Newsletter, Issue 2: Autism, surviving, and butt plugs

There’s a lot going on, and it can feel impossible to keep up. The news is often difficult to process, especially when most national and international outlets are shaped by the whims and biases of conservative billionaires, and independent journalists rarely have the resources to provide broad coverage. The situation is continually shown to be unsustainable, yet few alternatives have emerged.

Still, moments of resistance, joy, and delightful oddities continue to surface and offer encouragement to keep going.

In this issue, I share what I’ve been thinking about, creating, and finding hope in.

🌱 Fresh Work

Newly released creations.

• I released my first solo zine since 2015: Empty Inside: An Autistic Zine. It began as a short Bluesky thread about self-regulation and poor interoception that resonated with many autistic people. This first volume expands on those ideas with reflections, stories, and small practical tools for navigating daily life while autistic. The zine is available for $10, with a 20% discount for paid supporters and 50% off for paid patrons.

😤 Frustrating News

Things that keep me up at night.

• A conservative student at the University of Oklahoma wrote an objectively terrible psychology paper (incoherent, rambling, no citations, did not meet minimum university-level standards) and the assignment, quite understandably, received a failing grade. The student escalated the situation by contacting the governor, several lawmakers, and the university’s Turning Point USA chapter, which released the essay online. What’s missing from the discourse that’s followed is that the paper was written for a trans instructor, and the student’s mother is now publicly demanding that all trans people be banned from teaching. The instructor consulted with peers who agreed the failing grade was appropriate, yet she remains the only one targeted for suspension. Marginalized graduate students, instructors, and other contingent faculty deserve far better support. (The Oklahoman, Burns Notice)
• Following recent vote at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, all Catholic hospitals are now formally banned from providing gender-affirming care to transgender patients in any of their more than 650 hospitals across the country. In many rural areas, these are the only medical facilities available, and nationwide, they account one in six acute care hospitals. (The 19th)
• At the COP30 climate summit, bigots push for the use of unscientific, transphobic language in global gender policy, aiming to redefine gender by claiming concern that trans and nonbinary people might be included in a major gender-equity plan. Clutch those pearls! Systemically marginalized people might accidentally gain much needed protections! They apparently hate us even more than climate change. The Vatican also weighed in, though why a religious community of cis men who reject the idea of any woman wielding significant power and authority would be considered relevant is beyond me. (The Guardian)
• More than a dozen deaths have been linked to “AI” chatbots since 2023, and they have been linked to psychosis, including one case involving an Ontario man convinced he’d discovered a mathematical formula that could “destroy some of the world’s most powerful institutions.” (Wikipedia, Nature, CTV News)
• Canada was on track to eliminate cervical cancer, but declining HPV vaccine intake, increased viral transmission, and low screening rates, and gaps in follow-up care have stalled progress and risk reversing earlier gains. This disease is preventable and often treatable, and it’s frustrating to watch systemic failures undermine public health. (The Toronto Star)
• An investigation found that for-profit residential treatment centres for “troubled teens” are causing profound psychological and emotional harm, despite years of red flags from government and child welfare agencies. There have been 147 documented breaches of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act in 2024 and 2025 alone, along with sexual assault allegations dating back to 2010. (Global News)

👍 Encouraging News

Things that keep me going.

• Megan Piontkowski has put together more than 70 zines in Español and English that teach people in the US how to report ICE activity in their region. The zines are free to download, print, and share. (Bluesky, Google Drive)
• Helsinki just completed a full year without a single traffic death, thanks to reduced speed limits, robust enforcement with 70 new speed cameras, and sustained investment in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. (Politico)
• Not in our Name, a UK collective of cis women, published an open letter calling out politicians and the media for spreading transphobia and misinformation. More than 63,700 cis women, including high profile figures, have signed it. (Not in Our Name, The Pink News)
• Same-sex relationships have long existed across Africa, well before colonization and the imported stigmas used to demonize them. South Africa became the first African nation to legally recognize same-sex unions in 2006, yet these relationships remain relatively understudied. A new study drawing on data from 2002-2022 found that couples in South Africa feel increasingly safe to disclose same-sex relationships at rates comparable with other countries that have legalized marriage equality. (Nature, GroundUp)
• A fungus growing in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, may harvest energy from ionizing radiation through a mechanism referred to as radiosynthesis. The science is fascinating, but so is the fact that the cultures kind of looks like alien buttholes. (Science Alert, PLOS One)

👀 TIL: Mortuary AV Closure Plugs

Things I didn’t know I needed to know.

(CW: bodily fluids, death)

So, I recently learned that mortuary AV (anal/vaginal) closure plugs are a thing. They’re used in place of cotton packing, and when diapers or aspiration aren’t getting the job done.

The job?

Preventing leakage of feces, blood, and other fluids, as well as trapping odours. Cotton packing can wick moisture from the body and cause new problems, but AV plugs are clean and efficient, if costly (about US$6 per plug).

Practices vary: some mortuary professionals only use them occasionally, while others treat them as a standard tool of the trade. But if you’ve attended a few funerals, there’s a good chance that your loved one had a butt plug.

I kind of wish I’d known this in April when my mother died. It might have added some much needed levity to the big feelings I’m still struggling to process.

If you’re curious, American Mortuary Coolers has an excellent overview of their history and use.

🔧 In the Works

Projects I’m excited about.

• I have an archival project that I’m hoping to secure funding for at some point. Without institutional support, it’s slow going, but a recent behind-the-scenes visit to the Toronto Archives was energizing and gave me fodder to work with as I continue to develop ideas.
• I’m also working on a review of one of the most frequently banned graphic novels for a literary website. The deadline is looming, but the piece will appear as part of a special series in the new year.
• Then there are the zines — three of them — currently vying for my focus and attention: one on joyful graffiti (mentioned previously), another about being on testosterone as a genderqueer trans person, and a second volume of my autistic zine, Empty Inside. I’m trying not to overwhelm people, so I’m planning to space out releases as best I can, haha.

🎵 Currently Enjoying

What I’m reading, watching, and listening to.

• Book: I just finished Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch’s knot body(Metatron Press, 2020), a collection of epistolary poems to “lovers, friends, and in-betweens” and other poems about living with chronic pain while trans, navigating ableism, fatphobia, racism, and capitalism’s daily grind. A good poetry book always inspires me to write, and this one gave me three new drafts. (affiliate link)
• Show: After tearing through the first five books in the Murderbot Diaries series (two to go!), I’ve started watching the Netflix adaptation, but it may have been a mistake to go in too soon. The changes are necessary and largely good, but my brain can’t stop noting every departure from the source text. My partner, who hasn’t (yet?) read the books also enjoys it, and Alexander Skarsgård is, as always, phenomenal — as is the rest of the cast. So, if sarcastic asexual, agender, autistic robots with arm guns are your vibe, definitely check it out. (affiliate link)
• Song: “One More Astronaut” by the Canadian alternative band I Mother Earth, which was first released on their second studio album, Scenery and Fish (Capitol/EMI, 1996), and also appeared as the first track on the iconic Big Shiny Tunes compilation (MuchMusic, 1996). The music video is so very ’90s, but this fan edit using scenes from Gravity is pretty dope. I saw the band twice last year and they still sound incredible. If you ever get a chance to see them live, take it. (affiliate link)

That’s it from me for this issue, folks. If you have something you’d like to see included, please send it my way.

Stay safe and healthy, friends.

Nico Mara-McKay (they/iel)