Karen Encarnacion
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krencarn.bsky.social
Karen Encarnacion
@krencarn.bsky.social
Mountain runner, intellectual, grocery store manager, LGBTQ+ . Yiddish student. Former art history/history of science academic. Childless cat mother who also loves dogs. But most at home in the mountains.
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
A powerful artist and activist. Just everything about this woman and her poetry was good and clean and straight truth. She pushed us. She’d cut you and then smile to show that she’d done it with love.
Rest in Peace and Power Nikki Giovanni.
December 10, 2024 at 4:17 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
This interview with Nikki Giovanni from earlier this year should be required reading. oxfordamerican.org/web-only/nik...
December 10, 2024 at 3:18 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
Skrmetti oral arguments live thread.

First question is from Justice Thomas asks why it's not an age based classification rather than sex based classification.
December 4, 2024 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
This case #Skrmetti is important because it affects the lives and wellbeing of trans children. That said, it is also important because of the legal issues being argued - it could set dangerous precedent regarding other medical care like abortion provision.
December 4, 2024 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
i think this is right and i will observe that this is essentially the position the court took in plessy v. ferguson, which held that the constitution has no bearing on inequalities of social power
There is a stance I will call "Kavanaugh neutrality" that says the Constitution is "neutral" between vulnerable people and the power of the state and so we will watch and shrug while the vulnerable are beaten up in our presence. #Skrmetti
December 4, 2024 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
Will the Supreme Court endorse sex-discrimination in medical care? That's the core issue in US v Skrmetti

Lets dive in
December 4, 2024 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
*cracks knuckles*

The long and short of Skrmetti is that trans people are a vulnerable population (or in constitutional terms, a suspect class because:

1) they don't have a lot of political power
2) they dont have numbers
3) being trans is an immutable characteristic
December 4, 2024 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
Here is my #LGBTQNotGoingBack post, which includes a MASTER LIST of everyone else's posts! plus instructions for how to be added to this lists & how to call your representatives today!
on Substack: juliaserano.substack.com/p/lgbtq-peop...
or Medium: juliaserano.medium.com/lgbtq-people... #LGBTQ
LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back
Last week, I proposed a mass action for today (Tuesday, December 3, 2024), in which LGBTQ+ people and allies who have platforms of any kind would publish individual creations (writings, videos, podcas...
juliaserano.substack.com
December 3, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion

These unheard stories from young trans people unable to flee Texas now hold urgent lessons for all of us about how to resist by existing, in the face of fascistic movements seeking to deny so many communities the right just to be alive.
‘Not Everyone Can Leave’: Survival Advice from Trans Teens in Texas
Media attention often focuses on trans teens fleeing the anti-trans states they’re living in. But what about those who can’t leave?
www.texasobserver.org
November 26, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
“When the 8 African American sheriffs took over the largest counties in North Carolina, it became a threat to the good ol’ boy system,” says the sheriff of Charlotte. These new sheriffs broke ties with ICE.

But GOP lawmakers cracked down this week, overbidding the governor’s veto to adopt this law:
North Carolina GOP Is Cracking Down on the Black Sheriffs Who Stood Up to ICE
Boosted by new supermajorities, Republicans are closing in on legislation to mandate more collaboration with ICE and preempt local policies hard-won by immigrants’ rights advocates.
boltsmag.org
November 28, 2024 at 11:03 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
Trans women are women because they are violently oppressed as women.

I really don't believe there is any more content to womanhood than as a descriptor of a class of people who are subjugated under patriarchy in particular ways.

I don't buy into pink/blue brains/souls.
To cis folks who consider themselves sympathetic to the cause of trans liberation:

If you were asked "What makes a trans woman a woman?", or some less-respectful variant of that by a transphobe, would you be able to answer?

Repeating a shibboleth with no substantiation isn't working.
November 28, 2024 at 3:28 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
The engagement with this and the (civil!) discussions in the replies far exceeded my expectations. It's only fair that I ask you to put your pencils down and tell you what was on my answer key.

(Emphasis on MINE. Trans people debate these things amongst ourselves, too.)

Here's what I'm getting at.
To cis folks who consider themselves sympathetic to the cause of trans liberation:

If you were asked "What makes a trans woman a woman?", or some less-respectful variant of that by a transphobe, would you be able to answer?

Repeating a shibboleth with no substantiation isn't working.
November 27, 2024 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
When I was a platoon leader, I had two trans Soldiers in my platoon; two of the most motivated & high-quality Soldiers I’ve observed.

Around 15k service members are trans. Expelling trained & capable SM’s harms national security.

Most importantly, it’s immoral & goes against our national values.
News has just broke that Trump plans to eject trans people from the military within days of inauguration.

Trans servicemembers who have served 19 years will lose their pensions and healthcare.

This is obscene. They served our country, and will be kicked to the side like trash.
Trump reportedly plans to swiftly eject trans troops within days of inauguration
Trump’s actions could eject thousands of current trans service members
www.independent.co.uk
November 25, 2024 at 6:12 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
Do you have trans people in your life who you worry might be losing hope? Are you, maybe, one such person yourself?

Or, are you a fan of great writing by incredible trans people and want to read what they're thinking in this historic moment?

Assigned Media's Stay With Us package launches today.
Stay With Us — Assigned
Assigned Media wants you to live! And, what keeps us steadfast and ready to meet the moment is the example of other members of our community who refuse to let fear or hopelessness keep them from their...
www.assignedmedia.org
November 20, 2024 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
This is genuinely great from Gessen if only because it takes something pretty basic about anti-trans politics (it's part of a broader reproductive regime akin to the eugenics of fascist cults) and explains it to an audience still convinced this has anything to do with fairness in women's sports
Opinion | The Secret Behind America’s Moral Panic
Trans rights aren’t just trans rights. They’re reproductive rights.
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2024 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
So don’t give up hope. Do not despair. That is what they want, and we shall not give them that satisfaction. In Japanese, there is a word my mother used to say to me.

“Gaman, Georgie,” she’d say. It means to endure with fortitude and dignity. We all could benefit the spirit of Gaman. /5
November 16, 2024 at 12:49 AM
Reposted by Karen Encarnacion
BIG NEWS: A Wyoming judge just struck down WY's abortion bans.

And get this: The judge invoked a constitutional amendment codifying a right to make health care decisions... that was passed in 2012 by conservatives who thought it'd screw Obamacare! Just backfired.

We explained this lawsuit here:
How Attacks Against Obamacare Turned Into Tools to Protect Abortion Access
Conservatives amended state constitutions to affirm broad rights for people to choose their health care. Now abortion rights proponents are taking them at their word.
boltsmag.org
November 19, 2024 at 5:26 AM