iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 01/10/2026

The music venue situation in Vancouver is dire, and CRJ is exactly the size of artist who falls into a weirdo neutral zone where Thunderbird is the logical—but far from optimal—option. I will take a smaller show at the Orpheum where I know the sound will be perfect any day!!!

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 01/10/2026

Thank GOODNESS Carly Rae Jepsen is playing the Orpheum this time around and not Thunderbird Arena 🙏

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 01/10/2026

It does make me realize how much time I wasted just clicking between slack --> work email --> personal email --> work bluesky --> personal bluesky --> analytics page --> work tiktok --> personal tiktok --> work calendar --> the draft I'm working on --> back to slack ... etc etc

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 01/10/2026

I've got a week between my last day at Xtra and the next full-time thing starting, and it's so weird to be fully logged off of stuff. I know this is good for me! A break is nice and a luxury! But it also feels weird to not have 15 tabs of work-related accounts open at once.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 30/09/2026

Today is officially my last day at @xtramagazine.com. Over half a decade of unapologetically queer and trans journalism. Grateful for every opportunity, every challenge, and most importantly, every person I got to share it with 💖🌈 I leave a very different person than than I arrived 5.5 years ago!

Mel today in a yellow and green floral shirt and grey and pink Xtra hat.

Mel in the summer of 2021 during a TV media appearance. They are younger and blonder

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Tara-Michelle Ziniuk @tmziniuk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Hello, it is Monday now so perhaps people are thinking about work. Please consider sharing this job posting with smart Canadians who know about queer and trans issues and culture. Social video experience a must; journalism experience a huge asset. www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/44...

linkedin.com

Xtra Magazine hiring Social Video Producer in Canada | LinkedIn

Posted 11:32:14 PM. Do you want to help make the world better for queer and trans folks through social media?Xtra…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 30/09/2026

I'm very very excited about what comes next, and will have more to say on that next week! Subscribe to my newsletter for updates and a lot more original analysis and reporting from me :) ranch-baby.ghost.io/mel-woods-xt...

ranch-baby.ghost.io

Some personal news … (Yes, this is one of those journalism job posts)

I’m leaving my position as an editor at Xtra Magazine after more than five and a half years. Let’s talk about it!

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 30/09/2026

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Jen St. Denis @jenstden.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A BC judge has declared Section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act unconstitutional and given Ottawa six months to bring the legislation in line with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. @michellegamage.bsky.social reports: thetyee.ca/News/2026/09...

thetyee.ca

DULF Wins Constitutional Challenge, Judge Applauds Their Work | The Tyee

Compassion club co-founders Eris Nyx and Jeremy Kalicum will avoid prison and Canada told to update its drug laws.

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Xtra @xtramagazine.com · 29/09/2026

Progressive politicians in Canada have the opportunity to not follow the backslide many U.S. Democrats have demonstrated in recent years when it comes to trans rights xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

Imagine if literally anyone in the mainstream was talking about trans people as a very normal demographic voter base with needs and wants, rather than this hypothetical straw man coming to hurt your daughters. Canada, we still have time!!! xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

Fresh off the digital presses from me today in @xtramagazine.com, on Canadian election season and how our progressive parties can actually speak up for trans people instead of staying quiet and letting anti-trans bad actors set the terms of the conversation. xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Xtra @xtramagazine.com · 29/09/2026

Millions of Canadians will head to the polls next month, with a slate of municipal and provincial elections taking place across the country. And now is time for mainstream politicians to actually stand up for trans people, writes @melwoods.me xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

The Democrats’ recent vibe shift should be a warning to progressive parties and candidates in Canada’s elections this fall: if you let the other side set the terms of the conversation about queer and trans issues, you risk slipping into transphobia yourself. xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

When elections become about trans girls in sports and gender-affirming surgery for kids, progressive-adjacent politicians are forced to react—rather than act—to problems that aren’t really problems at all. But what if they set the terms of the conversation? xtramagazine.com/power/politi...

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

Also, this is probably my last story as staff at Xtra and is a very fitting tone for me to go out on lol 🥲

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

xtramagazine.com

The Democrat turn on trans rights should be a warning to Canadian progressives | Xtra Magazine

In elections across Canada, centre and left-wing politicians can’t let anti-trans arguments set the terms of the conversation

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 28/09/2026

Just saw a cursed image of Sombr standing next to Madonna … it’s giving Slenderman

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Dale Smith @journodale.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Jamil Jivani and the Very Masculine™ Jacob Mantle think that acknowledging homosexuality in schools is "a threat" as they spout debunked "gender ideology" bullshit, while calling people traitors. Yeah, the Conservative Party is headed down a really healthy path, guys. Yikes. #canqueer

provincialtimes.ca

ADAMS: Inside the Restore the North event at Liberty Church

Inside a church in his own riding, the fury Jamil Jivani has spent a year channeling finally turned on a constituent who asked the wrong question

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 26/09/2026

I only use glasses for close-up computer work, and sometimes my near perfect vision feels like a tragedy because I do look very hot in them 😔

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 26/09/2026

Making good use of my work benefits before I’m gone … new glasses 😎

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 26/09/2026

It’s not lost on me how as the years pass, these comparisons become less of a timeline of changes on testosterone, and more a timeline of simply the changes with age. Grateful to age in this trans body I’ve built for myself 😌

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 26/09/2026

This week marked my 5 years (!!) on testosterone, a milestone that felt so far away at one point. I’m grateful to get to live this life in this place and time. Grateful for community and love and aging with agency. And grateful every day that I made the decision to start 💕✨

Mel 5 years ago, pre T and notably beardless

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 26/09/2026

The iced coffee job interview discourse is homophobic. In this essay, I will …

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 25/09/2026

I am deeply ready to double-bill Primetime (2026) with Nightcrawler (2014).

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 25/09/2026

The subject matter is GRIM, the tone is ALL OVER THE PLACE, Phoebe Bridgers is THERE in a nine inch nails t-shirt. But ultimately I found it weird and interesting and I'm glad it exists.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 25/09/2026

I enjoyed Primetime (as much as you can enjoy a movie like that). It's a real gift for the lovers of "RPatz in weird little freak mode" and really curates a super specific vibe that I found very interesting to watch.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

Responsible journalism doesn't just apply when interviewing trans people or covering "trans topics." It also applies when the story is about a trans person who did something unrelated to them being trans. Failures like this can and do impact real-life trans people who did nothing wrong.

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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Jake Tapper (moderating the 2028 Dem primary debate): Final question. Do you renounce the Western Massachusetts lesbian bar? Pete Buttigieg: I renounce it. Kamala: I renounce it. AOC: I renounce it. Gavin Newsom: I will be deploying the National Guard to Greenfield on day one of my administration.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 22/09/2026

As we sit on the precipice of another election in BC—particularly considering the climate with the Democrats in the U.S. right now—it's worth pushing progressive politicians to vocally affirm their support of LGBTQ2S+ folks (and particularly trans people), rather than accepting silence as support.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

This is fantastically reported story, but I really don't know why we're still out here doing this

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

ICYMI ... big changes coming!

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

And I know that the author of this piece probably has no malicious intent. But stuff like this actually does add to the longterm problematic narratives linking trans people to violence. I wrote about all that in early days following the tragedy ⬇️ xtramagazine.com/power/tumble...

xtramagazine.com

The Tumbler Ridge shooting is already fuelling anti-trans hate in Canada | Xtra Magazine

Bad actors on the right are leaping to connect the shooter’s trans identity to the violence

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

There is literally nothing in this story that makes the fact that the Tumbler Ridge shooter was trans relevant. Nothing. This "who identifies as trans and uses X pronouns" is an outdated approach, and frankly, I would expect Mother Jones to do better.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 24/09/2026

This is fantastically reported story, but I really don't know why we're still out here doing this

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

Canadian journalists who want be better about covering trans people ... This FREE workshop @transjournalists.org and @cajournalists.bsky.social is great (I would know, I helped develop it). The first one is in Toronto on Oct. 2. ⬇️

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

(I believe there will be more in-person sessions in Montreal and Vancouver in the coming months, in addition to online trainings, so there will be plenty of opportunity to take the workshop if you're not in the GTA!)

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

Even if you think you know everything, I promise this get some of the stickier situation that arise in doing journalism today. It's useful for new reporters and seasoned veterans alike, and I'm so glad to see CAJ investing in getting more responsible trans journalism coverage in Canada.

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

Here are some of the other adults dressed like animals that represent university teams Tuberville worked for over the years

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

"Your pilot could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal" Friendly reminder that before politics, Tommy Tuberville was a college football coach. Here he is with the University of Auburn's mascot, Aubie.

A human in a fursuit with football coach turned Republican senator Tommy Tuberville

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

"After all, why not? Why shouldn't I keep it?"

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

Sorry everyone, I should have been more clear that I'm leaving Xtra to become a municipal politics shitposter

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Mel Woods @melwoods.me · 23/09/2026

"After all, why not? Why shouldn't I keep it?"

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