Its A Tough Pill To Swallow But We Aren't Free Of British Biases Just Because We Are Welsh / Speak Welsh.

Okay - real talk : Update and how I've been

So I've felt very overwhelmed these past few months - mainly due to being preoccupied with keeping a roof over my head, putting food on the table and bills paid. I'm still very much preoccupied with all of these things. But slowly, good things are happening amongst the bad and I want to focus on those things.

Firstly, in early February three of my queer art pieces (pictured) were unveiled along with the works of 9 other artists in the Tir Cwiar exhibition in Elysium Gallery in Swansea, in collaboration with On Your Face Collective. It's something I'm immensely proud of and happy about - so many people came to the opening of the exhibition on the 7th and I met so many wonderful people on the night.

Secondly, I have been buoyed by connecting with other queer people in Ceredigion - especially at events like Friday's Aberration Cymru event and I've been buoyed by the support of my friends here in Aberystwyth. You know who you are reading this!

I've been through a lot - so much. So much I can't even begin to describe or explain. I've had losses, I've jumped through hoop after hoop. But I keep going. There's been setbacks aplenty - but I have no intention of putting down pen or paintbrush any time soon.

So, with that in mind - since November I officially became self-employed and declared myself as such to HMRC. Right now, Llyfr Enfys is my sole source of income. Which means, I'll be ramping up selling my prints, poetry and dissertation to help support myself as well as taking on freelance work where I am able.

I've been overwhelmed with the love and warmth of the response to my last post and can confirm as of today I have paid the last looming bill (for now). Thank you so, so much to everyone who has helped support me monetarily - I will be buying more stamps ASAP and then sending everything off to you all 💜

But from here on in - expect a lot more from Llyfr Enfys - solidarity forever and much love 💗

Fabric painting tests

Y llyfr heddiw yw 'Transgender Warriors' gan Leslie Feinberg, a gyhoeddwyd yn 1996.

Roedd y llyfr hwn yn arloesol yn ei amser ar gyfer ei gasgliad o hanes traws. Bu farw Leslie Feinberg yn 2014, ond mae effaith o ei ngwaith sîe* yn enfawr. Mae Feinberg yn ysgrifennu ar y Helyntion Beca ac enghreifftiau eraill groeswisgo mewn hanes (tudalen 75). Mae sî'n arloeswr mewn hanes trawsryweddol yn fy marn i!

Ydych chi wedi darllen y llyfr hwn?

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Today's book is 'Transgender Warriors' by Leslie Feinberg, published in 1996.

This book was groundbreaking in its time for its collection of trans history. Leslie Feinberg died in 2014, but the impact of hir work is huge. Feinberg writes on the Rebecca Riots and other examples of cross-dressing in history (page 75). Zie is a pioneer of transgender history in my opinion!

Have you read this book?

[*Nodyn: Defnyddiodd Feinberg ragenwau zie/hir. Ysgrifennais y rhagenwau hyn fel 'sîe' yn y testun uchod, gyda 'sî'n' fel 'sîe' + yn. Mae 'hî'n' yn gweithio hefyd, ond mae'n edrych ac yn swnio fel y rhagenw benywaidd hi'n, felly defnyddiais 'sî'n'. Gweler hefyd: rhagenwau Cymraeg newydd 'sîe/sîr' yn fy erthygl yma: Rhagenwau Rhyfedd

/

Note: Feinberg used zie/hir pronouns. I wrote these pronouns as 'sîe' in the text above, with 'sî'n' as 'sîe' + yn. 'Hî'n' works as well, but it looks and sounds like the female pronoun hi'n, so I used 'sî'n'. See also: Welsh neopronouns 'sîe/sîr' in my article here: Rhagenwau Rhyfedd**]

Announcement on Prosiect Llyfr Enfys!

Bore da! I am delighted to announce that I have started a patreon for Prosiect Llyfr Enfys. I've created the patreon as a way for you to be able to support the project and have a say in blog posts, video content and much more! Becoming a patron will help support me in my research for the dictionary and help me make it the best dictionary it can be.

Patrons will have early access to blogs, video content, physical media and will be able to vote on what they would like to see next.

Tiers start at £3.20 a month and LGBTQIA+ Welsh speaking patrons can request access to the patrons only channel in the Enfys Draig discord (links available for the server upon request!)

I would like to thank each and every person who supports my work and the project- your support genuinely means a lot and the excitement for the project is really heartening to see!

If you join today, there is a poll to vote in, two blogs ready to view and an early access post for patrons, with more content planned for the end of March. Diolch o galon am ddarllen / thank you very much for reading!

Luke (he/him), LGBTQIA+ writer and creator of Prosiect Llyfr Enfys

(Please share this post so it can reach other LGBTQIA+ Welsh people or people interested in the Welsh language. Diolch!)

Did they change the font on tumblr mobile for [username] reblogged [username]?

@staff hey watch this

PLEASE REBLOG THIS TO GET MORE VOTES.

[URGENT] UK NHS consultation on puberty blockers

VERY SHORT DEADLINE! (Tuesday 1st November 2023)

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) are about to ban puberty blockers for all trans adolescents, except for a small group who are eligible and willing to be research subjects.

"As part of this NHS England-led process, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was commissioned to review the published evidence. Overall, there was no statistically significant difference in gender incongruence, mental health, body image and psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents treated with PSH." -- 6-page introductory PDF to consultation

That's because puberty blockers don't change gender characteristics by definition, you absolute donuts.

They're carrying out a consultation on this because they have to, and there's only two days left. If you are in the UK and you are a young trans person or know any young trans people, please check out this consultation.

Here's the first question, to help you work out if you're in the target group:

In "other", you could put anything like "friend of a trans adolescent", "family member of a trans child", etc. If you're a trans adult who was on blockers or who would have been on blockers if waiting lists had been shorter or family/doctors had been more supportive etc, choose "patient".

Click here to participate.

Deadline: Tuesday 1st November 2023.

I have bitten the Meta bullet and finally made a Facebook for Prosiect Llyfr Enfys. To be fair I was already on Instagram - but I'm aware that not everyone uses Instagram, Tumblr or Mastodon. So I have made a page which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556691514316.

It'd be much appreciated if people could share this with anyone who uses Facebook who might be interested in my project and maybe follow if you'd like to keep up with the project there. I'm nervous to share too much on Facebook because I've faced queerphobia directly relating to my project on there in the past, but I'm hopeful people who will find my project useful will be able to stumble across me somehow. Diolch o galon !

New Dissertation Chapter! Read my newest dissertation chapter just released on the Association of Celtic Students' Blog

Mis Tachwedd Hapus pawb! I am happy to announce the publication of one of my next dissertation chapters on the Association of Celtic Students blog here:

celticstudents.blogspot.com

The AIDS Crisis and the Welsh LGBTQIA+ Community

(Chapter excerpt from Luke Blaidd's undergraduate dissertation, "“What drove the development of Welsh-language LGBTQIA+  terminology 1972-20

This is my fourth dissertation chapter (the third will be released on my patreon next month) and focuses on the development of Welsh-language LGBTQ+ terminology during the AIDS crisis in the United Kingdom.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions - either on here or at llyfrenfys@gmail.com.

Y llyfr heddiw yw 'Trans Britain' a olygwyd gan Christine Burns, a gyhoeddwyd yn 2018.

Mae'r llyfr hwn yn wych iawn ar gyfer astudio hanes pobl draws ym Mhrydain Fawr c. 1910-2018. Dyma lyfr gyda thraethodau gan lawer o bobl - e.e. Christine Burns, Fox Fisher, Jane Fae, Mark Rees, y Parch Christina Beardsley ayyb. Mae pob un yn hynod ddiddorol i ddarllen! Roedd y llyfr yn ddefnyddiol iawn ar gyfer fy ngwaith israddedig hefyd.

Ydych chi wedi darllen y llyfr hwn?

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Today's book is 'Trans Britain' edited by Christine Burns, published in 2018.

This book is brilliant for studying the history of trans people in Great Britain c. 1910-2018. This is a book with many essay contributions - e.g. Christine Burns, Fox Fisher, Jane Fae, Mark Rees, the Rev Christina Beardsley etc. All are fascinating reads! The book was very useful for my undergraduate work also.

Have you read this book?