As someone whose entire academic career is advocating for the human rights of trans people, I would like to use my free speech to say that Bridget Phillipson has no idea how universities actually work, and that our duty to protect our students from harm - including speech harms - is paramount.
Sadly not. You and many students I talk to.
Or at least don't do it as your only career. It might be doable (survivable, stable) as part of a portfolio career.
Sorry to hear hospital has got you again. Hoping the care is good and you're well enough to escaaape soonest.
This.
Reminder that shes not just a bigot with bad opinions
She actively funds hate groups taking regular trans people to court for doing their jobs, signal boosts lies about individual trans people to her millions of followers and lobbies courts and government to attack us
Mansplaining flowchart. Question 1: Did she ask you to explain it? If yes it's not mansplaining. If no, then go to question 2. Most of the next questions go to asking if men with similar education and experience would know this, and if the splainer asked if this was needed. Or if woman has more experience and or is an expert. Unless splainer asked if an explanation was needed, then it's probably or definitely mansplaining or possibly even "just stop talking now".
He's lucky you didn't reply with this Mansplaining flowchart with appropriate circles around the relevant parts ychef.files.bbci.co.uk/1600x900/p06...
As well as the awfulness, I always find the no questions opportunity to be one of the biggest tells about how cowardly SMT can be.
Also smells like restructure-by-ChatGPT by people who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing as my late-Gran would have said.
So sorry. Solidarity.
Yet those who discriminate or even contribute to a student death (poor Natasha Abrahart) only get "fines" of £50k.
These 6 figure fines are disproportionate in the extreme and are so obviously a nasty agenda.
Yeah, horrible and they aren't meaning to be malicious but it is SO intrusive and I wish people wouldn't push.
I haven't yet tried the "It's complicated, I don't have loads of free time in practice".
Just remember you're doing an amazing job and we can flick the mental Vees at the nosy ppl.
My last uni did a formal disability services "thank you awards" for the 2 years before I left. We had a team nominations and invited students to nominate as well. People receiving the small awards/certificates were really moved.
I suspect they don't do that any more which is a huge shame.
Have done this both for 'standard' body stuff and alongside friends with weird and whacky conditions that affect their hormones who needed "hormones 101" in an accessible way. Trans friends++.
100% recommend asking your trans friends about hormones if you need to. I have asked for myself and others, especially people who need "hormones 101 in English not medic-ese".
We have lost a great activist lawyer in Giles Peaker who did an amazing amount of work on English/Welsh housing law - sharing info with laypeople, other lawyers and helping to shape legislation in parliament.
I followed Giles because his posts were interesting and his work was relateable.
Oh no. That's really sad. I only ever exchanged a few twitter/bluesky comments with him, but I was always super impressed by him and his work.
Thank you. Sometimes we forget to look at what is working well cos the "argh" is a lot louder 🤣.
I did however send an article & thanks to one academic dept relating to work with a student they've done fab work with. I always feel better when I've passed on my appreciation. I got a nice reply.
Hoping you have many happy memories of your Dad this evening. I'm sorry for your loss.
I also worry about unis just loading more and more and more onto staff and expecting us all to take it on with less and less external resource/capacity and less internal resource/capacity. Or just restructuring and ditching precious admin and wondering why admin then becomes a shitshow.
Most of this yes!
Slightly disagree on the counselling as universities are not healthcare providers and I think the issues often causing counselling need are structural (internally to the uni how bureaucratic and inflexible things like deadlines can be AND externally e.g. cost of living).
Yup. It's painful now. The civil service isn't perfect but throwing them under the bus like that is really dangerous for long term political country management. The whole idea of Westminster civil service is not party-political so we have continuity etc.
I just can't see why Mandy was chosen!?
Yeah, been at it 18 years this summer... Feeling somewhat old and jaded these days.
I remember a distant work colleague basically telling me I couldn't be tired from an extra work day (I worked 28hrs a week rather than the usual 36) cos she worked the 36 + 3 nights a week teaching dance on the side...
Failure to grasp that not all of us are playing with the same resources here...
I think this lot were aware but not aware of how infested EVERYTHING is with AI. They were worried about Grammarly and I was basically explaining there's a bunch of DSA/disability software tools which are AI-infested along with people's operating systems, office packages, word processors etc... 😱
Hah. I had a very interesting discussion with some psych academics about "AI" and ethical use. I think I scared them more than they expected...
I'd explicitly ban Streeting, Stock, Bindel and any other transphobic GCs personally from any Prides. Make them all unwelcome in queer spaces cos they aren't welcome.
I'd love to read that. I have lost count of the usually white wealthy cis men who use "I'm autistic" as their excuse for being an arsehole and refusing to engage with feedback.
I have other autistic friends who have people who agree to give accurate/honest feedback to avoid arseholery.
Has anyone written about white techbros in SV weaponising neurodivergence (Karp, Musk) to ward off any political or social critique of their obscene technofascism, just checking to see if I missed it, someone has to have written this
If you are a Councillor, please watch this.
It happened nearly 50 years ago in the Netherlands. The arguments against restricting traffic were the same as those made today and were proven to be wrong.
Many cities would greatly benefit from a circulation plan.
youtu.be/bgKokpZMFnU?...
Yes being on the dole is not easy and wasn't easy back in the 90s but the level of hardship JKR seems to claim she experienced seems exaggerated.
The youtube person has sought original sources from news articles etc before JKR got super famous & started rewriting her backstory to suit narratives.
JKR was lent £600 in mid-90s prices by a friend as deposit on a "less grotty flat" and friends gave her furniture when it was unfurnished.
The famous cafe she wrote in was owned by her Bro-in-law.
JKR is v quiet about her extensive quite wealthy support network when crying how poor she was.
At that time she was living with a sister & husband in a 4 bedroom posh flat.
In film JKR complained that the benefits agency asked Qs.
JKR claimed to live in a grotty bedsit, which turned out to be a not-bad 1 bedroom flat; and mostly manky/mouse infested cos she didn't clean "cos writing".
Commentry was done against some terrible movie of JKR's life and critiquing how nonsense it was at all points.
JKR likes to claim she came from a modest upbringing, whereas she actually came from a more comfortable wealthy end of middle class.
JKR likes to claim she was super poor almost homeless.