When is a door not a door?

( On being believed, and optical illusions )

The morning after

( Paying the piper )

Trust must be earned

What I learned this week: being a "good patient" and blindly accepting what the medical authorities want to do with me, even if I find it upsetting or actually painful, is not just disrespecting my own boundaries. It can lead to actual damage which may actively sabotage my future options for health care.

I need to learn to say no, to be "uncooperative", to be stubborn in defense of my own bodily autonomy. I need to be kind to myself in the face of strangers who just care about proper procedure. I need to stop trusting that what they do is automatically what's best for me. I need to stop being pliant, and keep thinking once I pass through the waiting room door. I need to stop being afraid of the consequences of not being a "good patient".

Link: Tyler Ford on being agender

This is a great article, about a great agender role model. I love their pragmatic approach and confident bearing.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/07/my-life-without-gender-strangers-are-desperate-to-know-what-genitalia-i-have