Greetings Tumblr World.
This is a message written by MC, Leo’s domestic partner. I’d like to share with you all something difficult. Leo committed suicide two weeks ago and is no longer with us. I’m sorry to have to share this with you. I think it is important for me to share with you the circumstances surrounding his death because suicide has a stigma associated with it. I’ll always be pained by the manner of his conclusion, but I will never be ashamed of him. I’m so proud to have spent four years knowing him and evolving together. We grew stronger together and I’ve been using that strength to carry me now. When we began our journey together we promised each other one thing- “to try.”
And he did try very hard and I thank him for that.
I want to thank you all. Leo took solace in the world in Tumblr because it was a home to express his gender identity and the journey that was its exploration. Community is essential, and to Leo, Tumblr was one of his communities. Certainly as a Tumblr follower you were privy to a very private part of his expression and to the exhibitionist that he was. In his day-to-day, he was far more quiet. He was so compassionate and generous with his spirit. He was also so silly and wonderful. I was lucky enough to share four years of my life as his partner. Let you find peace.
Please take care of yourself and those around you. It is infuriating that I’m sure many of you have already been impacted in same way by suicide before and unfortunately will again in the future. Silence is deadly, so please remember to speak.
Resources:
If you are in a crisis please contact Hopeline (800) SUI-CIDE or https://www.imalive.org for a crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline that is 24/7.
Thank you to Amos Mac for the above photo.
I usually don’t get morning wood, but this morning….wow.
I’m off from work until July 9th. Time to grow out my sparse facial hair!
(And perhaps write that RodeoH review I’ve been meaning to do)
Breast cancer genes
I just spoke with one of my cousins on the phone. Her mom (my aunt) is a breast cancer survivor, but had a recent scare at one of her check-ups. My aunt has made the decision to undergo a double mastectomy in September. Similarly, my other aunt on that side of the family just underwent a double mastectomy due to cancer and is currently recovering. I have a second cousin on that side of my family who has breast cancer, too.
Given the genetic predisposition of breast cancer in our family, my cousin told me that once she has health insurance, she is electing to undergo a double mastectomy as a preventative measure. She suggested that I do the same.
Hmm. I’m not sure what to make of all of this. As you know, my number one reason for not pursuing top surgery is that I don’t want to risk losing erotic nipple sensation, since it plays such a big part in my sex life. However, after talking to my cousin, I feel slightly torn. I think I need to process this more.
Tumblr, what are your thoughts on weight-lifting gloves? I am proud of the callouses that decorate my palms, but people who receive massages from me feel otherwise. Do weight-lifting gloves impact your performance negatively at all?
Re: gender neutral facebook timeline
The closest I’ve gotten was removing my gender entirely? You go to Edit My Basic Info, and can leave Select Sex as just “Select Sex” and uncheck “Show my sex on my timeline.” BUT there are places it will not quite work. Facebook still insists I’m my sister’s brother, because apparently the word “sibling” is too hard? On our “friendship” page they refer to us as siblings so I don’t know what’s up with that.
A snapshot from this very queer weekend.
do you know how to make Facebook timeline gender neutral?
No, unfortunately. Anyone know how to do this?
friendofdorothywilde:
ianbrooks:
Real Life Flemish Portraits by Sacha Goldberger
Taking a cue from Rembrandt, Sacha enlisted a small army of costume, hair, and make-up designers to assist his human and live animal models. My personal photo would have been with a mongoose. Aint no cobras coming after me.
Artist: website (via: mymodernmet)
LEO.
For some reason, I became fascinated with Elizabethan collars several years ago. These photos warm my heart. I also think that such collars were worn by both masculine and feminine folks during that era, which is pretty cool.
