Happy Christmas, from our ICU to yours

The exact people now saying "Nigel Farage was young and foolish at school" (to excuse his racism, bullying and harassment of fellow pupils at Dulwich College) are the same people who said "Shamima Begum was old enough to know what she was doing".

I’m sure my own followers know by now, but just in case: The UK’s anti-trans hysteria is just that: hysteria. The UK is a stand out in how mainstream politicians have adopted this horrible bigotry.

no group in the world was more primed for radicalization than SV techbros: patted on the head for their ‘intelligence,’ the engineering mindset of tech and tech alone can fix this everything, the tie ups with the military, the lack of regulation, politicians and pundits sucking up, and the MONEY

A very wealthy dude from a country that has never had a single female president is yearning for ‘masculine leadership’. And public executions.

A few months ago I read that many datasets used to train these AI models are full of porn to ensure “women aren’t underrepresented in the dataset.” Once you know, you see it everywhere.

I would normally not have batted an eye at this paper But it’s by Robert Hahn, and is a nice overview of everything we know about fluid redistribution in the critically unwell- including gel phase, some glycocalyx stuff, 3 compartment models, and albumin escape rates #foamed

Fantastic! Great to see them speaking up and saying what we all know is true.

This is simply Reform propaganda straight from the BBC

God, the number of people who were willing to believe that the South Yorkshire police were too woke to prosecute sexual abuse cases, when in fact the police force was itself an instrument of patriarchal sexual violence. It’s like a case study in the worst excesses of the British press.

If Taylor did TBI

Q: There are many people who fit the criteria of fleeing persecution. Afghans for example. But they're being denied refugee status. So why such an exception for the Afrikaners? TRUMP ADMIN OFFICIAL: One of the criteria is making sure they can be assimilated easily into our country

Genuinely cackling at the idea of some cyberman putting in a venflon and doing the ‘here’s some lovely fresh air’ chat pre-sleepytime But hey, gassers seem to be replaceable in this brave new AI world

There seems to be a very particular form of antipathy directed toward autistic women and girls diagnosed c/ lower support needs A narrative that we’re ‘attention seeking’ from a need to feel ‘specia’- which feels rooted in misogyny The desire to silence women’s voices and experiences rumbles on

One thing you notice about anti-feminism is that its public discourses are all about erecting a fantasy of men’s victimization that is clung to all the more desperately and insistently the more it contradicts the actual facts. So the more women are hurt, the more we’re told that men are suffering.

This was my Sistine Chapel

A SHORT POEM FOR STAR WARS DAY Her name was Yoda, A showgirl she was.

“I’ll go for a ‘maybe?’ and ‘or something’, after a pause,” Mulligan explains. “Even though I come out with random and weirdly particular facts throughout the duration of the film, it surely signals I have a merely healthy interest in the subject. They will never know.”

Key point- incr nos of people being diagnosed autistic doesn’t necessarily mean incr nos of autistic ppl Women + people of colour don’t always fit the prevailing image and may not be referred for assessment But there is a strong moral panic around Dx rates atm www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a condition that affects people with severe breathing problems. A new paper in @lancetrespirmed.bsky.social looks to refine the definition of ARDS and explores avenues to improve current understanding and treatment options: tinyurl.com/yc3avnf4

Gender critical activists broadening their focus post SC judgment in single sex spaces Now its male mammographers for breast screening Here is Janice Turner saying breast are ‘intrinsic to female self-esteem, the locus of male desire’ How utterly regressive and backward-thinking is this 💩?

Helloooo The Times, do you not mean Kneecap rap in Irish, which will not be understood by people who do not understand Irish? The framing used in article designed to whip up moral panic is fascinating isnt it

there are, in fact, a ton of positive role models for masculinity out there and if teenage boys choose the whiniest and most hate-filled versions that's at least somewhat on them

3) Moving right on immigration normalizes the radical right, their positions and rhetoric. Normalization is a key precondition for electoral expansion of the radical right. Programmatic accommodation and collaboration normalize the radical right and open new segments of the electorate for it.

Really looking forward to this opening plenary - Prof Rockwood himself! Being literate in frailty is every clinician’s business, but it is especially our business…. The @ics-updates.bsky.social flagship conference SOA is in Birmingham in July, online and in person 📟⚕️

So much talk right now about ‘protecting’ women So little talk right now about women’s rights

🧵In March I wrote about how Trump's attacks on science & universities followed the authoritarian playbook & set out Qs as warning signs for escalation. 🚨 THESE ARE NOW HAPPENING This 🧵is on how those warning sign Qs have been realised full post: christinapagel.substack.com/p/warning-si... 1/15

Thank you so much to @survivinginscrubs.bsky.social for asking me to talk about Benevolent Sexism tonight online Very much enjoyed plugging the work of the great @katemanne.bsky.social - read her work, everyone!!

SCARY THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: This person gets to vote

In our brave new gender critical world, let’s focus on marking language with gender as much as possible especially if it reminds people how attractive and appealing female things should be What a step forward!

When you remember the historical connection between ‘autism’ research & murder of people considered ‘different’ - this ‘government list’ becomes more ominous. Especially when proposed by those who consider empathy as a bad trait. #RejectAutismRegistry time.com/5255779/aspe...

I’ve noticed there seem to be more anaesthesia/ICM men using Bluesky than women in anaesthesia/ICM. So naturally, I’ve created a starter pack for women in anaesthesia & ICM #womeninanaesthesia go.bsky.app/5JoMa85

I would pretend to be shocked but….

To celebrate Easter I’m gonna betray one of you.

Unsurprisingly, Sex Matters have already produced dodgy guidance on what the SC judgment means, trying to pressure organisations to ban trans people from using the loo. The anti-trans movement has significant resources and are now seeking to reduce our rights in practice even further.

"In an earlier post, she wrote: "As for the inevitable death, if I die, I want a loud death, I don't want me in a breaking news story, nor in a number with a group, I want a death that is heard by the world, a trace that lasts forever, and immortal images that neither time nor place can bury."

Well now *this* is interesting- intubating and ventilating to allow for seizure control with propofol is ofc associated with many potential hazards and complications A decent bolus of iv ketamine seems like a very rational thing to try before reaching for the white stuff

lovely juxtaposition of gender critical people publicly going "ah, finally a victory for common sense :)" and trans friends wondering privately if they need to seriously consider emigrating as Britain just doesn't feel safe for them

I don’t see how centre/lib/left people can fix the problem that much of the current right has radicalised itself to the point of believing complete fictions. It’s hard to debate with people who don’t share fundamental moral values; impossible to debate with people who don’t accept a common reality.

Whilst trans people continue to have specific protections under the Equality Act, today’s ruling is going to embolden so very many people determined to stoke division in society

I can’t help but think something has gone wrong in your life if you’re spending your morning off work holding a sign that says “Large Gametes”.

On what is a really difficult day, here are some resources for our trans friends and allies. Solidarity 💜 goodlawproject.org/resource/sup...

Someone has to step up and take this to the ECHR. It effectively repeals the GRA which already goes against ECHR rulings. It defines the biological sex as excluding trans people which isn’t medically accurate and messy. It makes living in the UK potentially very difficult

This ideological decision seems very removed from the actual lives of actual trans people and the impact it will have It’s another dark dark cloud on the gathering storm front against minorities and minoritised people

Our new temporary exhibition is now open! If you’re in Edinburgh between now and Easter 2026, do come along to Surgeons’ Hall to learn all about the history of women in surgery.

🚀🚀

“Humankind might be divided into three categories- men, women and women physicians” -William Osler (A good lad I’m sure but suspect he and I wouldn’t have been work besties)

I have many pet hates but one is when people say ‘so and so screamed at me’ when in fact so and so simply disagreed with you and/or did not do what you wanted possibly also whilst not smiling Screaming is an actual definable thing, it’s not a feeling you get when you’re sad after an interaction