A liberal democracy isn't exactly a free democracy. Billionnaires have far more buying power and so the odds are much more in their favour to bribe and corrupt institutions. That is why they like "liberal" democracy and corporate dictatorships.
If you want to understand, then go to one of those US "for profit" prisons. Works well, huh?
Not to mention that Hungary, China, and Japan are pretty terrible to live in. Two are dictatorships and one's also got a terribly racist society with a thatcherite.
Poland's also shitty whenever there's a far-right party in power (the national-conservatives).
You might want to look at the IHDI, inequality-adjusted human development index.
It takes the life expectancy, years of education, and GNI (PPP) per capita, and adjusts it for inequality.
Ideally it shouldn't even take GNI into account, imho (but an economic type-agnostic system, that takes the environment into account as well).
The top 15 is:
Iceland (Nordics)
Norway (Nordics)
Denmark (Nordics)
Switzerland (Central Europe)
Netherlands (Western Europe)
Belgium (Western Europe)
Finland (Nordics)
Germany (Central Europe)
Sweden (Nordics)
Ireland (Western Europe)
Slovenia (Southeast Europe)
Australia (Oceania)
United Kingdom (Western Europe)
Canada (North America)
Czech Republic (Central Europe)
The IHDI still has some issues, though, like not taking workplace democracy, environment and sustainability, and public transit into account. Had that been done, Spain probably would rise quite a bit higher.
I'd also add that a lot of these countries have very strict immigration policies.
Aah, like that. Yes, I think I have that too, it's very subtle in my case though. Might be because I already have pretty good colour perception. Could also be because of depression lessening as HRT takes hold.
I've tried it only once or twice and stopped immediately, went to laser instead. Still hurts like a mofo but it's more effective.
One tip for afterward: put aftersun or any cream that helps your skin hydrate etc., in the fridge before you epilate, then apply after epilating/lasering.
When lasering, getting a cold compress on the skin immediately after each individual laser helped a ton.
Another thing, I'm wondering. What if it's not so much being un-unique as much the sum of the fingerprintable things looking not strange compared to others. Chances are that a lot of people also use some ad blockers, some common hardwares, etc.
Other times it's just me being too lazy to close them, cause I feel lost in all the tabs and don't know anymore which to close. There should be a toggleable option to default close tabs when they've not been opened for 30 days or more. Perhaps with a question "this tab is about to be closed, do you want it closed or bookmarked?"
I hear ya, I had the same fears and wanted to make the transition as smooth as possible.
You'll never know how fast and how your body will change on transition. The best indicators are your siblings and parents, after that niblings, auncles and first cousins.
What I did was start in spring (mostly coincidence, but a good one). That helped because by the time the changes would be more visible, fall was at the door, and so I could hide it with thicker clothes. Dressing in boring neutral fashion also helps.
But otherwise, a binder/sports bra might a possibility. They flatten it a bit. Vice versa I wore shape forms at home, initially, that helped me a lot during dysphoric attacks.
And very true, it'll be better in a while. I feel like that if someone has a doubt of their gender, they should be open and free to explore it (mind the egg prime directive though!).
To those not sure whether to go on HRT or not -- the mental effects come first, physical after. Up to about 3 months it's generally reversible either way, so after that period should be a good indicator for what someone feels they want, whether to continue or not, it's all valid.
The calming effect is such a big thing! Previously I'd feel distracted by the sex drive a ton, but now that's much less the case. It's as if instead of my body parts thinking for me, I'm deciding that for them. Back in control!
I've never had DMT. Weed though... I think aside from the strange laughter if it's too strong, it's likewise more relaxing, but that's on me, I guess.
I had that impostor thing too. I think it would be less the case if less people were still held back in old mindsets, and more of the mindset of "Do whatever you like, slay. Why should I care if it doesn't harm anybody, when it makes you happy?" I felt liberated from it once I realised I shouldn't look at stereotypically feminine outfits, and more at how cis women generally dress - just like me. Getting on E helped too, though.
I'm not sure whether the near future will be as open, but I am certain that as Sappho put it, "even in another time", we will have our liberation. And to heck - I am going to live my best life and so will you. We should see the general queer community as our friends and vice versa :)
I like your idea about us being normal, ha. But when nobody is normal, everyone is. Screw labels, blåhaj hugging forever.
Tbf I planned on writing in a diary for my transition to look back on, but I forgot to do so. Did write many online notes though, so I'll compile them together.
The boob and hip growth is the most frustrating imo, it's soo slow... but oh well. Going from 75B to 80C, I ain't complaining.
I actually calculated this a while ago. I'm not going by just "essentials" but also taking in account that furniture will take up space. So you need just enough to not feel 'cramped', and to be comfortable.
In this one, I have a somewhat rectangular-shaped home in mind. Assume you need at least the following:
[1] You could also distribute the extra space to the other rooms. Just consider it a sort of 'backup'. You could even distribute all the above around freely if you wanted so. Maybe you want a smaller dinner area but more of that garden, or bath.
[2] For this I count a garage, garden, or bicycle storage. But I consider it optional since not everyone has or strictly needs those for good comfort. (Some places have a collective garden instead, like a hof, or are very forested, and have communal storage places).
If you were especially efficient with the space, eg. having small tables and beds, merging living+dinner room, toilet and bathroom together, I suppose you could cram it down to 40 m₂. But that's gonna feel cramped a bit easily, unless if you're a student or live at a retirement home.
Altogether, you then get about 54-64 m₂ for an household of 1-2 adults (may include a small child or pet).
So a good fist rule might be 60 m₂, then add 20 m₂ for each extra person. Mostly due to additional bedrooms, storage usage, maybe an extra bathroom, larger garden, etc. So then you have:
1-2 people: 60 m₂3 people: 80 m₂4 people: 100 m₂5 people: 120 m₂and so on.
A liberal democracy isn't exactly a free democracy. Billionnaires have far more buying power and so the odds are much more in their favour to bribe and corrupt institutions. That is why they like "liberal" democracy and corporate dictatorships.
If you want to understand, then go to one of those US "for profit" prisons. Works well, huh?