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Yet more evidence that we really aren’t in this together: the Office for National Statistics reports that the Covid-19 death rate in England is more than double in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived. In the most deprived areas the death rate is 55.1 deaths per 100,000 population; in the least deprived,… [more]
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It’s May Day, the day when we celebrate international workers’ day. But in England many workers have nothing to celebrate: what the papers call a lockdown isn’t stopping employers from forcing people to come in to work non-essential jobs. Caroline Molloy, in OpenDemocracy: we don’t actually have a lockdown. The government has allowed people to… [more]
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To paraphrase The Onion: I can’t believe this is happening in the only city where this regularly happens. Glasgow is set to lose another iconic building, the ABC in Sauchiehall Street. The music venue – one of my very favourite places – was badly damaged by the second Art School fire and has effectively been… [more]
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PinkNews: The anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance has had not one but two fundraising pages taken down, following an abusive campaign against gay MP John Nicolson and “violent and abusive†language from its supporters. Fundraising platforms JustGiving and GoFundMe have both permanently removed pages set up by the pressure group. This follows weeks of targeted… [more]
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If you’re straight and cisgender, you probably don’t give Pride events much thought: they’re just parties, right? But if you’re LGBT+ you know that they’re much, much more than that. They’re places where, however briefly, you know you’re not alone; places where you aren’t hated or tolerated, but celebrated. Pride events are among the many… [more]
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Helen Belcher of Trans Media Watch explains why UK trans people are really scared right now. For some time trans people have understood the current media debate in the UK isn’t actually about the Gender Recognition Act. Instead, it is about our basic rights to live and move as full members of our society. …Most… [more]
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I’ve mentioned before that coronavirus appears to be deadlier to men than to women, and that because of that difference some anti-trans bigots have been deliberately hounding trans people with the virus and wishing them dead. The trans women may get the last laugh, because it’s possible that the hormones they take are helping them… [more]
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Rachel Shabi in The Guardian: the key issue in the right’s current culture war is the lockdown, which is being presented as a freedom-sucking con – much like the EU. Mirroring the dynamics of climate denialism, those challenging the overwhelming consensus of global expertise cast themselves as lockdown “scepticsâ€. And cleaving to a rightwing populist… [more]
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This is the Daily Express, apparently showing crowds of “selfish rule breakers” during lockdown. The photo is of Brighton and Hove seafront. Rob Shepherd lives there. See the cranes in the background? As Rob demonstrates, they aren’t there any more and haven’t been for some time. [more]
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My band has released a new song, and a video to go with it. It’s Not The End of the World (But You Can See It From Here) is a lockdown song, and while there’s plenty of bile in there it’s also hopeful: after all, it’s not the end of the world. The song will… [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.
