CN: extensive discussion of government sanctioned violence, racially motivated police brutality, and violence against women; brief discussion of of 45, sexual assault, torture, and immigrant deportation camps. 

Living in the US, it can be easy to forget the ways our systems and political histories are mirrored by those of other countries, and as a result, we can potentially find wisdom in other political movements similar to ours. Guest writer Marie-Ève Monette does an excellent job connecting the recent protests in the US to movements in Bolivia that have fought against colonialism and gender...

CN: extensive discussion of systemic racism, racially motivated violence, and white supremacy; general discussion of other forms of oppression.

As soon as the Black Lives Matter protests reached their peak, I knew that I needed to have some kind of response on my blog and I knew that the best possible response would be from a black writer. The first person I contacted was Dennis Upkins, whose scathing and witty critiques have been published several times on this blog before. I'm incredibly honored to publish the article that he sent me. 

“But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight a...

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that things have changed a little bit around here! And that’s because Yopp now officially has its own logo!!!! 
 

A few months ago, I began brainstorming ideas for potential merchandise for Yopp (specifics to be announced later) and realized that if I was going to make merch, I needed a logo. I really had no idea what I wanted in a logo and while I have some basic drawing and design skills, I’m really not enough of an artist to create a professional logo from start to finish. 
 

I looked through some logo making tools online for ideas...

CN: extensive discussion of the mechanics of oppression, oppression-based violence and discrimination, and racism; brief discussion of ableism, sexism, trans-antagonism.

Note: This article was published after the first week of Black Lives Matter protests but it was written back in March. Due to seasonal health issues, from mid-May until September I am rendered almost completely incapable of writing new material which meant that I could not write a response to current events. A guest article centering black voices that is more directly about the current situation is on its way but I decided th...

CN: Extensive discussion of the experience of chronic illness, the emotional experience of living during the pandemic, brief discussion of ableism, grief, and financial hardships. 
 

The era of Covid-19 has been a strange time for folks with chronic illness. For anyone with pre-existing conditions that make catching the virus more dangerous, it has been a scary time with the already high stakes that surround our health getting even higher. But recently, everyone else's world has gotten a whole lot closer to the reality of what it’s like to live with chronic illness and as a result, they too are...

CN: extensive discussion of racism and white privilege, brief discussion of fictional instances of stalking, murder, sex, illegal drug-use, abusive/manipulative relationships, false rape accusations, war and mass violence. Brief discussion of real-life murder, mass violence, and racially-motivated violence. Assume potential spoilers for all media mentioned below.  

As always, the beauty of guest posts on this blog is that they enable Yopp to include subjects and types of content that I could never hope to create myself. In order to shift the societal scrutiny off of people of color and onto w...

CN: general (but light-hearted) discussion of pandemic, cancer mention, Spoilers for Downton Abbey

Making content in our new world can be challenging seeing as we haven’t experienced it long enough to know what people most want to hear or what kind of content they’ll respond to. I have always enjoyed Liz Winship's specific style of humor, as was brilliantly showcased in her previous articles on Yopp, but in today's guest post, Liz’s amazing mixture of compassionate warmth and dry, biting snark when talking about the current state of the world, is exactly what everyone needs right now.

 

Ah, s...

When social-distancing first started, I figured, besides my anxiety about the virus itself, my life wouldn't change a huge amount and the transition would probably be easy for me. My work is already remote, my financial situation is stable, and my partner and I are pretty used to co-existing in our apartment for long periods of time. 

Almost immediately, I found that if I didn't work hard to use my systems and tools meant to support my mental health, my functionality would quickly deteriorate. I frequently felt like I wasn't okay and also that I had no business feeling that way.

After some ref...

CN: extensive discussion of the mechanics of racism and white supremacy; discussion of apartheid era South Africa, denial of racism, islamophobia, and racially motivated violence; mention of anti-Semitism.  

All I have to say about today’s guest post is that I’m so glad that thanks Thandiwe I have an excellent resource to point to anytime I run into someone claiming that racism is a social construct. She’s going to break it down for all of us. 
 

“The idea that race is biologically given was produced by modern science, which did not stand outside but rather was intricately shaped by the comple...