Tess from South Africa
@satess.bsky.social
Married old cat lady who's also into data, plants, nature, wildlife, books, art, kindness and genuine curiosity.
💚 Human rights belong to all humans, not just the ones you approve of ♿✊🏾✊🏿🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️⚧️ Be an Ally. She/her
💚 Human rights belong to all humans, not just the ones you approve of ♿✊🏾✊🏿🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️⚧️ Be an Ally. She/her
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
The FBI spent a million dollars redacting powerful men's names from the Epstein files. The victims? Twenty-eight names in one document alone unredacted, exposed, hunted down by reporters in front of their children. Privacy, it seems, is reserved for those who can afford to return the favor.
November 28, 2025 at 12:23 PM
The FBI spent a million dollars redacting powerful men's names from the Epstein files. The victims? Twenty-eight names in one document alone unredacted, exposed, hunted down by reporters in front of their children. Privacy, it seems, is reserved for those who can afford to return the favor.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
We have a dear family friend who is Black with two biracial kids that are white presenting. When out in public, white folks assumed she was their nanny.
This is so familiar…
This is so familiar…
November 27, 2025 at 1:21 AM
We have a dear family friend who is Black with two biracial kids that are white presenting. When out in public, white folks assumed she was their nanny.
This is so familiar…
This is so familiar…
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
I really wish we'd stop calling them climate "skeptics" or "vaccine skeptics", if you jump off a cliff we don't call you a "gravity skeptic"
November 25, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I really wish we'd stop calling them climate "skeptics" or "vaccine skeptics", if you jump off a cliff we don't call you a "gravity skeptic"
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Study In The Journal Of Pediatrics Finds Trans Youth Care Lowers Suicidality, Few Detransition
The groundbreaking study found that suicidality dropped for transgender youth receiving hormone therapy by nearly 70%, with only 7 patients of 432 discontinuing treatment.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:01 PM
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Re: Kelly
They're about to give a man who would be an unbeatable presidential nominee a huge moral platform and I don't think they've thought this through.
They're about to give a man who would be an unbeatable presidential nominee a huge moral platform and I don't think they've thought this through.
November 24, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Re: Kelly
They're about to give a man who would be an unbeatable presidential nominee a huge moral platform and I don't think they've thought this through.
They're about to give a man who would be an unbeatable presidential nominee a huge moral platform and I don't think they've thought this through.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
“The voices that matter most – trans young people, their families, the clinicians who work with them and trans health experts in Aotearoa – have been clear: access to puberty blockers is crucial.”
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Puberty blockers: why politicians overriding doctors sets a dangerous precedent
The government’s ban on puberty blockers undermines clinical expertise and targets trans youth with a policy that lacks evidence, consistency and fairness.
theconversation.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:25 AM
“The voices that matter most – trans young people, their families, the clinicians who work with them and trans health experts in Aotearoa – have been clear: access to puberty blockers is crucial.”
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
A trans teen in Iowa completed suicide after severe bullying by classmates and teachers.
"Miles’ death came a day after a substitute teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns."
It's the type of bullying @thefireorg.bsky.social and @aricohn.com support.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/11/17/m...
"Miles’ death came a day after a substitute teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns."
It's the type of bullying @thefireorg.bsky.social and @aricohn.com support.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/11/17/m...
Heartbroken family of trans teen speaks out about how bullying led to his death
The family of trans Iowa student Miles Phipps has spoken out about bullying following losing their son to suicide. He was just 15-years-old.
www.thepinknews.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:18 PM
A trans teen in Iowa completed suicide after severe bullying by classmates and teachers.
"Miles’ death came a day after a substitute teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns."
It's the type of bullying @thefireorg.bsky.social and @aricohn.com support.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/11/17/m...
"Miles’ death came a day after a substitute teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns."
It's the type of bullying @thefireorg.bsky.social and @aricohn.com support.
www.thepinknews.com/2025/11/17/m...
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Not gonna engage with the puberty blocker trial story cause as someone who had the experience of going through the medical gatekeeping before getting them was pretty traumatic and my experience is luxurious compared to whats happening in the uk now and its just too upsetting honestly
November 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Not gonna engage with the puberty blocker trial story cause as someone who had the experience of going through the medical gatekeeping before getting them was pretty traumatic and my experience is luxurious compared to whats happening in the uk now and its just too upsetting honestly
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Todd Blanche tried to justify giving Maxwell special treatment and privileges because of her supposed “cooperation.”
November 21, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Todd Blanche tried to justify giving Maxwell special treatment and privileges because of her supposed “cooperation.”
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Interesting. Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers says she will plead the fifth if forced to testify to Congress. But she willingly sat down with Todd Blanche? What a load of horseshit. www.politico.com/live-updates...
Ghislaine Maxwell will plead Fifth in House Epstein probe, Comer says
The late sex offender's convicted co-conspirator has been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee.
www.politico.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Interesting. Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers says she will plead the fifth if forced to testify to Congress. But she willingly sat down with Todd Blanche? What a load of horseshit. www.politico.com/live-updates...
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
How long until Donald Trump invites AOC to the oval?
November 21, 2025 at 9:15 PM
How long until Donald Trump invites AOC to the oval?
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
BREAKING: The U.S. Coast Guard just announced they won’t classify swastikas and nooses as hate symbols anymore they’re calling them ‘potentially divisive.’ Potentially divisive? Listen, a noose isn’t a conversation starter. A swastika isn’t a debate topic. They are dangerous hate symbols. Full stop
November 20, 2025 at 10:13 PM
BREAKING: The U.S. Coast Guard just announced they won’t classify swastikas and nooses as hate symbols anymore they’re calling them ‘potentially divisive.’ Potentially divisive? Listen, a noose isn’t a conversation starter. A swastika isn’t a debate topic. They are dangerous hate symbols. Full stop
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
"... A swastika is one of the most clear definitional and most violent symbols of hatred in all of humanity, let alone in the United States, and so to remove that from designation ... is quite shocking and it indicates a possible collaboration with those very elements ..."
Rep. AOC
Rep. AOC
November 21, 2025 at 2:27 AM
"... A swastika is one of the most clear definitional and most violent symbols of hatred in all of humanity, let alone in the United States, and so to remove that from designation ... is quite shocking and it indicates a possible collaboration with those very elements ..."
Rep. AOC
Rep. AOC
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Bless @sophiegilbert.bsky.social @theatlantic.com: "The past decade has been a gloomy lesson in how limited a proportion of men actually see women as equal human beings...The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office." www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
The Pig Is in the White House
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Bless @sophiegilbert.bsky.social @theatlantic.com: "The past decade has been a gloomy lesson in how limited a proportion of men actually see women as equal human beings...The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office." www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.
![Excerpt from a BBC article: ""We usually work, 10, 11 or 12 hours a day," says a 49-year-old woman from Jiangxi unwilling to give her name. "On Sundays we work around three hours less."
She is in an alleyway, where a dozen people are huddled around a row of bulletin boards.
They are reading the job ads on the board, while examining the stitching on a pair of chinos draped over it.
This is Shein's supply chain. The factories are contracted to make clothes on order - some small, some big. If the chinos are a hit, orders will ramp up and so must production. Factories then hire temporary workers to meet the demand their permanent staff cannot fulfil.
The migrant worker from Jiangxi is looking for a short-term contract - and the chinos are an option.
"We earn so little. The cost of living is now so high," she says, adding that she hopes to make enough to send back to her two children who are living with their grandparents.
"We get paid per piece," she explains. "It depends how difficult the item is. Something simple like a t-shirt is one-two yuan [less than a dollar] per piece and I can make around a dozen in an hour.""](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ks3gpa6ftoyaq7hmf6c4qx4c/bafkreiber7g4o5pujmzmjjzsp5dkz7blfexburuwjispfpv6dki7akjb7a@jpeg)
November 20, 2025 at 12:07 AM
The people who make Shein's clothes labor for ten to twelve hours per day (in violation of China's labor laws), some up to seven days a week, and earn as little as 15 to 30 cents per t-shirt.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Oh my.
James Talarico is incredibly skilled in dismantling Christian Nationalists.
Get this man in the Senate.
James Talarico is incredibly skilled in dismantling Christian Nationalists.
Get this man in the Senate.
November 19, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Oh my.
James Talarico is incredibly skilled in dismantling Christian Nationalists.
Get this man in the Senate.
James Talarico is incredibly skilled in dismantling Christian Nationalists.
Get this man in the Senate.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
I’m still thinking about “quiet, piggy.” No president should be able to speak to a member of the press that way and remain president. That moment encapsulates how vile, misogynistic, and horrible that man is.
November 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I’m still thinking about “quiet, piggy.” No president should be able to speak to a member of the press that way and remain president. That moment encapsulates how vile, misogynistic, and horrible that man is.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
The thousands of Trump redactions from the files have been replaced with "Prices are down", haven't they?
November 17, 2025 at 8:29 PM
The thousands of Trump redactions from the files have been replaced with "Prices are down", haven't they?
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
"When did pedophilia become a partisan issue?" - James Talarico (D-TX)
November 16, 2025 at 11:40 PM
"When did pedophilia become a partisan issue?" - James Talarico (D-TX)
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
It gets worse for transphobes.
Steve Bannon, Trump ally who pretended his transphobia was about "protecting women & girls", actively helped Epstein rebuild his reputation after child-sex trafficking conviction.
In doing so his actions probably resulted in more children being trafficked & abused.
Steve Bannon, Trump ally who pretended his transphobia was about "protecting women & girls", actively helped Epstein rebuild his reputation after child-sex trafficking conviction.
In doing so his actions probably resulted in more children being trafficked & abused.
Steve Bannon advised Jeffrey Epstein for years on how to rehab his reputation, texts show
Pair devised responses to public outrage about Epstein’s criminal history, his treatment by the justice system and his friendships with powerful people
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:55 PM
It gets worse for transphobes.
Steve Bannon, Trump ally who pretended his transphobia was about "protecting women & girls", actively helped Epstein rebuild his reputation after child-sex trafficking conviction.
In doing so his actions probably resulted in more children being trafficked & abused.
Steve Bannon, Trump ally who pretended his transphobia was about "protecting women & girls", actively helped Epstein rebuild his reputation after child-sex trafficking conviction.
In doing so his actions probably resulted in more children being trafficked & abused.
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
November 16, 2025 at 10:58 AM
Reposted by Tess from South Africa
Human rights are universal - if we start stripping away basic human rights from any section of society then none of us has rights – just privileges that can be taken away by people in power whenever they want
November 16, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Human rights are universal - if we start stripping away basic human rights from any section of society then none of us has rights – just privileges that can be taken away by people in power whenever they want