Not Yr Cister Press

Help me raise money to be a lot less miserable in my body...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:02:37 -0500

[reblob, plz?]

Hey y’all, so after many years of just trying to deal, I’m trying to raise money for transition-related costs in my life in hopes that I will be a lot less miserable in my body. I know that most of you have probably heard me be critical of people who ask for money for transitioning expenses on the internet, and in many ways this remains a contradiction that I have a hard time logically overcoming in my head because of my problems with how these things normally unfold, so let me just be clear about what makes me uncomfortable about this: I hate having to make myself into a sexy and/or pathetic enough trans woman to elicit sympathy from people, I hate that every thing I’ve ever said and every desire I’ve ever had and every physical feature of mine will likely be analyzed to deem me worthy of support, I hate that if I was a middle-class and/or white trans man I would make more money, and I really hate that people might be more willing to give me money than really important projects of trans women’s collective resistance (seriously if you only have a little bit of money please give it to Gender Anarky or Niara or any number of people who are living my worst nightmare ad surviving as gender-variant people in men’s prisons). I think that these are all valid reasons for hating the culture of transition-fundraising, and I think that these things also remain critiques shared by most trans/gender-variant people I love and respect.

So why am I trying to do this then? In short, I’ve been in a pretty bad dysphoric/anxious headspace for the last many months and I’m starting to realize how important dealing with these things is for my personal sanity. I’d like to really not have to have a panic attack every time I can’t get a close enough shave and get a good night’s sleep rather than get up to pee every hour at night because of these terrible testosterone blockers. I’ve been doing this whole trans thing for many years and despite my desires to access things that would make my body feel better, I’ve instead put all of my time and energy and money into paying my rent and starting/continuing what I would consider vitally important political projects. And I don’t regret this for a second, but it’s catching up to me now and my gender dysphoria is a lost worse than ever before to the point where I can barely deal (I’m only remotely dealing because I finally have access to free hormones). So for my own well-being, I am choosing against my better judgment to do something for myself and start raising money for permanently removing my facial hair and getting an orchiectomy. In total that’s probably around $5500-6000, which seems like insurmountably large amount of money for me, but maybe actually isn’t that much for ‘normal’ people. In any case it would make my life like a million times better. Anyway, I know that I’m rambling, but if you feel like you wanna help me out, reblog this and/or donate below. If you donate I’ll give you a million tarot card readings and/or draw you a really pretty picture of your favorite animal and/or do pretty much anything that you want. Sorry to bother people and thanks in advance.

-luna

Donate View Progress

[Disclaimer: if you have a little extra money, maybe just give it to Gender Anarky or Niara instead of me. For more info: genderanarky.wordpress.com and freeniara.wordpress.com]

reblog/donate one last time!

Here is Niara's book wishlist. Buy one from an online book vendor and have it shipped to her.

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:14:35 -0500

Here is Niara's book wishlist. Buy one from an online book vendor and have it shipped to her.

Free Niara!

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:16:54 -0500

Free Niara!:

Here’s a place to check in for updates about supporting Niara. She needs letters and money in her commissary! Check in here for updates every once in a while and see what’s up.

We’re veryyyyyyy excited to distribute “Street...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:18:34 -0500

We’re veryyyyyyy excited to distribute “Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries: Survival, Revolt, and Queer Antagonist Struggle,” published by our friends at Untorelli Press.

Click here to check it out!
[Read][Imposed]

March Against Berkeley Police (Murderers of Kayla Moore)

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:58:19 -0600

whore-fag:

It is now being reported that Moore’s first name was Kayla and that she did not use her legal name to describe herself. Her name is changed here. Original Post from IndyBay:

On February 12th Berkeley Police murdered Kayla Moore. Kayla Moore lived with “mental illness” and has been described by friends and family as a Transgender person who “passed as a woman.”

From Berkeley Copwatch:

“The BPD’s press release of February 13th says that they responded to “a disturbance call” at Moore’s apartment. Media reports have said this call was related to mental health. If she was going through a mental health crisis, was anyone present trained to respond to that kind of situation, to evaluate, and deescalate? According to an article from February 26th in the Oakland Tribune: “Berkeley: Man who died after struggle with police was severely mentally ill,” rather than take her to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, when they found out she had an outstanding warrant in San Francisco, they told her they were going to arrest her.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle dated February 13th “Man dies in struggle with Berkeley police,” mentions “a disturbance between roommates,” as causing the police to arrive. The Daily Californian February 14th article “Man dies after being taken into police custody,” says that other residents heard a “commotion on the fifth floor of the building before the officers arrived on the scene.” None of the witnesses we spoke to heard any sort of commotion or disturbance until after the police arrived. Why the consistent difference? In fact, the police were at Moore’s apartment twice that night. This isn’t mentioned at all by the police or media reports. The police first showed up around 11:00pm, and left without incident. The incident resulting in Moore’s death was the second police visit, occurring around 11:50pm. According to witnesses, when they returned a second time, there was a sizable police presence. Why did they come back an hour later with so many officers? What were they preparing to do?”

Nearly one month later and the Berkeley Police still have not released information as to the cause of Kayla’s death, leaving most questions unanswered. However we do know that there was no commotion or overt disturbance prior to BPD’s arrival. We know when Berkeley Police arrived
at Kayla’s home, for the second time in one night, they had police back-up but they did not have a mental health mobile crisis team with them. We know Kayla was alive and not on the verge of death prior to the arrival of the Berkeley Police. We know police regularly murder people of color, gender-variant people, and people with “mental illness.” We also know only one Police Officer in California has been convicted in the death of a civilian and his charges were brought only after massive riots swept Oakland.

Unfortunately Kayla’s death is not an anomaly. This past weekend Bay Area Police have murdered four people and watched one woman bleed to death after she was attacked by her abusive ex-husband.

San Francisco Police murdered Aaron Sawyer (23) after he allegedly stole a car on Saturday morning. San Jose Police murdered a man yet to be identified after they deemed him to be “suspicious.” Union City Police shot an unidentified man to death after they pulled him over for an unstated reason. Hayward Police murdered an unidentified man after his car crashed into one of their police cruisers.

In the case of Kayla Moore, whether by neglect or intent the result is the same. Kayla Moore is dead. The Berkeley Police killed Kayla Moore.

This is a call for an uncompromisingly militant march against the racist and transphobic Berkeley Police who murdered Kayla Moore. The march will begin at People’s Park on Tuesday March 12th at 6:30pm.

It is also a call for queer people, trans people, women, and people of color to form a bloc against police murders and harassment at the March Against Capitalism and Police Repression taking place at Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland on Friday, March 15th at 8pm

Anonymous Queers in Action

Hey Bay Area! March Against the Police that killed Kayla Moore on Tuesday in Berkeley!

Do you have access to university funds and want to support important queer and trans projects? Bring Not Yr Cister Press to speak!

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:46:30 -0600

We’re not professional academics and don’t get paid for the research and publishing we do, and have a lot of exciting projects in the works. So if you can get money to support queer and trans resistance projects, do it! Email us at notyrcisterpress[at]gmail.com if you have any options and we can figure something out.

300+ reblogged our zine about the history of gender-variant sex workers organizing, and THREE people have reblogged a call for support for Niara, a gender-variant sex worker who is actually incarcerated today for her resistance.

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 20:49:18 -0600

also a grand total of 8 people have reblogged the writing of Amazon, who is actually, in the present today, resisting hella violence against trans women in the prison system. If you follow us to get some queer scene points from reading zines, you’re welcome to unfollow us. If you actually want to revolt against the society that makes life unlivable for many poor gender-variant folks, you should actually materially support their resistance today. Zines and the internet are not the end of social struggle. This project was created to create a set of writings that would inform people’s actions, and when we see that our posts about materially supporting real people struggling now are ignored while zines are reblogged hundreds of time, it reminds us that the recuperation of our experiences and the spectacular appropriation of our revolt is alive and well. And thank you to all of those who are fans of the project and display it by hustling for cash for prisoners, writing letters, being in the streets, and attacking this miserable society.

Action Not Words // Reblogging Is Not Active Resistance

Support Niara!

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:38:05 -0600

delicateheresy:

I received a short letter from Niara/Peaches today, and she’s in need of money for her commissary. Her mother is having money trouble right now and won’t be able to send her money. She currently doesn’t have any writing paper and is using a busted pen that is difficult to write with. So please, if you can, donate to her commissary. As she writes, “I like to think us queer folks have eachother back in time of need.” Let’s make sure that is true.

TO DONATE
1. Go to https://jpay.com/.
2. Type state and inmate ID: Pennsylvania, KU1265
3. Click the name of the prisoner: Herman Burton
4. Register an account
5. Send money, stamps, digital mail, etc

WRITE NIARA

Some prisoners, especially those who are not explicitly “political” prisoners, do not receive much in the way of communication. Show Niara that people out here have her back!

Herman Burton #KU1265
PO Box 200
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17001-0200

[address envelope to Herman Burton, letter to Niara or Peaches]

MORE ABOUT NIARA
from gender anarky

In November of 2012, Niara was sentenced to 25-50 years in prison after she plead guilty to robbing and killing a john of hers and setting his motel room on fire. Niara, who also goes by Peaches, has asked her supporters for letters after she was recently put in the solitary for getting into a fight with a transphobic man who was giving her shit on the inside. She doesn’t know how long she’ll be stuck in solitary, so write her a letter and let her know that she has people supporting her!

Check out Amazon's most recent writing, "Aspects of Insurrectionary Anarky"

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:23:19 -0600

Check out Amazon's most recent writing, "Aspects of Insurrectionary Anarky":

From the essay:

“Insurrectionary anarky is explicit social violence against government and the totality of civilization, whoever the enemy, whatever the consequences. The faga militia has not come to do non-violence; it has come to do violence. It exploded on the prison yards in acts of bloody violence: fags fighting the enemy with knives, fighting guards, being shot by prison gunmen, “suicide moves”, spending years in the hole. We claim our dignity. Bloodshed is the only way we are going to survive with dignity in prison – the enemy’s, our own. We are living this out on the prison yards today, now, this moment. Prison is a compact composite of society. Our fight in the trenches of america’s prisons connects with our insurrection in the trenches of society: they are one and the same. The faga militia was not something arrived at mathematically. It was born of necessity. Its birth was in the constant trauma done to us as fags in prison, treating us in all manner of degredation, by guards, reactionary prisoners, medical and administrative staff, and more. Prison is the most haunting reality of direct subjugation and control of people by government: extremely restricted movement, frequent application of mechanical restraints (handcuffs, waist chains, leg chains), prolonged confinement in claustrophobic spaces, constraint psychological assaults, mental debilitation, brute and lethal violence by guards, extreme depersonalization, sensory deprivation punishment and corporeal punishment, daily visual and hands-on invasion of body privacy, overt sadism, and always hate. Here the tyranny is raw, uncloaked, and that is a deeply traumatic ordeal when it sinks in, devastating. But to be sure, great trauma can be a consciousness expander and spiritual stimulant, producing super determined spirit warriors, pure anarkists. We claim these truths.”

Autonomous Resistance to Slavery and Colonization: two essays...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 01:26:58 -0600

Autonomous Resistance to Slavery and Colonization:

two essays by Russell Maroon Shoats

“These early Maroons were able to overcome language barriers, mistrust, and the growing influence of racial doctrines that eventually evolved into the white supremacist cultural construct outside of the swamp. That is not to say that they didn’t have any racial or ethnic prejudices. It’s absolutely clear, however, that they overcame them enough to be able to live, support, protect, fight and die for each other for well over 100 years.”

Download the on-screen version here

Download the print version here

Queens, Hookers, and Hustlers: Organizing for Survival and...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 20:21:10 -0600

Queens, Hookers, and Hustlers: Organizing for Survival and Revolt Amongst Gender-Variant Sex Workers, 1950-1970

a selection from Mack Friedman’s Strapped for Cash: A History of American Hustler Culture

From the Introduction:

“The history of the resistance of gender-variant misfits and rebels is incomplete without understanding the central role of hooker networks that united hustlers, queens, hair fairies, and radicals during the 1950s and ’60s, a pivotal era that led to the first gay riots that had the police fleeing the streets in San Francisco and New York. Yet most published accounts of “transgender” history neglect a thorough examination of street queen and hustler culture. We know vaguely about the admirable radical exploits of Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, yet few authors have situated their projects (opening houses for trans kids on the street, hustling for rent and for raising funds for the radical wing of Gay Liberation) within a history in which these practices were regular occurrences among the informal networks of queens and hustlers turning tricks and defending each other from violence in many urban areas across the United States.”

Download the on-screen version

Download the printable version

Support Niara! Write her a letter today!

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 15:06:00 -0600

In November of 2012, Niara was sentenced to 25-50 years in prison after she plead guilty to robbing and killing a john of hers and setting his motel room on fire. Niara, who also goes by Peaches, has asked her supporters for letters after she was recently put in the solitary for getting into a fight with a transphobic man who was giving her shit on the inside. She doesn’t know how long she’ll be stuck in solitary, so write her a letter and let her know that she has people supporting her!

Herman Burton #KU1265

PO Box 200

Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17001-0200

Support Luke! Fire to The Prisons, Death to The Queerbashers!

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:14:39 -0600

Support Luke! Fire to The Prisons, Death to The Queerbashers!:

A comrade in Atlanta was imprisoned this New Years for allegedly defending himself against a mob of queerbashers who attacked him. Support is urgently needed for Luke. A bit more info:

“Although the exact sequence of events is unknown at this point, it is clear that Luke was attacked by several people at one time and retaliated in self-defense in an attempt to escape the attack. Several witnesses have reported watching between 5 and 12 men mobbing up on Luke and stomping on his head and body with the intent to kill him. The people who were stabbed during the conflict were not attempting to end the fight with Luke. The altercation was never limited to Luke and one other person, but involved several people mobbing up on him.

The motivations of the attack on Luke seem to originate in the fact that he had been seen dancing with and kissing other men earlier at the party. Luke was repeatedly insulted with homophobic slurs throughout the night. The men who attacked Luke are known to have exhibited homophobic language and behavior in the past. Luke was called a faggot during the fight. This provides clear evidence that the attack on Luke was in some way motivated by homophobia and perpetrated by multiple men while Luke was alone.

Luke is currently the only person involved in the fight who is in jail. We do not support the prison industrial complex, talking to the police, or snitching. We do not believe that the other side of the fight should be imprisoned, but rather that the incident should be resolved outside of the institutions of the State.”

For letters of support and books for Luke, his address is:
Luke Patrick O’Donovan
#1300031
901 Rice Street
Atlanta, GA 30318-4938
2S401

For donations,
https://www.wepay.com/x1kva71/donations/luke-o-donovan-support-fund

Help Bail Out Alex!

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:18:56 -0600

Help Bail Out Alex!:

Last night our friend Alex got arrested at a NYE anti-prison noise demo in Chicago. She’s really cool and unfortunately will probably not be able to get out of jail until all of the necessary money is raised, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you can contribute to the effort to get her back into the streets, donate what you can!

Click here to download the updated version of the zineWe’ve...

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:04:21 -0600

Click here to download the updated version of the zine

We’ve updated and changed our zine version of the selected writings of Gender Anarky! Please distro this version rather than the older one if you’re interested in spreading Gender Anarky’s writing. Thanks!

Verdict Delivered in NC Kings Case

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:57:12 -0600

Verdict Delivered in NC Kings Case:

“More than half of the kings who pleaded not-guilty to RICO are exonerated. They are now — or will soon be — free. It’s clear that the government brought a weak, frivolous, and insubstantial case. With time, help, rigor, and expertise, it will become clear that each of the three remaining men is innocent. This case is not over. Invincible love to everyone who has supported the kings so far.”

unhistorical: November 20, 1969: The Occupation of Alcatraz...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:08:38 -0600

unhistorical:

November 20, 1969: The Occupation of Alcatraz begins.

On this day in 1969, seventy-nine Native Americans, mostly student protesters, set out in a boat to occupy the San Francisco Bay’s famous island prison at Alcatraz (“the Rock”). In this highly-publicized event, occupiers protested the American government’s policy in dealing with Native Americans, particularly its numerous broken treaties with Native American tribes and its policy of Indian termination. The protest was somewhat effective in achieving recognition for the latter issue; in 1970, President Nixon delivered to Congress a message in which he criticized termination and instead recommended self-determination, and throughout the 70s, the federal government passed legislation that attempted to promote the sovereignty of Native American tribes. During this period, President Nixon also more than doubled the budget of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The principal organizer of the occupation was Adam Fortunate Eagle, a half-Chippewa activist; the spokesperson for the Indians of All Tribes organization was part-Sioux, part-Mexican activist John Trudell; another leader was Richard Oakes, a Mohawk Indian who lived with his family on Alcatraz until 1970 and sent this message to the San Francisco Department of the Interior:

We invite the United States to acknowledge the justice of our claim. The choice now lies with the leaders of the American government - to use violence upon us as before to remove us from our Great Spirit’s land, or to institute a real change in its dealing with the American Indian…
We and all other oppressed peoples would welcome spectacle of proof before the world of your title by genocide. Nevertheless, we seek peace.

When the Ohlone and other indigenous peoples inhabited the San Francisco Bay Area, Alcatraz was regarded with suspicion, and it was even used as a place of exile and ostracism. It was abandoned as a federal penitentiary in 1963, and it was subsequently claimed by the 1969 protesters by “right of discovery”, the doctrine used to justify the acquisition of native-held lands by colonial powers (especially in the 19th century). The occupation lasted until 1971, and, for nineteen months, students, married couples, and even children lived on the island, garnering support from even celebrities like Jane Fonda and Marlon Brando. The last protesters left in June of 1971, after electrical power and telephone lines were cut off by the government. The occupation’s stated goal of creating a spiritual and cultural center on the island was never fulfilled, and most of the activists’ demands were never met, but it was influential overall, especially given its direct effect on federal policy toward Native Americans.

photograph collection

Please don't just mourn today

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:06:37 -0600

virulentflowers:

Write to Amazon and CeCe or throw some money to support Gender Anarky.

Also, as friends have said, “there is nothing we could do short of collectively interrupting this rhythm and destroying gender in its entirety that will ease our heavy hearts.” Destroy what destroys you.

Cleveland 4 Sentenced

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 15:05:35 -0600

Cleveland 4 Sentenced:

creativenothing:

resistrevolt:

Brandon Baxter - 10 years in prison
Connor Stevens - 8 years in prison
Douglas Wright - 11 years in prison

All will be on supervised release for the rest of their lives after being released from prison. They were sentenced in federal court in Akron.

—

from Cleveland 4 Support Committee:

“We are distraught to see them plead guilty to these charges,” said Joshua Ehrlich of the Cleveland 4 Support Committee. “It is disturbing to see this situation unfold knowing that the FBI manufactured and carried out this so-called plot by means of coercion and manipulation.” The FBI has a long history of using counterintelligence tactics like infiltration, disruption and entrapment to undermine movements for social change. The government is also known for using such tactics to prey on those who are young, vulnerable and economically marginalized in order to carry out their political agenda.

Although claims of terrorism have been made against the defendants, the Cleveland 4 Support Committee believes that the actual terrorism has been perpetuated by the U.S. government against the public and those working for social change through movements like Occupy Wall Street. “This is not a case about homegrown terrorism, like the government would have us believe,” said Julia Boyd of the Cleveland 4 Support Committee. “This is a case that was manufactured and carried out by the FBI in order to undermine political resistance in the United States and to satisfy a quota in its so-called war on terror.”

Everything about this case is tragic. Fuck the FBI a million times over.

Updated address for Amazon:

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:13:51 -0600

Eva Contreraz C45857
D6-B113 SVPP-DMH
P.O. Box 1050
Soledad, CA 93690-1050