In things I didn’t expect to learn today: apparently gender markers on passports are a result of people in the 60s and 70s fucking with gender norms and presentation so much, that the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) requested that a gender marker was added to passports because:
the rise in the early 1970s of unisex attire and hairstyles, photographs had become a less reliable means for ascertaining a traveler’s sex.
Also, “fun” tidbit: there is no trace left in the archives of why they needed to know the sex of people in the first place…
(other “fun” fact: you can thank Napoléon Bonaparte for the gender marker on birth certificates apparently :/)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-rise-of-androgyny-changed-our-passports
"Trailblazing trans woman becomes first in Uganda to get ID with correct gender"
“'I want to spend the next 35 years of my life shedding the sad African trans narrative. We don’t just carry tragic stories,' she said, 'I am a molecular biologist, geneticist, activist, imaginative, daring, different, audacious and an Aries.'"
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/10/22/trans-uganda-id-gender-cleopatra-kambugu/
big in the UK rn:
🔁 @TransActualUK: Today and everyday we celebrate #TransLives. If you’re trans, tell us something about you. If you’re cis, tell us what you do to support trans people.
“We are all worthy of safety and protection everywhere…And we are worthy of life. We are worthy of love.” Indya Moore
Extremely timely in light of the immediate defence reaction on the fediverse of the new fascism social networks:
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3479525
Science shows deplatforming works
Keep deplatforming
St Paul landlords rent increase campaign
Per a St Paul friend not on Mastodon:
Check to see if your landlord gave money to the fat cats campaign for increased rent (St Paul edition):
If you'd like more info about the St Paul rent stabilization ballot amendment or how to get involved please let me know and I'll connect ya.
terminally online shenanigans, terf shit, margaret atwood
anyway if you’re not terminally online and you need some context, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale has publicized an essay contending that trans women are preventing people from using the word “woman” in a take that looks and smells like some “war on christmas” type shit
One of the first things a really problematic user of any web service will do is block its admins if possible, usually after being reminded of rules.
I have no idea why this is allowed in mastodon. You control your own followers, and we can see your posts from the admin tools anyway if we need to. It's not clever; it means you chose your instance poorly and will be yeeted once we notice.
Anyway, don't assume a mod sees the same problem posts you do and has been ignoring them. Report them. :)
i have spent a long time thinking about what the free software movement means to me, and why i care about it. i’ve decided that, for the most part, the free software movement is missing the point.
i’ve decided that i care about ethical software, not free software.
it’s not how free the software is that matters. it’s who uses it, and what they use it for.
most software must have its source available in order to be ethical - but that is not a requirement.
medical device, hacking, recall, diabetes
Medtronic is recalling insulin pump controllers because they allow third parties to change settings to fatal values--murder by hacking. The potential for this has been known for decades. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-device-recalls/medtronic-recalls-remote-controllers-used-paradigm-and-508-minimed-insulin-pumps-potential
i like kind machines. pro-people-not-dying. anti-nazi. anti-colonizer. pagan, but lazy about it.
I am #HardOfHearing, #nonbinary, polyamourous, into ttrpgs and #tech. Hobbyist #leatherworker, hobbyist scifi author, community builder, and artist.
I like to build #whimsical things that help people to #dream better and form meaningful connections. If you wanna hang out with friendly computer weirdos in Minneapolis, lemme know.
Profile image description: a watercolor painting of a person with pale skin and brown and blue hair laughing. They have a side cut and an audio processor is visible behind their ear. The art style is loose and the eyes are squinched into little crescents.