1. Cocks Not Glocks Stiffens Debate On Gun Control.

What do you get when you combine ridiculous laws and brilliant students all in one space? A whole bunch of fake penises! Obviously. In response to what may just be the most insulting student handbook of all time (hint: licensed students can carry guns around school, while 'brandishing or distributing' sex toys remains illegal on campus), a bunch of University of Texas students got together and started a movement called Cocks Not Glocks, a name that will surely go down in penistory. Fighting absurdity with absurdity, as they put it, these bright, young pupils are grabbing gun violence by the balls, all the while confronting sex negativity in one fell swoop. Many guns’ rights activists are feeling shafted by the ~lewd~ political display, but I bet you already know our response: we give this civil disobedience the go a-head, because they passed our test(es) with flying colors. Go hard or go home!

2. Triplets Born With Both DNA From Both Dads.

Despite the incredible progress made for western queer communities in recent years--i.e. the introduction to, like, human rights or whatever (#ItsTheLittleThings)--there are still many barriers that continue to separate the LGBT+ world from the “straight” world. Topping that list is the ability to freely adopt children, which is still very difficult for same-sex couples globally, the United States, of course, not excluded. That’s why we celebrated a queer win this week when a gay South African couple, Theo and Christo Menelaou, was able make medical history by combining the DNA of both fathers to fertilize the eggs that are now their (adorable) triplet babies. Since the birth, which was not without complications, the couple has spoken about how difficult it would have been if they were to have tried to adopt a child, and how surprised they were when they found a woman who was willing to be their surrogate. Major cred to any woman willing to birth three humans who aren’t even hers, I won’t even share my leftover pasta, nonetheless my uterus.

3. White Man Gets Probation For Sexual Assault.

Remember earlier this summer when a judge deemed that a boy’s potential swim career was more important to protect than a woman’s personhood? LOL, good times. Unfortunately this week we got a recap of those events, with different faces and names, as a judge in Massachusetts charged a high school senior, charged with two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault, with just two years of *probation* because of his promising future as a college student in Ohio (it has recently been announced that he won’t be attending his intended university anymore, no thanks to this bogus judge). The rapist, 18-year-old David Becker, won’t have to register as a sex offender, and after his two years of probation, these charges will not appear on his permanent record because white male privilege. Meanwhile, the rest of the world gets a reminder that if you come from enough privilege in America, committing a heinous act of gendered violence will only result in a slap on the wrist. Can you tell I have feels about this? More here.

4. Acid Attack Survivor to Walk at NYFW.

Two years ago, Reshma Quereshi survived an acid attack in India, her home country, at the hands of her brother-in-law and a group of other men, which led to the loss of her left eye and scarring from burns all over her face and neck. Sadly, hers is one of about 1,500 reported acid attacks annually, usually as a way of violently addressing domestic issues. What makes this story a happy one, you may be asking through your tears rn? Reshma works with an anti-violence advocacy organization called Make Love Not Scars, which helped her turn her suffering into social good--as well as connecting with FTL MODA, a fashion agency that Reshma will be representing when she walks the runway in New York Fashion Week this September. The vid above is from when MLNS revealed to her that she’ll be leaving India for the first time to go walk in NYFW, otherwise known as feels city.

Image via Make Love Not Scars

by Team Thinx