Yopp!

CN: In-depth discussion of the usage and purpose of slurs and the common defenses for using slurs; discussion of racism, sexism, anti-gay bias, and classism. 
 

Warning: There will be a couple of slurs written out in full in this article. They are written this way to maintain clarity in a purely educational piece. I made a point to limit how many slurs I used and to avoid using any slurs that would be particularly egregious for a person with my set of privileges to use.  

“You shouldn’t say that word.” 
 

At some point in our lives, we have all had the experience of someone telling us that a word...

CN: in depth discussion of rape culture, sexual assault, gender-based violence, xenophobic violence, government sanctioned oppression in South Africa. Brief discussion of corrective sexual assault and apartheid.  

Many of the issues featured on this blog are discussed in terms of how they manifest in the United States, primarily because that is where most of my audience is located, and I have the most specific knowledge about the social patterns that occur here. However, very few social justice issues are unique to the US and our American-centric news system means that we’re frequently unawar...

CN: brief discussion of sexuality, sexism influenced medical neglect, reproductive disorders, and disability.

Remember my interview about sex and disability last month on the podcast Into Your Body? 

Story time: Before that podcast was recorded, Vi La Bianca, a previous guest blogger for Yopp, invited me to come onto her youtube show Secular Sexuality to discuss sex and disability. To be honest, I felt nervous about interviewing about a topic I don't particularly specialize in-- while I talk about disability all the time, sex isn't a common topic for me, and I've only had one partner since b...

CN: discussion of 45, Brock turner, Kavanaugh, sexual assault, erasure of Native American history, racism, ableism, poverty, the manifestations of oppression. Mention of sexism, genocide, police corruption, and rape culture. 
 

Have you ever thought something like, Why am I so frustrated that this guy on the internet who I’ve never met doesn’t think that sexism exists? Why didn’t he listen to me when I told him about the time someone was sexist to me? Did I not communicate clearly enough?
 

The existence of power imbalances in our relationships between us and the people we work with, our friends...

CN: Explicit descriptions and in depth discussion of chronic pain, abuse, medical neglect, gaslighting, and oppression through poverty. Discussion of sexual assault, trauma, mental and illness. Mention of genitals.
 

There is a disconnect between the experience of a patient and the experience of a medical professional, one that worsens if the patient’s illness is chronic or not easily explained. As more and more stories of medical neglect as a result of marginalization are brought to light, I hope that we can collectively reduce that disconnect and bring understanding and accommodation of marg...

A few weeks ago I got together with my friend DJ and we had a conversation about disability and sex for his podcast Into Your Body. Dj’s podcast explores some progressive takes on sexuality and your relationship with your body, particularly exploring how these topics intersect with particular marginalizations. 
 

This was my very first podcast and my first recorded interview and I had a really good time talking about some of the deeper nuances of disability and how many of the strategies that you should be using to related to disabled people around sex are the same strategies that benefit you n...

CN: extensive discussion of bladder problems, urination, pelvic floor work and internal exams, dietary restrictions, food, descriptions of pain; mention of sex, various health problems, and PTSD. 

I have always needed to pee more often than anyone I know. When I was a kid, in addition to being a frequent bed-wetter, I also wet my pants whenever I laughed too hard and unlike most kids, I never grew out of the habit. My embarrassing attempts to dry and coverup my wet pants followed me into high school. 

Perhaps I’ve always had a weak bladder, but more importantly, I was taking my cues on how a...

CN: in depth discussion of christian culture and religious institutions, othering and neglect of marginalized groups, stigmatization of mental illness, abuse of power. 

One of the things I love about the Voices section of this blog is that it creates an opportunity to share guest writers’ life experiences that are so incredibly different from my own. I can research a topic, break it down, explain it to you, but I can’t tell you what it’s like to live it unless someone who has, tells me their story first. That is why as a non-religious person, I’m so grateful to have today’s guest post to expa...

An article of mine was published today on The BeZine, an online magazine that looks at efforts for peace, sustainability and social justice through the lens of art. They publish photography, poetry, essays, fiction, even music, that coincides with the theme of each issue. They are particularly interested in looking at the world's problems with the intention of finding solutions. The BeZine also has direct ties to 100 Thousand Poets for Change (100TPC), which was the topic of our most recent blog post. 

The theme of this issue was social justice, and as any social justice blogger knows, w...

The writer of today’s guest post, Jamie Dedes, is a name you may have seen on this blog before, but not as a guest blogger. Jamie published an interview with me about activism and Yopp on her poetry and writing blog, and shortly after, she proposed a guest post about a world-wide social justice initiative that’s been brought about by thousands of poets all over the world. Fun fact about me, before I was a blogger I was a poet, so the idea of promoting a group that combines activism with poetry really made me smile. I hope you’ll go check out 100TPC and consider getting involved after you finis...