10 Harmful Beliefs About Dissociative Identity Disorder

One of the reasons we wanted to start writing about Dissociative Identity Disorder after we received our diagnosis is the massive amount of misinformation out there. Having this diagnosis is highly stigmatized and many doctors and even mental health professionals still perpetuate these harmful beliefs about dissociative identity disorder. 

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

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

Western Media and their Continually Racist Depictions of Africa

CN: extensive discussion of media-based manifestations of racism, and the impact of the pandemic; general discussion of the myth of “white genocide”; mention of 45.   I had been aware for a while that the portrayal of Africa that most folks from the US encounter in encyclopedias and on documentaries is heavily influenced by white supremacy and white savior narratives. But despite this awareness, I am not immune to the effects of modern media on …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

The Complexion For The Protection: White Privilege in Media

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 …Read More

Podcast Interview on Sex & Disability

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 …Read More

Announcement: Call for Submissions!

Want to have your writing published on this blog? Yopp! Is now accepting pitches and submissions for publication! You may have noticed that my publication rate has decreased somewhat in the last six months, which is due to a combination of physical and mental health issues. Writing has been disproportionately affected by these issues and it’s clear I need to take a break from forcing myself to make that happen so that I can be …Read More

Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist, and Sexist, and…

CN: sexism, racism, trans-antagonism, Caitlyn Jenner, use of “phobia” terms to mean bigotry. In the fight for social justice, it’s not just sexism and racism you need to worry about. There are new isms and phobias popping up every day: transphobia, ableism, homophobia, classism, fat-phobia, and Islamophobia. Each of these terms refers to a different form of institutional bias. Unlike individual instances of everyday rudeness or disrespect, institutional bias is different in that it is …Read More