Sleeping Under The Mattress?

notes/replies on that last post (about Florida moving to ban all HRT for adults) suggest it was struck down by a judge, which is a relief obviously. but i do wanna pick up on the response being "set up DIY networks for HRT! organise and help each other!" which is cool and all but... as the latest reblog comment points out, T is a controlled drug.

some quick and dirty googling confirms testosterone is a Schedule III controlled drug in the USA, with most legal sources suggesting possession and/or distribution of Schedule III drugs is a 3rd degree felony. conviction can mean up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. crucially, in Florida (where this law was intended to come into force), selling or distributing a Schedule III drug to minors pushes it up to a 2nd degree felony with a harsher fine/sentence.

i make this point because the response to HRT being restricted is often some variation of "mutual aid DIY network" or just flat suggesting DIY to people as the solution. which is cool if you're on estrogen, but possessing testosterone without a prescription is a literal felony in the USA. T is also a controlled drug in the UK, where trans people face long waiting lists for HRT - it's not illegal to possess T for personal use, but it is illegal to get them sent to you from abroad (importing a controlled drug) and to give them to other people (supply). to legally get T you need a prescription from a doctor.

in a hostile transphobic environment there is no guarantee that prosecuters will decide not to charge trans people for DIYing HRT. "set up DIY networks" for transmascs basically translates to "set up an illegal drug ring".

this is a form of transphobia that affects transmascs but does not affect transfems. it also affects nonbinary and intersex folks seeking or using testosterone HRT. in fact it could potentially impact some nonbinary trans folks worse because the medical gatekeeping around trying to transition as nonbinary is already an uphill struggle.

it is not easy for those of us on T to just DIY it and fuck the system. without a valid prescription our HRT becomes a banned illegal steroid that can land us in serious legal trouble if we get caught, especially if we're distributing it to other people as part of a mutual aid setup. i know we're all very "be gay do crime" for the memes but we are talking about an actual factual go-to-jail-irl crime here.

the fact that our HRT is an illegal drug unless prescribed by a doctor is a form of transandrophobia that affects trans men, transmascs, nonbinary people on masculinising HRT, and intersex people who want or need testosterone. it means that:

we cannot DIY transition without committing a crime, and have to weigh up that risk when considering DIY as an option

setting up a mutual aid testosterone DIY network is even more of a crime, especially if you want to use it to help trans teens

we are thus more dependent on placating medical practitioners and convincing them to prescribe us HRT

we will always be more impacted by any moves to restrict or delay access to HRT because we don't have an easy, legal DIY option

when access to HRT is limited for transphobic reasons, the DIY option comes at much higher risk

where access to HRT is severely delayed (as it is in the UK by years-long waiting lists), it is easier for transfems to start DIYing while they wait than it is for transmascs to do the same thing. in fact in the UK they've started selling estrogen HRT over the counter for menopause, so here if you want to start estrogen DIY all you have to do is get a cis lady friend to ask a pharmacist for menopause treatments. if you wanna start T you have to go on the fucking dark web (I'm exaggerating but... not a lot)

none of this is intended to suggest that transfems don't experience medical transphobia or gatekeeping and this isn't a "trans men have it worse universally across the board" post. there are undoubtedly some areas where it's harder to be transfem. however, this is one area where it is clearly and demonstrably harder to be a trans man. i am pointing this out because i keep seeing people saying that transmascs have it easier or there's no systemic or structural transphobia targeting trans men or we only ever experience misdirected misogyny or whatever. here is your proof that that is not true. this is a form of structural and systemic transphobia that impacts trans men and not trans women. and there is no possible world in which you can argue that testosterone being a controlled drug is somehow misogyny.

they should make it legal to kill your friend's shitty parents

The Strike for Gaza is ending, but the genocide hasn't! Please continue boycotting and showing your support however you can🍉

"you're an adult. I know you can't move out yet, but stand up to your parents. Don't be so spineless."

You don't fucking understand. My safety has been threatened over the smallest things. They haven't hit me as an adult, but one of them definitely would if I gave a good enough reason, and the other enables it.

The worst they've done recently is toss drinks on me or throw candy or whatever at me (which is harmless coming from one of them and ambiguous from the other) or get into some psychological or emotional abuse. That's lessened for now too, but only until we move out and they can corner me in a time and place where no one can see or hear either of us.

If I do fight back and it gets violent, I can't do anything about it. They might kick me out. I have nowhere to go. I don't have nearly enough money to sustain myself and most of my clothes are unwearable. It's winter. I could die.

So I'm glad you can do that, but we aren't all so fortunate.

Tell me an inside joke between you and a friend, without context.

cryer autism

[pt: cryer autism /end pt]

A type of autistic experience characterized by strong emotional responses and a tendency to cry easily.

Some symptoms might include but are not limited to:

tendency come off as oversensitive/over emotional due to autism

being easily overstimulated & often crying or whining when overstimulated

being easily distressed / upset, leading to crying

heightened sensitivity to rejection and / or criticism

things like sudden changes may trigger a strong emotional response leading to crying

lover autism

[pt: lover autism /end pt]

A type of autistic experience characterized by heightened empathy, strong emotional responses and seeing the best in people, to a fault at times.

Some symptoms might include but are not limited to:

fluctuating/high empathy and people pleasing behavior (sometimes to the point of distress)

constantly looking for the good in people

peace keeping

tendency to put the needs of others over your own needs

ability to pick up on another persons emotions, sometimes before the other person does and may mirror the emotions of others, for the sake of others

may potentially mask overstimulation for the convenience of those around oneself

Tysm to @vndead-pvppy for helping me out with these I really wouldn't have been able to do it without it. These literally just aren't my experience with autism so I was really struggling with these.

[flag 1 id: the 5 striped autism pride flag but in a dark to light blue gradient of stripes and a light blue infinity symbol /end id]

[flag 2 id: same as the previous flag but the infinity symbol has tears running down from it /end id]

[flag 3 id: same as the first flag /end id]

[flag 4 id: the 5 striped autism pride flag but in a dark pink to orange-yellow gradient of stripes and a pastel pink infinity symbol /end id]

[flag 5 id: same as the previous flag but with hearts around the infinity symbol in yellow, pink and dark pink /end id]

[flag 6 id: same as the fourth flag /end id]

I hate it when people are subtly assholes. I already have an awful time remembering things some days.

That, and my family already thinks I'm weak and useless. My father problems are overtaking my my mother issues at the moment, and I remind her that he's been acting more and more like a dick overtime. I told her months ago, but she brushed it off. Someone asks for context. She tells them it's because I was upset about having to do the dishes...

I'm not a fucking toddler.

I can handle being asked to do fucking chores just fucking fine. The problem is that he would randomly threaten to beat my ass or tell me and my brother that we're fucking assholes and tell us that no one cares about him and wants him to die... The thing is, I did most of the cooking and a good chunk of the cleaning. This rat fucking bastard never bothered cleaning his room, which over time, could've caused us to get evicted.

Not only that, but he'd blame my mother's disability to worm himself out of responsibility until it became an actual issue, then it's suddenly all her fault. Literally fuck both of them. She's not the only person he's hurt and vice versa, but I look fucking insane because I'm the only one (other than the two of them) that's gotten the worst of them.

AND NO ONE IN MY FAMILY EVER FUCKING BELIEVES HOW BAD IT CAN GET.

I hate this shit. I hate having been raised by terrible people. I hate living with terrible people. I'm already at the edge of my fucking rope, partially because of this bastard, but I can't afford to do anything stupid for that same reason. You tell me to hurry up and get a job and then you steal the goddamn car. No one wants to fucking hire me, and you ruin my chances even more. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

Even if I do get a normal job that I have to commute to daily, I'll only last so long. There's a metaphorical bomb strapped to my fucking chest and I can only hope I'll have enough money to cover the costs of the fallout by the time it detonates.

I desperately need someone to let me cry into their chest until I can't breathe. Please. I can't take being an adult anymore

*doom music starts to play* I actually kindof like scheduling these kinds of appointments now...

but seriously Fellas, don't forget to schedule a pap smear every couple of years just in case. If you still have a cervix you can still get cervical cancer. ilu

this has been a psa

Is spinning an autistic thing? Like I used to just spin until I was ready to fall over, then I would sit down until I regained my balance and then spin some more.... For fun. No other reason than because I thought it was fun.