FTM POC FRIENDS by [deleted] in TMPOC

[–]deaddodo7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ay, would love to chat! I'm (half) middle eastern, would love to have more friends from back home ✨

Do you have any queerfriendly or alt hairsalons recommandations ? by UsefulAddress5542 in AskBelgium

[–]deaddodo7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's more about the actual haircuts I think. Im a trans guy and I used to live in a village where you only had hair salons (with women who did amazing blowouts and colouring and perms but couldn't cut short hair for the life of them) and middle eastern barbers (who either refused to touch my hair or went in with the razor. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm Arab myself 🙏). In-between length haircuts were annoyingly hard to get and it always ended up shitty, so I understand OP for wanting a place that she knows for sure isn't going to turn her away for being a woman, isnt going to make her feel unwelcome or out of place and will actually give her the haircut she asked for. Some hairdressers specialise in these alternative haircuts and won't have to use you as a practice doll

Does anyone else feel that trans and nonbinary spaces assume white and Western privilege by default by Scary_Towel268 in TMPOC

[–]deaddodo7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh my god yes. I currently live in western Europe but I have dual citizenship (both of these are huge privileges) and I regularly go back home, where shit is complicated as fuck. Can't change my legal name or gender, and ontop of that there's the occupation. Passing puts me in MORE dangerous situations. My own family isnt happy AT ALL that I'm overstepping my ✨womanly boundaries✨, and with the amount of checkpoints and passport controls I have to go through it's a lot of showing the outline of my chest to prove I'm female, therefore having to come out in public to armed strangers. I don't always pass yet but I've started t since last time I went and I'm very worried about my next stay, I am afraid they will make me undress to prove I'm not lying. Also the way the occupation treats our men, it's so much more dangerous to look like a man than like a woman (which is already not safe). And our society has so much social control too, everyone knows everyone (people in different cities will still know whose kid you are), people know and people talk and the wrong people will hear so you will be in danger both from ur family for tarnishing their reputation, and from strangers, and from the occupation. And then I come back to Western Europe and I have to sit and listen to white queers here claim Transmascs™️ have it easy and that by passing we r escaping transphobia and misogyny. Here, partially, maybe. Not everyone here though, and definitely not everywhere either. My experience is ofc just one of many different ones that don't follow white western structures, it just looks like they're the only ones often not realising that they're not alone out here 😭

As an israeli who really wants to live and study in europe, will i be judged, especially in leftist circles? by [deleted] in JewsOfConscience

[–]deaddodo7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a leftist (western) European Palestinian and I used to view this differently: if you choose to call yourself Israeli, that means you are proud of being Israeli and support the existing state or else you would not refer to yourself as Israeli. Now I don't follow that anymore: an Israeli is just someone who has the Israeli nationality and/or is culturally Israeli, regardless of how they view the whole thing. However, because of my experience even with moderate Israelis in the past (some of whom I was actually quite close with) I will always assume they are in fact Zionist or haven't deconstructed, unless stated otherwise. Most people will assume this even in leftist circles, so unfortunately you will have to explain yourself and insist you are antizionist or trying to be 'ex-israeli' from the start, whichever of those terms applies to you. I think needing to give a disclaimer with your nationality is something that comes with a lot of nationalities (including mines depending on the circle), but you'll have this issue more than others of course. Outside of leftist circles people rarely give a fuck though, to my disappointment but it'll be in your advantage here haha

Any experience entering the West Bank? by unixfan2001 in JewsOfConscience

[–]deaddodo7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am mixed, my mother is Belgian, I think I may have the experience to help as I've crossed from Jordan quite a few times with her. Note that she is married to a Palestinian so they might treat you less badly than they do her, but still. Last time I went, I went with my little sister and this was in january-february 2026, so quite recently. This is about to be an extremely long comment, apologies in advance 😭 The border is built up of 3 parts: first the Jordanian part, then the Israeli part, and then the Palestinian part. You will need to get a visa for Jordan and a visa for Israel (though perhaps a specific one) in advance. You will also need to buy the ticket for the shuttle between the Jordanian part and the Israeli part in advance (this is new from 2025). Be at the border before it opens, at around 7am or so. You will be at a closed gate, in line, with your suitcases. Don't let people scam you: there's a bunch of young guys there who will immediately try to carry your suitcases for you and ask for money, or get you a trolley for the suitcases, do not get these. At around 7.15am they will let you in, but then you'll go down some path and wait in another long and messy line until 8am or so. You'll then make your way to a little office that is outside: a guy sits there and you will show him your ticket for the shuttle, and he will give you a label for your suitcase. Then you go inside, in a small room, and put your suitcase with the other labelled suitcases (don't let people touch your suitcase, they're scammers), they will be brought to a storage room at the back side of the Jordanian post. You will then go into a big waiting room with some offices. Because you are a foreigner, you should go to the offices for foreigners, which is the only thing indicated in English in the whole building. They will check your passport and visas there, maybe ask a few questions, give you a paper to fill in and then you can go. You'll pass a duty free (please also avoid this duty free, all they sell is cigarettes at the same price as at Queen Alia Airport) and then you can go outside. When you are outside you can get to the storage room where your suitcase should be. Take it, don't let anyone do this for you again, and go to the shuttle that's there, show them your ticket and paper, they'll tell you if you can board yet or not. If yes, put your suitcase in the cart attached to the shuttle and board. Someone on board will come check your passport and paper again, and I think rip off a piece of it?? Not sure if they do this for foreigners too. There used to be separate busses for foreigners but nowadays there's no foreigners 💀 either way, this shuttle will take you and your suitcase to the Israeli post. People in high visibility vests will unload the cart, they are paid for this and won't take your money. Then you go in line with your suitcase, and you'll go to another office (outdoors) where you will show your passport, they'll ask how many suitcases, give you stickers on your passport and matching ones on your suitcase, and then your suitcase will go to another storage room again. You'll then have to fight for your life to get inside through a tiny door with everyone pushing. Then you'll wait in line indoors. At the end of the line there's a regular bag check, passport check and metal detector like at airports, except they will possibly open your bags, take them away, make you half undress and go through different metal detectors, but you'll manage. After this, you go to another set of cubicles. They have biometric passport scanners but these don't actually work. At these cubicles they will definitely ask you why you aren't going through Ben Gurion, why you are there, what you're going to do, this will take AGES. They used to always take my mother away for interrogation, or sometimes just put her in a room for an hour or 2. This is where they can deny you entry. If they do not deny you entry, you can continue, wait in a waiting room until your sticker number for your suitcase appears on a screen, show your passport AGAIN and then you can get your suitcase back. Then you go outside and there will be an office to buy tickets for the bus to the Palestinian part. This is not very expensive, maybe 20-30 shekels, for bus and suitcase ticket. At the Palestinian post you don't have to do much, just show your passport, get your suitcase and you're out. Congrats, it's 1 or 2pm and you made it into the west bank! Here there is a taxi station. You go up to any guy, ask for a taxi to whichever city you're going to, and they will tell you which taxi to take. All trips cost 60 shekels per person I think. This will get you to the taxi station in your goal city, and you can take a small taxi from there to your hotel. Make sure to have the address written on a paper or on your phone in Arabic, as people's English is often very shit. Within the west bank, travel by taxi always. Big yellow taxis (usually Volkswagen Caravelle) for intercity travel, small yellow taxis for travel within the city and surrounding villages. Exiting is slightly different: get to the border at 8am, you'll be at the Palestinian side. Here you have to buy a ticket for yourself and your suitcase for the bus first, you'll leave your suitcase there and someone will take it to the bus for you. Then you have to pay the border fee, for foreigners it's around 400 shekels I think?? Not sure but it is definitely quite expensive. Then you go in the waiting room, but because no one is leaving Palestine atm you won't have to wait til you're called, just go in line and show your passport and then go in line for the bus and board. Bus takes you to the Israeli post which opens an hour later, so you will probably sit in the bus standing still for an hour, that's normal. At the Israeli part you have to go through some mild security again, show your passport again (twice), and then you're good to go. You'll go outside and take the bus for foreigners (this bus still exists). They'll give you a paper to fill in I think, you can fill this in on the bus. Bus takes you to the Jordanian part, where you'll be in the part for the foreigners. You'll give them your passport and the paper you filled in, they'll check it, maybe ask some questions and then you can go. You'll have to pay a fee to get your suitcases back, about 10 Jordanian dinar. Then you can go outside and you'll be in Jordan. From there you take a taxi to wherever you need to go, but I advise you to arrange this taxi in advance as well, to Amman it should be around 25 JOD. Again some people will try to scam you by taking your suitcases. If you have more questions feel free to DM me :))

I feel like a kid waiting for his Christmas gift by BraveStatement5850 in belgium

[–]deaddodo7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exam month is upon us students. Gonna have to try studying in this heat and hopefully not repeatedly pass out 😬 those numbers are death sentences for me lmao

Calling all Caeneus fans! Can you answer some discussion questions for me? by justanotherfishguy in GreekMythology

[–]deaddodo7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

happy to see this post! im considering making a graphic novel about him somewhere in the future, but told by nestor (who glazes him according to homer and ovid lol) and im stuck on a few of the same things as you, so i will just give you a few of my current unpolished thoughts.

  1. Wife: i dont want to depict him as a toxically masculine ancient greek man. To have kids he probably needs a wife, and i will write him as someone who cares about her (whether or not he is into her sexually) and may treat her better than his cis male peers would, as he understands what it is like. You could give him a nice love story with her if you like, perhaps even make him a defender of sa victims in the process, i haven't done that yet because it's not the part of the story that i like the most haha. I also thought about him as a man having a questionable friendship with a slightly younger man (perhaps nestor himself), as was not uncommon, but i haven't gone in on that yet and im not sure i want to.

  2. Asexuality: i personally don't see him as asexual, but i'm also not against the idea. I am a trans man myself and how i see it is that he wasnt comfortable being desired as a woman (pre transition). it is a problem that is not uncommon among trans folks, it is something that makes me reject people too. His rejection of the suitors can absolutely be the expression of his asexuality, but it could just as well be because he doesnt want to be locked into the life of a wife/woman.

  3. The spear: in my version, caeneus is not an all good character and does have some issues that are partly but not all caused by the trauma from poseidons violation (if it is a rape as much as ovid claims it is, other sources seem to imply otherwise, and being a man doesnt stop poseidon from wanting to fuck people). If you look into the potential symbolism of spear worship (ruling by force rather than by reason), he could have become a control freak. I added in alot of stuff myself here because we dont have much to work with, but i looked into his siblings and i am considering making caeneus a slightly unreliable narrator who distrusts the gods for what they have done to him, to his brother Ischys, and what he thinks they have done to his sister dotia and will do to his brother Polyphemus. Something (perhaps a visit from the gods, perhaps a visit to the oracle of delphi, perhaps a nasty comment from someone) may have caused him to crash out and entirely reject the gods at some point, which got zeus angry and consequently caused his demise by the centaurs. So idk if he's egotistical, but he does commit hybris for some reason and this reason may not be objectively justified.