I'm also not asking people to be action heroes or anything, since it takes a very specific kind of person to do that sort of direct resistance. I'm asking for people to actually acknowledge and discuss the fact that there is a genocide going on, and to not pretend things are fine. (This applies to all social justice struggles. Acknowledgement helps normal conversations about it, and de-normalize the ignoring of it like we do for many social problems.)

Also there are many ways to support efforts for justice! The people doing direct action require people to support with costs, food, care supplies, etc. For everyone in a visible position, there are a lot of folks cooking as well.

Every time I visit my parents anymore, they always take time to comment on my appearance and how much it's changed, for better or worse. I could easily turn this into a fat-positivity post, or nonbinary-positivity, glasses, hair, ect. But the one thing I don't think I've ever seen any positive talk about are yellow teeth.

My teeth are stained yellow. I doubt they will ever be white, and to be honest? I don't care.

I don't have cavities. I brush. I pick between them at least once or twice a day to keep them clean. And yet they remain yellow.

I cannot tell you the sheer amount of damage this can cause a person, especially if they keep constantly getting told to brush their teeth every time they visit family. Like... I do. There's nothing I can do about this. And I don't really want to.

The only reason I feel any compulsion to whiten them is out of embarrassment when other people look at me weird for smiling at them. And how fucked up is that. I have taught myself subconsciously to suppress any joy or happiness I get when I'm around other people for fear that they'll see my teeth.

If you see how I draw myself, it's always with white teeth, even though that's not true. The only time I've ever seen yellow teeth in cartoons, it's always for the slobby character that doesn't take care of themself.

I didn't even realize how much it was damaging me until today, when I caught myself forcing back a smile at work.

Obviously, remember to brush your teeth and keep them healthy. This is not a post about letting yourself fall into disrepair. But if someone has less-than-white teeth, then... okay? And?

I think we should just stop judging people for their appearances in general. People come as they are. That's all they need to do. Who cares what fucking color their goddamn teeth are.

Addendum to this post because the people in the notes are absolutely correct:

Make peace with crooked teeth.

Make peace with sideways teeth.

Make peace with missing teeth.

Make peace with deformed teeth.

Make peace with teeth that DO have cavities in them.

Make peace with rotting teeth.

Make peace with damaged teeth.

I think a big part of why this has gone un-talked about for so long is just because having yellow teeth is associated with damaged teeth in some way, and thus indicative of a person's day-to-day life. But, just like with everything else, this is NOT TRUE.

Missing teeth does not automatically mean that person gets into a lot of fights or was bullied. It could just mean that that tooth got removed.

Not everyone can afford braces, and for some people, they can be more harmful than helpful.

Some people's teeth are hard to maintain, and they get cavities VERY easily. This doesn't mean they don't try their best to take care of themselves.

Everything has nuance. Let's stop boxing everything in "good" and "bad" categories based on what beauty companies want us to be, yeah?

I am someone who grew up homeless and was unable to properly brush or floss for years, so I had cavities and crooked teeth. I got bullied relentlessly as a child, not by my peers, but by adults. I constantly had the dentists judging me for not taking care of myself despite me not having the means to. I had teachers calling me “sloppy” and that I should get braces, despite my parents not being able to afford them. I now never smile with my teeth, despite my health being much better due to me having the means to take care of myself better, just because I don’t want to be ridiculed for my teeth being slightly yellow.

• if you live in the U.S. and are of voting age, you can use this page to find your representative so you can write them a letter. just enter your zip code. to reiterate what is said in the above post, a handwritten or printed and mailed letter carries more weight than an email.
• Operation Poppyflower brings attention to a few Palestinian people or families who need crowdfunding at a time. any one is a good cause. World Food Programme is a highly rated long-running charity that you can set up recurring payments for. they don't focus only on Palestine, but they do send aid there as well

AND REMEMBER: NOT SUPPORTING ISRAEL DOES NOT GIVE AN EXCUSE TO BE ANTI-SEMITIC

I don’t usually post aside from replying to art, but I don’t want this to go ignored. Thank you to individuals like this spreading awareness where they can.

Julie and Sally are so adorable in this!! Julie looks like the sweet witch you find living in a cabin in the woods, very cottagecore, while Sally reminds me of a ranger!

I love you so much, you are SUCH a talented artist and you have the audacity to draw my FAVORITE Frank Frankly??? I cannot wait to see more of your au!!

Adorable!!

She is incredibly adorable! I hope to see more of her in the future ♡