violence against immigrant trans women extends across the globe.
At least eight trans women have been held in one Australian male detention center between Oct 2024 and March 2025.
One woman says agents looked through intimate photos on her phone.
At least eight trans women have been held in one Australian male detention center between Oct 2024 and March 2025.
One woman says agents looked through intimate photos on her phone.
Trans woman told she would be taken to hotel ended up in detention centre
A trans woman visiting from the Philippines says she had intimate photos searched through on her phone by authorities at Sydney International Airport, before being detained at Villawood Immigration De...
www.abc.net.au
November 3, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Australia, March 2025: The hate and sexual violence against immigrant trans women extends across the globe.
At least eight trans women have been held in one Australian male detention center between Oct 2024 and March 2025.
One woman says agents looked through intimate photos on her phone.
At least eight trans women have been held in one Australian male detention center between Oct 2024 and March 2025.
One woman says agents looked through intimate photos on her phone.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
after several long, long years of being freelance, i finally have a w2 gig, at an outlet i helped found no less!
We are proud to announce we have hired @thefreeradical.org and @davidforbes.bsky.social as our first staff journalists! As a worker-run newsroom, we set wages collectively based on our funds.
Currently, we have about six months of funding. Help us plan our future with a recurring donation today!
Currently, we have about six months of funding. Help us plan our future with a recurring donation today!
Help fund trans journalism with a recurring donation to Trans News Network!
"With your help, I can actually build myself a solid future - one without being left on the streets, wondering where I'm gonna sleep that night." Trans News Network needs your help!
Every dollar y...
transnewsnetwork.networkforgood.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:21 PM
after several long, long years of being freelance, i finally have a w2 gig, at an outlet i helped found no less!
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Please consider supporting me on SubscribeStar, this obviously is a major income loss and I am not sure if I will be able to recover from it if things do not go smoothly
subscribestar.adult/acvalens
subscribestar.adult/acvalens
acvalens on subscribestar.adult
Subscribe to acvalens for more updates and exclusive content.
subscribestar.adult
November 10, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Please consider supporting me on SubscribeStar, this obviously is a major income loss and I am not sure if I will be able to recover from it if things do not go smoothly
subscribestar.adult/acvalens
subscribestar.adult/acvalens
Reposted by Brooke Mels
still looking for a job and have had very little work this month — feel free to support me by shopping at wovenalyssum.com .
if the jewelry i make isn’t your cup of tea you can also help me by donating directly to
C - $permanentalien
V - @permanentalien
PP - @AlyssumBorges
gofund.me/982b699b
if the jewelry i make isn’t your cup of tea you can also help me by donating directly to
C - $permanentalien
V - @permanentalien
PP - @AlyssumBorges
gofund.me/982b699b
October 29, 2025 at 8:52 AM
still looking for a job and have had very little work this month — feel free to support me by shopping at wovenalyssum.com .
if the jewelry i make isn’t your cup of tea you can also help me by donating directly to
C - $permanentalien
V - @permanentalien
PP - @AlyssumBorges
gofund.me/982b699b
if the jewelry i make isn’t your cup of tea you can also help me by donating directly to
C - $permanentalien
V - @permanentalien
PP - @AlyssumBorges
gofund.me/982b699b
Reposted by Brooke Mels
I was in grad school for three years before our union and two years after it. In the first three, after more than a year of internal advocacy and negotiation*, our program's stipend went from $32k to $33k. After a 5 week strike, that became $44k (now $50k in final contract year)**
friendly reminder that nondisruptive protests don't work. ask yourself: if you were a corrupt politician, would u listen to:
A. the people scheduling a few one-off peaceful couple hour gatherings that give you good press
B. the people outside your house with rocks and torches demanding change now
A. the people scheduling a few one-off peaceful couple hour gatherings that give you good press
B. the people outside your house with rocks and torches demanding change now
November 13, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I was in grad school for three years before our union and two years after it. In the first three, after more than a year of internal advocacy and negotiation*, our program's stipend went from $32k to $33k. After a 5 week strike, that became $44k (now $50k in final contract year)**
Reposted by Brooke Mels
"Morals are bad because they won't help your cause," an article by someone who hates your cause and wants your cause to fail.
November 14, 2025 at 1:01 AM
"Morals are bad because they won't help your cause," an article by someone who hates your cause and wants your cause to fail.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Reposted by Brooke Mels
TNN is something badly needed in trans media. We're not centered around a single influencer. We're not here to curry favor with the elite.
We're focused on trans communities on the front lines, not the gentry.
We're worker-run. Our reporting is in-depth and unrepentantly radical.
Support us here:
We're focused on trans communities on the front lines, not the gentry.
We're worker-run. Our reporting is in-depth and unrepentantly radical.
Support us here:
transnews.network
November 13, 2025 at 4:54 PM
TNN is something badly needed in trans media. We're not centered around a single influencer. We're not here to curry favor with the elite.
We're focused on trans communities on the front lines, not the gentry.
We're worker-run. Our reporting is in-depth and unrepentantly radical.
Support us here:
We're focused on trans communities on the front lines, not the gentry.
We're worker-run. Our reporting is in-depth and unrepentantly radical.
Support us here:
Reposted by Brooke Mels
and now pornhub is banning queer creators for a fictional roleplay scenario...
...even though the site is filled with the exact same stuff just tailored to straight people
baffling shit. go support ana and support independent creators, especially NSFW, queer, & BIPOC creators right now.
...even though the site is filled with the exact same stuff just tailored to straight people
baffling shit. go support ana and support independent creators, especially NSFW, queer, & BIPOC creators right now.
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 AM
and now pornhub is banning queer creators for a fictional roleplay scenario...
...even though the site is filled with the exact same stuff just tailored to straight people
baffling shit. go support ana and support independent creators, especially NSFW, queer, & BIPOC creators right now.
...even though the site is filled with the exact same stuff just tailored to straight people
baffling shit. go support ana and support independent creators, especially NSFW, queer, & BIPOC creators right now.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
following up from yesterday - now ana is being censored by @ko-fi.com
we're in an age of mass censorship, and clearly all the payment processors and front-end services are not sufficient. this is directly harming creators' livelihoods, and all for the sake of a puritanical moral panic.
what now?🧵
we're in an age of mass censorship, and clearly all the payment processors and front-end services are not sufficient. this is directly harming creators' livelihoods, and all for the sake of a puritanical moral panic.
what now?🧵
November 12, 2025 at 12:44 AM
following up from yesterday - now ana is being censored by @ko-fi.com
we're in an age of mass censorship, and clearly all the payment processors and front-end services are not sufficient. this is directly harming creators' livelihoods, and all for the sake of a puritanical moral panic.
what now?🧵
we're in an age of mass censorship, and clearly all the payment processors and front-end services are not sufficient. this is directly harming creators' livelihoods, and all for the sake of a puritanical moral panic.
what now?🧵
Reposted by Brooke Mels
allowing deaf people to understand public government hearings is woke, apparently.
government's gonna keep getting more evil y'all - there is only one path out of this, and it is not through any politician, nonprofit, or organization led by rich white people.
its through community organizing
government's gonna keep getting more evil y'all - there is only one path out of this, and it is not through any politician, nonprofit, or organization led by rich white people.
its through community organizing
This is just cartoon-villain stuff at this point www.npr.org/2025/11/05/n...
U.S. appeals order to use American Sign Language interpreters at White House briefings
The Justice Department is appealing an order for the White House to provide ASL interpretation during press briefings given by the press secretary or President Trump.
www.npr.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:54 AM
allowing deaf people to understand public government hearings is woke, apparently.
government's gonna keep getting more evil y'all - there is only one path out of this, and it is not through any politician, nonprofit, or organization led by rich white people.
its through community organizing
government's gonna keep getting more evil y'all - there is only one path out of this, and it is not through any politician, nonprofit, or organization led by rich white people.
its through community organizing
Reposted by Brooke Mels
What doesn't get highlighted enough: bans on trans care almost never end just at healthcare specific to us. They're often a cover for just refusing to treat trans people period, for anything.
Broken bone? Surgery complications? Infection? Bigoted medical institutions are happy to let us die.
Broken bone? Surgery complications? Infection? Bigoted medical institutions are happy to let us die.
U.S. catholic bishops criticizing Trump's crackdowns obscured that at the same conference they tried to make sure way more trans people die due to a lack of life-saving medical care.
Catholic hospitals see 1 in 7 patients. In some areas they're the only medical system:
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/g...
Catholic hospitals see 1 in 7 patients. In some areas they're the only medical system:
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/g...
U.S. bishops officially ban gender-affirming care at Catholic hospitals
The bishops' decision formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. They also approved a special message on immigration, expressing concern over enforcement an...
www.npr.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:55 PM
What doesn't get highlighted enough: bans on trans care almost never end just at healthcare specific to us. They're often a cover for just refusing to treat trans people period, for anything.
Broken bone? Surgery complications? Infection? Bigoted medical institutions are happy to let us die.
Broken bone? Surgery complications? Infection? Bigoted medical institutions are happy to let us die.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Because the NPR piece and a lot of other coverage didn't mention the catholic bishops' conference vote total on banning trans healthcare at the church's hospitals:
206 in favor, 8 abstained, 7 against
The catholic church hierarchy is overwhelmingly against life-saving trans healthcare.
206 in favor, 8 abstained, 7 against
The catholic church hierarchy is overwhelmingly against life-saving trans healthcare.
November 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Because the NPR piece and a lot of other coverage didn't mention the catholic bishops' conference vote total on banning trans healthcare at the church's hospitals:
206 in favor, 8 abstained, 7 against
The catholic church hierarchy is overwhelmingly against life-saving trans healthcare.
206 in favor, 8 abstained, 7 against
The catholic church hierarchy is overwhelmingly against life-saving trans healthcare.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Church-run hospitals often deny birth control and reproductive care too. I know someone who couldn't get an IUD in Texas because her doctor was associated with a hospital that banned their doctors from providing IUDs.
Just because they virtue signal about immigrants doesn't mean they aren't fascist
Just because they virtue signal about immigrants doesn't mean they aren't fascist
U.S. catholic bishops criticizing Trump's crackdowns obscured that at the same conference they tried to make sure way more trans people die due to a lack of life-saving medical care.
Catholic hospitals see 1 in 7 patients. In some areas they're the only medical system:
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/g...
Catholic hospitals see 1 in 7 patients. In some areas they're the only medical system:
www.npr.org/2025/11/12/g...
U.S. bishops officially ban gender-affirming care at Catholic hospitals
The bishops' decision formalizes a yearslong process for the U.S. church to address transgender health care. They also approved a special message on immigration, expressing concern over enforcement an...
www.npr.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Church-run hospitals often deny birth control and reproductive care too. I know someone who couldn't get an IUD in Texas because her doctor was associated with a hospital that banned their doctors from providing IUDs.
Just because they virtue signal about immigrants doesn't mean they aren't fascist
Just because they virtue signal about immigrants doesn't mean they aren't fascist
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Great use of "Full Kit Wankers" in the ALT text on this post
I simply refuse to accept that police ever have to look like this. this is just pure cosplay. it should be illegal for cops to be dressed like soldiers going to war.
November 13, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Great use of "Full Kit Wankers" in the ALT text on this post
Reposted by Brooke Mels
New: Google has chosen a side in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Google is hosting a CBP facial recognition app to hunt immigrants; no indication Google will remove. At same time Google takes down apps for reporting ICE sightings
“Big tech has made their choice”
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
“Big tech has made their choice”
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort
Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable gr...
www.404media.co
November 13, 2025 at 2:11 PM
New: Google has chosen a side in Trump's mass deportation campaign. Google is hosting a CBP facial recognition app to hunt immigrants; no indication Google will remove. At same time Google takes down apps for reporting ICE sightings
“Big tech has made their choice”
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
“Big tech has made their choice”
www.404media.co/google-has-c...
Reposted by Brooke Mels
seeing people tag the eff asking them to do something.
they cant.
the only one who can do something about this is you. if you're in europe, start organizing and start protesting. do whatever it takes to keep this from passing.
*you* have to do something alongside your community.
they cant.
the only one who can do something about this is you. if you're in europe, start organizing and start protesting. do whatever it takes to keep this from passing.
*you* have to do something alongside your community.
November 13, 2025 at 1:14 AM
seeing people tag the eff asking them to do something.
they cant.
the only one who can do something about this is you. if you're in europe, start organizing and start protesting. do whatever it takes to keep this from passing.
*you* have to do something alongside your community.
they cant.
the only one who can do something about this is you. if you're in europe, start organizing and start protesting. do whatever it takes to keep this from passing.
*you* have to do something alongside your community.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
The GOP and a small group of Democratic senators have cleared the path to taking away your edibles
The provision, tucked into the spending bill that could end the US government shutdown, would ban intoxicating hemp-derived THC products, including gummies and drinks. www.wired.com/story/propos...
A Proposed Federal THC Ban Would ‘Wipe Out’ Hemp Products That Get People High
The provision, tucked into the spending bill that could end the US government shutdown, would ban intoxicating hemp-derived THC products, including gummies and drinks.
www.wired.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:54 PM
The GOP and a small group of Democratic senators have cleared the path to taking away your edibles
Reposted by Brooke Mels
I think people believe the phenomenon is far more rare than it is, too. If you work with kids in any capacity, you see how hard it is for brains native to the internet to differentiate between a chatbot and a human. Brains are very bad at discerning truth when fiction is presented authoritatively.
Put another way, I think people are more scared of drinking something that they think could kill anyone, versus experiencing a condition that they believe could never happen to them—even though it very well could
November 8, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I think people believe the phenomenon is far more rare than it is, too. If you work with kids in any capacity, you see how hard it is for brains native to the internet to differentiate between a chatbot and a human. Brains are very bad at discerning truth when fiction is presented authoritatively.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
Suzanne Moore, who would rather be locked up than pay her BBC licence fee because the BBC is too nice to trans people for her liking.
November 9, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Suzanne Moore, who would rather be locked up than pay her BBC licence fee because the BBC is too nice to trans people for her liking.
Reposted by Brooke Mels
In what amounts to Mark Wolf’s resignation letter from the federal bench in Massachusetts forget more than 40 years—he was already a senior judge, so it creates no vacancy—he says he “intend[s] to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 9, 2025 at 3:18 PM
In what amounts to Mark Wolf’s resignation letter from the federal bench in Massachusetts forget more than 40 years—he was already a senior judge, so it creates no vacancy—he says he “intend[s] to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Brooke Mels
For @teenvogue.com I wrote about the death of trans athlete Lia Smith and how trans youth kind themselves with central pillars of their lives being constantly ripped away from them because of politics. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...
Politicizing Transgender Athletes Is Dangerous. Lia Smith Deserved Better.
"Let her passing be an inflection point for how you think about trans rights and trans people more generally."
www.teenvogue.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:23 AM
For @teenvogue.com I wrote about the death of trans athlete Lia Smith and how trans youth kind themselves with central pillars of their lives being constantly ripped away from them because of politics. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...