I have a trans kid. At 5yo, he told us his correct pronouns and gender. Transition at that point was communicating that to everyone so he wasnt misgendered.

At 6, transition was a haircut and letting him go shopping.

That's all the transitioning any young child is doing. 🧵 Now he's ten. We've educated him on puberty and what will happen to his body. He wants his voice to drop and a chance to have a beard; he does not want breasts, and he doesn't want to menstruate. We're going to get him on puberty blockers soon.

As someone with an illness that includes debilitating pain as an actual symptom, I have some insight into how doctors think about pain and how to communicate it with them effectively.

I'm watching friends deal with this and hate it, so maybe I can help? I'll try at least.

A 🧵: First, go in assuming that they will downplay your pain. They do this commonly enough in the medical industry, you have to assume they think you're exaggerating.

Doctors also somehow believe that there is a baseline level of pain that is normal. You don't have to accept that.

Good morning. Fanfic is a completely legitimate genre of fiction. It is only degraded so heavily because

1. women & queers dominate the author demographics (see the way romance and erotica are treated for further examples)

and 2. it doesnt make money and capitalism is poison. Anyway, thank a fanfic author for the FREE GIFTS THEY DELIVER and have a great day, I'm in a mood.

In yesterday's Wheelchair Etiquette thread for Disability Pride Month, I gave you a lot of "do nots" ... so how about some "do" options today!

Wheelchair etiquette part 2: what you can do

A non-exhaustive 🧵 1. Offer to help just like you would anyone else.

You're going to hold open doors for ppl behind you/with full hands. You'll help get things from a shelf if you can. It's okay to do those same things for us.

Remember not to move us! No touching.

Since it's Disability Pride Month, I'd love to address something I see many issues with out in the wild:

Wheelchair etiquette

There are appropriate and inappropriate ways to interact with someone who is in a wheelchair. Knowing them benefits all involved.

A non exhaustive 🧵 1. Outside of emergencies, there is no reason for you to touch someone's wheelchair unless asked. If we're in the way, treat us like you would anyone else and say "excuse me." If it looks like we're stuck, treat us like you would anyone else and ask if we need help. Don't touch.

Apparently, some folks are angry with me for "canceling" Borbala. 🙃

First of all. This is a public space. What you say in public spaces has consequences. Consequences =/= canceling.

I shared HER words because she's a bully, homophobic, and ableist. What I did not do was delete her Twitter. That was her choice. Instead of acknowledging the myriad harm she'd done (read that thread and the QRTs, so many examples), instead of accepting accountability and figuring out how she could make it right, she ran.

She did that. Not me.

The utter lack of respect for self-published authors here would piss me off anyway.

But from an editor?? This is a mess.

What if we acknowledged that most editors are unaffordable for most self-pub authors and respect that those authors are doing the best they can as-is? What if we uplift and actually support self published authors instead of calling their work utter garbage and shitty? What if??

And that snarky af follow up when someone called Borbala out for claiming to be "kind and neutral."

An editor. I'm fuming.

...I'm autistic. I've 'known' for a while. When the kid was diagnosed, it didn't click, I didn't think of it. But as he started to develop his personality, I saw so much of myself in him - including my mental health struggles, my 'quirks.'

I wondered if he has ADHD. I wondered if Im autistic.

Definitely just watched my neighbor's teenage son back his mom's car into his dad's truck.

And he knows I saw it.

Mom is home but didn't see/hear it happen, and Dad gets home at 3.

I'm waiting for the silence bribe. He's circling both cars, examining even the parts of each that weren't hit. He's also frantically looking at me and at the house, trying not to get caught and simultaneously already caught.

I waved, gave him a sing-songy, "Hello, Kyle." I can see him sweating from here.