Prism & Pen
@prismnpen.bsky.social
An online journal of compelling LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Calling on all readers and writers with LGBTQ+ flair to join us on
https://medium.com/prismnpen
#LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #2SLGBTQ #2SLGBTQIA #Queer #QueerWriters #Writing #Storytelling
https://medium.com/prismnpen
#LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #2SLGBTQ #2SLGBTQIA #Queer #QueerWriters #Writing #Storytelling
If you actually look at how transphobes and people on the right talk about kids and parenting, they’re incredibly strict to the point of being almost dictatorial.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Transphobia #Parenting #SocialContagion
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Transphobia #Parenting #SocialContagion
Transphobia is Not Rational
Against the social contagion
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November 13, 2025 at 2:07 PM
If you actually look at how transphobes and people on the right talk about kids and parenting, they’re incredibly strict to the point of being almost dictatorial.
buff.ly/F3UG9Ll
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Transphobia #Parenting #SocialContagion
buff.ly/F3UG9Ll
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Transphobia #Parenting #SocialContagion
In this article, I will be talking about the changes I saw in my husband when he started taking testosterone. All information has been cleared by him, and he has given full permission for me to share it.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #TransMen #Cisallies
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #TransMen #Cisallies
Testosterone Changes: Turn and Face the Stranger
My Cis Wife’s Support & Advice Guide
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November 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM
In this article, I will be talking about the changes I saw in my husband when he started taking testosterone. All information has been cleared by him, and he has given full permission for me to share it.
buff.ly/MHlrIk6
#LGBTQ #Transgender #TransMen #Cisallies
buff.ly/MHlrIk6
#LGBTQ #Transgender #TransMen #Cisallies
Retake is a totally uncynical look at the insanity of love and its accompanying sadness in the new millennium. Corporon is sort of the anti-Woody Allen. Imagine Annie Hall with no witticisms.
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#LGBTQ #QueerFilm #Retake #GayFilm
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#LGBTQ #QueerFilm #Retake #GayFilm
‘Retake’: Restaging Love with a Gay Hustler
Here’s a road movie that could and should break your heart.
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November 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Retake is a totally uncynical look at the insanity of love and its accompanying sadness in the new millennium. Corporon is sort of the anti-Woody Allen. Imagine Annie Hall with no witticisms.
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#LGBTQ #QueerFilm #Retake #GayFilm
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#LGBTQ #QueerFilm #Retake #GayFilm
His public regression wasn’t the first time someone notable had denounced their homosexuality — not even this year — but his story hit different. For better or worse, Davis helped shape me into the gay man I grew to be.
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#LGBTQ #RealityTV #DavisMallory
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#LGBTQ #RealityTV #DavisMallory
The Gay Reality Star I Loved — and the One I Didn’t Know at All
Davis Mallory: From AOL chatrooms to a borrowed face, here’s a love story that blurred the line between faith and fiction.
medium.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
His public regression wasn’t the first time someone notable had denounced their homosexuality — not even this year — but his story hit different. For better or worse, Davis helped shape me into the gay man I grew to be.
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#LGBTQ #RealityTV #DavisMallory
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#LGBTQ #RealityTV #DavisMallory
When given the choice to learn how their actions will affect someone else, 40% of people will choose ignorance, often in order to have an excuse to act selfishly,.
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#LGBTQ #Psychology #USPolitics #Transgender
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#LGBTQ #Psychology #USPolitics #Transgender
No Transgender Reasoning When So Many Don’t See Reason
On propaganda and persuasion
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November 12, 2025 at 2:23 PM
When given the choice to learn how their actions will affect someone else, 40% of people will choose ignorance, often in order to have an excuse to act selfishly,.
buff.ly/ZZrcxkU
#LGBTQ #Psychology #USPolitics #Transgender
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#LGBTQ #Psychology #USPolitics #Transgender
The funny thing is, years ago when were pre-teens, people used to ask if we were twins. My sister is amazing, so I absolutely wish we were twins. I'd absolutely be over the moon if we looked the same.
medium.com/prismnpen/my...
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Sisters #Family
medium.com/prismnpen/my...
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Sisters #Family
My Trans Road Trip as Sisters: Epilogue
My Sister Speaks On Our Trip, I Wave “Goodbye” to The Past.
medium.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The funny thing is, years ago when were pre-teens, people used to ask if we were twins. My sister is amazing, so I absolutely wish we were twins. I'd absolutely be over the moon if we looked the same.
medium.com/prismnpen/my...
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Sisters #Family
medium.com/prismnpen/my...
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Sisters #Family
I was always wondering if there might be something better. Maybe I expected too much of him. I was never fully present — I was always doubting. From the outside, though, we looked perfect.
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#LGBTQ #Gay #LoveAndLoss #Regrets
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#LGBTQ #Gay #LoveAndLoss #Regrets
A Gay Love I Had To Let Go
He loved the real me. I loved the version of him I wished he could be.
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November 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I was always wondering if there might be something better. Maybe I expected too much of him. I was never fully present — I was always doubting. From the outside, though, we looked perfect.
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#LGBTQ #Gay #LoveAndLoss #Regrets
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#LGBTQ #Gay #LoveAndLoss #Regrets
I believe wholeheartedly that people who are in the sights of MAGA have a right to leave the US. I’m not going to entertain any “stay and fight” demands, or justify anyone’s decision to migrate out of the US.
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#LGBTQ #USPolitics #Immigration
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#LGBTQ #USPolitics #Immigration
Educated Guesses on the Fallout of Anti-Trans SCOTUS Passport Ruling
Confusion abounds, and even the ACLU doesn’t seem to know what is going to happen
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November 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
I believe wholeheartedly that people who are in the sights of MAGA have a right to leave the US. I’m not going to entertain any “stay and fight” demands, or justify anyone’s decision to migrate out of the US.
buff.ly/RY2tImf
#LGBTQ #USPolitics #Immigration
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#LGBTQ #USPolitics #Immigration
The boy who learned that safety meant silence, the teenager who checked his tone before speaking, the man who still apologises for needing anything.
That’s what trauma does. It keeps score long after the game is over.
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#LGBTQ #Trauma #Childhood #Love #Safety
That’s what trauma does. It keeps score long after the game is over.
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#LGBTQ #Trauma #Childhood #Love #Safety
The Queer Art of Feeling Safe
What love teaches you after a lifetime of scanning for danger
medium.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:52 PM
The boy who learned that safety meant silence, the teenager who checked his tone before speaking, the man who still apologises for needing anything.
That’s what trauma does. It keeps score long after the game is over.
buff.ly/KgtAo9K
#LGBTQ #Trauma #Childhood #Love #Safety
That’s what trauma does. It keeps score long after the game is over.
buff.ly/KgtAo9K
#LGBTQ #Trauma #Childhood #Love #Safety
At the time, I told myself I was just watching another “serious HBO movie.” But Normal worked on a deeper frequency. It treated a trans story not as spectacle but as a marriage story, about love under pressure.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Representation
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Representation
Love Survives Transgender Honesty: Watching ‘Normal’ Before I Knew Myself
This quiet 2003 film showed me love could outlast shame — even before I knew why it mattered.
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November 11, 2025 at 1:43 PM
At the time, I told myself I was just watching another “serious HBO movie.” But Normal worked on a deeper frequency. It treated a trans story not as spectacle but as a marriage story, about love under pressure.
buff.ly/TVPb333
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Representation
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Representation
November 4 this year proved to be a clear sweep for Democrats who have never wavered in their support for #LGBTQ+ rights.
Voters are drawn to principled fighters… even if there is disagreement on certain specific issues.
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#USPolitics #TransRights
Voters are drawn to principled fighters… even if there is disagreement on certain specific issues.
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#USPolitics #TransRights
Republican Anti-Trans Ad Campaigns Backfire
Candidates who stick up for marginalized people win elections
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November 10, 2025 at 2:14 PM
November 4 this year proved to be a clear sweep for Democrats who have never wavered in their support for #LGBTQ+ rights.
Voters are drawn to principled fighters… even if there is disagreement on certain specific issues.
buff.ly/fCje4kt
#USPolitics #TransRights
Voters are drawn to principled fighters… even if there is disagreement on certain specific issues.
buff.ly/fCje4kt
#USPolitics #TransRights
“My dad was a real charmer, a salesman. My mother wouldn’t admit it, but he had tons of ladies, tons of affairs on the road and — get this, I just found this out — he had affairs with men too.”
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#LGBTQ #QueerHistory #Identity #Closeted
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#LGBTQ #QueerHistory #Identity #Closeted
My Gay Friend’s Dad Never Told Him About His Own Experiences With Men
‘The Greatest Generation’ felt being gay was a choice… because they’d resisted the temptation
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November 10, 2025 at 2:10 PM
“My dad was a real charmer, a salesman. My mother wouldn’t admit it, but he had tons of ladies, tons of affairs on the road and — get this, I just found this out — he had affairs with men too.”
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#LGBTQ #QueerHistory #Identity #Closeted
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#LGBTQ #QueerHistory #Identity #Closeted
Tired of people disbelieving my lived experience.
Tired of being seen as a threat for simply existing.
Tired of people thinking they know me better than I know myself.
Tired of not being believed when I say who I am.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Identity #MentalHealth
Tired of being seen as a threat for simply existing.
Tired of people thinking they know me better than I know myself.
Tired of not being believed when I say who I am.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Identity #MentalHealth
Being trans in 2025 … I’m So Tired
Me venting
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November 10, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Tired of people disbelieving my lived experience.
Tired of being seen as a threat for simply existing.
Tired of people thinking they know me better than I know myself.
Tired of not being believed when I say who I am.
buff.ly/Hh131NV
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Identity #MentalHealth
Tired of being seen as a threat for simply existing.
Tired of people thinking they know me better than I know myself.
Tired of not being believed when I say who I am.
buff.ly/Hh131NV
#LGBTQ #Transgender #Identity #MentalHealth
Two of the speakers were well-known inspirational figures: a former football coach and the All-American athlete portrayed in The Blind Side. Sandwiched between them was #RileyGaines, an anti-trans athlete and activist.
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#LGBTQ #Gay #QueerChristian #GayChristian
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#LGBTQ #Gay #QueerChristian #GayChristian
A Gay Christian Reflects on Faith, Fear, and Speaking with Grace
Anti-trans advocate Riley Gaines came to my rural Ohio city, reminding me that faith without compassion is not faith at all.
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November 10, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Two of the speakers were well-known inspirational figures: a former football coach and the All-American athlete portrayed in The Blind Side. Sandwiched between them was #RileyGaines, an anti-trans athlete and activist.
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#LGBTQ #Gay #QueerChristian #GayChristian
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#LGBTQ #Gay #QueerChristian #GayChristian
I’d argue that, for the gay community, the trend is generally inverted! In the case of gay men specifically, “boyfriend content” has never been more popular!
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#LGBTQ #Gay #Relationships #Boyfriends
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#LGBTQ #Gay #Relationships #Boyfriends
Vogue Says It’s Now “Embarrassing” To Have A Boyfriend as a Straight Woman
But gay men can’t stop showing theirs online!
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November 9, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I’d argue that, for the gay community, the trend is generally inverted! In the case of gay men specifically, “boyfriend content” has never been more popular!
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#LGBTQ #Gay #Relationships #Boyfriends
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#LGBTQ #Gay #Relationships #Boyfriends
I am corrupt.
There is a blight upon my soul.
I want to do what’s right and good, but I keep failing.
I want to run, but I stumble when I walk.
Oh, wretched that I am!
For I am sin...
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#LGBTQ #Poetry #QueerPoetry #Religion #ReligiousTrauma
There is a blight upon my soul.
I want to do what’s right and good, but I keep failing.
I want to run, but I stumble when I walk.
Oh, wretched that I am!
For I am sin...
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#LGBTQ #Poetry #QueerPoetry #Religion #ReligiousTrauma
A Vengeful Canker — a poem of religious trauma
A free verse inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 99
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November 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I am corrupt.
There is a blight upon my soul.
I want to do what’s right and good, but I keep failing.
I want to run, but I stumble when I walk.
Oh, wretched that I am!
For I am sin...
buff.ly/WPRxW1l
#LGBTQ #Poetry #QueerPoetry #Religion #ReligiousTrauma
There is a blight upon my soul.
I want to do what’s right and good, but I keep failing.
I want to run, but I stumble when I walk.
Oh, wretched that I am!
For I am sin...
buff.ly/WPRxW1l
#LGBTQ #Poetry #QueerPoetry #Religion #ReligiousTrauma
A 2022 thesis from Abilene Christian University found that couples in mixed-orientation marriages report emotional fulfillment, especially when communication and authenticity are prioritized.
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#LGBTQ #Relationships #Marriage #Queer #Fluidity
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#LGBTQ #Relationships #Marriage #Queer #Fluidity
Beyond Binary: Queer Resilience and the Refusal To Be Boxed In
How Bessie Smith, Josephine Baker, and modern couples are rewriting the script on love
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November 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
A 2022 thesis from Abilene Christian University found that couples in mixed-orientation marriages report emotional fulfillment, especially when communication and authenticity are prioritized.
buff.ly/pA3Twnc
#LGBTQ #Relationships #Marriage #Queer #Fluidity
buff.ly/pA3Twnc
#LGBTQ #Relationships #Marriage #Queer #Fluidity
“Whether you think it’s astrology, numerology, God, or the fates, I think anything that gives the happenings in your life a positive meaning is good.”
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Family #Sisters
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Family #Sisters
Hot Tub Time Machine: My Trans Road Trip as Sisters
Part four of a series. However, you can read this on its own.
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November 9, 2025 at 1:52 PM
“Whether you think it’s astrology, numerology, God, or the fates, I think anything that gives the happenings in your life a positive meaning is good.”
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Family #Sisters
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Family #Sisters
People whose main responsibility was to support, take care, and love unconditionally often refuse to do it when it comes to their #transgender children. Let's try to understand why this happens and if there's anything you can do.
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#LGBTQ #Family #Parents
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#LGBTQ #Family #Parents
Why Parents Refuse to Accept Their Transgender Child
The Roots of Denial, Religion, and Grief — What Transgender People Can Do When Acceptance is Conditional
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November 8, 2025 at 1:52 PM
People whose main responsibility was to support, take care, and love unconditionally often refuse to do it when it comes to their #transgender children. Let's try to understand why this happens and if there's anything you can do.
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#LGBTQ #Family #Parents
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#LGBTQ #Family #Parents
I’ve been to New York once. Who runs it shouldn’t mean anything to me. But this feels like the first real crack in the story that empathy can’t win, that caring about people is naïve, that queer inclusion is political suicide.
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#LGBTQ #USPolitics #NYC #ZohranMamdani
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#LGBTQ #USPolitics #NYC #ZohranMamdani
He Turned Trump’s Politics on Their Head, and Now He Runs New York
Zohran Mamdani proved you can stay woke, and win votes.
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November 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I’ve been to New York once. Who runs it shouldn’t mean anything to me. But this feels like the first real crack in the story that empathy can’t win, that caring about people is naïve, that queer inclusion is political suicide.
buff.ly/3ochQp8
#LGBTQ #USPolitics #NYC #ZohranMamdani
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#LGBTQ #USPolitics #NYC #ZohranMamdani
The girl’s father yearned for an heir, and had sworn to kill any daughter his wife would bear. The child’s mother devised a plan to keep her daughter and satisfy her husband. She would raise her as a man.
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#LGBTQ #GreekMyth #Mythology #Transgender
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#LGBTQ #GreekMyth #Mythology #Transgender
Creative Writing: A Retelling of the Greek Myth of Iphis and Ianthe
The story of Iphis, a girl raised as a boy, and how her fate is met when she falls in love with the beautiful Ianthe.
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November 8, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The girl’s father yearned for an heir, and had sworn to kill any daughter his wife would bear. The child’s mother devised a plan to keep her daughter and satisfy her husband. She would raise her as a man.
buff.ly/I5tqr6C
#LGBTQ #GreekMyth #Mythology #Transgender
buff.ly/I5tqr6C
#LGBTQ #GreekMyth #Mythology #Transgender
The niceties grant us a common framework. They give us a point of connection, outside of my gender, that helps us create some personal connections, no matter how superficial.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #WorkLife #Career
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #WorkLife #Career
This Is My ‘Groundhog Day’ Life as a Transgender Professional
I hope my vulnerability is making a positive difference.
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November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The niceties grant us a common framework. They give us a point of connection, outside of my gender, that helps us create some personal connections, no matter how superficial.
buff.ly/liLZWPw
#LGBTQ #Transgender #WorkLife #Career
buff.ly/liLZWPw
#LGBTQ #Transgender #WorkLife #Career
Support can be shown in weird and unexpected ways. It looks and sounds different for everyone, but there are some basic things you can do to support your trans loved one.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Allies #CisAllies #Support
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Allies #CisAllies #Support
What Support For Your Trans Loved One Looks & Sounds Like
My Cis Wife’s Support & Advice Guide
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November 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Support can be shown in weird and unexpected ways. It looks and sounds different for everyone, but there are some basic things you can do to support your trans loved one.
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Allies #CisAllies #Support
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#LGBTQ #Transgender #Allies #CisAllies #Support
On top of being a solidly written story with a well-developed world, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist also takes place in a post-heteronormative world.
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#LGBTQ #QueerGaming #Gaming #VideoGames #Representation
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#LGBTQ #QueerGaming #Gaming #VideoGames #Representation
‘I Was a Teenage Exocolonist’ Is the Queer Futurism I’ve Been Waiting For
The video game about queer communist futurism
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November 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
On top of being a solidly written story with a well-developed world, I Was a Teenage Exocolonist also takes place in a post-heteronormative world.
buff.ly/ky4cv0E
#LGBTQ #QueerGaming #Gaming #VideoGames #Representation
buff.ly/ky4cv0E
#LGBTQ #QueerGaming #Gaming #VideoGames #Representation
They talk about honour as if my existence is something they can’t wash out.
Every decision, every word, every moment of joy is weighed against the question:
“What will people say?”
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#LGBTQ #SouthAsian #Queer #DoubleStandard
Every decision, every word, every moment of joy is weighed against the question:
“What will people say?”
buff.ly/8a4ceCy
#LGBTQ #SouthAsian #Queer #DoubleStandard
The Contradiction of South Asian Queerness
In our South Asian communities, some loves are celebrated in silence — while others are erased in the name of honour.
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November 7, 2025 at 2:32 PM
They talk about honour as if my existence is something they can’t wash out.
Every decision, every word, every moment of joy is weighed against the question:
“What will people say?”
buff.ly/8a4ceCy
#LGBTQ #SouthAsian #Queer #DoubleStandard
Every decision, every word, every moment of joy is weighed against the question:
“What will people say?”
buff.ly/8a4ceCy
#LGBTQ #SouthAsian #Queer #DoubleStandard