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Hi, comrades (gender neutral term), I'm Maryam. If you aren't familiar with me, but I've been involved in NS for a while. Mostly on Ainur before it imploded. I served on the senate three times, served high level positions once or twice, even ran a region for a short time. So i'm aware of the whole ins and outs of NS campaigns, and how stupid they can be. But I wanna be frank here because this isn't a lil game position to me. It's something I take deeply seriously.

I'm an 18 year old Transgender Lesbian who due to personal circumstances is 100% pre-transition and in the closet. Having said that, the internet is really the only place I feel I can freely express my gender identity and Lesbian identity. Wintreath is literally no exaggerations the only site I can go to where I know I'll won't be harassed and misgendered because I'm trans.

On my tumblr account, more than once I've been targeted by TERFs (trans exclusionary radical feminists) who will send me anonymous messages calling me a straight man, and send me long rants about how I'm a male invading female spaces and that I'm a potential sexual predator who's appropriating the Lesbian identity and guilt tripping Lesbians into having sex with me. I know I'm not the exception here. On seemingly every major social media site, it's a regular occurrence for certain types of people to go out and harass trans people. One very ugly incident happened in the UK where a transwoman just a year older than me received national attention for getting involved in a Labor Party project, and then had literally thousands of people send her hate on Twitter, which resulted in her having a mental breakdown.

Partly because it's small, partly because we're generally a decent community, we've managed to avoid that toxicity. I came on here and publicly talked about my worries as a transwoman, and I was harassed by no one. I only got love and support, and that really helped me. I want to keep Wintreath a safe space. It's pretty obvious the majority of NSers are teenagers, many of whom only have these sites as the places they can come out of the closet and not feel pressured to hide who they really are. Thus, it's of great importance not only to have Wintreath be a safe space for LGBT people, but LGBT minors in particular. Which as a woman who's only been a legal adult since November, I feel equipped to guarantee.

I also want to try and get the Pride to be pretty active, and to have plenty of discussions where people can express their feelings on their sexuality and gender identity. For any LGBT person, having that kind of place to safely express those feelings is extremely important. Again, especially for those in the closet like me. Also, as the tone of this post may suggest, as a transwoman I want to place special attention on making this a trans safe space, especially a safe space for those of nonbinary identities. this isn't favoritism mind you, I want the Pride to be a nice refuge for all minority sexual and gender identities. I want the Pride to avoid all the negativity, divides and heated discussions that plague most other LGBT forums. Instead, I want it to be a place where one can vent and talk about their problems, and hear sympathy and love in return. A place away from all the stresses of being LGBT (this not meaning we don't discuss those issues, of course), not a place that adds to it.

That's just about all I have to say. Elect me or not, I feel honored to be so much as offered the position. And the two other women who are currently the only nominees are both wonderful ladies, and I'm sure they'd do a lovely job if I'm not elected.

Thanks for reading!

Thank you for your candidacy...your campaign is one of the most compelling I've ever seen. I get a feel for what this would mean for you, and would love to see the LGBTQ take shape in the way you talk about, especially for trans people. We have a great history of trans people who have made their mark on and enriched our region and community, and I would love to see this continue.

One thing though, how do you plan on having time to fulfill the duties of the position and the things that you campaign on (which I get the feeling go beyond the duties listed)?

Thank you for your candidacy...your campaign is one of the most compelling I've ever seen. I get a feel for what this would mean for you, and would love to see the LGBTQ take shape in the way you talk about, especially for trans people. We have a great history of trans people who have made their mark on and enriched our region and community, and I would love to see this continue.

One thing though, how do you plan on having time to fulfill the duties of the position and the things that you campaign on (which I get the feeling go beyond the duties listed)?

I don't think my ideas stray that much from the role of Thrane. I'm just establishing my plans for fulfilling the Thrane's duty to start discussions in the Pride, and keeping the Pride an LGBT safe space. The former just involves setting up threads on a regular basis, and the latter means trying to keep obviously provocative content out, trying to keep things (mostly, not entirely) PG-13 to avoid minors getting involved in stuff they shouldn't, try and keep debates civil, etc. That kinda thing.

I, as the Jarl of Culture, approve your candidacy for the LGBTQ Thane.