Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Dylan Lewis @iamdylanlewis.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Another year of Queer Bibliography— please share widely; we are looking forward to this! 1118
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Chris Millard @chrismillard83.bsky.social · 01/10/2026the number of ethical, privacy-based, and practical problems with feeding grant applications into LLMs for triage without human confirmation is dizzying “a machine can never be held accountable, so a machine must never make a decision” has never been more apt 085
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Gina Gwenffrewi @ginagwenffrewi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Solidarity to UCU staff at the University of Edinburgh as they fight to save jobs against a relentless senior management 'downsizing' crusade. 094
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 30/09/2026Our members at Nottingham University commence strike action today over threats to hundreds of jobs and course closures. Please show them solidarity as they head onto picket lines this morning. 17741
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 29/09/2026Colleagues at Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow Caledonian are all on strike today over job cuts. Please show your solidarity as they take to the picket lines to defend jobs and education. 15633
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)UCU Edinburgh @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Day 2 of the UCU workers' strike at the University of Edinburgh. The 1,800 jobs UCU estimates will be cut is unprecedented in Scottish higher education. It is happening in the wealthiest Scottish university, and the third richest in the UK, currently sitting with over £3billion reserves. 36662
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Karie Bookish @kariebookish.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I can only second this. If you are in Glasgow, visit Category Is. It's much more than a bookshop. It's a community hub, a place of active resistance, and a big fucking hug. 23715
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)QueerAF @wearequeeraf.com · 26/09/2026The service said the review will begin with patients whose surgery was due to take place between August and December 2026, and "no decisions about individual patient care have been made at this stage." www.wearequeeraf.com/nhs-wales-ap...wearequeeraf.comNHS Wales apologises for withdrawal of trans healthcare, admits "urgent review" still hasn't begunNHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee apologises for "distress" caused by a withdrawal of care but admits its "urgent review" had still not begun nearly a month after hundreds were denied care 1219
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Gwrach Gymraeg @cherylmorgan.bsky.social · 26/09/2026The thing to remember about the TERFs that the Tories and Streeting have put in charge of the NHS is that they believe that all gender transition is, by definition, ‘harm’. 14813
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)beaumontsociety.bsky.social @beaumontsociety.bsky.social · 26/09/2026This is gross negligence and appalling cruelty by NHS Wales. Those responsible should be punished for this - but, of course, it’s only trans people affected. Shocking! 052
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 24/09/2026Can the ideas of a controversial trans Marxist be recovered? Rebecca Jane Morgan on Rachael Webb's (1940-2009) class-based coalition politics.historyworkshop.org.ukRachael Webb: The Forgotten Trans MarxistCan the ideas of a controversial trans Marxist be recovered? Rebecca Jane Morgan on Rachael Webb's (1940-2009) class-based coalition politics. 11913
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Orion Rummler @oriion.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Transgender voters in Kansas! I want to talk about your plan to vote this November — are you not voting, out of ID/safety concerns? Voting by mail? Getting registered to vote? Doing in-person advance voting? Text me on Signal @orionr.80 or DM me! I'm a trans reporter working at The 19th News. 15032
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Will keep boringly saying this (no disrespect to OP): it's not a health surcharge. It's not hypothecated to the NHS; you can't choose not to pay it and thereby eschew healthcare. You could equally call it an education or roads surcharge. It's using the NHS's sanctified status to rip off immigrants. 12302120
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Thanks to Katherine A. Hubbard for a lovely review of Teaching Gender in the Journal of Family History! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... I was esp interested to see the connections Kat makes between the historical claims of Teaching Gender and their many echoes and resonances in our present.journals.sagepub.comSage Journals: Discover world-class researchSubscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher. 041
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)UCU Scotland @ucuscotland.bsky.social · 17/09/20265 week strike at Edinburgh University at start of new academic term. Incl UCU branch co-president quote: “...UCU members are prepared to take action for our colleagues and our students – want to safeguard students’ education not just for five weeks in autumn but for the future." #StopTheCuts #SaveHE 079
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026'Analysis by the British Academy last year showed that students in parts of the north, south west and east of England, as well as large areas of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are losing access to social sciences, humanities and arts courses amid the closures and layoffs.'thebritishacademy.ac.ukCold spots: Mapping inequality in SHAPE provision in UK higher educationThis British Academy report reveals that many parts of the UK are becoming subject cold spots – areas with no provision in a subject within a commutable distance. These are often in rural, coastal or ... 184
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Daniel C. Blight @danielcblight.bsky.social · 14/09/2026***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes: 13598709
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Sarah Clarke - Not your doll @damselindystopia.northsky.social · 15/09/2026We know that clinicians currently working within the NHS see a conversion practices ban as a threat to their preferred model of healthcare when it comes to trans people. Providing them with this exemption is literally just allowing them to continue to do conversion practices on vulnerable youth.transsafety.network'Nothing to offer': Training materials for new NHS CYP gender services raise serious questions, concerns about conversion practicesSlides and video transcripts for the new NHS Children & Young People’s (CYP) Gender Dysphoria services seen by Trans Safety Network raise serious concerns about the new service. 1355
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 13/09/2026This article highlights the 'postcode lottery' - uneven impact - of these new transphobic policies. That was the case for S28 also. It's uneven because some are finding the agency to push back. We all have a responsibility to do this in the spheres in which we have leverage and influence. 03413
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Margaret Killjoy @margaret.bsky.social · 11/09/2026this week's post dissects why naive optimism and fatalistic pessimism are not fundamentally less embarrassing responses to climate change than outright denial and then offers examples of actions we can take margaretkilljoy.substack.com/p/beyond-cli... 720059
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 11/09/2026“Family planning services played a role in the stabilisation of the vision of the modern reproductive subject, [in which] modernity was based on White middle-class values of responsibility & rationality, in which married women controlled their fertility according to their economic situation”cambridge.orgRace, Population and the Family Planning Association in Britain (1950s–1970s) | Contemporary European History | Cambridge CoreRace, Population and the Family Planning Association in Britain (1950s–1970s) - Volume 35 1169
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026I'm so grateful to Seth Koven for this smart and incisive review of Teaching Gender in @womenshistoryrev.bsky.social! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....tandfonline.comTeaching Gender, The British University and the Rise of Heterosexuality, 1860–1939Published in Women's History Review (Ahead of Print, 2026) 032
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Without detracting from the failure of UUK's efforts, what would it mean if UK universities 'won over Reform'? What compromises would that entail? Binning the arts and humanities? Rejecting duties mandated by the Equalities act? Agreeing that only 30-ish universities should have funded research?ft.comUK universities fail to win over ReformUniversity leaders have spent months on a charm offensive aimed at gaining the support of the populist rightwing party 66018
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 10/09/2026The Radar Key grants access to public toilets and is a small but crucial part of the history of disabled people demanding rights and independence in modern Britain. Kirstie Stage explores the little-known history of this radical object.historyworkshop.org.ukRadical Object: The Radar KeyThe Radar Key is a small but crucial part of the history of disabled people demanding rights and independence in modern Britain. Kirstie Stage explores the little-known history of this radical object. 010953
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Elden Bling @lunarscope.bsky.social · 09/09/2026honestly some of my favourite, most cherished people own this place and it truly is one of a kind. please consider donating if you can. ✨ 352
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)D Franklin @dlibris.bsky.social · 09/09/2026It really sucks that the amazing Category Is Books are having to add these security measures, but right now it's needed. Please help these awesome people 4167
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Dot @dotmaetrix.bsky.social · 09/09/2026On a personal note, I cannot even begin to say enough how important this place is to me. Category Is was an indispensable space for me keeping my head together early in my transition, and for finding community and dear friends. Also the books are really good 3121
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 09/09/2026The window of my local queer bookshop was smashed last week. They're fundraising to install shutters so they can keep themselves and their community safe. Support this one-of-a-kind place, its one-of-a-kind proprietors, and the whole Glasgow queer & trans community: www.gofundme.com/f/categoryis...gofundme.comDonate to Help Category Is Books Get Shutters!, organized by Category Is BooksFor the past eight years, Category Is Books has been able to comfortably oper… Category Is Books needs your support for Help Category Is Books Get Shutters! 1318248
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Compulsive, essential reading, though the absence of the eugenics connections and Jason Arday context is surprising. Should be read in conjunction with the pioneering @bylinetimes.bsky.social reporting (linked in 2/2). With a sharing link for 3 non-subscribers. 1/2 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...giftarticle.ft.comJames Orr and the gospel of the new British rightReform’s policy head is a Cambridge theologian with an enviable contact book and a belief in ‘faith, family and flag’ 44121
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Cwiar Cymru @cwiar.org · 05/09/2026Just 426 people were referred for gender-affirming surgery in Wales last year. This compares to: - 8,213 hip replacements - 7,851 knee surgeries - 25,633 cataracts surgeries Until NHS Wales publishes its reasoning, patients will be left in the dark about the future. It's time for answers. 211854
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Marianna Dudley @dudleymarianna.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Huge. Huge testament to the power of organising. Huge relief for Exeter friends and colleagues. Huge waste of time and resources. Huge reputational damage done. Huge warning to universities who want to treat their staff like they don’t matter. 011232
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 03/09/2026I continue to find this from 2020 to be a really bracing intervention into the (esp North American) methodological debates in trans studies/history of recent years: read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article/... 142
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)alyson “end journalism” greaves @badambulist.bsky.social · 01/09/2026UK governments love Section 28s, they can’t get enough of them, when there isn’t a Section 28 in force they get really sad. You wouldn’t want the UK government to be sad, would you? 521643
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Talia "ATTACK DOGS is out now!" Bhatt ⚢ @taliabhatt.itch.io · 01/09/2026Language like this implicitly frames transness as a harm, as a contagion that can be spread. The UK government is utterly captured by and enthralled to conspiratorial anti-trans and anti-queer ideologues. 9671209
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Peter McLagan, Scotland's first Black MP, died on this day in 1900. Our colleague @martinspychal.bsky.social explores McLagan's life and career, as well as the wider history of Black political participation in 19th century Britain.historyofparliament.comPeter McLagan (1823-1900): Scotland’s first Black MPThis is the first article in a new series for the Victorian Commons on Peter McLagan (1823-1900), by Dr Martin Spychal, Senior Research Fellow on our House of 01711
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Addendum #2: Trans Aid Cymru and Trans Partnership Wales are asking people directly affected by the cancellation of surgeries to contact them - details here.transaid.cymruHundreds of surgeries suddenly cancelled following a ban on NHS Wales referralsHundreds of surgeries suddenly cancelled following a ban on NHS Wales referrals A large number of gender-affirming surgeries have been cancelled in hospitals across the UK following the NHS Wales … 010770
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Charlie Lynch @charlielynch.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Let’s try again: I’d like to hear about new research from Scottish historians. Especially ECRs whose work may not get much attention. This is because I have a newspaper column where I publicise new work by Scottish historians! Tell me about your research! 4102111
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 30/08/2026More panicked teaching prep questions: is there a US LGBTQ+ history primary source reader? 733
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Does anyone have a scan of Roberta Cowell's Story (1954) that you might be willing to share? 165
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Addendum: when complaining or protesting stuff like this, it's helpful to consider who is *directly* responsible for the harmful decision. In this case it's not the Welsh Gender Service - it's various individuals and bodies within NHS Wales, as noted below. 520349
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Reddit user pkunfcj has collated advice on what people in Wales can do to fight back against the trans surgical ban:: - writing to Senedd members and the First Minister (with an example email) - complain through patient advocacy services - complain to the health board - organise protestsreddit.compkunfcj's comment on "Welsh Gender Service Review - Cancelled surgeries"Explore this conversation and more from the transgenderUK community 2345188
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 29/08/2026This is the most fucked up and immediately harmful policy decision I think I've ever seen in adult trans healthcare in the UK, and that's saying something. The Welsh Gender Service is one of the best in the country. It is widely praised by the patients it helps. That is why it is being targeted. 181616700
Sam Rutherford (he/him) @echomikeromeo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Crowdfunder to provide essential support for students from Gaza arriving at Glasgow uni: www.gofundme.com/f/help-gaza-...gofundme.comDonate to Help Gaza Students Being Evacuated to Glasgow, organized by Ibrahim AlghoraneHi, it’s me Ibrahim Alghorane, a 20-year-old Software Engineering stu… Ibrahim Alghorane needs your support for Help Gaza Students Being Evacuated to Glasgow 057
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Stacy Fahrenthold @sfahrenthold.bsky.social · 27/08/2026AHA could and should be working to speak up for member historians of the region who are experiencing challenges, violations to their academic freedom. But the record doesn't show that. I'm disturbed by AHA's acceptance of that TRP report characterizing my whole damn field as a threat to the org. 0214
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Stacy Fahrenthold @sfahrenthold.bsky.social · 26/08/2026The American Historical Association hired a lobbying firm to help silence member advocacy on Palestine. In this essay, Adam Rzepka covers @historians.org's relationship w/ Thorn Run Partners, its deep ethical conflicts, & the advocacy crisis AHA has thrust upon us. www.chronicle.com/article/a-sc...chronicle.comOpinion | A Scholarly Association’s Secret Washington PlaybookDid the American Historical Association ask a corporate lobbying firm for advice on how to silence its members? 11332196
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Dr Mary McAuliffe @drmarymcauliffe.bsky.social · 25/08/2026‘We Were Always Here’: Ireland’s first permanent LGBTQ museum exhibition opens in Cork Congrats to Orla Egan and all who worked in this fantastic exhibition www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...irishtimes.com‘We Were Always Here’: Ireland’s first permanent LGBTQ museum exhibition opens in Cork‘Too often the history of the LGBT community has been invisible, ignored or erased,’ said curator Orla Egan 111534
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Serial Bookseller @serialbookseller.bsky.social · 24/08/2026What a brilliant, necessary, and inspiring piece. Especially as the the back to school clock ticks down. I can’t wait to meet my new crop of English students and dig into this stuff. 272
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Rachel Moss @menysnoweballes.bsky.social · 18/08/2026All very good - here's an important paragraph to single out - "Under this model, teaching evolves into a form of mass pedagogy increasingly divorced from the needs of society and the cultivation of critical thinking, reduced to a box-ticking exercise on the road to a depleted job market 1186
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)M a r c u s 🏳️🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 21/08/2026This 80s style policy isn’t going to work on account there are visible queers EVERYWHERE 1268
Reposted by Sam Rutherford (he/him)Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 21/08/2026#OtD 21 Aug 1981 140 mostly women workers at the Lee Jeans factory in Greenock, Scotland returned to work after winning a seven-month occupation of the plant against closure, having won their jobs back. Learn more in our tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@workingclas... 05910