Miley Cyrus Comes Out As Pansexual - People's Shit Reactions

I try to avoid some of the 'celebrity gossip' if I can, and try not to really write about it, and whilst this post might seem to initially be just that, please bear with me here.

After months of articles and comments that state the musician Miley Cyrus is bisexual after she made comments about having dated both men and women, Miley has gone on record to better define her sexuality.  She has stated that she is in fact not bisexual, but pansexual.  All good right?

Well, it would appear that a lot of people have issue with her using the label pansexual.  Even people within the LGBT+ community.  Here is the Pink News article on her coming out, pay close attention to the comments section.

Just some of the comments I've seen range from the common and 'funny' jokes about having sex with kitchen utensils (really fucking funny guys) to people stating that pansexuality doesn't even exist, that it's just something made up.

As a pansexual person, you're a bunch of dicks.  As a transgender pansexual person, go fuck yourselves.  Seriously.  Pansexuality is not 'made up', it is not something stupid.  It's certainly not being attracted to pots and pans.

Bisexuality is by the very definition of the word being attracted to men and women.  Men and women.  That's all.  Just those two.  Which is why it's 'bi' sexual, because bi means two.  Get it.  Two.  But, here's the problem, their are more than two genders in the world, more than men and women.  So how does that work then?  Well, that's where pansexual comes in. 

Pansexuality is being attracted to people whatever their biological sex, gender or gender identity.  This means that pansexuality includes trans people, gender fluid, gender queer, bigendered, intersexed, anyone who feels they don't fall into the 'traditional' male or female.

By saying that pansexuality doesn't exist, or that it's made up is not only insulting to those people who self identify as pan, but to people who are trans, gender queer, bi-gendered ect.  As a transgender woman who is pansexual all of these comments just anger and upset me.  Why do people who don't want to be constricted to loving/being attracted to only men and women need to stay within the rigid confines of calling ourselves bisexual?

It strikes me as very hypocritical that people within the LGBT+ community feel the need to police and mock the sexuality of others.  And you wonder why straight people don't give a shit about our rights?

If you're one of the people who thinks that pansexuality is just something that's 'made up' and that it should all just be bisexuality, ask yourself how mocking people who are pan is any different from people saying bisexual people are 'confused' or 'greedy' or need to 'pick one' instead of understanding that you're attracted to men and women?  How is making jokes about pan people being attracted to kitchen items different from people making jokes about gay men or lesbian women?

It's not.  You wouldn't stand for that kind of treatment, so don't think that it's acceptable to act that way towards others yourselves.  The LGBT+ community can't expect the straight community to treat us with dignity and respect if we can't even treat each other that way.

If someone is saying they're a sexuality or gender you've never heard of before, look it up, do some research.  Don't mock them, don't deny their identity and don't be a dick about it.

I'm sick of having my gender and who I am always being called into question, of being accused of being a 'fake' or a 'trap' (really hate that term by the way).  I'm not confused about who I am or just trying to trick people into thinking I'm female.  I'm also pretty damn sick of having my sexuality called into question.  I'm not confused about who I love, I'm not trying to make myself sound special or different from bisexuals.  I'm just me, this is who I am.  Stop attacking me for being me.  Stop insulting me for who I love.  Stop mocking me and trying to make me hate myself.

Amy.
xx

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Pretty Little Liars Continues To Offend Trans Community

As reported in a previous article, television show Pretty Little Liars recently revealed their big villain to be a 'crazy' murderous trans woman, in a trope that has been used to hurt the trans community for decades. 

The people behind the show quickly came to their defence, stating that the character wasn't 'crazy' or 'evil' because they were trans, but that it was just something unconnected.  A terrible fake response I know, but they believed their own bull, as did many of their fans.

But things may seem to be slightly worse for them now as the shows official Twitter released an image of the trans character Charlotte, along with the words 'He. She. It. Charlotte' and 'He's alive and he's coming for us.  Isn't he?'

It's bad enough that they are using male pronouns such as he and him along with the photo of a character who is a trans woman, but 'it', well that's just one insult too far.  and it would seem that I'm not the only one who thinks so as ABC were so inundated with criticism that they felt they needed to release a statement to address concerns.

A spokesperson said 'This tweet was in reference to lines Spencer and Hannah have said in previous episodes venting their frustrations about not knowing the identity or gender of their tormentor.'

'It was spoken by these characters a season before they found out that ‘A’ was a transgender character.'

'We updated the reference by including the name Charlotte because it was revealed that Charlotte is ‘A’,' the spokesperson added.  'Once it was tweeted we realised that it could be misinterpreted, and in no way wanted to offend anyone, so we immediately deleted the tweet.'

After the ABC spokesperson commented the shows executive producer Marlene King addressed the Tweet on Instagram. She wrote, 'The Pretty Little Liars official Instagram account is not run by the show’s creators, cast or crew. We too were upset by the post yesterday and were happy to see that it was removed. I encourage all people to be their true selves. And offer my support to the LGBT community.'

Personally, I'm calling bullshit on both apologies.  So far Pretty Little Liars and the people who run the show/social media account have shown little to no regard for the trans community of how what they're doing may be harming us.  They feel like they can say and do whatever they want, and then just say sorry when it blows up in their faces rather than taking the time to think about what they're doing.

The show is only in its mid-season break, but considering that much of the content of the upcoming second half of the s4eason will clearly focus on the new information that Charlotte is 'A', and transgender, I'm sure the show will be providing plenty more insults to the trans community soon.

Amy.
xx

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Feminist Lingerie Brand Neon Moon Takes Down Internet Trolls

This week both a feminist lingerie brand called Neon Moon, which I have written about in a previous article, and a Facebook troll group called Project Harpoon became the subject of a lot of articles as the two met in on line battle.

Project Harpoon is a page dedicated to 'inspiring women to reach their natural beauty' and 'spreading thin love', which translates to photoshopping pictures of women to look thinner and fat-shaming women that they feel are not 'perfect'.  When Project Harpoon chose to photoshop one of Neon Moons models, Paulina, company founder Hayat Rachi hit back.

Along with help of Neon Moons many supporters the image was removed, and eventually the whole page was shut down.  A massive victory to feminists everywhere who believe that the sexualisation of women and impossible 'standards of beauty' are harmful.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Hayat earlier today and talk with her about the whole experience.

You've spoken about what's driven you to create your products in the past, and your desire to de-objectify women and portray real people in your campaign, but for those that may be unfamiliar with Neon Moon and your objectives, could you briefly describe yourself to them?

Neon Moon is a feminist underwear brand that does not sexualise or objectify women and LGBTQIA+. Feminism is the social, economic and political equality for all. Women being objectified and sexualised doesn’t give us an equal footing in the world! Neon Moon also chooses not to retouch any of our models – instead their natural attributes such as body hair, acne, cellulite, stretch marks, freckles and scars are highlighted in a body positive way. Neon Moon is fighting the very narrow standard of ‘beauty’ that pressurises girls, women and LGBTQIA+ to look a certain way. Neon Moon also showcases people of colour, which as a Moroccan is very important to me. Neon Moon’s British lingerie ensures the woman creates the shape of the garment and not the other way around!

As someone who is trying to create a healthy positive body image it must have shocked you when you found out about Project Harpoon and the fact that they had altered the images you had put on your website. What was your first thought upon discovering what they had done?

I had never been so shocked. As Neon Moon launched six months ago, being as feminist underwear brand you can probably imagine I’ve received my fair share of death threats and hate towards Neon Moon. But this was something different. This was not only a personal attack on Paulina, but also it went completely against Neon Moon’s values of not retouching our models, and therefore could have tarnished Neon Moon as a start-up brand. It wasn’t just words anymore, it had been the action of photoshopping my brands model and branding her a “depressed chub”. I found out through a supporter, Jade, tweeting me that she had recognised Neon Moon’s model. So at that point it was a fight or flight situation. So I think you know, as the Founder and CEO of Neon Moon feminist lingerie brand, exactly what I’m going to do – I’m going to get revenge on those vile trolls, and let everyone know exactly what they did.

 

Some of the disgusting comments people left on Project Harpoon's photoshoped image.

How did you go about fighting back against Project Harpoon and their supporters?

I got Neon Moon supporters on all of our social media platforms, to report not only their disgusting facebook page that had been around for years, but also Neon Moon’s picture that they had been photoshopped. Neon Moon supporters are a force to be reckoned with. They got hundreds of retweets for me asking people to report Project Harpoon, and thousands of reports to their page. Not only did Facebook remove Neon Moon’s photo directly, but Neon Moon supporters got Project Harpoon’s social media pages removed. I couldn’t have done it by myself, and I really appreciate everyone getting involved.

Did you find Facebook to be particularly helpful in this situation or did you find yourself having to really fight to be listened to as people have described in the past?

Definitely not. They were more of a hindrance than anything else. They wouldn’t remove Neon Moon’s photo on the grounds of hate speech, and a number of supporters sent me screenshots of their reports being unsuccessful. Facebook only removed the retouched photo of our model based on infringement of Neon Moon Ltds copyright. What message are they sending to other body shamers, as the biggest social media platform in the world? Brands have more leverage than people to facebook, and I think that’s morally wrong.

Were you surprised at all by the amount of media attention your fight against Project Harpoon received?

Genuinely surprised. Project Harpoon has been around for years, but the fact that Neon Moon reacted made our fight-back go viral! Some people are annoyed with me, and say that in hindsight I’ve given them press, but this is what I say to them: there was no way I was going to just put up with them photoshopping Neon Moon’s model and not react. It is well within my right to not only get Neon Moon’s photoshopped photo removed, but to then get revenge and get their pages removed. Neon Moon and Neon Moon supporters are not to be messed with. Funnily enough so much good has come out of something so fat-shaming and disgusting. So many more people know about Neon Moon now, as a feminist lingerie brand with guts and an amazing message to all, and I am so humbled by the support! I honestly didn’t expect Neon Moon’s involvement with Project Harpoon to go viral. I had to stand up for my brand, and honestly if the press find it worthy enough to talk about well, it’s beyond my control!

Neon Moon promotes positive body image and refuses to alter any of their models digitally.

I believe I saw on your Facebook page that one of the results of Project Harpoon and the subsequent attention you received is that you have had a large number of women expressing an interest to model for you, is this correct and if so can we expect a whole new range of Neon Moon photo shoots?

So many women affiliate with Neon Moon and I have been overwhelmed with people wanting to model for my brand, and I am extremely humbled. They see it as a personal fightback towards Project Harpoon, and they’re basically sending a message to society that they are happy and healthy, and by modelling for Neon Moon, they are giving a metaphorical middle-finger to society. Neon Moon supporters have also got in touch with amazing ideas for the brand, and as I only work off feedback for Neon Moon, it is literally an ongoing dialogue. I have so many amazing ideas for the future, so stay tuned!  

Neon moon continues to be one of the most refreshing brands in the UK market to date, and has some amazing plans lined up for the future.

Check out their website at www.NeonMoon.co
Read Hayat's original blog post on the subject, here.

Amy.
xx

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Trans Woman Dies Just Days Before Receiving Treatment Letter From NHS

 A 23-year-old trans woman named Synestra De Courcy died on the 26th July, just days before receiving her NHS referral letter.  Her mother blames her death on the lifestyle she was forced to lead after being refused treatment by her GP.

Synestra turned to a life of prostitution in order to fund her hormone treatment with pills bought off the Internet after doctors refused to give her the treatment on the National Health service.  Her mother, Amanda De Courcy, believes that a lack of understanding of what she was going through set into place a series of events that led to her death.

Speaking to a local newspaper Amanda spoke about some of the problems her daughter faced; 'She prostituted herself to afford hormones on the Internet because her GP would not prescribe them.  There was a lack of understanding with was ultimately a death sentence to her.'

Reports also indicate that Synestra not only had to prostitute herself, but was raped on more than one occasion as well as being attacked and robbed.

One of the saddest parts is that just says after hearing the news of her daughters death Amanda received a letter form the NHS with her referral appointment, which would have resulted in her getting treatment on the NHS free of charge.

'It would have been so uplifting to her', Amanda told the press.  'Having watched my child go through the emotional upheavals, the attacks, the rapes, the robberies, the drug taking for solace, I want to make a difference.'

'Every person should have a fundamental right to be themselves.  If they are born in the wrong body it is a disability that needs to be understood and treated.  Her accidental death is a tragedy for us as a family - but there are so many people out their that are in a similar position to my daughter.'

To this end Amanda is setting up a charity called Synestra's Trust.

The trust is being sponsored by the University of the Arts in London, where Synestera studied, and her old school St. Christopher in Letchworth.


Amy.
xx

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Jerusalem Pride Attacker Charged With Murder

Last month during the Jerusalem Pride march a knife wielding man went on a rampage, attacking several people that left five wounded and 16-year-old Shira Banki dead.  Today an Israeli court has charged the man with murder.

Yischai Schlissel, who was released from prison just weeks before the Pride attack for having attacked the same parade in 2005, was arrested at the scene and has today appeared in court to face charges.

Legal proceedings have up to now been delayed as Schlissel has repeatedly stated that he does not recognise the legitimacy of the court and has refused counsel.  He has refused to comply with court proceedings, claiming; 'You have no authority to judge me according to the laws of the Torah, so I'm uninterested in the representation'.

As well as the murder of 16-year-old Shira Banki, Schissel was also charged with aggravated assault and six counts of attempted murder.

It is reported that prior to the parade Schlissel circulated a leaflet that read; 'It is the obligation of every Jew to keep his soul from punishment and stop this giant desecration of God's name next Thursday.  There is an obligation to stop the parade of sin at all costs.'

Amy.
xx

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