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The photo above is of Petra De Sutter, the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium. She’s also Minister for Public Enterprises. Oh, and she’s transgender. As the Brussels Time notes, that bit “went almost unremarked upon by Belgian media… [other than] when remarking on the diverse make up of the new government – which… [more]
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Katelyn Burns has written an excellent piece for Vox: 9 questions about trans issues you were too embarrassed to ask. The questions are: What does it mean to be trans? Why should I care about trans issues? What about the pronouns thing? What issues are trans people fighting for? Why are we always talking about… [more]
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This, from Gogglebox, is lovely: it’s people watching an episode of First Dates featuring a trans man. “a little bit different but it don’t matter does it” adored this: GoggleBox at its best last night, celebrating a trans storyline on FirstDates and (obviously) ecstatic that it works out for them. not being a dick isn’t… [more]
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This, by MM Carrigan in Eater, is a great bit of writing. It’s about the semi-mythical fast food buffets that are unimaginable now, “an arms race in maximizing caloric intake.” In the age of COVID-19, the fast-food buffet feels like more of a dream than ever. How positively whimsical it would be to stand shoulder… [more]
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There’s a good piece in Bookriot by Alice Nuttall about the bigoted bullshit many independent bookshops experience; it’s usually because they’re supportive of LGBT+ rights and trans people specifically. Despite the fact that the shop promotes women’s writing and has made huge strides in ensuring that little-read women authors are given the prominence and acclaim… [more]
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I do love it when writers have some fun. This, by Drew Magary, is in defence of skimming articles on the internet. skimming is a way to help me glean the thrust of a story without having to eat my vegetables in the process. EVERYONE WINS. If I read a movie or album review, I… [more]
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Over 200 1,512 writers and publishing professionals have written an open letter in support of trans and non-binary people. This is a message of love and solidarity for the trans and non-binary community. Culture is, and should always be, at the forefront of societal change, and as writers, editors, agents, journalists, and publishing professionals, we… [more]
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How’s this for a TV show? We get a racist – a proper racist, ideally a knuckle-dragger from a really racist organisation such as the EDL or Britain First, someone who’s really loudly and proudly racist and spends loads of time being really racist to people on Twitter – and we pair him up with… [more]
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There’s a really good piece about QAnon in The New Republic. The “nocturnal ritual fantasyâ€â€”a term coined by the historian Norman Cohn in his landmark study of European witch trials, Europe’s Inner Demons—is a recurring trope in Western history. And it is often a politically useful one. Deployed by the Romans against early Christians, by… [more]
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Minor celebrities: We must write an open letter to protest against online abuse of women! LGBT+ folks: Like the vicious abuse some of your co-signatories and many supporters of your multi-millionaire pal have spent years dishing out to trans women, to the mothers of trans children, to cisgender women who say they support trans rights… [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.
