Also, I’m in Europe and ngl, had no idea this was even an article up for debate let alone it being fucking passed.
Don’t panic! This was expected at this stage and it is only the beginning. If you are a European and feel passionate about this, please keep on reading and help!
So what has happened so far … the Commission has drafted up a long overdue copyright reform. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/procedure/EN/2016_280 It contains a lot of good, and some bad: mainly Article 11 and 13.
This was put forward as a whole to the European Parlament, where it was voted down on the 5th of July 2018
This meant, this will not go through the fast way, and will be subject to scrutiny and change.
The Commission made some alterations https://eur-lex.europa.eu/procedure/EN/2016_280 and put it forward again. If Parlament would have voted it down again, it probably would have meant back to the drawing board, but most people (including me) agree that Europe does need copyright reform, so on the second vote it passed the first step:
So what happens now?
This will now go into what is called the Trilogue, where Commission, Parlament and representatives of all national governments will sit together to make alterations until everybody is happy implementing the regulation.
This means we can now influence this via our MEPs and our National Government!
In countries that are red your government is likely to support Article 13.
What to do now?
There are a lot of organisations that organise actions against article 13. Check out their websites and get in touch with your MEP or local government and let them know you are unhappy about this.
… and many many more, just google to find one in your country.
Also, as @asthesea-breezehitsmylungs pointed out, a lot of people are not aware of this going on. So make them aware! Share the memes and point them to the petitions. And don’t just complain how shit this is, get in touch with your politicians!
Oh good.
Yo, everyone, EU or not, please at least signal boost this shit. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: those two articles will suck majorly for all of us.
Like dude, how much time do you spend enjoying various things that relate to, Idk, your favourite show or book series. It’ll probs be gone. Funny memes and shit? Nah our generation doesn’t fucking need to laugh, it’s not like half of us are already depressed or anything. And so many other things that are cool about the internet, I’m not even gonna mention how some big, cool places like YouTube and Tumblr will be fucked by this.
So seriously, there’s only so much a small bunch of people can do. We need some noise on this. As much as I hate to admit it, some things require some fat numbres to be paid attention to. So even if you’re not planning on taking any action yourself, the best thing to do would be to spread this to everyone you trust to either get involved or pay it forward like you did.
And seriously, every little thing helps, ok? We should have a say in how the laws that deeply affect us are made.
SIGNAL BOOST
Signal boost again to all EU peeps. Keep pushing your MEPS.
Don’t try that mascara/arm hair shit. I’ve been passing for more than a year with short, blond arm hair. It’s not an important secondary sex characteristic.
Board shorts (without pockets in the front) do wonders to minimize the width of your hips. Always choose board shorts over swim trunks. Choose them over cargo shorts if it’s appropriate.
Speak from your chest, never from your head.
The goal of binding should not be an entirely flat chest; you should bind for your body type.
GC2b makes the best binders out there, and their products are designed specifically for trans men/transmasculine people.
It might seem useless if you’re pre-T, but working out can be a big help for dysphoria.
Eyebrows are really important to passing pre-testosterone. Muss that shit up. Make them look unkempt.
When you ask for a haircut, make sure the edges in the back are squared, not rounded.
If you have peach fuzz, I would advise shaving it. Cis guys shed theirs when they go through puberty. Shaving can also help with facial hair dysphoria.
Don’t ever buy a binder from Amazon. They run in strange sizes (I was an XXL even though I’m a M in GC2b) and take weeks/months to come. It’s also difficult to breathe in them after a few hours.
-Patience is a virtue you need to come to terms with. Even on T, things take time. My voice dropped immediately, but my cycle continued for 6 months. We’re all different.
-In the summer, HYDRATE YOURSELF. A binder is an extra layer, and mine have always been very warm.
-When its not too hot, layers are your friend. You’d be surprised what even simply an undershirt can do to smooth out your look.
-You are going to get misgendered. This is a fact, and it sucks. Learn to politely correct people. Remember you might be the first (openly) trans person they meet, so be a good ambassador.
-When you start T, your smell will change. You will sweat like you’ve never sweat before, and it WILL STINK. Adjust your bathing habits accordingly.
*coughs in direction of my trans friendos*
If you have a really large chest you might do better with Underworks binders. They aren’t pretty, they’re not soft, but they do a good job and were the first on the market for a very long time. I couldn’t stand gc2b so if you’re like me, try Underworks.
Don’t double bind.
DON’T USE DUCK TAPE. I still have scars from a dumb decision I made as a teen and I’m 31 now.
When the time comes for top surgery, shop around. Find someone who will tailor your chest to your needs. Look at their portfolio. Compare surgeons. See if you can find someone who will work with your health insurance if you have it.
Be safe. Be healthy. Take your time. It’s not a race or a competition.
*incoherent screaming* MY TRANS MEN/ TRANS MASCULINE FOLLOWERS, L O O K👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀
We’re getting pretty close to having adults who weren’t alive during 9/11, and we really need to admit at this point that the overemphasis on 9/11 in the US is just a propaganda machine to indoctrinate the younger generations into nationalism and to justify all the horrible war crimes the US committed in the Middle East, and the continued mistreatment and distrust towards refugees.
Also remember when we were told that “They” attacked “Us” because they “hated our freedom”? That was some of the most blatant and transparent propaganda that was churned out of 9/11.
My husband is 5 years older than me so he was 15 when it happened. We’re in the UK. He remembers his English teacher saying to the class ‘So, some of you may have heard what’s happened and there are lots of different opinions as to why. I want to present one perspective. Imagine you live in a country where life is often hard, and you look at this other country where life seems easier. Not only that, but this other country comes along and tells you that it will give you what it has, but all it requires from you is almost all the wealth and natural resources you have. So you agree and yet you see that life isn’t getting any better. In fact it’s worse. This country has taken your resources and in exchange it has given you things to make it easier for people to kill each other. Wouldn’t you be angry?’
And at the time people, minus my husband, were outraged because the teacher appeared to be sympathising with terrorists but the truth is, what he described was not ‘jealousy of the freedom of the West’ it was in fact the reaction of the average person to having their country destabilised and ripped apart. And because of that, that allowed extremists to seize power.
That’s the problem, it’s not precisely Islamophobic to criticise what the power vacuum created, actual Muslims do it all the time.
However, what is Islamophobic is precisely what’s happening right now. When Muslims and other people are having to come to Europe and the US because otherwise they could literally die and the response is ‘we don’t want you! Why do you have to be here!’ etc. Again yes, that is the response of an average person who didn’t order the attacks on various places, but the point is that the people who are outraged it is their country as a national self that has either directly caused or contributed to the issue.
It’s a lot more complicated than just ‘jealous of freedom’ that doesn’t even begin to cover it. What extremists have done and continue to do is disgusting but it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the interference from the West.
Ultimately however, the truth is that the average Muslim is not responsible for terrorism.
They are trying to live their lives just like you. If you bothered to ask them, you would discover that they consider extremists as representative of Islam as you find televangelists to be representative of Christianity.
don’t measure a woman’s worth by her clothes – terre des femmes
THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED SO FREAKING MUCH, TODAY PEOPLE CALLED ME WHORE BECAUSE I WAS WEARING A SKIRT AND WE ARE IN SUMMER, IT’S SO HOT IN THIS COUNTRY AND I HAVE TO USE PANTS SO GUYS DON’T GET ” DISTRACTED ”
respect girls
you may notice not one of those words is positive, not even neutral
its a game where there are no correct answers, just different ways to be told you are invalid, wrong, and should be ashamed. thats a shitty game to force people to play
Where’s the credit to the original artist, Rosea Lake, who made the original viral skirt photo in 2013?
Artisan Scribbles 