Fayili: I've actually had very similar thoughts regarding transmen as I've been considering all this. If you say masculinity is uniformly negative, or something that no one should seek to identify with, you're kind of leaving transmen high-and-dry. And if the only masculinity available is toxic masc...

You know, that's very interesting, Ix. I think it actually goes some way to explaining why belonging to a non-toxic masculine identity is important to me. See, unlike you, my school experience was dismal. I never fit in with "the guys." I was bullied, and quite brutally. Only by other boys...

Here's a quote from this article that may reflect some of your issues: "Instead of talking about what men and boys can be, instead of starting an honest conversation about what masculinity means, there is a conspiracy of silence around these issues that is only ever broken by conservative rhet...

See, that's exactly the problem, though. I don't want to just do whatever and call it whatever. The terminology does matter. Being a man, and being masculine, are part of my personal identity. They are part of who I am. To tell me not to use the label takes something important away from my personal ...

I didn't want to put this in the feminism thread since, even though it's closely related, I didn't want to distract from actual feminist issues. Hope that's okay. I've been thinking about masculinity a lot lately. Specifically, I've been thinking about toxic masculinity, and how much I don't like it...

Well, they'd know better than I would. But reunification is the most disruptive possibility for Ireland, and I'm a natural-born pessimist.

Well, it all just got a great deal more complicated. For values of "complicated" that equal "full-blown constitutional crisis." It seems that the devolved legislatures may have a veto over withdrawing from the EU. Given that Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain, that mea...

Much to the chagrin of Newfoundlanders who hoped it would make the trip to Toronto shorter, Quebec isn't going to separate from Canada. We just booted out the PQ (that's the leading national brand of separatist crazies) and they were replaced by the Liberals, who are pretty much the only federalist...

Brexit, huh? Honestly... I didn't think the vote would go this way. So... consequences: - Pound tanks - Global economy tanks - EU continues to lose members over the next twenty years, resulting in further economic turmoil and dissolution of EU - UK ceases to exist when Scotland, Wales, and Northern ...

Behavior-based meaning risky behavior for everyone and not just gay men, yes? Right? Nah, probably not. As I understand it, that's what that means. Makes sense, right? I bet we don't see the change for fifty years. :( As to blanket bans on gay men donating blood, the problem is that you end up with...

Blood donation waiting period for men who have sex with men reduced to one year Monday, June 20, 2016 (OTTAWA) – Health Canada has approved Canadian Blood Services’ request to reduce the blood donation waiting period for men who have sex with men from five years to one year. The change will take ef...

Jesus. 27?! That's... that's not right. Not right at all.

I have to agree with CamelKnack. If this person had said "Die Canadian scum!" it wouldn't make the term "Canadian" an insult.

Hm, interesting. I'd not heard of the first three before - and the first one never occurred to me at all. Thanks for letting me know! I still don't read Elomin Sha's comment the way you do, but if they come in and say that's what they meant, I'd be more than happy to be corrected and more than happy...

...wait, we're finding "cis" insulting now? Why? It's just short for "cisgender" in the same way that "trans" is short for "transgender." Both are Latin prefixes. "Trans" means "beyond" and "cis" means "this side of." I ...

I don't want to talk to cis straight people right now. That's rude. Is it, though? This isn't about straight cis people. It's about Psyclone, and the stress they're feeling. They're letting off steam, in a safe space, and that's okay . Say someone's been catching a lot of BS from, I dunno, men late...

As of today, I've seen videos by at least four evangelical ministers talking about the shootings in Orlando. Know what they've been saying? "I don't condone the shootings, but only because that vigilantism. Queer people should absolutely be killed. But it should be the government doing it. They...

And now here's a thing that puts into words a thing I didn't know I was feeling until I read it: That’s where the guilt enters in. The deep, deep isolating guilt that comes from internalized bi-phobia. Am I allowed to feel this devastated, this full of rage? Am I gay enough to be this upset? Am I ap...

Yep.

I'll also note that it isn't the LGBTQ community that's braying at Muslims. It's mostly people who usually bray at LGBTQ folks braying at Islam.

Typical.

CamelKnackRambleHort: And not just Cruz. There are a lot of politicians in the same boat. To hell with them. As for guns... yeah. Looking at the US from this side of the border, the situation is unimaginable. It's... ugh. I want to find a better word for it that doesn't insult the mentally ill, but ...

I'm going to push back on that a little, Ix. While I take your point that when the ban was first instituted, it made sense as an emergency measure, it stopped making sense around 1990 or so - when it became clear that HIV was predominantly transmitted as a sexual infection. So when I talk about two ...

Avistew: Yep. The most galling thing is that they screen for the wrong behaviours. Say there are two gay men who have never had sex before. They get into a monogamous relationship - marry, even - and only have sex with each other. They can't donate blood. Now, say there's a straight man who has unpr...

What Jamfalcon said.

But also... why is this causing you anxiety? Because you recognize this is screwed up and wrong and a lot of people are in pain. You're anxious because of your empathy.

That's nothing to be ashamed of.

So obviously we've all heard the news out of Orlando. I have thoughts, and I'm going to get them out here. It'll be a bit of a jumbled ramble, I'm afraid, since I've got a lot going through my mind. 1. Terrorism This is the worst mass shooting in American history. It is the second worst mass shootin...

I still live with my parents so I would need to explain why I would be away for the weekend; they do not know I am bisexual yet. I feel exhausted at the thought of explaining why I may want to go. Oof. I can absolutely empathize with this - I'm kind of in a similar situation. I'm not out as bi with...