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Writing in Vox, Katelyn Burns’ piece about Luna Younger demonstrates why media outlets should have trans people covering trans issues: unlike pretty much every piece about the poor kid I’ve read so far, it eschews ill-informed scaremongering. If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s about a horrible battle in the US between two estranged… [more]
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Interesting developments at the LGB Alliance, the newly launched anti-trans group. It’s managed to raise over £25,000 in largely anonymous donations in just 11 days of existence, largely due to support from right-wing media here and in the US. The right-wing press and the US religious right like the Alliance because while it advances the same… [more]
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Imagine if members of the Scottish Parliament invited leading far-right “race realist” figures to address the parliament about The Great Replacement, the white nationalist conspiracy theory. They would tell MSPs about how political and social elites were harming ordinary white men and women by encouraging immigration. They would claim that this global conspiracy, a conspiracy… [more]
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The president of actors’ union Equity has written to The Sunday Mirror about its story claiming “men could be banned from playing panto dames to free up the roles for trans performers”. Guess what? It’s bullshit. Here’s her letter. [more]
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I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea of makeup as warpaint. It can be a kind of disguise, a metaphorical suit of armour you can hide behind when you’re feeling far from cute or confident. I use makeup as warpaint quite a lot. If my eyes are smoky, my lips ruby red and my lashes… [more]
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There’s a famous quote by Maya Angelou: when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. It means that when someone shows you a clear red flag, you shouldn’t ignore it. Someone who disrespects you will continue to be disrespectful. Someone who is violent will continue to be violent. Someone who is… [more]
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When you’ve made big changes to your life various dates have significance, good or bad. Today’s one of them, because it’s the third anniversary of me beginning to come out. I thought about doing one of those “what I’ve learnt†anniversary posts, but I changed my mind. I haven’t learnt much, or at least I… [more]
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This is a story about two different social media posts that demonstrate the same problem: that the greed and/or stupidity of a few people on the internet can ruin things for everyone else. First up, there’s Film Stories Junior. To the best of my knowledge it’s unique: it not only caters for under-15s, but it… [more]
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In today’s Scottish Sun, there’s a story about the 2021 census. Like most things the Murdoch press prints in its ongoing campaign against LGBT+ people and trans people in particular, it isn’t true. It’s just an excuse to get the usual crowd of reactionaries – anti-trans academics, vocally anti-trans MSP Joan McAlpine, the Catholic Church… [more]
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Do you know what endocrinology is? It’s the branch of medical science that studies the endocrine system, the glands that secrete hormones. Hormones regulate our metabolism, our physical development, our reproductive function, our sleep, our mood… you get the idea. The Endocrine Society is the international organisation for endocrinology experts, and it works in association… [more]
Read me in books
My debut memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was a Scotsman book of the year and Damian Barr’s Literary Salon book of the week, and it was shortlisted for the 2023 British Book Awards book of the year in the Discover category.
My latest book, Small Town Joy, is a celebration of queer influences on and queer artists in Scots music and is out now.
I’m also a contributor to the excellent anthology Fierce Salvage, which is also out now.
