Another option would have been to bring in cofounders who don't need to be paid to write, or could invest $$$ in the business. Nothing wrong with that, but it wasn't our vision: for feminist artists who aren't already financially set to have a cooperatively owned, self-determined home for our work.

When I first envisioned the Flytrap and pitched it to a couple of now-cofounders, I had in mind a paywall-free publication. And we talked about it. But we quickly realized that the paywall-free options would leave us beholden to entities like Substack, or to funders who might dictate our content.

And actually, to fact-check myself: throughout October, the Flytrap is producing more than one free post/month—we're pubbing free posts EVERY FRIDAY, because we really the fuck just love connecting w our community and are as irritated as y'all are by the confines of capitalist media. Subscribe! <3

DM or email me (addy in my bio) if cost is a barrier; we'll get you situated.

If you're able to fund paid subs for folks who couldn't otherwise afford them, PLEASE reach out—we have lots of cool perks that we're able to offer in addition to the general goodfeeling of supporting indie media access!

If you dive into the QP from @theflytrapmedia.com, we have lower-cost options (you can buy a piece for $2, or access our entire archives for $6.66/mo and cancel whenever you want). I know that's still more than some folks can afford, and we do have some comp subs available funded by Bog subscribers!

Genuinely: Paywalling content is not a thing I love doing. I'd rather create in a world where writers & artists could share our stuff literally freely. The Flytrap is cooperatively owned by its founders, who put in a ton of as-yet unpaid work to produce ALL our content—including one free post/month.

If you can't afford a subscription, you can pay for single paywall drops! That's $2 dollars per article. Each piece we run is edited and copy edited, and our freelancers are paid. Most importantly, we are not beholden to corporate censorship.

We do have a paywall, and that's because journalism has a cost. We pay all our contributors 0.50c a word & the founders haven't been compensated for the year, so we do ask for people to pay for our content. We still haven't made a profit this year, so we are unapologetic about that.

Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math

if you're black and have chronic pain that typical painkillers (like the strongest muscle relaxers) don't help they will send you on your way. we're all crackheads after all, you know!

and this is only if we talk about black people with medicaid. black people with the median or upper level types of insurance are STILL BLACK when they show up lol. the medical system is very antiblack.

THIS INCLUDES OTHER BLACK PEOPLE. everyone prefers to ignore that BLACK PEOPLE CAN BE ANTIBLACK.

MOST poor people in this country are black people. everyone doesn't have access to medicaid in the first place, plus all medicaid plans aren't the same. you get the cheapest, most generic everything and they're NOT going to pay for anything they deem extravagant. the best drs don't take medicaid.

also!!! people keep skipping the most glaring thing to me?

that black people who go to the doctor are not taken seriously, are misdiagnosed, dismissed, ignored, gaslit

AND there are things that don't show up on the normal tests. it's not pushed for black people to have access to more tests

🗣️ THESE ARE NOT REAL ACCOUNTS
STOP BITING THEIR BAIT

Yep.

We are still occupied. MPD is *still* cooperating w/the feds, despite the mayor saying they're not.

A couple weeks ago I was stopped for a "routine traffic stop" by the Secret Service (& no person they protect was anywhere nearby).

It's hell & folks are fighting.

Congrats!! 🍾🎉

I really love reading books with other people

The surgery was quick and smooth. The doctor said my son was the best patient she’d served all day. He is now at home and resting. I can finally exhale, eat, and cry.

SHID.
Millennials too! Get thy AZZ to the doctor!

passing the joint to the next person listening to dnice's live rn

People are spontaneously posting up near any laborers or street vendors they spot. Just saw a rapid responder guarding a man working on a building exterior. Many things are terrible today but lord, this stuff matters.

Really hate that we can’t trust the food and supplements we rely on to sustain ourselves. Not one damn piece of this society functions as it should

What D’Angelo said Black Messiah means. It came out at the end of 2014 and it was so needed.