State Legislatures Are Already Showing Us Elon Musk's Twitter
#131
Welcome to Third Cultured, a newsletter covering all things queer and techno-politics from the perspective of Kyle Borland. My goal is to highlight all the ways today is different (and not so) from yesterday.
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This edition:
Essay/Opinion
Donate to D10 Pride
Review: BN3TH Men’s Underwear (Full Review for Paid Subscribers Only)
Links, Quotes & Things
Essay/Opinion
Unless you’re a sane person who lives disconnected and off the grid, then you’ve inevitably heard that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is buying Twitter for $46 billion. (As long as that pesky Tesla stock stays high enough, of course…)
Now, unless you’re a neophyte who believes that comes out of rich people’s mouths, you know that Elon Musk is in no way, shape, or form a “free speech absolutist.” There is no conceivable way to think he wants to control Twitter for any other reason than the SEC putting a leash on him and being a thin-skinned megalomaniac who doesn’t actually like that anyone in the world can say whatever we want about him.
Do people actually believe straight, white men want everyone to be able to say whatever they want? Can someone point to me the time in American history where that was the case? It surely isn’t now! Where are all the cishet, white men speaking out against the censorship in schools sweeping across the country? Methinks it has nothing to do with free speech whatsoever. It has everything to do with keeping queers, Black people, immigrants, and everyone else they’ve deemed “other” in a corner roped off with “beware” signs.
In a world where legislators feel emboldened to call LGBTQ+ people “groomers” and “pedophiles” – I wonder what these whining conservatives think they can’t say? What space does Elon Musk really need to make for people to “say whatever they want”? We know what they want to say. We know what it leads to, too, but queer kids killing themselves is nothing compared to a straight, white man having to think before he opens his mouth.
From my perspective, the only thing they can’t do to us yet is kill us in the public square, and even that seems up for grabs nowadays.
I fear this is just the beginning. Efforts to punish and marginalize trans and gay people have exploded in recent months. Permission is being implicitly granted for Matthew Shepard style attacks and more anti-trans violence.
As always, thanks for reading, beautiful people.
Kyle (@kgborland)
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Review: BN3TH Underwear
Rating – 5 out of 5 (Full Review for Paid Subscribers Only)
I have nothing but positive things to say about BN3TH underwear. Initially, I was taken slightly back by the pouch for the crotch but I quickly found myself missing the support in my other underwear. I tried two pairs of briefs, two long johns, and a pair of lounge pants. The only thing I disliked was that one of the long johns was camo print and that’s just not personality, but they were comfortable and kept me warm in colder March temperatures up in the mountains of the California Grapevine.
Also, from an observer standpoint – I loved everything about BN3TH.
Product description:
BN3TH men’s underwear offers all the support you might need! BN3TH underwear is made with MyPakage Pouch Technology™ and ultra-soft, breathable, lightweight TENCEL™ modal fabric - so y’all can stay comfortably in love.
Links, Quotes & Things
20 Must-Read Queer Novels Set Outside the US, UK, and Canada (Book Riot)
71 nations it is illegal to be LGBTQ+, 11 of them the punishment is death (them)
Abercrombie & Fitch told a generation who it was (Vox)
Comment: Being a closeted gay teen, this store felt like a mouse trap. It was the least surprising thing to learn later in life the two men behind the brand were closeted, neurotic gay men who fetishized young men and boys. They took a Platonic fantasy and commercialized it better than anyone since Michelangelo sculpted David. The documentary was a trip, but it was unfortunate to learn the underbelly was as twisted as the storefronts made us all feel…
Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws in the US
Biden says Americans should stop targeting teachers, banning books (Reuters)
Complaint filed in Florida to ban Bible as “too woke” (them)
Conservatives declare war on LGBTQ suicide prevention hotline & call it pedophilia (LGBTQ Nation)
LGBTQ in Alabama: Students, parents affected by new laws respond in emotional video (AL.com)
Major corporations quietly funnel millions to national group behind regressive state laws (Popular Information)
Missouri GOP lawmakers want to ban trans adults from getting gender-affirming healthcare (LGBTQ Nation)
New attacks from right alarm LGBTQ communities: ‘We’re taking steps backward’ (LA Times)
Oklahoma Becomes First in the Nation to Ban Nonbinary Birth Certificates (them)
Queer Student Association protests ‘No One Is Born Gay’ tabling event (The Crimson White)
School Board Bigotry May Be Backfiring (Progress Report)
School forces teachers to remove LGBTQ safe space stickers because they’re not “appropriate” (LGBTQ Nation)
Some Republicans fear party overreach on LGBT measures (Washington Post)
Southern LGBTQ advocates respond to hate-mongering legislation (Facing South)
Students Across The Country Are Going Silent To Protest Against Anti-LGBTQ Laws (BuzzFeed News)
Australia's dark secret: A gay men's prison that conducted experiments to abolish homosexuality (WIONews)
Black, Gay And Authentic: Celebrating 13 Years Of Living Their Truth (Mississippi Free Press)
Disney is refusing to cut LGBTQ scene in Doctor Strange 2, Saudi Arabia says (The Guardian)
Exxon Mobil bans pride flags from flying outside office (Axios, The Hill)
Gay Man Reconciles Faith and Sexuality After Profanity-Laden Defense of Mother at Church (Good Men Project)
How LGBTQ Life in China Has Gotten Tougher Under Xi (Washington Post)
Langston Hughes' 1958 Review of Notes of a Native Son (LitHub)
Legal after 40 years, the gay bathhouse faces identity crisis (Bay Area Reporter, SF Examiner)
Life in Scotland is getting worse, say young LGBT+ people (The Guardian)
Little Liechtenstein takes on the world's most powerful countries at the UN (euronews)
More LGBTQ candidates hit the campaign trail, despite efforts to limit their rights (KUER)
Musk is a "free speech absolutist" except when he's not (Popular Information)
My scars are my story (Reckon)
Olympian Says Gay Men Are Weak & Can't Ski Down Dangerous Slopes (Out)
Russian court dissolves LGBTQ rights group (Washington Blade, Politico)
Russia fines Facebook, Instagram & TikTok for violating gay propaganda ban (LGBTQ Nation)
‘The Book of Queer’ to Premiere on Discovery+ in June, Sets Dominque Jackson, Alex Newell, Leslie Jordan as Narrators (Variety)
The Central African Republic has adopted bitcoin as legal tender, becoming the second country in the world to do so behind El Salvador (GZERO, Yahoo!)
The pandemic inspired a cartoonist to explore their Wuhanese roots and queer identity (NPR)
‘This is for everyone!’: inside Britain’s first ever LGBTQ+ museum (The Guardian)
Tom of Finland Foundation Opens a ‘Cheeky Exhibition’ With Diesel’s Support (Vogue)
Violence Against Queer People Worldwide
Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Increase Dramatically In Ireland as gay men have been targeted in a string of violent assaults and murders. (Metro Weekly)
DC gay man dies after being punched by bouncer at Philly bar (Washington Blade)
Drunken homophobe attacked a flight attendant mid-flight. He could get locked up for 20 years. (LGBTQ Nation)
Gay Man Says Justice System Failed Him In Refusing To Grant Restraining Order Against Accused Attacker (CBS Miami)
Gay man suffers horrific injuries after violent homophobic attack in Manchester (Gay Times)
Man who damaged LGBTQ streetscape must write essay on Pulse (Washington Post)
‘No Mercy for Child Groomers’: Far Right Targets LGBTQ TikToker Preaching Acceptance (Rolling Stone)
Police officer seduced gay rape survivor he was supposed to be helping (Pink News)
"You Can't Trust These Motherfuckers": Why American Workers Need Unions (Esquire)