fun fact one of the world champions in pepper-eating contests is a trans woman and she actually faced significant backlash because people somehow thought she had a biological advantage. to eating spicy pepper
update bc i went back and checked: her name is brianna “the chilli queen” skinner and she set a record in 2017 by slamming back 23 carolina reapers consecutively. she only stopped when told to by the referees, and the next year she stepped down out of boredom. queen
PSA: the guardian is not working on a hit piece on diy hrt, and claims they are are misinformation
tl;dr: claims that the guardian's Susanna Rustin is writing a piece on diy hrt and contacting trans people for comment is false.
on the 18th, this post appeared on 4chan's /lgbt/ (slurs in thread: link). a screenshot was posted to reddit, then to tumblr. you've probably seen it:
ALTtoday, the 23rd, another screenshot popped up on various discord servers, then was reposted variously to twitter. it shows a supposed email from guardian journalist and notorious TERF Susanna Rustin, claiming as the original 4chan post does.
![an email screenshot with the subject "Replacement Therapy for Upcoming Feature". the email it is from is redacted. the message says, "Dear [redacted], I hope this message finds you well. My name is Susanna Rustin, and I am a journalist with The Guardian. I am currently working on an in-depth feature article exploring the topic of DIY hormone replacement therapy (HRT), particularly focusing on the experiences and motivations of individuals who turn to self-administered treatments. Our readership is keenly interested in understanding both the medical and personal dimensions of this significant issue. The feature aims to shed light on why people choose this route, the risks involved, and the broader implications for healthcare systems and regulatory bodies. To ensure our coverage is thorough and empathetic, we are reaching out to various stakeholders-medical professionals, advocates, and individuals who have personal experience with DIY HRT. Your insights could be incredibly valuable in painting a fuller picture for our audience. would you be interested in an interview ?"](http://web.archive.org./web/20240525180523im_/https://64.media.tumblr.com/482c406b3eaaa2835bb145b01e87e04c/63fba34ffc9dd3ac-b6/s500x750/c2eb77615ebcf24dda65db796e70b7ffe75519c4.png)
ALTit's now been shared around, and it's with good intentions. the message is useful: don't share your personal information or medical data with journalists, especially ones that happen to be TERFs.
but the post does this through misinformation and fearmongering. i'm still waiting on my response by email from Rustin, but she's reiterated twice (once, twice) that she did not write the email and is not working on such a story. on the 19th, i talked to other guardian newsroom journalists, who said they also did not know of a story's existence.
the moral of the story: this is misinformation, and it's dangerous. it spreads a fine message here, but it does it through spreading anxiety and terror.
you can follow along with this post on my parallel thread on twitter. also calling on @wakewithgiggli to delete their original post!
non furries are so annoying about the semantics of calling something a furry. "erm wouldnt that be like.. a feathery???" its an avian and its still a furry. ok yes you can call the slug a slimy thats funny. but these are all fursonas. unless theyre not. i hope this hurts you
coach mcguirk would be cool about it but like. a little too cool about it
"I heard about this app, Brendon. It's called grindr. Supposed to be an app for men or something. So I download it, right? But when I open it up, there's all these beautiful women on there. Total babes, Brendon. They've all got crazy names like Chrysanthemum or Rosepetal or whatever."
"Uh-huh."
"I'm a classy guy, right? So I put the charm on a little. Start chatting them up. And it turns out, all they wanna talk about is Team Fortress 2. I love Team Fortress 2, Brendon. Do you see what I'm saying here?"
"Not really--"
"I'm irresistible all of a sudden. They love me, Brendon. Do you see these dark circles under my eyes? I shouldn't be telling you this, but I haven't gotten this much action in my life."
