Doc Impossible

PhD #trans girl! She/Her, thing explainer and technical writing scholar interested in trans usability studies and design theory. Gender questioning folks are very welcome to message me! ⚢ Married. Opinions mine.

Don't crack eggs. Build nests.

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Impossible_PhD_at_hachyderm.io@mostr.pub

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Last Notes

2024-09-14 15:01:00

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In a nutshell, the authors of that paper stuck some dead salmon into an MRI, and then displayed people's facial expressions to the--and I repeat--DEAD salmon.
And the MRI said that, according to its stats engine, the dead salmons' brains responded differently to different facial expressions.
(2/?)

2024-09-14 14:59:32

I was reminded of this paper today, and it got me all gooey inside from really good science. Then I realized that a lot of trans folks have probably never heard of it, and why it's REALLY IMPORTANT when we talk about trans brains and why trans people are trans!
(1/?)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053811909712029

2024-08-28 22:30:05

I just had an interaction on with somebody that left me legitimately rattled so:
If, when you raise a problem with a partner, they deny having done so and accuse you of having done it
If they throw things during arguments, even if not *at you*
If you don't feel safe from their outbursts when you share things important to you
If they shower you in affection when things are bad
If you don't feel safe at home
That's the cycle of domestic abuse and control. Your partner is abusing you.

2024-08-16 09:37:34

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Update: Muting this thread. I'm dead tired of the frequency with which older white reply guys with no background in education, much less the doctorate in Rhetoric and Composition that I have, are showing up to browbeat me about how important they think formal grammar instruction is.
You are the problem I'm describing.
I'm muting this thread.

2024-08-16 02:40:06

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So why haven't we abolished homework yet, and made recess mandatory?
Parents complain when we try. Loudly. They run for school board and institute minimum homework requirements.
Because they want their children to be "taught the value of a hard day's work."
That idleness is bad.

2024-08-16 02:37:36

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And if we wanted to improve student learning and performance on standardized tests, what does the data say we should do?
1. Universal free school meals, including breakfast.
2. Universal basic income.
3. Universal, single-payer healthcare.
4. Recess at EVERY grade level. Yes, including high school. Especially high school.

2024-08-16 02:34:57

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So why do we have homework, let alone lots of it?
The Puritan sin of idleness.
Yep.
Homework exists to teach our kids that rest, play, self-care, and listening to our own bodies is a bad thing.

2024-08-16 02:33:28

*Taps mic*
As a lifelong teacher, homework should be abolished.
At every grade level.
No research we have supports homework as being effective, and most of it (like teaching grammar) *ACTIVELY HARMS STUDENTS*.
(Except maybe some very mild homework in math and a couple of highly specific sciences).

2024-07-27 16:44:48

Four years.
A lot can happen in four years. A whole universe of changes. Impossible amounts.
Four years ago, today, I admitted to myself that I was trans.
And since, the whole world has opened up for me like a flower. Somehow, I am me, now.
Trans joy is the biggest miracle I know.
#transjoy

2024-07-23 21:57:27

A gentle reminder when talking about about the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, from someone who doesn't talk politics here:
Referring to someone by their last name is generally a sign of respect. Referring to someone by their first name is generally a sign of intimacy. Consider how people have referred, in short form, to other nominees and Presidents:
Bush, Clinton, Gore, Bush, Kerry, Obama, Romney, McCain, Biden, Trump
And then
Hillary and Kamala
See a pattern?

2024-07-22 00:24:39

https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/827/288/999/887/673/original/ecbf3f922cd9ba16.jpg

2024-05-15 01:47:25

OK so
I saw a trans gal wearing these
And it was fucking *hilarious*.
Yes, that writing is across the front.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/442/581/110/120/682/original/2e3a98df1663ed97.png

2024-04-26 19:45:29

Dear god, I feel like I need to shout this from the rooftops because every time I mention it in passing, it feels like someone's jaw drops in astonishment:
YOU CAN HAVE BOTH A PENIS AND A VAGINA! IT'S CALLED A PENIS-PRESERVING VAGINOPLASTY (if you're AMAB) OR A VAGINA-PRESERVING PHALLOPLASTY/METOIDIOPLASTY (if you're AFAB)!
YOU CAN HAVE BOTH! YOU'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE BOTH!

2024-04-19 13:18:18

Just as a friendly reminder for anyone not aware:
The British press is not our friend. They, as a rule, do not publish anything, ever, favorable about trans folks, because those who control their content would very much prefer that we didn't exist.
So, if a reporter for, say, The Guardian wants to talk to you?
Don't.

2024-03-22 16:19:34

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The thing that persuaded him, if you're curious:
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/140/242/256/602/943/original/eed7c586f495d0f1.png

2024-03-22 16:17:49

Holy shit. I just talked a cis guy on the internet down from "Let kids be kids" and got him to see why gender-affirming care for teens absolutely cannot wait.
This is one of my greatest achievements. I have a legitimate urge to take a victory lap.

2024-03-08 23:08:08

Happy fine-ass Friday, my queerdos and weirdos!
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/112/062/580/019/176/762/original/7b78aab508b9c55e.jpg

2024-02-11 22:23:10

Presented without comment.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/111/915/174/819/319/344/original/3a567fb645bbf443.jpg

2024-02-07 13:06:49

*frothing at the mouth*
THE EARLY INSIGHTS FOR THE 2022 US TRANSGENDER SURVEY ARE OUT! THE CORPUS IS FOUR TIMES THE SIZE OF THE 2015 USTS!!! IT'S BY FAR THE LARGEST TRANS STUDY EVER COMPLETED!!!
*passes out in excited data scientist*
https://ustranssurvey.org/

2023-12-31 02:57:12

I need to find some new folks to follow. Seems that a number of my friends have moved on to other social media pastures.
So, like... Any suggestions?
My interests:
1. Trans folks and people who talk about trans stuff.
2. Queer folks generally.
3. People smarter than I am, in almost any subject.
4. Silliness.
I don't want:
1. Naughty accounts. I'm demi. Sorry.
2. Politics/news. I know where to look to keep up to speed. Let me have one place for being chill.
3. Mean people. Be kind.

2023-12-27 21:03:18

I haven't been very worried about AI, even though I'm a writer.
Why?
Because it takes a while for the law teams employed by the titans of old media to rumble to action, but it was always clear they were coming. These are the teams that don't sue other companies unless they're certain of winning.
And today, the New York Times sued OpenAI for several billion dollars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/business/media/new-york-times-open-ai-microsoft-lawsuit.html

2023-10-23 12:07:36

You've probably heard from transphobes about how "you can't change your DNA," so nothing you do in transition really matters. "Basic biology," they whinge. Well... what about intermediate biology?
This week on #StainedGlassWoman, come and see How HRT Rewrites Your DNA by just plain turning off the parts you don't need and turning on the ones you do! Now with more wedding photos, from *another* queer wedding.
#FtM #MtF #Nonbinary #trans #transjoy #Biology #HRT #DNA
https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/how-hrt-rewrites-your-dna

2023-09-20 18:57:09

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@npub1gg8…439g @npub1ccn…ly9q Midwest *cities* are better, but yeah. <3

2023-09-20 17:41:46

That feeling when a dear friend is hurting for entirely legitimate reasons and you can't do a thing to help or comfort them because the reasons they're hurting is that the world has been broken to pieces by supremacy culture and the horrors of capitalism. 😢

2023-09-18 12:35:43

I find myself in search of a gentleman of transgender experience who has had facial masculinization surgery. I would very much like to interview such a fellow for a forthcoming article for Stained Glass Woman, particularly if he is comfortable sharing recovery pictures.
I'm planning on writing a two-part guide to FFS and FMS. I can use my own experience and recovery images for FFS, but I'd *really* like to give equal detail and coverage to FMS, which I simply can't do on my own.
#trans #FtM

2023-09-18 02:33:33

Some evenings I find myself reflecting on the weird, winding path that I took through transition.
And how grateful I am for being trans.
And how grateful I am that the love of my life loves it just as much as I do.
Of all the futures I thought were possible when I started my transition, I never imagined that the one I'm in was even on the table. I didn't even think it was on the table a year and a half ago.
So I guess I'm saying: those of you who're going through hell right now?
Keep going.

2023-09-13 17:56:28

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@npub1gg8…439g There is a complex, fraught intersectional discussion happening that's revolving around a blocklist built by a Black nonbinary person who is being accused of blocking a large number of transfeminine-dominated instances.
As a white person, I'm doing my best to listen and learn, especially to multiply-marginalized voices, and it's what I'd suggest to anyone else who is as melanin-deprived as I.

2023-09-08 21:45:01

I don't know who needs to hear this, but if you want to have gorgeous winged eyeliner but aren't good at making winged eyeliner, and especially if you're not good at making shapely or symmetrical wings:
We live in the future. You can use eyeliner stamps to do the wings for you.
They'll never know you do d it the easy way. Be gay. Do crime.
https://www.lovoir.com/products/winged-eyeliner-stamp

2023-09-05 11:24:16

It's Double Feature Day on #StainedGlassWoman with @npub1zc4…mc2z 's Trans Tuesdays! This week: getting gendered correctly is a long, hard struggle for most of us, sometimes with very high stakes!
This week, we're going to look at the science of Getting (Mis)Gendered to understand what's happening and why when someone pulls out the Sir or Miss card on you--and whatyou can do to help get the one you want!
#Trans #Transgender #MtF #FtM #Nonbinary #Gender
https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/getting-misgendered

2023-09-04 00:58:55

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@npub1gg8…439g it's just a distinctly feminine mannerism. I never see boys doing it except, maybe, for this.
Which is why I think it's a boymoding tell.

2023-09-04 00:53:44

Question:
Is it just me, or do other people see this pose frequently in people who ping on your trans-ciever as either closeted or boymoding? Especially younger maybe-transfems? Like, this feminine "I've got a secret I'm embarrassed of but I desperately don't want to keep" energy to me, and when I see it and look for other little signifiers, I almost always find a bunch of little signals.
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/111/004/137/376/006/256/original/8a8c0e8a828ad59b.png

2023-08-30 22:28:28

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@npub1gg8…439g Gothabilly has been a vibe for *ages*, dear. It's my favorite look in the whole goth family.

2023-08-30 22:21:36

Date night fit!
I don't often go for a goth look, but when I do, I go for 50s Bettie Page goth. 💅
https://media.hachyderm.io/media_attachments/files/110/980/896/242/132/560/original/067c4694629fce5d.jpg

2023-08-18 20:16:15

If I could make one mostly-irrelevant administrative change to the world, it would be:
1. Weeks are five days long. 3 work days and 2 weekends (this is the same ratio as a 32-hr work week).
2. 6 weeks per month.
3. 12 months per year.
4. One week after December is no month, and is just a holiday for everyone.
5. Leap days are added to the end of Holiday Week, and are a special day *called* Leap Day.
The effect: you could use the same calendar forever. Every month is the same length...

2023-08-11 15:10:24

Here's some cool (and unsurprising) #trans #science news!
A new study out the day before yesterday on whether #FtM and transmascumine people experienced any long-term regret over their top surgeries found a n average regret rate of *ZERO* on a 100-point scale in its 139 participants. Like, not even a single respondent answered even a 1 out of 100.
To my knowledge, no surgical intervention ever studied at this scale has achieved satisfaction rates like that.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/fullarticle/2808129?guestAccessKey=43a62af8-3042-4678-b29d-3430c3ff98c1&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=080923

2023-08-06 23:59:17

Phew, this weekend was blech. Some neat stuff, but it just didn't work out very well.
Oh well. Some days are like that.

2023-07-28 10:53:19

Today is a special little anniversary for me.
Three years ago today, I came out to myself. I was so scared of what it'd mean for my life, my marriage, my job--all of it. Instead, I was welcomed with open arms, and while parts of the last three years have been tough, they've been, by far, the best of my life.
Thanks for coming with me on this journey, everyone! 💙💗🤍💗💙

2023-07-18 13:17:23

A couple of days ago, @npub1anq…wt43 asked me for one song she should listen to to know me better, and I had a lot of trouble picking just one. It got me thinking: the stuff I really love is almost all trans anthems (to me) of one form or another.
So now, instead, I put together an album.
What are your #TransAnthems, and what do those songs mean to you?
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5uy6MPa55FcW9VfFGNTIqr?si=758bcdff8efb416f

2023-07-18 10:16:50

Accidental t4t relationships--where both parties are trans and were together long before either figured it out--are so hopelessly and impossibly romantic to me. Like, here's two people, and they're wrong about absolutely everything in their lives, but not each other.
That's just beautiful.

2023-07-14 14:25:37

So, after four and a half days, Beneath the Surface is my fourth biggest article ever, with a one-week reader-count beaten only by Can I Offer You and Egg in These Trying Times, which was, in fairness, boosted by Jadzia Axelrod herself.
Wow, y'all. I'm speechless. 🥹

2023-07-10 13:59:18

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@npub149u…nps4 Well, progress... But more, a kink can satisfy more than one need, and once you have a well-built groove in your brain, it's easier to use the infrastructure that's there.
Like, cis women have bimbo kinks because it lets them flip the bird at cisheteropatriarchal oppression of their sexuality. I think that's why it's common in a lot of trans women too.

2023-07-10 13:16:13

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@npub149u…nps4 That's super, super common. I will say, one or two of my big pre-hatching kinks came back after a while, and they were hotter than ever, so don't be TOO freaked if that happens.

2023-07-10 12:07:02

A few years ago, Amanda Roman challenged the question, "It's just a fetish, right?" and changed the world for a lot of trans people.
But what if it's not just a fetish? What if it's *never* just a fetish?
What if fetish doesn't even work that way?
Come join me this week on #StainedGlassWoman as we look Beneath the Surface at how trans people in denial use fetish to meet needs we're not ready to acknowledge yet.
#Trans #MtF #FtM #Nonbinary #Transgender #Psychology
https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/beneath-the-surface

2023-05-01 12:10:09

Come on over to #StainedGlassWoman this week and have a look at what the future of #HRT might very well look like with me! We're going to dive deep into our genetic code and our deep evolutionary ancestry to have a look at DMRT-1, an incredible piece of genetic code that will someday allow our bodies to transform in ways that boggle the mind.
Imagine if hormonal transition was just one or two injections. In an entire lifetime.
#trans #MTF #FTM #Nonbinary #Genetics
https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/what-if-we-didnt-need-hrt-anymore