I’ve seen bumblebee species that build little clay pots like that in a nest. Either way, they are usually friends and not foes.

have you tried the Old Testament? 😝

yesss

CW: self-harm

I enjoyed self-harming and feeling pain when I was dissociating a lot, I think there are clearly examples where people inflict pain on themselves for non-sexual and non-religious (i.e. not for punitive / atoning) reasons. Besides some kinds of self-harm, eating spicy food seems like a clear example of this. Pain releases endorphins, you can get high on pain. For what it’s worth, I also have enjoyed every physical trauma I have experienced (being hit by a car, being thrown over the handlebars of my bicycle at speed and my face hitting the asphalt first, etc.).

yeah, was going to say - there have been trans mass shooters, lol

Another notable case:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs_nightclub_shooting

Aldrich’s attorneys have said in court documents that their client identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, preferring to be addressed as Mx. Aldrich. Neighbors allege Aldrich to have made hateful comments towards the LGBT community in the past, including frequent usage of homophobic slurs. Aldrich never mentioned being non-binary prior to the shooting and was referred to with masculine pronouns by family members. Police testified they found rainbow-colored shooting targets in Aldrich’s home. Experts in online extremism have voiced the possibility that Aldrich’s proclaimed self-identification could be disingenuous, while the Center for Countering Digital Hate acknowledges the suspect’s past actions and impact on the LGBT community.

I am personally inclined to agree that the self-identification is likely disingenuous, a stunt for the courtroom (maybe to make it harder to argue he committed hate crimes).

I took my partner’s last name because I like their family more than mine, and I liked the idea of no longer being associated with my family.

But I think most people just want to do what is normal or expected of them, so I would imagine that is why most women change their name. Not doing so would go against the grain, putting them in awkward situations where they have to explain they didn’t take the last name.

Since I transitioned I’ve been thinking a lot about how little I knew about trans people until I realized I was one and then took much more seriously educating myself.

It makes me feel ashamed because of how little I understand so many other oppressed groups, and how little true empathy I have. Even if on the surface I have respect for people and consider myself an “ally” to various groups, I feel I should do more than just signal respect and support. Maybe it’s an unrealistically high bar, but my conscience certainly thinks I need to do more to empathize with and better understand other groups.

I can’t help but feel my default tendency is towards a kind of accidental tribalism - I understand perspectives I choose to engage with and understand and this results in a cultural cloistering, an accidental in-and-out-grouping because of how I naturally do or don’t understand someone’s life experience based on my own. Unless I go out of my way to do a lot of work to understand other perspectives, I otherwise won’t be likely to do that.

It’s OK, being closeted was worse. :-)

I didn’t realize having the wrong sex hormones in your body can mess up your mind - I was struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, etc. for decades that were entirely unnecessary. A socially harder life with the right sex hormones is still much better than a closeted life with the wrong hormones. It was a hard lesson to learn, though.

especially when they’re also privileged and unaware of what it’s like to be a minority - I don’t really know how to cross that divide, though. I guess a cis man could cross-dress in public and see how it feels, see how they are treated.

I accept at this point that everyone is a hypocrite, including myself. I still tend to think some people are worse hypocrites than others, lol

https://old.reddit.com/r/flexibility/comments/9212b8/dont_know_where_to_start_click_here/

Splits

This splits routine was created for the 90-day challenge and will give you quick results by stretching every day.

If you just want to take it a bit slower, here’s a follow-along video for every other day.

Hit a plateau in your splits training? Try these brutal but effective loaded progressions. Here and here. Oh, and here.

agreed, the title should be edited

EDIT: instead of “shemale” a more appropriate phrase might be like pre-op trans woman or something like that

The general advice is if you are wishing to avoid a pregnancy that you should assume HRT won’t make you sterile (and use protection), and if you are hoping to have kids that you should assume it will make you sterile (and get fertility services like freezing sperm before starting HRT).

Estrogen also causes penile atrophy^[1], so the phallus may not be as capable of penetration as before HRT.

From the OP’s inappropriate title, I assume they are coming from the context of pornography, where the actresses are using methods to prevent penile atrophy (most porn involving trans women do not show women with penile atrophy), but in those contexts they are also likely taking steps to avoid pregnancy so the question clearly veers outside of the initial context.

don’t forget Bill O’Reilly

yeah, was going to say - being trans did get me shunned, lol

(not that being trans is a bad thing, I can’t help it and I’m not harming anyone)

😭

For a second I thought these were places to escape the country from … you know, for reasons.

honestly I think it is less about health or safety and more about the disgust people feel - it really might just be irrational and nothing more

Been planting tulips, hyacinth, crocus, and peony. Need to plant my garlic!

It sorta went the opposite for me, when I first started with a vegan diet I abstained from all substitutes and eventually I learned to use them to recreate foods I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat again.