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In February, the TRNSMT festival attracted a lot of criticism (including from me) for its line-up: after pledging to improve gender balance, 2019’s bill was less equal than 2018’s. Promoter DF concerts has now announced that there will be an extra stage at this year’s festival, the Queen Tut’s Stage (for readers outside Scotland, DF… [more]
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I politely declined to go on a radio programme last night. The topic was YouTube’s selective enforcement of its anti-harassment and hate speech rules, with a look at the wider issue of online abuse, but the other contributor would be an antagonist who’d argue that the real victims of online abuse are the people who… [more]
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Update: I never got to see Prince live, so I’m jealous that the excellent Professor Batty met him. Kinda. I used to wonder why Prince gave away so many songs, many of which were enormous hits: The Bangles’ Manic Monday, Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U, Chaka Khan’s I Feel For You, Martika’s Love Thy Will… [more]
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You’ve probably heard of Bishop Thomas Tobin from Providence, Rhode Island by now. His tweet telling Catholics not to support Pride Month went viral and attracted a lot of comment, but very little of it was as intelligent and as powerful as this piece by Michael Coren. Coren is a former Catholic and who famously… [more]
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I originally posted a version of this to a trans forum in response to someone who’s having a really hard time with body image, with feeling that they look ridiculous, with being trans in a world that isn’t always a nice place for trans people. I thought it was worth posting a version of it… [more]
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We’ve seen Donald Trump metaphorically wrap himself in a Pride rainbow while viciously targeting trans people and letting trans asylum seekers die. Now it’s the UK Home Office’s turn to wave the rainbow flag while persecuting gay people. Here’s their proud logo. From the same week, here’s the story of the man they want to… [more]
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The other day, I told the most powerful man in the world to take a flying fuck at the moon. America’s criminal-in-chief had the gall to post this on Twitter: As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity… [more]
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You may recall the recent furore in the Scottish press over Glasgow Live’s policies for trans people in public spaces such as gyms and swimming pools. The policy – we’ll do what the law says we should do – led to the publication of yet more anti-trans columns and a flood of online abuse against… [more]
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It’s hardly news to discover that a prospective Tory prime minister is a terrible human being, but even by their usual standards the current crop have revealed themselves to be particularly unpleasant. Speaking to the media yesterday, Esther McVey followed in the footsteps of Andrea Leadsom by taking the side of the homophobic protestors outside… [more]
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The ongoing protests against inclusive education in Birmingham continue after the latest talks broke down. With some irony, it seems the anger against “no outsiders” is being whipped up by outsiders. Those outsiders are spreading lies and deliberately stirring up hatred. Nafir Afzal is the person with the unenviable job of mediator. “I’ve looked at… [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.
