When I learned that my friend Alyssa Gonzalez was publishing a book through Thornapple Press, I was eager to read it and I knew I wanted to write a review of “Nonmonogamy and Neurodiversity.”
Category: Media with Impact
Media with Impact: Recommendations for articles, videos, books, comics, or other media that had a profound impact on my activism and awareness of the issues other people face.
Video: Introducing Dissociative Identity Disorder on Youtube
Back in September, I received a facebook message from a high school friend of mine. We hadn’t spoken in a number of years so it was a pleasant surprise to see a message from him in my inbox. He told me that his wife was a teacher and she was running an activity about neurodivergence for her students, who were between the ages of 13-16. He said she was collecting videos from individuals who experienced …Read More
Every Single Social Media Link for Lizzo’s Featured Activists in One Place
On December 6th. pop star Lizzo accepted the “People’s Champion Award” at the People’s Choice Awards 2022. But she did something very unique and special with her time on camera for her acceptance speech. She immediately switched the focus of the night off of her and onto the accomplishments of 17 activists, who she brought with her on stage. One by one, she introduced and proclaimed why their work was important. You can watch the full speech …Read More
Watch our Poetry Reading on Youtube
I have good news! If you weren’t able to make our poetry reading the weekend before last, you don’t have to miss out. There is a video of the reading available to watch on Youtube! I hadn’t originally planned on recording the reading but I learned after it was completed that because the reading was held both on zoom and facebook live, facebook automatically saved a recording (of the speakers on screen only). So now …Read More
I Think My Friend is Being Abused. What Now?
This post was originally published as “What Do You Want out of a Relationship? An Alternate Method to Reaching Abuse Victims” on January 25th, 2020. CN: extensive discussion of the experience of being in an abusive relationship, discussion of physical abuse and the painful process of recovery after abuse, brief discussion of Dissociative Identity Disorder, mention of sexual abuse. Being able to recognize that you are being abused, while the abuse is still happening, is …Read More
A Tale to Tell: A Cherie Priest Tribute
Just a few months ago I re-published my article, “Creating Social Change One Person at a Time,” in which I talked about how the impact you have on individual people around you can, in itself, be a form of social activism. Denny Upkins is back to demonstrate exactly how this phenomenon can happen and the ripple effect it can create. CN: general discussion of racism and homophobia An author by the name of J.D. Stroube …Read More
A Gay Man’s Guide To Life: An Interview with Britt East
CN: discussion of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and explicit violence toward the LGBT community– especially transgender folks; mention of abuse, AIDS epidemic, and addiction. One of the things I love about having Denny Upkins as a guest writer is he has some connections with amazing people and he takes great joy in interviewing them for Yopp! I’ll let Denny introduce today’s interview. Upon Yopp’s return from hiatus, I knew there were a number of intriguing and …Read More
It’s Time to Learn About Anti-Asian Hate
CN: extensive discussion of institutionally sanctioned violence and discrimination against Asians-Americans as well as other races; Discussion of mass shootings, white supremacy, the intersection of racism and sexism, the pandemic, the 45 administration, and sexual harassment; Mention of genocide. In March of 2021, eight people were killed in a shooting that targeted spas and massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia. Six of those people were Asian women. The shooter later said that he wanted to “eliminate …Read More
Interview with Alice Wong: Engaging with Stories of Disabled People
CN: general discussion of disability, and ableism; brief discussion of racism, chronic illness, the pandemic, and eugenics. Today’s article is a first for Yopp: We have our very first interview! The wonderful Denny Upkins had the opportunity to connect with Alice Wong, an amazing disability activist who I’ve admired from afar for several years, and we are lucky enough to get to read the results of that connection. If you’ve been looking for some disability …Read More
S.W.A.T.: How a TV Show Gave Us A Template For Police Reform
CN: extensive discussion of police brutality, police tactics, institutional racism, brief discussion of of gender-based violence, sexual assault, and mass shootings We know that fiction can be based on fact but how often is fact influenced by fiction? The beloved show Star Trek has long been famous for inspiring the invention of many of the “futuristic” technologies used in the show. The Black Lives Matter movement has repeatedly called on us to dismantle and recreate …Read More