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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]
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Thanks to an important new study, I now realise that I have been possessed by a ghost. It’s not just me. As this wonderful PinkNews headline puts it: Completely legitimate, rational and not at all offensive study says 85% of queer people are possessed by ghosts It seems that even in the spirit world, ghosts… [more]
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Former Smiths singer and current racist Morrissey appears to have reached a new low: the man whose latest look was wonderfully described on Twitter as “a member of the EDL who’s come to creosote your fence” has found a new way to fleece his long-suffering fans. I was a fan of The Smiths back in… [more]
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There’s a fun and fascinating piece from PBS News Hour about food and how it became gendered: steaks for the boys and salads for the girls. Although it’s specifically about American culture, that culture has long been exported globally; the trends there were trends here too. For most of history, men and women ate the same… [more]
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The Christian Post is yet another evangelical newsletter from America, and it’s part of an axis that includes the Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council – two organisations with strong links to the British anti-trans movement. It’s just published an article about the “trans cult” that could have been lifted from The Sunday Times.… [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.
