Brighton students - come and work with me! 🐻 We're hiring 1 student researcher from April to July 2026 (part-time, paid at National Living Wage). If you're interested in applying, you can see full details at lnkd.in/dfGEwhap - and get in touch with me if you have any questions!

I’m contributing to Inherent Vice, a new queer heritage & arts zine launching in January 2026! It’s an independent, non-profit project exploring queer stories, objects, creativity, and community across the heritage and arts sectors. www.inherentvice.co.uk

This 100% tracks w my experience. I tried drumming up support from UCU friends & colleagues, there was 0 appetite for this strike & widespread belief that it would kill courses & jobs. Folk completely disconnected from the union after the marking boycott & I think this has made things worse tbh.

Beyond excited to be launching this study examining people's experiences of hypervigilance and wellbeing post-UK Supreme Court ruling. Recruitment info can be found on the image below and more detailed info can be found at: lnkd.in/eQV8cJRh Please repost and share within your networks! 📢✨

Then a field trip to Soho to investigate changes to LGBTQ neighbourhoods. Discovered that they have gentrified both poppers and the f-slur. I had to ask the bf wth the toppers are - apparently they're plastic caps for poppers to get deeper up your nostrils 🐽

Sometimes forget I have this account, anyway I've been doing some cool stuff w my students recently. First off a trip to the always excellent Queer Britain museum - thanks to the volunteers for speaking to us about less visible aspects like funding, community-building, curation etc.

Coming up on Nov 13th, 'A Sense of the Possible: Trans Geographies in Dystopian Times' - online & organised by Royal Geographical Society research groups. Learn about the role of the discipline in a time of reactionary anti-trans politics. www.rgs.org/events/upcom...

Voting for strike action is never done lightly but I've voted Yes & Yes in our UCU ballot. We're demanding uni bosses stop cutting pay & jobs, AND work with us to lobby government to fix 15 years of catastrophic funding policies. This last bit is vital & I'm glad to see my union taking the lead!

We’re looking for passionate, values-driven people to help shape the future of LGBTQ+ communities in Brighton & Hove. If you believe in equity, community, and collaboration—we’d love to hear from you.

Come and work with us in #Sociology at University of Glasgow! #Lecturer in the Sociology of Social Justice and Inequalities, LTS 2 year post. Teach to change societies! #SocialJustice #Inequalities @uofgsociology.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social

READ: Locktober (and beyond) – Thinking About Chastity. “why would anybody lock themselves up and deny themselves pleasure?! Well, this blog discusses some of the things people give up, the impact of chastity, but also explores why ...” by @liamwignall.bsky.social. 📲 bit.ly/Article-Chas...

New article in GLQ on bears and aging, nods to the revalorisation of youth, slenderness, muscle in Spanish bear scenes - maybe more than UK. The framing of 'queer elders' (🤮) as passive archives rather than active participants in queer life/politics is v familiar tho! share.google/zK0qfkkYZ76m...

Impt to understand that this slow (but quickening) collapse of UK unis is by design, not accident. ~15 years of government policymaking & some key policies (tuition fees + removal of caps on course sizes) actively sought this outcome, & VCs eagerly took the bait then swanned off to other posts.

Out on my walking tour of Brighton's LGBTQ+ spaces, with members of u3a (Third Age Trust for lifelong learning) 🌈 The guided walk covers Brighton's infamous cottaging sites, half-straight half-gay bars, lesbian activist spaces, HIV memorials, & bars dealing w a changed social & economic landscape.

Last week saw the Royal Geographical Society's inaugural Asexual Geographies panel! @rachelbayer.bsky.social & I were delighted to present alongside Wenmei and Zofia, following our previous article's invitation for scholars to #joinus in this new field of inquiry. Thanks to the 20+ attendees too!

Final day of my first scoping visit investigating the US history of gay/bi/queer Bears. Today was mostly mid-to-late 2000s, w Bear becoming a huge phenomenon in the USA - multi-day Bear events now v large & complex undertakings (mostly volunteer-run). Note the welcome from then-mayor Gavin Newsom!

Photos from Golden Age of Bears day 3! Today we got a more digital and material culture. First up some early Bear social media (websites & mailing lists).

Day 2 in the Bear History Project archive at Cornell, here are a few snapshots from today! First, some merch from various Bear media, events and regional groups.

Day 1 of research in the Bear History Project archive at Cornell now complete! Exhausted but kinda floored by the incredible materials Les has captured over the decades. Will post some daily highlights before too 👇

Final day in Ithaca before work starts. Checked out more of the town (person w the Kamala 2024 poster in the window - give it up mate). Then since it's Labor Day went to a picnic hosted by the local workers' association. Nice people, learned just how much tax you can avoid as a property magnate uni.

One look at his approval ratings should tell you everything you need to know about the strategy and yet centre left elites continue to insist it be followed

After a long sleep I've been out exploring Ithaca today, a few for my physical geography colleagues here with some beautiful post-glacial gorges and shale formations!

It's been so long since I was on the apps that I didn't realise Scruff has a 'Bear mode' now?! An entire research project, send me yr PhD proposals 👨‍🎓

Off to the USA! Fingers crossed I'll be in Ithaca NY in... 12 hours 💀💀💀 The things I do to look at old copies of Bear Magazine...

Research equipment packed for the first phase of 'A Golden Age of Bears?'. Heading to Cornell University for 1 week scoping out the Bear History Project archives with Les Wright. Expect lots of pics of big hairy guys!

Finally met up with the original Bear researcher Les Wright, author of the Bear Books 1 & 2 (& soon 3!) 🐻 We'll be seeing more of each other over the coming year, as we explore his Bear History Project archive together

I've been working on a queer history walking tour with OutStories this past year and we're almost ready to launch it! If you're in Bristol, Bath and surroundings - watch this space 💙

More @ctsgbrighton.bsky.social merch coming soon! 🌈

Last month I hosted an online research symposium focused on Bears, explicitly aimed at non-academic and community audiences. We had over 70 attendees from around the world, and 3 presentations from leading Bear researchers (inc me!). Check them out here: youtu.be/YoXnSAzBPUA?...

Bear Tracks: Transbears. Trans pioneer Lou Sullivan was arguably the first transman to publicly identify as gay. Les K Wright explains their friendship and Lou's very interesting journey, and also delves into more transmen stories. bearworldmag.com/bear-tracks-...

Excellent piece by Finn Mackay on endless typologies of masculinity, the (frankly offensive) conflation by scholars and campaigners of men with masculinity, & why 'masculinity is to liberation what carbon capture is too a green future'. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

I'd been wondering myself how this ruling could be squared with the empirical, lived realities of 'sexual orientation'. Are we now to reclassify cis gay men who think trans men are attractive as bisexual? How many trans guys do you need to find attractive to count as bisexual?

Come and work with me and nurture trans* thriving in Leicestershire

It's me! 🐻

Final plug for Tuesday's Box Breakers gathering @ctsgbrighton.bsky.social! 📢 Just had a peek at the programme and it looks FANTASTIC - excited to meet others working on sexuality, gender and/or box breaking topics! 🔗 Register to attend (in-person or online): blogs.brighton.ac.uk/ctsg/2025/04...

It's today! We're gonna be talking Bears and developing future research directions. Hear original Bear scholar Les Wright reflect on 25 years since his Bear Books; historian Vini Flauaus on changing Bear culture in Brazil; & me on why researchers need to think carefully abt Bear as a category 🐻

The UK's 4 biggest Pride events have come out swinging in support of trans people - all political parties banned 👍

I've written to @brightonpride.bsky.social enquiring about the participation of groups making anti-trans statements/actions. These include Barclays, the Conservative Party, the EHRC, & the Labour Party. Will share any response. Letter also available to read at drive.google.com/file/d/1DWHJ...

533 geographers worldwide call for action on transphobic developments in the UK, its Supreme Court, and the EHRC - out now with intro in @antipodeonline.bsky.social. Do share & show how academic geographers stand united & ready to defend trans liberation antipodeonline.org/2025/05/06/5...

Glad to have been a contributor to and signatory of this letter 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

I know encyclopedia entries aren't generally seen as important scholarship, but I'm v pleased w my chapter on Bears in this new book. Concisely sets out key discussions on definitions, origins, expansion, & contemporary debates - a one-stop shop for scholars who want to know about us! 🐻

Just out - my entry on GBQ Bears in the new Elgar Encyclopaedia of Queer Studies 🐻 Plus another 104 fantastic entries on both cutting-edge & long-neglected queer topics like Asexuality, Chemsex, Drag Kings, Fashion, Homelessness, Misgendering, RPGs, Teachers & more www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/elg...

Dive into Bear Tracks: Hairy Bears by Les K. Wright! 📖 Explore the cultural significance of beards and body hair in Western and Japanese cultures, and discover fascinating insights into trichophilia (hair fetishism) and hirsutism. Don't miss out on this insightful read!

Preview of my quick research update for our @ctsgbrighton.bsky.social event on Wednesday.

🚀 New CTSG Webinar Series! 🚀 Muslim Masculinities: Interdisciplinary Conversations – a two-part series hosted by Ömercan Tüm 🗓️ 30 April 2025 | 🕐 1 PM (UK) 🎙️ Dr. James Ravenhill & Dr. Nazila Heidarzadegan sign-up: www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/t-zz... #MuslimMasculinities

Still time to submit your proposal for our @ctsgbrighton.bsky.social scholarship for a PhD project on trans / NB inclusion & wellbeing (w me supervising). The application isn't huge, so even if you've not started yet it's not too late 👍

Sorry to be all 'thrilled to announce' but I've been awarded a British Academy / Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grant to advance knowledge of #GayBear culture 🐻 'A Golden Age of Bears?' will have me & Les Wright studying an unexplored archive, & addressing debates abt who & what counts as a Bear.

UK universities: we suck the life out of you, you’ll forever be nothing but a mouse on a wheel, run little mouse, run, you may just get paid or you may lose your job, run little mouse! Also UK universities:

Are you interested in BIG, HAIRY MEN? 🧔🏽 This year I'm co-hosting a Bear Studies Symposium - for researchers, scholars, students & others interested in GBQ Bears! Our keynote speaker is✨Les Wright✨ (editor of the Bear Books)! Learn more: bit.ly/bearstudies

I truly don't intend to use this much but need a place that's not the *other* place so here we are. Anyway hello, if you're interested in geography + LGBTQ issues and particularly GBQ Bears then follow if you like.