Speech by the association:, queerhandicap e.V.
Speech by a queer and dis-abled person
Speech by the FAU about work situation of dis-abled people
Speech by the Red Help about police violence against dis-abled people
Speech by Luisa l’Audace about murders in Pots-dam
Speech by Nicolas Bellm, queerhandicap e.V.
Hello,
My muscles are damaged. I’m in a wheelchair.
And I’m gay. That means I’m a man and I fall in love with men.
I’m happy to be here.
I’m in an association. It’s a group of people.
The association is called queerhandicap e.V..
There are queer and disabled people in this association.
Queer:
Many people think:
There are only two genders, men and women.
Only men and women can fall in love with each other.
But:
Many people feel differently. They don’t feel the way most people do.
They say: We are queer
I speak for myself and for the association
Other people think: people in wheelchairs don’t fall in love.
But queer people sometimes understand more. But sometimes they don’t.
Some queer people push me aside.
There are few places for gay disabled young people.
Many places are not barrier-free
Some people whisper behind me: What does he want? Why is he here?
At queerhandicap there are people like me. They feel similar.
The association wants:
People don’t insult disabled people.
Other people let disabled people free.
Queer disabled people can live freely.
Disabled people can fall in love openly.
The association gives these people a voice.
Only these people can vote.
In the association these people feel strong
Other people see them
Other people hear them
Other people understand them
The association makes meetings.
Every month on the internet.
Every year in one city.
The association works together with the Queer Centre Mannheim.
They also have a meeting. Disabled people from far away meet there.
There are also other groups with similar goals.
Queerhandicap wants to work with all of them.
Queerhandicap knows many groups all over Germany.
They already work together
I would like to invite all people.
I would like to invite all disabled people.
The association needs support.
Together we are strong!
Together we are loud!
Together we fight for inclusion!
Together we fight for a barrier-free world!
And for a barrier-free Queer Centre Heidelberg.
Thank you
Speech by a queer and dis-abled person
I am speaking here today as a single person.
I am queer*, disabled and white.
I work at the university
* queer:
Many people think:
There are only 2 genders, men and women.
Only men and women can fall in love with each other.
But:
Many people feel differently.
They don’t feel the way most people feel.
They say: we are queer.
Being queer has been important to me for many years.
Disability was invisible to me for a long time.
Last year, I formally became severely disabled.
I met people like me in different places:
Queer people I met mostly at parties.
At the big CSD demonstration.
On dates. And on social media.
Disabled people I met mostly in therapies.
Or in hospitals. Or at doctors’ offices.
So I’m happy to be speaking here.
And I’m happy to meet new people today.
Out of the house.
Out into the streets.
That’s a motto.
It’s a motto that applies to the queer movement.
Likewise, the motto applies to the disability movement.
The queer movement and the disability movement have a lot in common.
For example, many people see them as unequal and worth less.
Queer people or people with disabilities are often treated badly.
And they are excluded.
These are difficult experiences.
These experiences are experienced by both groups.
But why?
The reasons are different:
Some of us have problems with public toilets.
Or changing rooms.
Others have problems finding an apartment.
And in finding a job.
Our families often say:
You are not normal.
You are different.
In movies and books, there are very few people who are disabled or queer.
We are often slower than others.
We often think: I’m not seen. I am invisible.
Or: The others are watching me. They are looking at me.
Sometimes bad things happen to us:
Other people spit at us. And other people hurt us.
The queer movement and the disability movement have something else in common:
Some words were used as insults.
Now queer or disabled people are saying:
We won’t be insulted!
We used those words for us now.
They’re strong words for us now.
Because we are proud to be disabled.
We are proud to be queer.
Example:
The word queer used to be a swear word.
It meant something like “other” or “disgusting.”
Young people don’t know about the swear word.
For us, the word queer is a good word.
Another example:
The word “crip” means cripple.
It’s a word for disabled people.
It used to be a swear word.
But it has also been a word of the disability movement for a long time.
The disability movement used to be called the cripple movement.
You can also use the words queer and crip differently.
Both have the same meaning.
It means: I do something different than most.
Or it means: I’m doing nonsense.
Or: I think in a new way.
I change old things.
I ask others: Why is this normal for you? What is normal?
You can also ask:
What must a person be able to do in our world?
Why is this so?
We can ask even more questions.
For example:
Why do we have to work so long and so much?
Is a family with a mother, father and two children the normal thing?
Why do we think: Everybody has to do everything alone?
Maybe it is better to say:
We can do everything together.
We can help others.
That is important in difficult situations.
Is a person only important if he works a lot?
Maybe it is better to think: We are all important.
Every person is good at something else.
Is it good if everyone thinks:
There are only two sexes?
That is, men and women. That men love women. And women love men?
Isn’t it better to think:
Every person can love another person.
There are more than two sexes.
Women can love women.
And people can have another gender.
They can say:
I am not a woman and I am not a man.
That’s all okay.
I ask myself:
Am I the problem?
Or is the society the problem?
The “Society” are most of the people in a country.
They have a lot of power and a lot of rights.
They can decide and regulate a lot.
Join in!
We can change the world!
Then all people have a place.
Everyone should feel comfortable.
We queer people and learn from disabled people.
These people have a lot of experience.
How can we change the world?
We can listen to each other. We can watch each other. And we can be nice to each other. We can try to understand other people.
We can help each other.
We can fight together.
For an inclusive Heidelberg.
Queer and disabled people are excluded in our society.
They are few people.
And they have little power.
But they have a lot of knowledge. And they have a lot of experience.
That can help the whole society.
Queer and disabled people can say what needs to change.
They know what is wrong.
They know why Germany is not inclusive.
They know how inclusion can be achieved.
We need spaces in this city.
Spaces where everyone can walk in.
And spaces where everyone feels safe.
I hope there will soon be an accessible queer center in Heidelberg.
Maybe we’ll see each other there.
But only if Heidelberg builds such a place.
I want to say one more quote.
A quote from a queer and disabled artist
The name is Johanna Hedva.
She says: “You don’t need to be fixed, my queens-it’s the world that needs the fixing. I offer this as a call to arms and a testimony of recognition.”
It means:
You don’t have to be changed.
The world needs to be changed.
Fight! I am proud of you!
Speech by the FAU about the work situation of dis-abled people
Hello all.
I am here on behalf of the FAU Heidel-berg.
The FAU is an independent trade union.
A trade union fights for better conditions at work.
A trade union fights for help with problems at work.
All people can join the FAU and participate.
No matter if they work or not.
We don’t have bosses.
All people work on the things they want to do.
We help each other.
We make decisions together. Everyone always has to agree.
Today it’s about a workplace.
This is where most disabled people in Germany work.
It is the WFmB: Workshop for People with Disabilities.
The disabled people often live there too. And they are cared for there. And they spend their free time there.
But these places are often separated from the rest of the community.
Most of the time, the work is the same as the work of non-disabled people.
But the government says it is a “voluntary activity”.
For example, they screw ball-point pens together. Or they make pizzas.
Mostly it’s always the same.
People work up to 8 hours a day.
They don’t get a fair wage.
They get 2€ per hour.
That is much less than the minimum wage.
People have no chance to do another job.
They are exploited.
They are counted as cheap labour.
A law says: You have no right to be in a union.
Why? Because they don’t have a normal working situation.
For some people that is bad.
For some people it is not so bad.
But it means that people can’t decide for themselves.
It is not inclusive.
In the FAU we are also fighting for a new concept of work.
We fight for a life without dependence on wages.
We fight for a life without pressure.
Disabled people must no longer be exploited in workshops.
We fight for a beautiful society.
There, all people are valuable.
Work should mean: we need something. That’s why we make it.
It should not just be about money.
Work should be fun.
Speech by the Red Help about police violence against dis-abled people
Dear friends,
I am speaking here today. And I am happy.
My organisation is called Red Help.
We are in Heidelberg and Mannheim.
We want to be solidary.
That means: we want to help others.
We help left-wing activists.
Activists take to the streets.
They fight for their rights.
And they want to change politics.
Some activists need help.
The police lock them up.
The police detain them.
Why do they do that?
The police and the state say: you are dangerous.
We also help disabled activists.
The police hurt them. The police swear at them.
Some police hate disabled people.
That’s why they hurt the disabled activists. That is unjust.
Here is an example.
Corax is a disabled climate activist.
That means he fights for the climate.
This happened last year in September:
Corax and other activists blocked the Jänschwalde coal-fired power plant.
It is located in Brandenburg.
Coal is bad for the environment.
That’s why the activists wanted to stop the coal.
Corax sits in an electric wheelchair.
And he needs a respirator.
Both need electricity. Corax also needs an assistant.
He needs these things all day and all night.
Corax used a bicycle lock on the blockade.
He used it to chain his wheelchair to a train track.
That’s good for the blockade. It stops the coal train.
It was also good for Corax’s health.
Some policemen don’t pay attention.
They hurt activists. And that is dangerous for Corax.
Corax thought:
I’m tied down.
I am safe from the police now.
They can’t take me.
Only a special technician can break the lock.
He’s careful. And he won’t hurt me.
Corax was unlucky. It didn’t go well.
The police took him away.
They dragged him across the train tracks.
With his wheelchair.
Corax was in a lot of pain.
He said to the police:
Stop it! I am in a lot of pain!
I have a disability! This is dangerous for me!
The police continued. They didn’t care!
At the police station:
Corax assistants had to leave.
That was bad. Corax needs his assistants.
They know his respirator.
The climate activist was locked up for a long time.
The police insulted him. They said nasty things about his disability.
For example, they asked him:
Why do you need an assistant on the toilet?
How do you pee?
Why don’t you pee here?
The police showed no respect. Corax was very unwell.
More was happening at the police station.
Corax had several problems.
The situation was dangerous for him.
His electric wheelchair had little power left.
And so did his respirator.
And his assistant was gone.
No one helped him.
Corax can’t breathe without electricity.
That can kill you.
The police detained Corax anyway.
Why didn’t they release him?
The police had a bad idea.
They called in a public doctor. Such a doctor works for the state.
The public doctor took Corax to the hospital.
The way to the hospital was very painful.
Corax had to drive back to the police station alone.
That’s dangerous for him. He always needs assistance.
The police let him go after many hours.
Corax is not the only one.
Many disabled activists experience violence at the police station.
Many police officers hurt on purpose.
Many officers don’t know about disability.
The police often cause severe pain to disabled activists.
One problem is, for example, pepper spray.
It’s like perfume. But it is very sharp.
It burns the eyes. It hurts.
Last year in summer was the Ende Gelände.
It’s a very big climate demonstration.
It was in Hamburg.
The police used pepper spray.
They sprayed it into the faces of activists.
Is that dangerous? Yes.
It is dangerous for some disabled people.
For Corax, for example.
And for other people with a respirator.
They can die.
The police in Hamburg also used batons.
These are hard sticks.
The police beat people with them.
Wheelchair users can’t just run away.
They have less protection than other people.
There are also water canons.
These are big cars.
They can spray huge fountains of water.
They are very very strong. And they hurt people.
We are the Red Help.
We are a left-wing movement. And we are activists.
All activists are important.
Everyone should be safe. And no one should be alone.
That is why we want to think differently.
We think.
We consider:
How can we make actions more inclusive?
How can actions be more barrier-free?
We want to prepare ourselves.
And we want to be there for everyone.
Also in case of police attacks.
The police sometimes attack disabled activists.
We do not leave these activists alone.
We use the word Ableism.
Activists often report about Ableism.
This means that people without disabilities do not think about people with disabilities.
For example, in court.
There, judges decide on guilt or innocence.
They say: You are guilty. You have to go to prison.
Activists with disabilities tell, for example:
The court buildings are not barrier-free.
And the newspapers and television insult us.
They discriminate against us.
Cécile Lecomte is a climbing activist.
She climbs, for example, on car bridges or on trees.
She is also a journalist.
She writes texts about her experiences.
And she has rheumatism. That is a pain disease.
That’s why she sits in a wheelchair.
Cécile Leocmte was in court a few weeks ago.
It was in the town of Ahaus.
The court was not barrier-free.
It was very exhausting for Cécile Lecomte.
She needed several breaks.
She asked for breaks.
She wanted to lie down.
The judges were unfriendly.
They did not understand.
The newspapers in the city of Ahaus wrote very ableistly.
They did not believe Cécile Lecomte.
They laughed at her disability.
I want to tell you something else.
It’s about violence by the police.
I don’t mean violence against activists.
I mean violence in everyday life. I mean in everyday life.
Police officers are killing more and more people with disabilities.
This is new.
We always knew:
Many policemen are racist.
That means, for example, that they are against refugees.
And they are against black people.
Racist policemen sometimes hurt and kill black people.
Black innocent people.
Now we know: There are also ableist policemen.
They insult people with disabilities.
They hurt them.
And sometimes they even kill them.
Many people with mental or psychological disabilities have died in recent years.
Police officers killed them.
Many people who died were disabled and black.
This is unfair.
They experience much more violence.
White people experience less violence.
People without disabilities experience less violence.
Sometimes this violence happens in collective homes.
For example, disabled people live together in collective homes.
One example is Mouhamed Dramé.
He was 16 years old.
And he was shot.
That was last year in August in Dortmund.
Another example is a black man in Berlin.
Last year in September something bad happened.
The police came to his home.
They injured him very badly there.
The injuries were bad. He died of them.
Violence also happens on the streets.
For example, last year in Mannheim:
The person A. P. went to the doctor.
The doctor was there for his mental health.
He called the police.
He said to the police:
I need your help.
Take this man away.
It happened at Markt-Platz in Mannheim:
Police officers injured A.P..
They killed him.
Nobody talks about it.
Nobody punishes the policemen. Or the doctor.
These are a few examples.
There are many more.
Do police officers help people with mental and psychological disabilities? No!
Some policemen are very bad.
They insult disabled people.
They hurt them. And sometimes they even kill them.
This is terrible for people with disabilities!
That is why we demand. We say very loudly:
Stop the ableist police violence!
Speech by Luisa l’Audace about murders in Pots-dam
Attention: This speech is about murder and violence against people with disabilities.
What do you think of when you hear the word Potsdam?
Until April 28, 2021, we thought: it is just a city.
But on that day, something terrible happened in Potsdam.
April 28, 2021:
Caregiver Ines R. attacked five disabled residents* with a knife.
She killed four of them.
She has tried to suffocate residents before.
Or to poison them.
Ines R. talked about violence against disabled people long before that.
She said to her psycho-therapist:
I imagine killing my patients.
Ines R. also has a disabled son.
She also thought about killing him.
Why didn’t anyone stop her?
Why was she allowed to work with people with disabilities for so long?
Why was she able to kill these people?
Nobody believed that she was really doing this.
The problem is:
Nothing has changed after the death of the four disabled people.
Normally, people should protest.
They should be angry and sad!
But the newspapers wrote differently about it.
Some even said:
It is good that the people died.
Why?
Because there are too few nurses.
Now it is two years later.
We ask ourselves:
“What else needs to happen?”
“How much violence do we have to experience?”
“When will society understand?”
“When will they change something?”
We all live in a society.
In it, disabled people experience violence every day.
They don’t feel safe!
I want everyone to know:
Something terrible happened in “Potsdam”.
Hate against people with disabilities kills.
We have to change something.
So that this doesn’t happen again.
We have to understand.
It is dangerous to think:
People are not worth anything if they can’t work.
That can lead to violence.
We have to do something!
We have to fight against it!
We are sad.
We think of the people from Potsdam who died.
Their names are:
Lucille H.
Andreas K.
Martina W.
Christian S.
Speech by Akut + C about feminism and dis-ability
Dear people,
we are from Akut+C.
We also say Inter-ventio-nist Left.
We are a left organisation.
We want to talk to you today.
We want to change our society together.
We want to abolish ableist barriers.
We are feminists.
We fight for the rights of FLINTA* perosns [2].
We have to talk: about the multiple discrimination of disabled and neuro-diverse people.
Neuro-diverse means: they have a disability in their mind. They think differently than most people.
Feminists should learn more about Ableism.
So that people can experience more justice.
We talk very little about Ableism.
That is bad.
It affects all areas of life.
Our own bodies. Our psyche.
And it shapes our behaviour.
Our society thinks a lot about bodies.
And about the appearance of people.
Society decides: these bodies are beautiful.
And these bodies are ugly.
Especially women and disabled people suffer from this.
And also queer people.
Society rates them.
Society decides:
You are good and beautiful. You are bothersome and ugly.
And most people think:
This is normal. It has always been like that.
We have to change that.
We have to understand something:
Society has values.
Society finds many things important.
For example, people’s age.
Or health. The way they look. Gender.
Some people are lucky.
Society rates them well.
They have an easy life.
Other people have bad luck.
Society rates them badly.
They have a very difficult life.
We want to talk about this.
We want to change these values.
People often talk about people with “special needs”.
This is how they describe people with disabilities.
But all people have special needs.
And these are quite normal needs.
Important needs.
Here are a few examples of important needs:
Being able to go into a building.
Being able to go to work.
Getting an education. To be able to go to school.
To have privacy.
Receive a whistle.
Have sex.
Eat and drink.
The problem is:
Society makes this difficult for many people.
Many people cannot decide for themselves.
These people are, for example:
Women, lesbians, inter-gender, non-binary, transgender, agender people.
People with and without disabilities.
We would like to mention a few examples.
They want to be independent.
They want to decide for themselves.
That is their right.
Disabled and neuro-diverse people have a hard time.
Other people laugh at them.
Other people insult them.
And this happens everywhere.
At school, in the office or at work.
Gender is also important.
Society often decides: You are a man. Or you are a woman.
But that’s not the way it works.
Every person is allowed to say: I have a different gender.
FLINTA* People have to do a lot in our society.
Especially social tasks.
They worry about other people.
They care for other people.
They are there for other people.
That is a lot of work.
Many still want to work normally.
But: they are badly paid.
Cis men earn more money.
Many FLINTA* with disabilities often experience discrimination.
Many people say to them:
You don’t have a gender.
You can’t have sex.
You don’t want to have sex.
People then also think:
You can’t decide for yourselves.
We have to decide for you.
Many women with disabilities live in group homes.
They often have little or no sexual contact.
Nevertheless, they are more often sterilised than non-disabled people.
This is strange.
Sterilisation is a treatment of the sexual organs. Doctors do it to other people. Some people want it. They can have sex. And they can’t have children anymore. This is a contra-ceptive method.
We ask ourselves: Are the women informed? Do the women know the word “sterilisation”?
Maybe the women don’t know something important: they can’t have any more children. That’s what sterilization does.
Often, for example, the parents of women with disabilities make the decision.
The parents think:
My disabled daughter can have children.
We don’t want that.
Many disabled and disabled women say:
My doctor said: Let yourself be sterilised!
That is bad.
Women with disabilities also have rights.
For example, doctors have to inform them.
And they must be able to decide freely.
This rarely happens.
FLInTA* often experience violence.
They experience different kinds of violence.
For example, they experience verbal abuse.
They experience physical violence.
And sexual violence.
Many children and young people with disabilities experience sexual violence.
And people with disabilities experience violence in places of care.
And discrimination.
For example in group-homes. Or in schools.
That is very sad.
They are afraid.
Where are they safe?
Our society is the problem.
Society thinks badly about people with disabilities.
As a result, disabled people experience more violence.
Doctors often think:
We heal others and unhealthy bodies.
That is our job.
Sometimes that is good. But often it is bad.
Many people think:
I have a broken body.
I need healing.
Many disabled people also think that.
One example is pre-natal diagnostics.
This is an examination before birth.
The doctor does a test.
They say to pregnant people:
You might have a handicapped child.
That is bad for you.
And for the child.
We can kill it.
Society says:
Pre-natal diagnostics is good.
We can detect diseases.
The doctors can then cure them.
But it is often different.
People find out: Does my child have a disability?
They then have to decide for themselves.
There are two ways:
The pregnant person can have an abortion.
The doctor then ends the pregnancy.
Or the pregnant person can have the child.
Many say: That is good.
Pregnant people are free to decide.
But society is different.
It evaluates the decision.
An example:
A pregnant person decides to have an abortion.
The doctors then end the pregnancy.
Many people then say to the person:
You are anti-disability.
You killed.
You are to blame.
Another example:
A pregnant person decides to give birth to a disabled child.
Many people then say:
Why did you have the child?
It has a disability.
It suffers.
It has a bad life.
It is your fault.
Do you understand the problem?
The pregnant person has a hard time.
Someone always says: It’s your fault.
She can only make the wrong decision.
And society leaves pregnant people alone.
They have to decide alone.
And they have to live with it alone.
Society has a false image of disability.
Many think that disability and illness are the same thing.
And many think:
Disabled people suffer. And they are unhappy.
Some even say:
Disabled people are not allowed to live.
They have no rights.
Why? For example, because they cannot work.
Society thinks:
Money is more important than people.
One word for this is capitalism.
We think that’s bad! We want to change that!
There are places for diversity. Everyone should be welcome there.
We fight against Ableism in these places!
Many feminists also forget about disabled people.
We want to change that.
Pregnant people should be allowed to say:
I want to decide for myself.
I want to have my child.
My child can be disabled.
The problem is.
Many people think:
Disabled people have a bad life.
Disabled people suffer.
Why? Because that is often the case in books and films.
People with disabilities are rarely in films.
People with disabilities in films and books are often sad.
But: There are many different people with disabilities.
Why are there so few people with disabilities in films?
That is a pity.
Many people think:
A disabled person is a problem. He is a nuisance.
But society is the problem.
We need to tell new stories about people with disabilities.
Real stories. Disabled people can tell their own stories.
Everyone should understand:
Society is the problem.
And not the person with a disability.
We want to and must create a movement.
A fighting movement.
The movement must know Ableism.
Then it will be easier.
Then we can show: This is wrong!
Then we can change society.
We demand. That means we want:
-Self-determination in gender and sexuality. For everyone. Also for people with disabilities.
-All people think about hostility towards people with disabilities. They recognise injustice
-A society against ableism. Everyone cares for everyone equally. Also men. Also non-disabled people.
-A queer barrier-free centre in Heidelberg!
Speech by a dis-abled person
I have never been an activist*.
People used to say to me: Be grateful and be quiet.
So I have always been quiet.
I am speaking here out of fear.
I am afraid that no one will listen to me.
I am afraid that no one will believe me.
I am speaking here now.
I say what I think.
Does that make people like me less?
Some people help me.
I’m afraid of losing them.
*Activist:
An activist is a person.
The person wants to change society.
She fights for her rights. Or the rights of others.
At the beginning of Corona I had hope.
I thought: Non-disabled people understand me now.
I thought: many people have Corona. And it’s hard for them.
Do they understand me now?
Do they understand being disabled?
People had to follow new rules.
People were less allowed to go out of the house.
People were no longer allowed to party.
Some people were not allowed to work.
But it was different.
I went to the university.
There people asked me:
What is it like for you to just sit at home?
I said: That’s normal for me.
People were surprised.
They felt bad.
They learn a lot about inclusion* at university. And about equal rights…
They still didn’t understand me. They didn’t understand disabled people.
After that I was less afraid.
I wanted to do something different.
I wanted to be brave.
*Inclusion:
All people should be able to be part of everything.
All people have the same rights.
All people can decide for themselves about their lives.
Now I say what bothers me.
I say: there are barriers.
I talk about barriers in my everyday life.
I also talk about people’s thoughts.
They know little about disabled people.
Some non-disabled people find that uncomfortable.
Some non-disabled people are defensive.
They don’t want to talk about it.
That is ableist*.
Non-disabled people feel uncomfortable.
And they don’t answer.
I wish: Listen to me! Understand me!.
Fighting is exhausting.
I fight for our rights.
I want to stop.
But: People often only notice my disability.
They think:
What can she do? And what can’t she do?
That should stop!
People should understand:
A disability can be many things.
A disabled person is more than their disability.
Disabled people can be cheerful.
They can have fun.
They can be sad.
And they can be angry.
Every person is valuable.
All people should learn that.
I wish that.
Footnotes
[1] Ableism:
Society categorises ability.
Into useful and bothersome.
Society thinks:
Disabled people are bothersome.
They are people with bothersome abilities.
It excludes disabled people.
That is why there are many barriers.
People with disabilities have a hard time.
They cannot take part so well in society.
The word is meant to show:
People are treated unequally.
That is unjust.
It hurts people with disabilities.
It discriminates against people with disabilities.
[2] What does FLINTA* mean? (Link)
FLINTA* is an abbreviation.
Each letter stands for a group of people.
That’s what the individual letters stand for:
F stands for females. That means women.
But the important thing is:
Physical characteristics are not important.
What is important is:
A person says of herself:
I am a woman.
A person with a penis can also be a woman.
L stands for lesbian.
That is, for women who love women.
But:
Not all lesbians are women.
Non-binary people, trans people and inter people can also be lesbians.
You want to know:
What are non-binary persons, trans persons and inter persons?
This is explained further down in this text.
I stands for inter persons.
Inter is another word for between.
Inter people do not only have a male or a female body.
They often have male and female organs.
Their bodies can be very different.
For example:
Some inter people have a penis and a womb.
Or it can be called:
A person has a penis and breasts.
N stands for non-binary.
Non-binary means:
This person says of himself:
I am not a man or a woman.
Or:
I am sometimes a man and sometimes a woman.
Then the person is non-binary.
You can also say non-binary or diverse.
T stands for trans persons.
At birth, a doctor tells the parents:
The newborn baby has a penis.
It is a boy.
Or:
The newborn baby has a vulva.
The baby is a girl.
Often this is true.
But not always.
For example, because a person is trans.
For example:
Someone was born with a male body.
With a penis and testicles.
But the person feels like a woman.
She thinks like a woman.
Or:
Someone is born with a female body.
With a vulva.
And with female breasts.
But the person feels:
I am a man.
Some trans people want to change that.
They want to feel like a woman and have a woman’s body.
They want to feel like a man and have a man’s body.
They have an operation.
Or they take medication.
But not all trans people decide it that way.
Some say, for example:
I am a man with a vulva.
They don’t want to change their body.
Every trans person decides that for themselves.
A is for agender.
Agender means:
A person says of themselves:
I am not a man.
I am not a woman.
I have no gender.
Instead of agender, you can also say genderless.
The * means:
Each person must decide for themselves:
Am I FLINTA* or not?
It has nothing to do with what physical characteristics a person has.
Why are all these people grouped together?
All these people are not cis men.
That is why they still have many disadvantages.
They are often treated worse than cis men.
They earn less money than cis men.
They take care of children and old people more often than cis men and are not paid for it.
There are more cis men than women in politics.
These are all disadvantages of FLINTA*.
What is a cis man? (Link)
Cis translates to this-side.
You can say:
A man is cis.
Or:
A woman is cis.
One can also say:
The person is cisgender.
But what does that mean?
A person has male physical characteristics.
For example:
– a flat chest
– a penis
– maybe a beard
– maybe a deep voice
– body hair
The person looks masculine.
In addition:
The person also feels like a man.
The body feeling and the body features fit together.
They match.
Then one says:
The person is a cis man.
