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I was looking forward to Jenny Boylan’s take on the US Supreme Court ruling, and here it is. “I used to think people like you should be, you know, exterminated,†the nice young man said to me. “But after listening to you speak, I’ve really changed my mind!†This was after a lecture I’d given… [more]
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Jane Fae in the Independent: I spoke to a few trans folk: ordinary people trying to go about their daily routines as well as community leaders advocating on their behalf. The result was unanimous and shocking, and not just for the general level of abuse reported back. For this, in the end, is not so… [more]
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There’s a lengthy, well-informed and balanced piece in Vice about how anti-trans attitudes came to dominate the UK press. Often writers centre experiences such as abuse or rape and then set these up as distinct and separate from the experiences of trans people. As Alison Phipps writes in her book Me, Not You: The Problem… [more]
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A surprising, very welcome and very important decision by the US Supreme Court says that anti-LGBT+ discrimination is sex discrimination and therefore LGBT+ people are protected in employment law. Some states already include LGBT+ people in their anti-discrimination protections, but this brings such protection to the states that do not. As justice Neil Gorsuch, a… [more]
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Apologies for the language, but there is an internet meme that’s become popular: Me sowing: Haha fuck yeah!!! Yes!! Me reaping: well this fucking sucks. What the fuck. And another: Well, well, well. If it isn’t the consequences of my own actions. I was reminded of them yesterday when a British anti-trans group blogged about… [more]
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There’s a good piece by Katelyn Burns in The Guardian (presumably commissioned by the US edition, which is more enlightened than the UK one) about a project that helps parents of trans and gender non-conforming kids. On one side of the debate are people who think Seph’s gender dysphoria will fade by adulthood. On the… [more]
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Nancy Kelly of Stonewall brings data to the human rights party. …younger people, non-religious people and people with higher level educational qualifications are all more likely to have positive views of trans people. Oh, and women. Yes, women are more likely to have positive views of trans people… The current narrative of ‘women feel threatened by… [more]
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As predicted, the UK government has abandoned its plans for gender recognition reform. Not only that, but instead of making life marginally better for trans people it has decided to make life much, much worse. GRA reform isn’t the story here, although it’s worth noting in passing that, as in Scotland, around 70% of respondents… [more]
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The Guardian on the Polish presidential election: [The party] has often hit out at gay rights and what it calls “LGBT ideologyâ€, in rhetoric that is popular with parts of its base and the Catholic church. Among other things, Duda’s new charter pledges no support for gay marriage or adoption by gay couples, with Duda describing… [more]
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Gabrielle Bellot on how it feels to be a trans person who loved the Harry Potter books, and how it feels to be a trans person more generally. It’s emotionally and spiritually exhausting to debate your identity; sometimes, you just want to log off social media and take a walk or hug someone you love… [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.
