Blackthorn Field Notes
Systems, survival, technology, relationships, and the work of staying human.
Blackthorn Field Notes is a collection of essays by C. J. Blackthorn about advocacy, disability, access, technology, relationships, boundaries, survival, and the systems people are forced to live inside.
I write about the things people are often expected to endure quietly: broken healthcare, inaccessible systems, poverty, trauma, love, power, technology, and what it means to keep going anyway.
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Latest Field Notes
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Don't Tell Me "Not All Men," Then Tell Me I'm One of Them
When "not all men" redirects a woman's pain and transphobia questions her womanhood, both avoid the harm. On misogyny, accountability, and real allyship.
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At 44, the Phoenix Rises
On turning 44, rebuilding after profound change, returning to advocacy, and choosing joy without surrendering the fight.
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Love Should Not Require Self-Abandonment
A Blackthorn Field Notes essay on love, self-abandonment, emotional safety, and why healthy connection should not require someone to erase themselves to keep the peace.
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The Bureaucracy of Survival
A Blackthorn Field Notes essay on disability, poverty, fragmented social services, and the hidden labor of surviving systems that do not talk to each other.
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Using AI in the Creative Process Ethically
AI is not inherently unethical. The ethical question is how it is used, who it harms, who it helps, and whether creators are honest about the role it played in the work.
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