Divine Portent Issue #001 // March 2025
TDOV events, free zines, writing love letters, and my recent readings on ways art was used in AIDS activism.
Hello everyone! Orion Fern AKA Ovaettr here. Welcome to the first issue of DIVINE PORTENT. This newsletter will serve as a means of spreading hope and opportunities to help make the world a better place amid the chaos of a dying empire. We must keep going, together. Tomorrow needs you. These letters will be sent once monthly around the same time that I send my Ovaettr Art Newsletter.
The title ‘DIVINE PORTENT’ comes from an excerpt of Susan Stryker’s ‘My Words to Victor Frankenstein’ linked at the end. In part this newsletter is dedicated to her work on examining the connection trans people and our histories have to famous monsters of media and myth, especially in the parallels with how society treats us. My work is greatly inspired by monsters, being a “monstrosity” and divine creatures.
So, this monster means to be a messenger of hope.
Let’s get into the first issue!
Your Monthly Dose of Trans & Queer Joy
This month, I think we need to simply applaud the tenacity of Sarah McBride and her efforts in fighting back against a transphobic republican attempting to humiliate her in a public hearing. After being berated as “Mister McBride”, Sarah retorts with “Madame Chairman” to show him how painful and weird it can be to be misgendered. The exchange is wonderful and the video linked is from Erin Reed’s reporting on the matter at her website.
Standing up against fascists, transphobes, bullies and harmful people of any kind, is important right now. I really applaud Sarah McBride for her poise and strength in combating this as the lone first trans Representative in the House. I look up to her a lot, so she is this month’s dose of TRANS JOY! Her self-defense makes waves and improves the lives of trans people tenfold. Our allies must take notes too, from the cisgender Democratic Representatives that stood beside her in defense of her too. We will overcome fascism only together.
BONUS: Changed Hearts and Minds in Wisconsin
Extra for this month, a moment of trans joy out of Wisconsin, a lone local man that came to support an anti-trans bill was forced to wait through the testimonies of many queer people defending their lives against the harmful bill. By the time he comes up, he has changed his mind…
“I was one of the critics that sat on the side and made the decision there was only two genders, so I got an education that was unbelievable. And I don't know just exactly how to say this but my perspective for people have changed [...] I’d like to apologize"
Good things can still happen! Hold onto the hope of changing hearts and minds by telling our authentic stories.
Events
This month we are celebrating a lot of Trans Day of Visibility related events.
3/21 - 3/31 - Trans Rights Readathon!
A wonderful 10 day long event happening during Trans Awareness Week coming up to Trans Day of Visibility on the 31st. Participate by checking out the reading recs and reading anything by trans authors or about trans people during this event! Stream or blog your reading if you want to raise funds for trans orgs during this time. You can get my transgender story
‘THE FOX WHO BECAME A GIRL’ for free or PWYW at itch.io!
3/23 - 2PM - 5PM - Queer & Trans Liberation March in Dallas TX starting at Inwood + Cedar Springs marching to the Gayborhoood down Cedar Springs hosted by Resource Center of Dallas, TX
3/30 - Time TBD - Trans Day of Visibility Demonstration at Dallas City Hall hosted by DSA North Texas
3/30 - 12PM - 4PM - Pay It No Mind Market at Anderson’s Distillery of Denton, TX - Shop local and support businesses that care about trans & queer futures and are part of the community. I will be vending here!
3/31 - 5:30PM - 9:30PM - Trans Day of Visibility Celebration at Harvest House hosted by OUTreach Denton
Calls to Action
Write love letters to trans Oklahomans for Trans Day of Visibility through Freedom Oklahoma. You can submit text for them to put on cards, or physically mail in handmade cards for people, which is always a nicer touch.
Send messages of love and hope to Southern trans youth through Campaign for Southern Equality for Trans Day of Visibility.
Contact via e-mail or phone the Senate Democrats who voted YES on the Trump backed spending plan and urge them to resign for betraying the people. This Trump spending plan includes huge cuts to medicare, Medicaid, and other government assistance programs that are needed by the people. As a bonus, you can also contact Schumer’s entire staff via e-mail and demand Schumer resigns.
Ways to Help the World This Month
Download my free LGBTQ+ and COVID-19 educational zines, print them and distribute them to your local Little Free Libraries and wherever else you want!
Some Actions That Are Not Protesting or Voting by Mariame Kaba
Looking For What To Do? Some Actions To Stop Authoritarianism by The Disruption Project
Fundraisers & Mutual Aid
Operation Olive Branch supports Gazans first and foremost but also has links to other support fundraisers like for the LA Wildfires and the injustice of Mahmoud Khalil’s ICE imprisonment
Things to Think About
Nex Benedict Has Been Gone A Year. What Have We Learned? by Lex McMenamin
‘Fix Your Hearts Or Die’ on David Lynch and Trans & Queer Themes in his work, in memoriam by Lex McMenamin
Book Talk - What Am I Reading?
Currently, I am reading ‘IT WAS VULGAR & IT WAS BEAUTIFUL; How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight A Pandemic’ by Jack Lowery through the Audiobook version offered by Libro.fm
The book is life-changing, especially as I was not alive during the era. It is eye-opening for just how much struggle there was for AIDS activists to be taken seriously, and for the needs of those living with it to be met. If it was not for the great sacrifices of ACT UP and subsequently ‘Gran Fury’ within the organization, we would not have the rights we have today to HIV+ care. AIDS is so close to being completely curable now through the advancements of science and dedicated research to HIV+.
I started reading this book to seek the history of my elders on how they combated a pandemic that was not being taken seriously. I wanted to use their wisdom to apply it towards my activism work against the continued COVID-19 pandemic. I am almost done with it, and I highly recommend the book to anyone who requires a crystal clear picture of the past written beautifully by Jack Lowery.
Books For Practicing Hope (via instagram)
Free Resources of the Month
One Million Experiments zine’s Volume 8 Issue: Making A Plan (for Activism/Organizing) is a free zine by Queenie’s Crew featuring templates useful for figuring out how to make a difference for good.
My COVID-19 Is Not Over Survival Guide zine full of resources for masks, tests, accessories, tips, and more!
FREE Masks request form is now re-opened through Mask Bloc DFW! Find your own local Mask Bloc through the website maskbloc.org
Thank you for heeding the
message of a monster…
STAY SAFE 😷 MASK UP 😷 TOMORROW NEEDS YOU
“Monster” is derived from the Latin noun monstrum, “divine portent,” itself formed on the root of the verb monere, “to warn.” It came to refer to living things of
anomalous shape or structure, or to fabulous creatures like the sphinx who were composed of strikingly incongruous parts, because the ancients considered the appearance of such beings to be a sign of some impending supernatural event.
Monsters, like angels, functioned as messengers and heralds of the extraordinary. They served to announce impending revelation, saying, in effect,
“Pay attention;
something of profound importance is happening.”