Ab heute bin ich nicht nur Ersthelfer in sondern auch Letzthelferin. #LetzteHilfe #deathPositivity #MementoMoriMONDAY

My mom's husband is in the final stages of ALS. It's so cruel. At my age I know a lot of people who are dead now, some of whom were younger when they died than I am now. We're all going to die someday, no getting around it. Contrary to our cultural norms, it's good to think about that. And I promise you, death is NOT the worst thing that can happen to you. Often it's a kindness.

#als #death #hospice #deathpositivity #dying

It’s International Transgender Day of Visibility 🏳️‍⚧️ The day is meant to recognize the existence and accomplishments of our trans community and bring attention to the violence, discrimination, and erosion of rights they’re suffering.

I want to remind people that rights need to be preserved in death as well as in life.

When a transgender or nonbinary person needs medical care, end of life care, and death care, it’s often left to their next of kin to make important decisions. What happens if the legal next of kin isn’t supportive or accepting?

It’s crucial to think about uncomfortable scenarios like this and organize legal documentation before it’s needed. A person can record their decisions and legally bypass family members in the next of kin chain. They can assign next of kin rights to someone who will respect their wishes and honor them properly, from using the correct name and pronouns to providing the preferred clothing and accessories.

Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Learn more here:

https://www.louisepachella.com/blog/rightsvsrites

#HisAndHearsePress #TDOV #TransDayOfVisibility #TransgenderDayOfVisibility #TransLivesMatter #YouAreEnough #TransRightsAreHumanRights #LGBTQ #LGBTQAlly #Funeral #DeathPositivity #ProtectYourRights

Rights vs Rites — His & Hearse Press

Your body, your rules: how to legally protect your funeral wishes

His & Hearse Press
Went back to twitter, had a libertarian telling me that firing the disability team was just "team management of a company that is in the red", saw a post of a #deathpositivity scholar considering quitting the app because of the harassment, went back to mastodon
The way I explained the meaning of #deathpositive and #deathpositivity to my sister in French made her giggle. I said "it doesn't mean that you want to die" so awkward 😭

To help make connections: name 5-7 things that interest you but aren't in your profile, as tags so they are searchable. Then boost this post or repeat its instructions so others know to do the same.

#deathpositivity
#writing
#ofmd
#etsy
#goodomens
#bodypositivity
#truecrime

If you’re after a cool artist-designed quality tee, I created this FEAR NO DEATH shirt and it’s been a huge hit! Each one was made right here in Wellington and feat. a dope raven in a graveyard. 🪦 Perfect for that spooky human in your life (even if that’s you!)

✨Available at https://pepperraccoon.com

My buddy Cosmo Bones offered to be my model and she makes it look great!

#Art #Screenprinting #Screenprint #MastoArt #CreativeToots #DeathPositivity #Corvids #Goth #Witch #Witchy #NZ #NZTwits

Pepper Raccoon: NZ Indie Visual Artist & Merch Designer

Pepper Raccoon is an alternative New Zealand fine artist, her online store features inspiring art, witchy vibes, and loads of studio-designed merch.

Pepper Raccoon

#AcaWriMo accountability post 7, for Nov. 9. Kaitlyn Kinnney's article "Engaging with Discomfort: #Thanatological Social Movements and Public Death Education" in the 2022.9 special issue of the *Journal of #Folklore in #Education* on #Death, Loss, & Remembrance Across Cultures is packed with information and new-to-me vocabulary!

Widowhood confirmed for me the impression that people in the US are generally really bad at dealing with death. Kinney lays this at the feet of the #funeral industry, in partnership with #hospitals, and cites several sources who delve more deeply into this history since the early C20th (80).

The result, Kinney asserts, is a #deathscape that is full of "silences and displacements" (80). In response to this unsatisfying deathscape, recent years have seen the rise of #thanatological social movements that seek to bring death more openly into everyday, mainstream culture in the US.

Kinney differentiates her use of #thantological from #thanatocultural, noting that the latter term encompasses a descriptive reflection of the "cultures of death and dying shaped by [their] deathscape" whereas the former is both more scientific (or study-related) and activist (in terms of working for thanatocultural change) (80).

The four major orgs Kinney identifies in the thanatological social movement are: Death with Dignity (end-of-life decisions), Death Café (frank and open conversations), #DeathPositivity (calls for industry reform), and Collective for Radical Death Studies (scholars, professionals, and activists) (81-82).

Kinney also notes the particular importance of digital spaces to changing attitudes toward death and grief in the C21st through the work of the organizations she names and others (81). This is a point that made me think of the Facebook groups/pages (One Fit Widow, An Inch of Grey, Widows Wear Stilettos etc.) and self-help websites (Modern Loss) that position themselves as speaking boldly and publicly about a taboo subject.

Ultimately, all of these entities are pushing back against the taboos that have developed in the last 150 years in the US. This pushback is incredibly important as we live through a #pandemic and the escalating #climate crisis that both continue to kill indiscriminately, especially as we figure out how to #grieve collectively but safely.

Kinney's article should be widely read and shared.

https://jfepublications.org/article/engaging-with-discomfort/

Engaging with Discomfort - Journal of Folklore and Education

This brief survey of thanatological social movements offers a potential starting point for researching the U.S. deathscape and, for educators, four resources that can be incorporated into classroom work.

Journal of Folklore and Education