there’s been a recent meme of responding to people making any remarks related to the ps5/ps5 pro by saying “notice how they’re X instead of playing games on the ps5”, with the implication that the ps5 has no games

e.g. notice how they’re arguing online about the ps5 instead of playing games on the ps5

it’s not a very serious bit (since obv people can do more than one thing) but it’s also funny because it’s purposely being obtuse about the situation

thanks for taking my words into consideration. i don’t think your post in isolation is really harmful, but it’s more of like, what sort of culture do we want to create? i’ve been online for a long time and in a decent number of trans spaces, so i’ve thought about it a lot, and it can be easy to slip into these sort of nefarious and unhealthy thought patterns

always easier to think about these things upfront, rather than trying to wrangle them when they’ve taken root and people have become accustomed to them

i think this one starts with you

one half of the equation is to be comfortable and firm in your boundaries. if someone asks something of you that you’re not comfortable with, don’t do it. say you’re not comfortable. if they insist, or say it’s normal, decline again and leave the interaction

this is the bread and butter of navigating these encounters. if you’re not comfortable with this, try to practice with a mirror, a trusted friend, or a therapist

the other half of the equation is to get in touch with your own feelings and emotions. the best way we understand others is by understanding ourselves. take some time to practice mindfulness meditation and spend that time listening to and observing how you feel. as you practice more, this skill will come more naturally to you in day to day interactions. soon, you’ll be able to tell when people are being fake or manipulative by understanding how you feel in relation to it

you may think this won’t help you understand others, but humans are wired with very good mirror neurons which are very perceptive of how others are feeling. when you understand how something feels for you, you will understand how it feels for someone else, and you’ll be able to notice more subtle things like a missing emotion - for example, a lack of joy when feigning interest in something you’re interested in

both of these take some time and dedication to develop, but i think it will help you with your problem

an additional skill you will probably want to pick up is breathing practice. check out 4-7-8 breathing (the first number is the count for inhaling, the second is for holding, the third is for exhaling; so breathe for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8; if this is too hard, you can try 4-4-4). this is to help keep you calm when asserting boundaries or remaining patient with your feelings during meditation

these are not totally serious thoughts, altho they reflect my kind of feelings about it

but IP should be periodically put to a vote, maybe a year or two after a major release, in which the public decides if they should retain ownership of the IP

if not? it’s released into public domain. obviously the original company / creator can still do something with it, but others can, as well. but if they do a good job keeping people happy with it, they can keep it

obviously this has some problems, mostly about constantly polling people and probably only dealing with IP that’s popular enough

but the idea gives me some deep satisfaction after seeing some companies ruin their IP, and i like the idea of consumers having some power to punish them for being shitty lol

i don’t really go outside much, i look a little younger than i am (altho i usually credit this with being trans) but

i would go INSANE if i looked like a teenager in my mid thirties!!! 😭

this take in the article was really funny

My guess at the real reason for all this grave dancing is that it feels like a victory over FOMO. If the new $40 game sucks and no one is playing it, I can safely go back to whatever I was playing before without worrying that anyone’s having fun without me.

i don’t know what most people’s reasons for deriving enjoyment from concord’s failure are, but there’s no way FOMO cracks the top 3 lmao

seeing the trailer, i definitely thought it was a bandwagon hero shooter that might have had some creativity if a bunch of suits didn’t say “make it GotG”, but realistically, it launched with little fanfare, in competition with valve’s first new game (beta) in ages. not that it was fated to fail but it didn’t have a lot going for it

water in noita be like:

these people are real heroes

what a blast from the past

yeah that was more a comment on the State Of Things than your experience or assumptions. women are classically neglected in healthcare, especially when it comes to their pain 🫠

i know you already posted so this is kind of late, but i think it would be good to post why you’re asking people on the internet if you pass. i think any particular reason is fine; to just do it for validation, or to help you troubleshoot something in particular, if you’re gauging how safe you are, or actually just plain curiousity, whatever

but i also sort of worry about the effects it has on a community for people to be posting pictures and asking if they pass, at least without context. passing is already a rather subjective process, and there’s kind of an implied “passing = good” idea, which can be reinforced by these types of posts

it’s important to acknowledge that there are trans people (trans masc people too!) who either are unable to pass or don’t desire to pass

i think that adding the context of why you want other people’s opinion helps lessen the implicit idea of “passing = good”, which i believe generally leads to a more positive and welcoming space for all trans people (e.g. “i’d like to know if i pass as (gender) for the validation” highlights that this is addressing a specific feeling for you, rather than something general that everyone should desire)

also, i want to clarify that i do not think wanting to pass is a bad thing. it is completely fine for you, individual trans person, to want to pass and appear as your desired gender. what i oppose is the idea that, to be valid, one needs to pass

@cowboycrustation@lemmy.blahaj.zone tagging you because i think you run this place and i’d appreciate it if you gave my post some thought

ayyy nice, congrats. one thing i’m curious about is if you’ll feel some twinges of dysphoria about sitting to pee still, down the road. i’m in a similar boat to you, re: more dysphoric about the lack of penis than presence of vagina, but i had a bottom surgery consult and it made me wonder if i would regret not being able to stand to pee / ejaculate from my dick, etc

i don’t expect you’ll regret it, to be clear. just if, down the line, you’ll be like. well that would have been nice. or if you’ll just be totally unbothered by it

but for now, i hope you’re excited and cherishing your new dick! 🎉🎉🎉

uh… so, hims minoxidil looks fine. i’ve mostly used costco/kirkland brand (you can get this off amazon too). the bigger concern with minoxidil, imo, is price. shit’s expensive, so try to get the best deal you can, buy in bulk (it’s a long term thing anyways), just make sure it’s a 5% concentration.

anyways, i’ve been on minoxidil for probably 3 years (mostly facial application, too)… and i look my age, tbh i would look older if i didn’t minox my temples too lol (fwiw i’m in my 30s). i think minox is probably pretty safe to take re: aging effects, but everyone’s body is different, and you always take the risk of something weird happening when you consume Chemicals. i’d probably also consider it safer for topical use than rosemary oil, but i tend to be suspicious of those kinds of oils anyways

btw, it doesn’t really matter if you do oil or foam. i’ve done both, i tend to prefer oil because i feel like it’s easier to apply to specific areas. but the foam was… fine. most people seem to prefer foam more, from what i’ve seen. i don’t think it really matters

more than the content of the video, which i am already pretty much sold on, is a passing line mentioned in the video - “resilience is built on uniqueness”. that’s an idea i’ve never encountered before, would love to hear other people’s opinions on it

ahaha you’re assuming quite a lot of things here 💀

it’s an interesting article, but i think the authors are conflating friction for wanting genuine human interaction; its easier than ever for me to make friends because i can instantly connect with and message back and forth, quickly and in real time, over various platforms e.g. discord, the depth of which is only limited by our interactions and how we treat them. forcing us back to sms/email/paper mail doesn’t make our interactions deeper, even though it adds friction. it means we can easily choose what the depth of connection we want is

that isn’t to say that there aren’t examples where less friction leads to less interaction. dating apps are a great example. but i think the authors are conflating the friction for the interaction. yes, you could add friction that would encourage interaction, but you could also add friction that doesn’t. i think the more salient point would be, encouraging interaction often includes friction, but one shouldn’t shy away from that, as a UI/UX developer

which, granted, isn’t as catchy of a title. but they could have gone into greater detail for that in the article, too

regardless of this critique, i enjoyed reading it and the perspective it offered, even if i don’t strictly agree

really good. IUD insertion wasn’t too bad for me, but i def would have still taken a local anesthetic for it if it had been available. this is also probably huge for people with sexual trauma and stuff

oh okay, sorry, i took away a different impression from your OP talking about how the FDA process is flawed due to appeals being the starting point (which very well may be true) - but including that with this article made it seem like you felt that way about this particular incident (e.g. the link was supporting evidence), not that the commentary on the FDA process was it’s own, unrelated thing

glad to hear that we’re in agreement about the denial, though

i can’t really comment on the process, i’ve never taken mdma myself. that said, you say there’s no way you wouldn’t know you’re on it, but there’s a number of substances out there where you’d think that would be the case, but it isn’t (think like, the stereotype of people acting drunk with little / no alcohol, just thinking they had it). also, the dosages may be lower / less obvious, although i have no idea what the dosages used for recreational use vs for therapeutic use are here

idk dawg this seems pretty sound according to the article

The FDA and its advisors identified flaws in the design of the clinical trials, missing data, and a variety of biases in people involved with the trials, including an alleged cult-like support of psychedelics. Lykos is a commercial spinoff of the psychedelic advocacy nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

FDA advisors also noted the public allegations of a sexual assault of a trial participant during a Phase II trial by an unlicensed therapist providing the MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.

…

On Saturday, using the existing data and scientific literature to support MDMA therapy got a little more difficult for Lykos. The journal Psychopharmacology posted retraction notices for three studies that involved Phase II clinical data of the therapy. The studies included a 2019 rationale for a Phase III trial design, a 2020 pooled analysis, and a 2020 study on how antidepressant use may affect the response to MDMA therapy.

The retraction notice cited two reasons for the retractions, including “protocol violations amounting to unethical conduct” at one of the clinical trial sites—a reference to the sexual assault allegations—and undisclosed conflicts of interest by the authors.

like. these are pretty good reasons for not going ahead. it’s on lykos and the scientists running the trials for not keeping their paperwork straight and, you know, not warning people about the risks of the study

from an article cited within (https://qz.com/1809184/psychedelic-therapy-has-a-sexual-abuse-problem-3):

A few years ago, a therapist working in a MAPS MDMA study publicly spoke about his challenges dealing with a patient’s sexuality. Early in his career, Richard Yensen was working with a “lovely young lady who became very sexualized in her relationship around the [MDMA] sessions,” he told an audience at California Institute of Integral Studies in 2016. “It got so intense,” said Yensen, that the chair of his department saw him mid-therapy session and told him to leave the room, warning him to always have another therapist alongside him during sessions. “And thank god, because she became more and more and more activated sexually,” said Yensen. “I don’t think I could have handled it.”

Not long after, Yensen was accused of sexually assaulting a PTSD patient, Meaghan Buisson, during a MAPS clinical trial on MDMA

like. even GENEROUSLY assuming that nothing truly unethical happened. this is a huge issue that will only get worse if it’s made publicly available

i’m not taking a position on whether or not it should be made available as a treatment. i don’t know and i’m not qualified to determine that. but given what’s been said, it feels reasonable to want more data and perhaps go “hey think you could run a trial without getting accused of assaulting people?”

nein