The stories we tell about violence determine who we see as a real person. — A few months ago, I realized that I couldn’t watch on-screen violence any more. This was an odd development. I write a newsletter about horror movies; I’ve scripted two horror comics. Violent imagery is part of how I make a living. I also have no objection to violence as subject…

Bluesky and Mastodon are both “Twitter alternatives.” Which one should you use? — In the months since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I — like everyone else — have been on the lookout for a Twitter replacement. Why I would do this to myself, I don’t know; my experience with the original Twitter was not a good one. …

Most Americans oppose anti-trans policies — but trans people’s right to exist is not a popularity contest. — On Monday, the Washington Post published a front-page headline I’d been dreading for years: “Most in U.S. Back GOP’s Anti-Trans Policies.” Fortunately, it wasn’t true. Multiple polls, including very recent polls, show that the majority of Americans oppose anti-trans discrimination. As Parker Molloy has shown, the Washington Post’s own polling…

Across the country, trans legislators are being shouted down and shut out. Minnesota State Rep. Leigh Finke tells us how she keeps hope alive. — This may be the year we fully establish the limits of trans representation. The past few election cycles have seen an unprecedented number of openly trans lawmakers elected to office — Danica Roem; Sarah McBride; etc. — and it has also seen an unprecedented number of bills aimed at rolling…

I mean it. It’s time for everyone to touch grass. — There are days when I can’t bear to look at the news. These days are more frequent lately, in part because the news itself is getting harder to come by: Buzzfeed News shut down. Vice News shut down. Twitter, most people’s default news aggregator for the past decade or more…

Trans people need community more than most. We’re also especially good at making life hard for each other. — At the beginning of my transition, I would go to the big chain bookstore in the strip mall at the edge of town and buy any book written by a trans person. I had moved to a semi-rural area (hence the only bookstore being a big chain inside a strip…

Are you in the right space to receive information that may hurt you? People are blaming therapy for their relationship problems again. — Greetings, reader. I’d like to thank you for being vulnerable and authentic enough to click on this blog post. If you’re not at capacity, and can hold appropriate space, I’ll explain: Last Friday, an article by Rebecca Fishbein entitled “Is Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish?” went viral. …

We’re “a few years away” from artificial wombs and uterus transplants. Yet discussion about sex and gender is stuck in the past. — Patriarchy is boring. This is not its most serious sin, but every once in a while you come across a piece of information that reminds you how grim and dull our discourse around gender has become — how, in the struggle to preserve our basic rights, we’ve allowed the discussion…

The Nashville shooter’s gender identity has led to charges of “trans terrorism” — but the face of gun violence is almost always a cis white man. — As I move through this life, I try to find reasons to be grateful. Even very dark times can have an upside, if you’re looking for it. For instance, the mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville — the 130th mass shooting in the United States in 2023, and…