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Thomas JW (they/them)

@thefivetonine.bsky.social
246 followers 293 following 150 posts

An infrequent - and probably incoherent - miscellany. Scholar of fashion, dress and non-binary genders. Also lectures on sex, sexuality and social issues, and runs The Five to Nine Studio: a queer, peripatetic and generalist creative studio. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇪🇺🇵🇸

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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
So, I'm on an associate lecturer contract this year. I've just been told that associate lecturers aren't entitled to direct access to our students' accessibility and accommodation information. How are we supposed to effectively teach and support them without being able to confirm what they need?
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
It's funny how some celebrity deaths really get you, isn't it? Dolly's feels like a gut punch. I feel very grateful that I got to see her twice in concert.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Looking forward to everyone in the UK staring into the sky this evening and chanting 'FULL MOON! HALF MOON! TOTAL ECLIPSE!' as we try to summon Jaffa, God of Cakes. Best. Apocalypse. Ever.
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TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
TransActual is launching the Trans Lives Survey 2026. It's quick, anonymous and will help us campaign for our community! Take the survey here: form.typeform.com/to/BRppksJ3 #TransLives #TransSurvey #Trans
A pink and blue graphic with a black and white cartoon of some people on the bottom. 

Text reads: TransActual is launching its biggest survey for the trans community yet!

TRANS LIVES SURVEY

2026

We want to hear about your experiences as a trans person living in the UK.

It's quick, anonymous, and will help us campaign for our community!
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Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
A new essay for all my trans siblings and our allies. "As the UK enters a new era of state-mandated segregation, I find myself asking: was it all worth it?"
ruthpearce.net
What we have won
It was the largest trans protest in British history. We travelled from across the country to central London. We were joined by allies, especially cis gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer people who re…
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I'm very late announcing my participation, but I'll lead a 'fugitive teach-in' at this Friday's (24/07) @tvce.bsky.social symposium at Birkbeck! Through playing a few rounds of the game 'telephone,' the participants in my session are going to explore transmission and inheritance in trans+ histories!
A photograph of Thomas Jeram-West with a text overlay, announcing their participation in this year's Trans+ Virtual Centre of Excellence symposium at Birkbeck, University of London. Thomas is a White Northern European non-binary person assigned male at birth; they have short greying light brown hair that flicks backwards, and a matching moustache and heavy stubble. They also have a silver nose ring. In this photograph, they are standing in a sunny street facing left, with their head slightly tilted upwards and half-smiling. They are wearing black-framed sunglasses so you cannot see them squinting in the light. They are wearing a brown jacket with an orange, blue and yellow check, and a gingham shirt in yellow, orange, green and purple. There is a buttonhole of orange, pink and purple ranunculus on their jacket, which is also crossed by a dark green bag strap. The text overlay places 'TVCE X BiGS' across the image in large white letters, and logos for both Birkbeck, University of London and the Trans+ Virtual Centre of Excellence appear at the bottom of the image in that order. In the bottom right-hand corner, there is a QR code to scan that will take you to a web page where you can obtain more information about the event.
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Gender Census @gendercensus.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
The 13th annual international Gender Census 2026 is now open until at least 13th August 2026! survey.gendercensus.com It's for anyone whose gender (or lack thereof) isn't described by the M/F binary. It's short and easy, and results are useful in academia, business and self-advocacy. #LGBTQ
Promotional image. Title: Gender Census 2026. Text: If you can't easily put yourself into just one of these two boxes, you are invited to take part. Images: On the left, a box with a Venus/female symbol on it, patterned with tree bark. On the right, a box with a Mars/male symbol on it, patterned with grass.
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Create/Connect @createconnectccr.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Are you trans, aged 16-25 and based in the UK? Are you interested in taking part in a project to explore your experiences of community and belonging? Do you want to receive a free art box in the post filled with activities and creative materials? Find out more about Create/Connect here!🧵 1/
A flyer from the Create/Connect project. The Create/Connect logo appears in the top left, in pink and green text. Down the right, there are photographs of a sticker, a carabiner, a booklet, and stencilled artwork. There is a QR code at the bottom centre. The middle of the flyer is black text on a white background that says the following:

Do you want to receive a free art box in the post filled with activities and creative materials?

Art boxes are activity boxes that the Create/Connect team are posting to trans young people aged 16-25 living in the UK. Art boxes are a different way to learn about trans young people's experiences by using creativity and you can make the art in your own time, wherever you want and connect with us online then to hat about what you have made about community and belonging.

The QR code has more information about how you can receive an art box.

In a green bubble at the bottom left, the following text appears:

createconnectproject.co.uk - funded by the AHRC, approved by the University of Southampton's ethics committee. ERGO ref. 93783.
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Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
🏳️‍⚧️ Prayer motions against the EHRC code are important, but the fight from here is legislative. Will you join us inside Parliament on 25th June 11-4 to demand better? www.transsolidarityalliance.com/mass-lobby-2...
transsolidarityalliance.com
Mass Lobby for Trans Equality
Last year we broke the record for an LGBT+ mass lobby of Parliament. Will you help us break it again? Join us on 25th June 2026 to demand better.
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Shalini @shalininair.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
✨Open-access publication @ersjournal.com✨ Drawing on intersectionality, spatial & standpoint theory, I propose the framework of 'locational intersectionality' as a decolonial margin standpoint on structural inequality across scales. doi.org/10.1080/0141...
ABSTRACT
This article introduces the conceptual framework of locational intersectionality – a margin standpoint on structural inequalities across multiple scales within the colonial-neoliberal world order. Locational intersectionality pays close attention to how unequal power relations shape mutually-constitutive scales, from the body and community to the national and transnational, revealing a continuity that spans space and time. It advances the scholarship that combines intersectionality and space to analyse power inequalities. It does so through a decolonial reworking of intersectionality that, while acknowledging the centrality of race, foregrounds the global South margins, illustrated here through India's stratified caste system. The framework also emerges from a critique of how spatial theorising depoliticised intersectionality by dismissing identity politics. From the #MeToo movement against sexual violence to unequal COVID-19 health outcomes, I demonstrate how this approach lends a situated understanding of oppression, resistance, and justice. Lastly, I examine how locational intersectionality frames epistemology, including our positional reflexivity and citation politics.
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Sage Journals @journals.sagepub.com · 03/06/2026
June is Pride Month. We’re sharing free access to LGBTQIA+ research exploring identity, equity, health, and more. Explore here: ow.ly/11q450Z4lk4 #LGBTQIA #AcademicResearch #PrideMonth
Pride Month
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Happy Pride Month! Remember to wave your flags with your non-dominant hand so that you're free to offer help and kindness to those in need or strike a blow against fascism with your dominant one. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Does anyone have a personal recommendation for books about Schiaparelli? Histories, biographies, anything that's well researched and well written? We're off to the exhibition at the V&A soon and I want to do a bit of reading beforehand. Bonus points for anything about Daniel Roseberry! Thanks! 🩷
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Interrupting Criminalization @interruptcrim.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
NEW RESOURCE! Media folks: check out our new guide on covering anti-trans rhetoric & the criminalization of trans people. By Arielle Rebekah of Trans & Caffeinated Communications, IC Abolition Journalism Fellow Lewis Raven Wallace, & our cofounder Andrea J. Ritchie. bit.ly/TransCrimina...
Don't be a copagandist! Trans criminalization edition. A resource for media on covering anti-trans rhetoric & the criminalization of trans people.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Just managed to put in a last-minute abstract for the @tvce.bsky.social/BiGS symposium this year. Thank you so much for having extended the application deadline! Fingers crossed! 🩵🩷🤍
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Switchboard - LGBTQIA+ Support Line @switchboard.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
You’re not alone. Our trained LGBTQIA+ volunteers are here to listen to any concerns you may have as a result of the revised EHRC guidance being laid before parliament. We’ve supported the community through trials and tribulations for over 50 years, and we’re here for you today.
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Dr. Sandra Duffy Golden @sandraduffy.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Here's my first impressions FAQ on the EHRC document. Questions welcome. sandraduffy.blog/2026/05/21/f...
sandraduffy.blog
First impressions on the EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations – a Q&A
Hello, UK trans community and allies. It’s been a long old day (year) waiting for this but it’s finally upon us. Bridget Phillipson has laid the new EHRC guidance before Parliament and …
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 21/05/2026
The updated code of practice for services, public functions and associations has been laid before Parliament. The guidance tells organisations how they should approach trans inclusion. Here’s what that means.
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Sex & Sexualities Journal @sexandsexualities.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
How should the #sociology of #sexuality incorporate #race into research in meaningful ways? And how should we also focus on pleasure, joy, and desire? Check out this work by Terrell J.A. Winder and Kendall Ota. doi.org/10.1177/3033...
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
My PhD research questionnaires and interviews have been reopened ONE LAST TIME until 23/04/2026 for more UK non-binary participants: - from global majority backgrounds - from working class backgrounds - aged 15, 16 & 17 Let's talk about how you use clothes, accessories etc. as a non-binary person!
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Nancy Kelley @nancymk.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
The government's draft of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026 sets out proposals that would have a profoundly negative impact on trans, non binary and gender diverse children in schools and colleges. Please respond, and speak up for trans+ children's right to learn (links in comments)🧵
Bright blue background with white all caps text: LET TRANS KIDS LEARN, and smaller SCHOOLS SHOULD BE SAFE FOR EVERY STUDENT.  Ident from Allsorts Youth Project.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
By getting Vic and Bob to lure the ships through with the 'dove from above' routine from Shooting Stars.
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Jasmine K Gani @jasminekgani.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
My new article "Kant as Methodology: Race, White Ignorance, and Intellectual Responsibility" is now out in Critical Philosophy of Race (Penn State University Press). Open Access copy here: jasminekgani.wordpress.com/wp-content/u... (summary of core arguments in thread below) @lseir.bsky.social
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Picking a film at our house... Him: Let's watch this one. Me: Why? Him: We liked the trailer. Me: Never watched it. Him: It's got her in it. Me: Who's her? Him: The blonde one. Me: Which blonde one? Him: She has teeth. We watch the film. Never remember seeing a trailer. Don't ever recognise 'her'.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Completely by chance, I came across Neuroqueer Heresies by Nick Walker, and appear to have answered my own question. I'm really quite excited to make the time to read this next week. Trying to find a way of engaging with my PhD thesis that respects how my brain processes and produces information.
A photograph showing the cover for 'Neuroqueer Heresies' by Nick Walker. The cover is a medium purple, and a light blue banner at the top features the title in purple matching the cover. The subtitle is featured towards the middle of the cover, and reads: 'Notes on the neurodiversity paradigm, autistic empowerment, and postnormal possibilities'. Underneath, an image of a blue and black butterfly with a human brain in place of its thorax adorns the cover. The author's name appears at the bottom, in light blue.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Almost a 100% hit rate on students citing Gender Trouble in their essays. Imagine if Butler got royalties that way. Makes me laugh that, one year, I'll get about 15 near-identical definitions of performativity, and the next, every single student off-roads and gives me a brand new interpretation...
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Hey, academic Bluesky! Am I hallucinating, or had someone out there written about 'working neurodivergence into research methodologies'? Something along those lines? Something kind-of-but-not-quite using the experience of having ADHD or ASD, for example, to almost 'queer' doing your research? No?
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Bookshop Lady (grumbling): 'You don't look very wet.' Me: 'Oh, I run between the drops.' Her: ... Me: ... Her: >:( Me: :D
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Run, don't walk, to get copies for your local and university libraries, and your bookshelves at home!
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
There is something so unsettling to me about Valentine's Day stuff and hot cross buns on the shelves by 9 Jan, only summer clothes in some shops, and TV ads for 'savings schemes' for Christmas 2026. There must be something somewhere written about capitalism and the collapse of the cultural calendar.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Shocked, but not surprised, by the way in which the US invasion of Venezuela is being spoken about on BBC news. Language in the 10:30 Radio 6 bulletin arguably legitimised actions taken, the authority the US claims over Maduro and their allegations against him. Bizarre and horrific in equal measure.
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
Maybe, if you're not actually in university classrooms, teaching students in the age of gAI, perhaps you might want to stop and listen when people actually in those classrooms raise concerns about what they are seeing; and not just dismiss us as luddites, or boomers, or cruel profs playing cops
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Stop whatever you're doing and go and download yourself a copy of this: Decolonial Approaches to Gender Nonconformity! It's open access! It's right there!
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Another important and timely thread about student and lecturer experiences. It's been getting harder both to learn and teach for a long time.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Just seen this thanks to @kariebookish.bsky.social. I've been involved in HE as student/staff for most of the past 20 years and the rise in student disengagement - and its spiking over the past couple of years in particular - has been an absolutely heartbreaking experience. This thread hits me hard.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
My PhD primary research questionnaires and interviews have been reopened until 23/01/2026 - after more UK non-binary participants: - from global majority backgrounds - from working class backgrounds - aged 15, 16 and 17 Let's talk about how you use clothes, accessories etc. as a non-binary person!
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
We've just been to see Predator: Badlands. It's as though someone handed the franchise over to the Star Trek: Lower Decks writers, who then wrote the whole script the furthest off their tits on shrooms that any human could ever be whilst nudging each other in the ribs and going, 'omg what if'.
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Both @lizziereed.bsky.social and @robinskyer.bsky.social are pretty great - and so is their article!
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christopher griffin @chris-brighton.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
This is a great article by Alex Adamson for Philosophy and Global Affairs that bridges trans studies, intersex studies, and decolonial feminism. #AcademicSky #AcademicResearch #TransStudies #IntersexStudies #DecolonialStudies #PhilSky #GenderSky #Wynter #Lugones #TransSky doi.org/10.5840%2Fpg...
"Beyond the Coloniality of Gender: María Lugones, Sylvia Wynter, Decolonial Feminism, and Trans and Intersex Liberation," by Alex Adamson. Abstract: This article explores Sylvia Wynter’s analysis of gender as a category differentially applied across the global color line and María Lugones’ account of the coloniality of gender. While Wynter’s and Lugones’s work offer consequential insights for queer, trans, and intersex studies and activism, they have deliberately engaged these particular discourses and histories of struggle in limited ways. Wyn- ter analyzes the contradictions of Western feminists’ organizing against female genital cutting in Africa, but she does not link her conclusions to their ramifica- tions for activism against genital cutting on children deemed intersex. Lugones uses the existence of intersex people as a turning point in her critique of Aníbal Quijano when developing her concept of the coloniality of gender, but she does not go further to connect global intersex activism and decolonial feminist struggles. This article explores the work of Wynter and Lugones for their compatibility with trans and intersex studies and activism, and the places where their work can be furthered through insights from trans and intersex studies. It concludes that to move beyond the coloniality of gender requires trans and intersex liberation and that trans and intersex liberation must be understood in a broader decolonial feminist framework. Keywords: decolonial feminism, Sylvia Wynter, María Lugones, trans studies, intersex studies
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TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Researchers from the University of Birmingham are recruiting transgender or non-binary individuals who were born into a Sikh family. To explore intersecting domains of gender and religion. Please email them for further information on navigatingidentities@contacts.bham.ac.uk #TransResearch
University of Birmingham logo 
Are you gender diverse and born into a Sikh family 
If so, we would like to invite you to take part in our research. 
Aim: The aim is to gain a deeper understanding of personal experiences and narratives of individuals who are gender diverse and born into a Sikh family. How they navigate and understand their journey. 
Arrow to who can take part
Who can take part: Anyone over the age of 18; currently living in the UK. Identify as gender diverse (ie individuals who do not identify as cis-gender)
Arrow to what is involved 
What is involved
60Minute online interview. With some predetermined questions around your personal relationship between gender diversity and religion.
 
If you have any questions or would like to take part please contact Charanjit (she/her) on navigatingidentities@contacts.bham.ac.uk
This study is being supervised by Dr Claudia Zitz (they/them) with consultation and input from Sabah Choudrey, expert by experience (they/him/he).
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Thomas JW (they/them) @thefivetonine.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
And another one for the big birthday book list! This looks like an incredibly exciting addition to everyone's queer bookshelf.
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Ulrike Krause (she/her) @ulrikekrause.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
The winter term is about to start, and with it our lecture series on "Global Politics, Gender, and (In-)Equality". The lectures will take place on selected Thursdays via Zoom. The series unpacks the complex entanglements of global politics, gender, and (in-)equality in contemporary societies. [1]
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Centre en études genre, UNIL @ceg-unil.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
☎️ Call For Papers ☎️ 🔹International Symposium: Far Right, Gender and Femonationalism🔹 Mid-March 2026, Lausanne CRAPUL and CEG (UNIL) invite scholars to submit proposals for a three-day symposium on far-right politics and gender. 👉 Full CFP text: urlr.me/35GyhK ⏰ Deadline : 30th October 2025
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Sandeep Bakshi @sandeepbak.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
20th Nov 2025 at 2.00 pm (Paris time), I'll be giving a talk on queer & decolonial thinking & how it is evolving in our times. It's co-badged by Université Paris Cité & CLAGS, CUNY. Everyone is welcome. Image courtesy: Mario Patiño Hybrid event. Registration required: u-paris.fr/universite-o...
Flyer of Decolonial Queer Thinking. Image by Mario Patiño, artist. Image of a person of colour with a white veil and naked torso with a flower in their mouth.
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Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
The EHRC Code will devastate trans people's lives. This is an emergency. Here are three ways to fight back. Take action now: www.transsolidarityalliance.com/ehrc-code
Three ways to fight back

Email my MP
Call my MP
Meet my MP
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QueerAF @wearequeeraf.com · 01/09/2025
🚨 New police powers could ban face coverings at Pride protests even if you need to protect your identity because: 🔴 Risk of domestic abuse 🔴 You're not out as queer/Trans+ 🔴 Fear of political views being made public Health and disability reasons also won't prevent you getting arrested 🧵Here's why
Screenshot of QueerAF website with headline that reads: New police powers could criminalise wearing a mask at Pride. Picture that shows black and white women, wearing rainbow pride facemasks and carrying a bullhorn holding placards that read legalise LGBTI+ people worldwide
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