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So
honored to be Master Indy's slave.
socialslave
To
satisfy and restore.
To
nourish, support and maintain.
To
gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to
nurture, assist, and sustain
…..I
cook!
Please
buy slave's cookbook:
The
Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by
Dan White
======================================
Blake
Brockington
Life
was a constant battle for Blake Brockington, a young teen who became
a leader before he was ready for it. He was born in 1996 and
assigned as “female” at birth. Yet he always knew this was wrong.
Then
in his high school sophomore year he started to do something about
it. He said he always felt like a boy and chafed at being forced to
wear dresses to church and family affairs.
“I
felt like I’ve lived my entire life as a lie,” Blake says in a
documentary. “I grew up in Charleston, S.C., in a Southern Baptist
home. I’ve always been kind of different. It was always a bad thing
in my family, but they never really said anything.
“I
remember finding out when I was six that I wasn’t like the other
boys. I remember being forced into dresses and under hot combs. ... I
remember learning to play the piano, imagining that one day I’d be
the piano man. I remember my first orchestra concert when I was eight
and I cried because I wanted to wear a tux. ... I remember hating my
name and hoping that maybe I could bleed it out of my life. I
remember coming to terms with the fact that I’d never be enough. I
remember being jealous of my nephew because he’d be tall and man
enough for the world like the other beautiful men in our family. I
remember hating my body so much that I wanted to burn it alive in the
hopes that it would have the effect on me that fires have on forests.
I remember when I lost faith in friendship because misunderstanding
manifested disgust in my existence. I remember realizing that there
was no place for me here. I remember finding myself and finally
loving him. I remember it being too late.”
He
came out publicly as transgender while attending high school as a
tenth grade student. His family was not supportive of his decision to
go FTM, so Brockington chose to live with a foster family during his
transition.
He
chose the name Blake after it came to him in a dream and because he
liked how masculine it sounded. He was taking testosterone, which
was covered by Medicaid, and had planned to get a mastectomy once he
was able to afford it.
In
2014, Brockington received national attention for being the first
openly transgender high school homecoming king in North
Carolina after collecting the most money for the school's chosen
charity. He later indicated the process had been tough on him,
saying, "That was single-handedly the hardest part of my trans
journey. Really hateful things were said on the Internet. It was
hard. I saw how narrow-minded the world really is."
His
reaction was to began publicly advocating for transgender and LGBT
youth issues.
"I
honestly feel like this is something I have to do," Brockington,
who mentored several younger trans students, at the time he was named
homecoming king. "Nobody should be scared to be themselves, and
everybody should have an equal opportunity to have an enjoyable high
school experience."
The
numbers themselves have been staggering. National surveys show that
41 percent of transgender or gender nonconforming adults have
self-reported a suicide attempt, compared with 4.6 percent of the
overall U.S. population. Transgender men have the highest rate, with
46 percent reporting suicide attempts.
For
many years, the “T” in LGBT was an afterthought, and even some
gays and lesbians haven’t always been accepting. However things are
changing, thanks to people like Blake speaking out and mentoring
others.
“Blake
was a real hero to a lot of people,” Keisling said. “He was
fairly high-profile for a teenager. ... He really stood up for
himself and for all of us. He was just such a good, strong leader and
spokesperson. But perhaps it was all a bit too much for our young
hero.
“Blake
was a figure. People saw Blake as part of a movement,” said O’Neale
Atkinson, Time Out Youth’s director of youth programs. “There
were a lot of expectations put on him to be a leader at a very young
age.”
Prior
to his death, Brockington had indicated that he had experienced years
of depression and destructive behavior, such as self-harming. He also
indicated that he had previously had suicidal thoughts.
Two
months before his death, he posted on his Tumblr page "Even if I
got better in my head, I would never want to continue on in a world
like this." A month prior, he posted "I’m waiting on the
moment when me and my darkness split from my body."
Yet
no one stepped in. Brockington died on March 23, 2015 after being
struck by several vehicles on the outer loop of Interstate 485 in
Charlotte. The incident was considered a suicide.
Many
have noted that what happened to Brockington fits a dangerous pattern
of harmful behavior by transgender youth - who often face
disproportionate amounts of bullying, harassment, discrimination, and
violence. Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender
diversity at UNC Charlotte, who had worked with Brockington on the
exhibit at the Levine Museum, told the press "What happened to
Blake is part of a systemic problem, especially for trans students of
color. He didn’t quit. He didn’t give up. ... He’s a victim of
what happens every single day to these kids."
Other
memorial services were held in cities such as Minneapolis,
Washington, D.C., and an additional service in Charlotte.
If
you are a trans or gender-nonconforming person considering suicide,
Trans Lifeline can be reached at 877-565-8860. LGBT youth (ages 24
and younger) can reach the Trevor Project Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 can also
be reached 24 hours a day by people of all ages and identities.
We
can not afford to merely sit and wonder what might have been. We must
work together to make things change. Somewhere a young person is
watching.
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