Unfortunately with some basic chemical knowledge it can be obtained rather easily from household items or hardware stores: Batteries, cleaning products, bleach,…

My pleasure.

No, I agree with you. The biggest amount of work in regards to fighting climate crisis, fascism and creating resilient social structures is done on the fringes of society and hence rarely mentioned outside equally fringe publications. While people can learn a lot by joining solidarity networks, their work is often (in my experience) scrappy and inconsistent, because even they are lacking knowledge. Besides the need to balance their own interests with the demands of the capitalist society around them.

I see a big potential for art in that space: Spreading knowledge and positives visions of a livable future without being overly dry and preachy. The Solarpunk genre serves this purpose to a certain degree, but - I think - it isn’t hard to introduce similar concepts into other genres, if done with respect, conviction and a basic curiosity to learn from others.

I see your point. Well put.

Oh, unfortunately I am sure we are going to hear what she has to say about this.

I assume for a charity event it’s better to be safe and thus attract a bigger crowd which may not be there otherwise.

What I find interesting in this picture: Women freaking out to music in public was still such a rare occurrence at the time that the women in the back really don’t know how to handle it. By now it has been normalized so much, nobody considers it particularly noteworthy. And the world is better for it.

Archived version, without paywall of the NYT article mentioned: https://archive.is/Bx3c3

While “tribadism” (old term for various lesbian sexual positions, including scissoring) has been known since antiquity, scissoring itself has only been distinguished from other lesbian sexual positions in several sexologist studies in the 70s. Its prevalence was heavily debated even back then, but there was little doubt about its existence before the emergence of modern porn.

Of course. ヾ(＾▽＾)ﾉ

Yeah, that could be narcissistic behaviour though there are also other possible explanations, such as “antisocial personality disorder”. Ultimately it is very hard to distinguish one personality disorder from another without a full diagnosis by a professional. Those personality disorders may look very much alike from an observer perspective, but differ in the nuances of the behaviour, the underlying thought processes and their origin (and therefore have to be treated differently in a clinical setting).

The question is somewhat difficult to answer, because the reactions to HRT are very individual. They depend on things like your age, your genetic make-up and the kind of HRT you get (what kind of drugs, what dosage, etc.)

To put things as general as possible: If you start HRT you may first feel euphoria, which is (more often than not) a purely psychological reaction. The actual effects of HRT will usually begin to manifest after a few weeks (once again: highly depending on what you are taking and how your body reacts to it). Unlike the initial psychological effect this will usually be more gradual, as your body and mind “ease into” their new state of being.

The obvious physical effects usually take months to manifest (growth of breast tissue, etc), though infertility can come earlier, particularly if you take anti-androgens or progesterone.

Because you specifically asked about sperm, the effects of HRT are (mostly) reversible in that regard, particularly if you haven’t taken HRT for long. Some people can become fertile after months, sometimes even years of HRT, once they stop taking it.

So: Yes, most people can stop HRT for a while, freeze some sperm and then go back on. There are no guarantees, but it works far more often than not.

Allow me to attempt an answer.

Of course, there is the simple lack of empathy, the inability to imagine what another person could feel. A complete lack of empathy is very rare, much more common are varying degrees of a loss of empathy which are often situational: “I do not recognise somebody I am talking to on the internet as a full human being.” or “This person looks so unlikely what I am used to, they are not fully human.”

But far more often immoral behaviour is strongly tied to cognitive dissonance. This psychological concept describes the notion to hold two different, contradictory beliefs at the same time. Such as: “I am morally good.” and “I am allowed to hurt others.”

The underlying thoughts are often strongly tied to emotions and the way our reasoning works: More often than not, we have an emotion first and find a justification for it lateron. In the cases you are describing that person may feel an emotion/desire to hurt someone. They may know in theory that hurting others is bad, but this is where cognitive dissonance comes into play.

They will attempt to find a rational justification for their behaviour. Confronted with their behaviour, they will use that justification as their defense: “I hurt someone because they got on my nerves!” or “They deserve it, someone had to teach them a lesson.” or whatever may seem appropriate in that setting. But this justification is also what they will tell themselves in their heads in order to see themselves as morally good, despite their transgressions.

Of course, the question remains where their desire to hurt others come from. Psychological studies suggest that such behaviour is often triggered by stress of some kind or other (rather than actual malice), which they will then project onto the person they hurt: “I had a bad day and then they made it worse.”

Some people regret their behaviour lateron, especially if they are confronted by others; but cognitive dissonance is very strong and prevents many other people from ever recognising their own bad behaviour as such, particularly if their bad behaviour lies in the past. At the same time, the worse the behaviour, the stronger cognitive dissonance becomes; no matter how contradictory that may seem: “I cannot be a bad person, therefore my behaviour has to be justified.” And their mind will provide justification(s). It may take a lot of time, effort and critical thinking to undo this state of mind.

I hope my comment answers your question.

I have to admit, I was also puzzled by what they mean with “horny”, despite agreeing with the gist of the article.

Me? I am impartial, I am certainly not being paid by Big Dictionary!

*attempts to hide the old, dusty Oxford English Dictionary on the bookshelf

Dictionaries are - by definition - descriptive. It is not their duty to judge what goes into them. They merely collected terms used by people and explain what they mean.

Demanding to remove information from a dictionary, because you do not like what it expresses or the people who use those terms, is the very definition of censorship.

I think I experienced similar feelings which usually appear when I was comparatively “better” than during the times that counted as major depressive episodes, according to the professionals I dealt with.

But honestly the way our psyche deals with depression is highly individual and good, responsible therapists/psychiatrists/neurologists/… consider a variety of symptoms before making a final diagnosis. With the exception of a high risk of suicide which will immediately place the sufferer in the “major depressive disorder” category, because of the immediate danger to their lives.

What I want to say: Probably only an expert will be able to tell you exactly what kind of depression you have/had. And I cannot claim to be one. I am simply someone who suffers from it too and I read up about it.

I am sorry for being the bearer of sad news. Suicidal thoughts are the most easily recognizable of the symptoms. And even if they are less persistent between major depressive episodes, a lot of us are still stuck with depression in one form or another for the rest of our lives.

And that’s the difference between minor depressive disorder and major depressive disorder. Thank you for attending Depression 101.

I moments of crisis, I will just start crying, but I can do that very fast.