iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by James-Finn

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The subject of the self can be a complex one. If it is, the subject of compassion follows a similar complex path. I began dismantling my self years ago. It was complex, but age and responsibilities demanded that it be so. buff.ly/ZFXQmiJ #LGBTQ #Transgender #Self #Identity

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A Trans Woman and Self-Compassion, Self-Definition, and Self-Determination

Compassion starts at home, with oneself, and ends at home, with oneself

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James-Finn @james-finn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This week in Prism & Pen #LGBTQ storytelling, a poignant tale of a migrant's #love for her #queer American grandchild. We feature stories by #transgender people and the loving parents of trans kids. For Halloween, we give you a tale of a #gay man’s spooky first love! medium.com/prismnpen/mi...

medium.com

Migrants, Trans Kids, Religious Homophobia, and a Love Story!

Prism & Pen Weekly Digest, 4 Oct 2026

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This was written in that short late-COVID moment when we could still get passports with X markers and trans women could actually compete in the Olympics, or most any sport at most any level, without having their lives upended. buff.ly/mKUMBCI #LGBTQ #Transgender #ComingOut #Politics

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My ‘Coming Out’ Letter from When We Could Still Get X Markers on Passports

Plus some historical updates. Maybe it will be useful to others.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A single germ of distrust can spread into a contagion. People start taking sides. Accusations and judgments are lobbed back and forth like word grenades. buff.ly/BPTN4cN #LGBTQ #KingPrincess #Labels

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LGBTQ Labels Become Ridiculous When Personal Identity and Community Clash

On King Princess and label policing by their fans

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I’m not embarrassed that I got it wrong. What embarrasses me is how sure I sounded. They’re not lies. They’re just too clean. And clean is its own kind of lie when you’re writing about something this messy. buff.ly/v63UCk9 #LGBTQ #Transgender #Parenting

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I Told the Internet My Kid Wasn’t Transitioning

A year later, they are. The most confident thing I ever wrote about my kids was wrong, and that’s the part I’m proudest of.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Trans people have “the purge”… not the movie… We tend to accumulate clothing we use in secret, and then, at some point, we “purge” it all in a long-delayed, often high-shame event… then the process cycles again… and again… buff.ly/ju8UD7W #LGBTQ #Transgender #Clothing #Identity

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The Purge: Trans People Know This Process Well….

…this time, I’m getting rid of his things 😊

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I didn’t consider it a gay movie at the time. I was a kid and I didn’t have a concept of gay, but I knew what it meant to be seen as the strange one. I was the one who didn’t fit. buff.ly/X6KtACB #LGBTQ #Gay #HorrorMovie #Halloween

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A Gay Reading of ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’

How I learned that being treated like a monster does not make you one

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

This is my lived experience as a woman for ONLY three years… I cannot imagine being subjected to this for an entire lifetime if I’d been born a cisgender woman. buff.ly/uNmTtbn #LGBTQ #Transgender #ThoughtExperiment #PerformanceArt #MarinaAbramovic

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Do Whatever You Want to a Transgender Woman for Six Hours

Inspired by a celebrated work of endurance art

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Her mind was too far gone to be at my civil union. Just as I was entering adulthood, she was leaving us all, in the most slow and excruciating way. It was hard to watch someone that was so beautiful and loved go to such a dark place, bit by bit. buff.ly/HzYCDZG #LGBTQ #Family #Memoir #Dementia

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What I Learned as a Queer Person from My Migrant Grandma

A response to the U.S. deporting queer migrants to countries dangerous and unknown to them

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Here are my Four Noble Truths of a #Transgender Woman. Noble because they are understood and practiced by Transgender Women, and are regarded as a true and correct path. My interpretations are mine, and not to be understood as exclusionary or binding. buff.ly/bywIMhG #LGBTQ #Philosophy

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The Four Noble Truths of a Transgender Woman

An awakening. An epiphany. A transgender woman is born.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Our country is moving in the wrong direction, with rage and hatred running rampant. In high school, as that pack closed in on a boy I’d never met, I didn’t know what to do. But now I do. buff.ly/SoukCCm #LGBTQ #USPolitics #Bullying

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Bullying that Targets LGBTQ+ High School Kids

I didn’t know what to do then, but I do now.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You’ve probably heard the term “religious trauma”? Well, meet one of its poster boys. I’m not going to define the term, I’m just going to show it to you so you can (I hope!) understand and empathize. buff.ly/wfujkBm #LGBTQ #Religion #ReligiousTrauma #Christianity

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Getting Religious Homophobia Off My Chest: Conversations with a Nun

I wasn’t going to tell this story, but I can’t stop thinking about it

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

We have plenty of challenges in the United States. But based on some of these ads, you might think that the future of the country hangs on how the federal government views gender-affirming care for minors, or trans athletes, or access to public bathrooms. buff.ly/ub9v2lA #LGBTQ #USPolitics

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Anti-Trans Election Ads are Back — with a New De-transitioner Twist

Observations from the parent of a trans teen

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James-Finn @james-finn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

After Pope Francis banned #gay men from the priesthood and called us fa**ots, I wrote expressing my outrage. Most responses from supposed #LGBTQ allies gaslit me. Then a " #queer friendly" nun reached out, and she was monstrous and evil. I'm finally ready to tell my story. Link in the comment!

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

It’s still September, but not for long, and that means Halloween is around the corner! Prism & Pen would like you to send in your stories about your Big Gay Halloween Parties! buff.ly/jYBoy61 #LGBTQ #QueerWriters #WritingPrompt

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Prism & Pen Writers: Get Your LGBTQ Stories Ready for Halloween!

🎃 Halloween is almost upon us, ghouls and goblins!

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

He was crazy about her, they had been inseparable for a few months. He hoped when the time came, he wouldn’t screw it up. Although so far, things hadn’t exactly gone to plan. buff.ly/3QUG3yo #LGBTQ #Fiction #QueerFiction #Transgender

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Just Sometimes, Our Stars Align

LGBTQIA+ fiction: Two people, an accidental meeting, and just a little help from fate

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It’s a hostile act to inform #queer people that they’d be murdered if they lived in SWANA, in part because such a statement seems to imply that hate crimes are “inherently ‘more evil’ within non-Western contexts.” buff.ly/xi4obMe #LGBTQ #Palestine #SouthwestAsia #North Africa

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We’re Queer and We’re Here to Help Each Other Survive

On the anthology ‘Homosexual Intifada,’ edited by George Abraham and Hannah Moushabeck

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Alienation is a hard to explain to people who have never experienced it. Unless I explained how I felt it at the time, everyone else in my life saw me sat around with an expression and body language that often matched the energy of the room. buff.ly/Hz9XltV #LGBTQ #Transgender #QueerLove

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At Last I Discover Queer Love, Will It Stay With Me? Will You?

Only time will tell if I can break the spell

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James-Finn @james-finn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This week in Prism & Pen, while our prompt asks how we can fight anti- #LGBTQ populism, writers fire back with tales of bullying, bathhouses, anti- #transgender laws, and #queer Palestinian voices. Bathhouses, really? Check out some cool #gay community-building history! medium.com/prismnpen/bu...

medium.com

Bullies, Bathhouses, Anti-Trans Bathroom Laws & Homosexual Intifada

Prism & Pen Weekly Digest, 27 Sept 2026

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

While I was busy fighting myself, the field of battle moved from my insides to the external world. I have better things to do with my gender transition than more fighting. I was planning to learn to sew this year, or maybe get a dog. buff.ly/WLfhyri #LGBTQ #Transgender #Politics #CultureWar

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A Trans Woman Finds the Enemy Outside

While I was busy fighting myself, the battle moved from my insides to the external world.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Remember “transtrenders”? The idea behind this talking point was that more people were identifying as trans because they saw it trendy rather than an authentic expression of who they were. buff.ly/xPIXSq5 #LGBTQ #Transgender #Politics

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What Happened to the Transtrenders?

Isn’t being trans trendy? Will the right admit they were wrong?

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Not only did I fail to spend any time at all educating myself about my own community, I missed the whole celebration… if there was one. Here I am, wondering exactly where & when these festivities took place… because I never heard a peep about it! buff.ly/wPxNthM #LGBTQ #Bisexuality #BiVisibilty

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Yesterday Was Bi Visibility Day. Who Knew? Not this Bisexual Man.

I missed the whole celebration, if there was one. How about you?

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

How many times have we told ourselves, “I have too much to lose,” “I can live with it,” “Other people have it worse,” or “If I stop thinking about it, it will disappear”? buff.ly/zLJEE4u #LGBTQ #Transgender

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What Happens When Trans People Spend Years Suppressing Dysphoria?

The coping mechanisms trans women use to suppress their feelings and why they stop working with time

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

When I was a little kid, most people saw me as remarkably effeminate. Only they didn’t use such high-register vocabulary. Instead, I got mocked as a “sissy,” “girly boy,” and even worse 1970s homophobic slurs. buff.ly/h8i0ub0 #LGBTQ #Gay #Bullying #USPolitics

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Bullies Mock Effeminate Boy & U.S. Senator. Is There a Path Toward Hope?

This sad tale gives me hope for a backlash of good will and decency.

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Reposted by James-Finn

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Sure, if you’ve got the time and the privacy, masturbation with toys is fun. But all we really need are our hands. So hand health is important, and I’m starting to notice a problem. Here is my story. buff.ly/Cnaqd0m #LGBTQ #Gay #Health #Aging

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Last Night as This Gay Man Was … Um… You Know …

Oh, knock it off! We all do it!

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Reposted by James-Finn

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Vienna is quiet. Like, really quiet. It’s the opposite of Berlin in almost every conceivable way. All the supermarkets close at 7pm, the chalky coffee is overpriced, and everyone wears white trousers and polo shirts. buff.ly/cLZZHpF #LGBTQ #Travel #GayTravel #QueerTravel #Vienna

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Shy or Bi? Eye Contact and Small Talk in a Men’s Sauna in Vienna

Hot and steamy, in every way

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James-Finn @james-finn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

What do an effeminate gymnast kid on Facebook and Sen Jon Ossoff share? Being mocked by homophobic, transphobic bullies who need to get lives. Let me show you bullying you might think is long gone, with a message of hope for #transgender, #gay, and other #LGBTQ folks! 👇 medium.com/prismnpen/bu...

medium.com

Bullies Mock Effeminate Boy & U.S. Senator. Is There a Path Toward Hope?

This sad tale gives me hope for a backlash of good will and decency.

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Reposted by James-Finn

Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

“The reason that those signs went up is, over the last couple years we’ve had females going into the males’ restrooms, not only at the grandstand but other places, because the lines are a lot longer in the females’ restrooms.” buff.ly/CRITjSf #LGBTQ #USPolitics #Gender #Kansas #Bathrooms

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

It’s true. I was such a bonehead about it all that it hurt everyone. But, like some teenager, I was on a mission of new discovery, and no one could avert me to go back to good common sense …no way, no how. buff.ly/mCIU4Fx #LGBTQ #Lesbian #ComingOut

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I Came Out at 36 Knowing Exactly Zero Lesbians: This Is What I Did about It

“Shhhh, Act Normal!”

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Popular memory often reduces bathhouses into simple punchlines — dark hallways built strictly for anonymous sex. But sex was only one part of the story. Renslow built something far closer to an underground village. buff.ly/UYonyHJ #LGBTQ #QueerHistory

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What 1970s Bathhouses Can Teach Us About Queer Survival

Before the algorithm, bathhouses were never just about sex. They were sanctuary and community.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Living the past ten years in rural #Ohio, I learned that being #gay here is rarely just about acceptance or rejection. The reality is more complicated. It’s knowing when to be visible and when to be cautious, which conversations are worth having and which are not. buff.ly/ASgdkFm #LGBTQ #USPolitics

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Navigating the Election as a Gay Man in Rural Ohio

Queer people may not all be on the ballot, but our lives are front and center in the debate.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The most effective boycotts do not merely impact revenue, but generate negative media coverage. The discussions of it in the media and the mere fact that some people are participating can make a difference. buff.ly/1nDpjKe #LGBTQ #Boycotts #Palestine #Gaza #JKRowling

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Why I Boycott: a Queer Perspective

Answering the age old question, what is the point?

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The day began as most my Saturdays begin, with early dilation, a walk, coffee and breakfast, and catching up on Medium poolside. The most decisive decision of the day inevitably surfaces: Pool or beach? buff.ly/ot8aa1F #LGBTQ #Transgender #ADayInTheLife #DominicanRepublic

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A Day in the Life of a Trans Woman in Dominican Republic: Sept 14, ’26

I read stories of U.S. trans women’s experiences. Next door in DR, I’m a world apart.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

People in the world today show a surprising lack of empathy. In fact, some right-wing Christian leaders like Allie Beth Stuckey and Joe Rigney are even teaching that empathy is sinful or toxic. buff.ly/9Nag4qV #LGBTQ #Transgender #MentalIllness #Ableism

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Why Calling Trans People Mentally Ill Is a Pretext for Cruelty

The anti-transgender movement is ableist

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Let’s be crystal clear. Trans people are human beings. They are our siblings, our children, our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors. They are not an abstraction. They are not a debate. They are not a threat. buff.ly/dW5HKbj #LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics

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Why We Must Stand with Our Trans Siblings and Call Out the Real Threat

No one left behind: Democrats and even some LGBTQIA+ people struggle to answer this question

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I’m losing my sense of feeling. On cooler days, my fingertips go pale or even blueish, then I can’t feel anything with them. Yesterday I couldn’t even put on a set of earrings. buff.ly/al2hXvm #LGBTQ #Trangender #MentalHealth #Raynauds

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I’ve Become a Cold, Unfeeling Trans Woman

Somehow this winter, I’ve lost my touch

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James-Finn @james-finn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This week in Prism & Pen, we offer up VERY pointed commentary by #transgender folks so OVER ongoing moral panic & vilification. A cisgender #gay man rises in solidarity, as the parent of a trans child chimes in too. And #LGBTQ, #queer love stories? Do we ever have those! medium.com/prismnpen/tr...

medium.com

Trans Folks Speak Out as a Gay Man Calls for Unity. And Love Stories!

Prism & Pen Weekly Digest, 20 Sept 2026

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Both partners are experiencing their own transition even if only one of them is #transgender. It can become two colliding forces fighting against each other or one strong flow that is aiming for understanding and accepting each other. buff.ly/yuYuiWD #LGBTQ #Transitioning #RelationshipAdvice

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Can a Relationship Survive Gender Transition? Advice from a Psychologist …

on what a trans person experiences during transition — and what their partner may experience alongside them

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“It must have been hard growing up in Idaho,” I remarked. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. But I’ve always been my own person, done things my own way.” buff.ly/wfe3TbR #LGBTQ #Transgender #USPolitics #Portland

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Sharing a Hot Tub With a Smiling Young Trans Man

Feeling proud and happy to live in a city that chooses love over hate

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

She’ll remember what I said. She will have a new perspective, she will have second hand knowledge of our struggle and learnings and she will share this with someone else. And that’s a win, however small. buff.ly/CWJFu9n #LGBTQ #Transgender #Society

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Talking about My Trans Teen with My Mom, My Girlfriend, and Strangers

Parenting in a transphobic world

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It’s hard to make friends in your 30s. For a start, it’s not like there are a lot of opportunities to do so, unless you have kids. I don’t have kids, just cats, and they don’t present much chance to socialise with other cat mums. buff.ly/XlVly7w #LGBTQ #Transgender #Friendship

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Transphobia Is a Hurdle to Friendship — But It’s Not Them, It’s Me

The voice in my head is holding me back

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

When I go out and meet people, attend events, perform, or even just buy groceries, I gain an alternative perspective. To my relief, people are mostly OK, and not the vindictive, braying hyenas portrayed by the media. buff.ly/LXGwK0s #LGBTQ #Queer #Society #Acceptance

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Creating Greater Queer Acceptance Might Not Require a Protest Rally

Small conversations can make a big difference

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Today I wander my world as a #Transgender Woman. I am aware of the questioning stares, the whispering, the spaces around me that are lengthened, the name-calling. buff.ly/q6SQBVM #LGBTQ #Identity

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There Is a Beautiful Strength in Trans Women

Being a trans woman is knowing who I am. How many can say the same?

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Qtopia wasn’t always a place of queer joy. Ironically, it’s the site of the former Darlinghurst Police Station, which has a long history of queer bashing, brutality, and dishing out its own ugly brand of rough justice. buff.ly/AinIXim #LGBTQ #Australia #Politics #PoliceBrutality

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Our Police in Australia Are Back to Queer Hating

Another Saturday night in Sydney, another police raid

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A clip from Matt Walsh’s 2022 appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast has started to do the rounds online again. Walsh was arguing against gay marriage. It really got me thinking just how poor the arguments against gay marriage are. buff.ly/5WsEZFM #LGBTQ #GayMarriage #Politics

medium.com

Why Arguments Against Gay Marriage ALWAYS Fail

Matt Walsh’s homophobic nonsense is the perfect example

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Maybe this is just a part of getting older. I was hoping some of the work we had done fighting for equality for all our #LGBTQ+ family, could be considered finished. I now realize that is not true. The work is never done. buff.ly/eFmJCCb #Politics #Resistance

medium.com

Queer and Three Inches Off

What a broken toe taught me about political complacency, progress, and paying attention.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I wouldn’t call myself a hopeless romantic, but perhaps a dreamy one, head nearly always in the clouds. But my most important romantic relationship, my current one, started from a place of pure pragmatism. buff.ly/O66ZZsP #LGBTQ #Transgender #T4T #Love #QueerLove

medium.com

Love Me Like I’m a Human: Musings on Love between Two Queer People of Color

When pragmatism becomes love, difference becomes usual.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Full disclosure — for me, being #transgender is neither good nor bad, neither blessing nor curse. It is a part of who I am, like so many other things. But it is the part which causes me the most friction. buff.ly/hW3IBhv #LGBTQ #Identity #Gender

medium.com

The World is Not Flat. Neither Are Transgender People.

We know the Earth is round, we can know that transgender people are rounded.

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

One of the gifts of coming out as queer and trans has been my ability to somatically feel a concrete sense of future. My #MentalHealth has improved so much that I’ve found myself imagining what it would be like to grow old. buff.ly/VGi5Wvu #LGBTQ #Aging

medium.com

My Wife and I Are Taking a BIPOC, Queer-Centered Yoga Class

My mental health has improved so much that I’ve found myself imagining what it would be like to grow old

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Prism & Pen @prismnpen.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Spreading smoke almost obscured tongues of flames in a rough stone fireplace. A man coughed loudly as the door opened, ‘Oh god, the fucking chimney must be blocked.’ ‘Jesus, Dani. I thought you said you’d taken care of it.’ buff.ly/15U1Joo #LGBTQ #Fiction #QueerFiction #Relationships

medium.com

My Heart Was Elsewhere, a Love Triangle

A collection of kindred spirits receive a final message

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