My Tip Is To Stop Using The Word Dysphoria As An Umbrella Term For All Of Your Discomfort And Instead

Light continues to echo three years after stellar outburst

The Hubble Space Telescope’s latest image of the star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) reveals dramatic changes in the illumination of surrounding dusty cloud structures. The effect, called a light echo, has been unveiling never-before-seen dust patterns ever since the star suddenly brightened for several weeks in early 2002.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)

BUTCH series by Meg Allen

Out of the nearly 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients, only one was a woman. Dr. Mary Walker was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war, and surgeon. 

Mary’s parents encouraged her to pursue an education and in 1855, she graduated as a medical doctor from Syracuse Medical College. In fact, Mary was the first woman to ever graduate from the college. Then when the Civil War broke out, she wanted to join the army as a surgeon. However, since she was a woman, she wasn’t allowed. Instead, Mary volunteered for the Union Army, working for free at the temporary hospital set up in Washington D.C. In 1863, Mary’s medical credentials were accepted and she moved to Tennessee where she became a War Department surgeon. Then the following year, Mary was captured and held as a prisoner of war for around four months. Mary was finally released during an exchange of prisoners of war.

In addition to her efforts during the war, Mary was also an advocate for women’s rights. At the time, women weren’t allowed to wear clothing that was supposedly designed for me. Mary started to wear whatever clothing she wanted and was arrested for “impersonating” a man. During her arrest, an officer twisted her arm and asked her if she had ever had sex with a man. Mary opposed to women being expected to wear long skirts and petticoats, arguing that they spread dirt and dust.  Mary wasn’t well liked by leading suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott who claimed she was giving the “wrong image” for her clothing style.

Then in 1895, Mary was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Andrew Johnson despite the fact Mary was a civilian who had never been a commissioned officer in military service. That’s why in 1917, Mary’s medal was rescinded. Mary refused to give up her Medal of Honor and continued to wear it until she died two years later. Sixty years later, Mary’s Medal of Honor was restored.

NGC7000 Nord American Nebula in narrowband SHO Hubble palette

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God is a Woman

This is Betelgeuse! ✨✨✨

Although it’s not the brightest star visually, in the infrared wavelengths it is the brightest! If Betelgeuse were to supernova and die, then it would be as bright as a half-moon for 3 months! 🤩🤩🤩

Taken by me (Michelle Park) using the Slooh Canary Two telescope on October 12th, 2020 at 1:56 UTC. 

Hubble Ultra Deep Field

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken many spectacular pictures over the years, but this is one of its most well known images. It shows about 10,000 galaxies, some of which are nearly as old as the universe itself.

Image Credit: NASA

These two galaxies are very far away, 12 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation of the Great Bear. On the left, with grand spiral arms and bright yellow core is M81. It’s a spiral galaxy measuring in at about 100,000 light-years across. On the right marked by red gas and dust clouds, is M82, an irregular galaxy.

The pair have been locked in gravitational combat for a billion years. During each close encounter, gravity from each galaxy has insanely affected the other. Their last go-round lasted about 100 million years and likely raised density waves rippling around M81, resulting in the richness of it’s spiral arms. M82 was left with violent star forming regions and colliding gas clouds so energetic the galaxy actually glows in X-rays.

In the next few billion years, their continuing gravitational encounters will finally result in a merger, and only a single galaxy will remain. 

Image Credit & Copyright: Dietmar Hager, Torsten Grossmann

P.S. I hope everyone is staying safe in quarantine 💛

About femininity

Sometimes I think that I don’t fit in. I remember those girls in male-written fiction who are always feminine, humble, quiet, enigmatic etc etc, and I compare myself to them. In those moments, I feel shame for being myself. I think, why am I so loud? Why so straightforward? Why can’t I be more like them? Why is it so hard for me to be lady-like? I could be if I try hard enough!

But then, I think about real life women: my friends, my sisters, my mother. And I remember that they are all just like me. Some of them have short hair. Some of them are not afraid to fill the room with their laughter or burp out loud. Some of them don’t know what a concealer is. Most of them excel in typically “male” fields. Almost all of them never wear skirts. And even those who seem to be the epitome of femininity change make-up and restrictive clothes to comfy pyjamas at the end of the day.

Femininity is an act, it’s a perfomance. And none of us entirely fit in this box. Its only purpose is to divide and control us. So don’t fall for this “not like other girls” bullshit. If you feel dysphoric, talk about it with other women, compare expirience. It’s not any different from overcoming social anxiety, when you have to realise that everybody sometimes feel insecure. In this case, you just need to realise that every woman is a complex human being, just like yourself.