Ok as a queer historian I'm getting so tired of this:

LGBTQ+ historian: And so this person might have identified as LGBT today.

Conservative press: 'QUEER HISTORIANS' SAY ALL VIKINGS WERE TRANS!!!? There is such bad faith reading of any research into history that isn't just regurgitating the status quo. Any opinions are taken to such a basic headline grabbing extreme solely to discredit the actual words of the historian and stoke outrage.

It's so boring.

Having a drink post tour with a bunch of queer folk and a really unwell man comes over ranting about immigrants, and spewing racist bile. We ask him to leave and he notices a rainbow badge. Instantly he pivots to transphobia and homophobia. 1/ It was clear he wasn't a happy or well man, something had gone very wrong for him. But the things he had hooked his pain into, had connected with on some level, were the very same lines of hate spat out every day by our country's most popular media outlets. 2/

I've been thinking about the word 'queer' and why (particularly when writing about history) I value it.  Why removing it from the lexicon without a meaningful substitute would be damaging and dangerous in terms of our very ability to talk about ourselves. 1/ (If you don't personally like the word queer, that's fine, I understand. But if you are coming here to tell me I cannot use it, or that it is only ever a slur, I won't be debating with you; Your arguments have been debunked. You don't actually want to have a conversation) 2/

It's interesting that the 'Queer is a slur' crowd have no issue with calling heterosexual people 'straight', even though the implication of that is very clear... It goes to show who is really attempting to control the conversation. 1. I don't have an issue with calling people straight: It has an implied homophobia, but I'd rather acknowledge than deny it.
2. This is is not aimed at LGBT+ people who do not like using the word queer for themselves, and do not attempt to censor the language of others.

Why don't you, a cisgender heterosexual person get a flag?
Why don't you get a pride month?

Let's imagine you are asking this truly in good faith and break it down. 1/ The concept of 'pride' amongst LGBTQ+ people originated around 1970.

The word 'pride' was chosen as it is is the opposite of 'shame'.

Shame being the emotion generally felt by and attributed to queer people, both internally and societally. 2/

Heartbroken 17 year-old Alan Turing wrote to his mother after the death of his friend, and first love, Chris Morcom:

‘I feel sure that I shall meet Morcom again somewhere & that there will be some work for us to do together, as I believed there was for us to do here.’ 1/ The teenage Anne Frank wrote in her diary:

'I remember that once when I slept with a girl friend I had a strong desire to kiss her, and that I did do so.'

This, and other parts, were removed by later editors and publishers for being 'pornographic' or 'strange'. 2/

I just finished watching 'The Imitation Game' which I have put off for some time. Alan Turing is one of my 'heroes' and I was a little unsure about how his life would be adapted.

In all honesty, I feel quite split by some of the liberties taken by the film... I feel like representing Alan as a savant genius, but incredibly awkward doesn't quite fit. Alan was not a superhero, or Sherlock Holmes, he was known to be both sociable and funny. I also find it offensive that he is implied to have not understood what a joke was.

I just want to share a really nice story from the game expo this weekend: A teenager, I'd guess she was about 13, came over and sat at my table. I was demo-ing a spaceship building game (Galaxy Truckers if you're a nerd). 1/ She sat down, told me she already knew the rules and just got to work building her ship. We chatted a bit, and she told me she wanted to be an engineer: She had built her own mechanical DnD dice roller using a 3D printer and her own designs. 'just for fun' 2/

After interacting with some of the internet's sillybillies today, I feel the need to say a couple of things.

So firstly, I'm gay. Not bisexual. Now, if I was bisexual there'd be nothing wrong with it, but I'm... just not. 1/ When I was single and I'd see a cute guy... Normally I wouldn't ask to see his birth certificate, his genitals, baby photos or ask for a sample of his DNA on the first date...

That's generally considered... What's the word? 🤔 Psychotic! 2/

Last night as a birthday surprise I learnt to dance Bhangra with some friends... I had SO much fun... But if any video footage surfaces I'm going to have to change my name and move to a different continent. Nobody needs to see a large sweaty white man 'screwing the lightbulbs'

Sometimes you get into a spat with someone on the internet, but then you both kind of wind down, see each other's perspectives, and it ends respectfully and I just think that's neat. 👉👈 Meanwhile in another much more cursed part of Twitter:

The year is 2076.
The war between humans and AI has been waging for 17 years.
A single grizzled human veteran drags herself up a pile of skulls and USB sticks.
Above her hangs a huge wall of blank screens.

"Take this you cybernetic bastards!!!!"

*Click* In the distance an insectile whirr begins to build. But mixed in are the ergonomic 'plinks' and 'boinks' of 21st century app notifications, and a soft almost human muttering.

The warrior closes her eyes and smiles.

"Yes come, come closer! The algorithm is hungry, so feed!"

There is a real danger around people saying 'I'm a scientist just presenting the facts, I'm being objective' then presenting an argument that is clearly based on opinion and interpretation.

Being a scientist does not make you objective. 1/ As we know, there are many examples of intelligent and respected scientists in their own field, who hold truly bizarre beliefs or biases! Their background in science does not make them more correct.

We conflate the two, but being a logician does not make you impartial. 2/

@skdh Right, against my better judgement I'm going to descend into the pit of snakes this comments section will slowly become...

Firstly, a precursor. I am not transgender, I am a cisgender gay man, but a passionate ally and friend to the trans people in my life. That's my 'agenda' /1 @skdh Secondly, Sabine I admire your content and style a lot. I've watched quite a few of your videos, and I've learnt a LOT from them. You break complex ideas down fantastically and generally strive for impartiality.

I respect that.

(You can hear the 'but' coming can't you?!) /2

I hate tone policing, but we do need to stop insulting how people look when we don't like their morals.

I understand the joy of the dunk, and it's not because 'it sounds mean', more that it's totally innocent strangers who catch the stray bullets from physical insults. 1/ If someone's a pillock, a bigot, a grifter or a hypocrite, there should be no need to shame their appearance.

Whenever I see whoever Twitter's main character is, getting shamed for something unrelated to their actions, often it just makes me feel crap about myself. 2/

Rewriting Sonnet 18 as if it were written by a gym bro:

Shall I compare thee to chocolate whey?
Thou art built as a warrior Thracian:
Deadlifts cause the kettlebells to sway,
Preworkout hath all too short duration;
/1 Sometime overhead lighting shines,
And often his swole complexion relents;
And every pump, deflates and declines,
By chance, of leaving gainz on the bench
/2

LGBTQ+: *Breaths*

Do you have to ram it down our damn throats?!!!

LGBTQ+: *holds breath*

You want attention? Is this a pathetic cry for attention?!

LGBTQ+: *Gets up to leave room*

Oh! So you're afraid of a little debate?

LGBTQ+: For fuck's sa-

Violence! Slander! Abuse!! It's a sassy vent, but this is legitimately what it feels like interacting with biggots online!

Hey 2022! I wrote this thread back in 2018, before I knew about the Disney casting. Just to say I’m pleased to see it resonates today, but remember the actual perspectives of children and scholars of colour when considering the impact of this casting. Not just one white dude X That being said I wholeheartedly stand by the casting of a black Ariel for many reasons, some of which are in this thread. If you are upset by the casting I would kindly ask you to reflect on why this interpretation (and not the thousands of other changes Disney made) upsets you?

When I see photos of same sex couples getting married, it always makes me smile, without fail, partly because I remember that in the UK we’ve only been able to do this for 8 years. *Northern Ireland, I see you.
**The parts of the world where same sex partnerships still aren’t legal, I see you.
***Queer couples who don’t want to get married, I see you.

I’m about to meet my lovely friend @nmjcoveney at Mykonos airport and I’ve got a surprise for him! 😊*

*The surprise is I’ve been stress sweating for a solid 5 hours on a small Greek ferry so I smell like a bucket of Parmesan left in a warm gym locker for a week. Also I’m getting him the fuck out of Mykonos as soon as possible! If you love Mykonos, that’s great… I just don’t! 😂

We often look at the sillier trappings of toxic masculinity and laugh: The desire for blue and gun-metal grey, the aversion to florals, the horror at basic hygiene and softness. And yes: it IS funny, it IS silly, but it’s also so imprinted into the psyche of men and boys /1 From such an early age we tell boys in every way possible what they should definitely not do. And we humiliate them every time they step out of line. Even if you as a parent don’t reinforce norms, kids at school will, tv will, and every part of society will back them up. /2