Carol Ballantine
@cballantine.bsky.social
Social scientist, researcher, writer. Currently researching sexual & gender based violence in HEIs. Adjunct fellow, ucd school of geography. Writing in the Stinging Fly, Banshee & elsewhere. She/ Her
Pinned
Opinion: Trans lives aren’t black and white, our conversations about them shouldn’t be either
Carol Ballantine says she worries about parents like her trying to make sense of gender in an ever-more polarised context.
www.thejournal.ie
Carol Ballantine says she worries about parents like her trying to make sense of gender in an ever-more polarised context.
www.thejournal.ie/readme/trans...
www.thejournal.ie/readme/trans...
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
I cannot wait to see the hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against this in EUrope's streets.... 🙄
EU moves closer to creating offshore centres for migrants and asylum seekers
MEPs vote to allow people to be deported to places they have never been to, as NGOs express fears over new ‘safe third countries’ list
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 5:04 PM
I cannot wait to see the hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against this in EUrope's streets.... 🙄
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Celebrate author Jennifer Johnston!
Jennifer died last year at the age of 95 and her family have asked renowned sculptor Rowan Gillespie to memorialise her. They'd like to place the statue overlooking Sandycove Bay where she swam daily but the Council need persuading. Please sign & repost
@uplift.ie
Jennifer died last year at the age of 95 and her family have asked renowned sculptor Rowan Gillespie to memorialise her. They'd like to place the statue overlooking Sandycove Bay where she swam daily but the Council need persuading. Please sign & repost
@uplift.ie
Celebrate Jennifer Johnston
Her family, authors of this petitition, and those who admired her tremendous body of work and passion for life would like to see her celebrated as a woman writer, all too neglected, and as...
my.uplift.ie
February 7, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Celebrate author Jennifer Johnston!
Jennifer died last year at the age of 95 and her family have asked renowned sculptor Rowan Gillespie to memorialise her. They'd like to place the statue overlooking Sandycove Bay where she swam daily but the Council need persuading. Please sign & repost
@uplift.ie
Jennifer died last year at the age of 95 and her family have asked renowned sculptor Rowan Gillespie to memorialise her. They'd like to place the statue overlooking Sandycove Bay where she swam daily but the Council need persuading. Please sign & repost
@uplift.ie
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Some reasons to feel positive today. Well done to all those women who push back on legal challenges, and push through resolutions
notinourname.org.uk
notinourname.org.uk
Home - Not in our name
Not In our Name: Women in support of the trans+community
notinourname.org.uk
January 29, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Some reasons to feel positive today. Well done to all those women who push back on legal challenges, and push through resolutions
notinourname.org.uk
notinourname.org.uk
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Are academics fun enough to have a drag queen mascot called Athena SWAN
January 28, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Are academics fun enough to have a drag queen mascot called Athena SWAN
I can’t recommend this fascinating historical essay enough
This is brilliantly written & really worth a read. The story of a Scottish trans woman from a century ago. @hjosephinegiles.bsky.social
I really appreciated this @hjosephinegiles.bsky.social essay about Scottish trans history: hjosephinegiles.substack.com/p/dancing-wi... I love how it shows its working - & therefore how others can do this kind of research, empirical and imaginative, into early C20 Scottish trans life.
January 25, 2026 at 3:53 PM
I can’t recommend this fascinating historical essay enough
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
This is brilliant and urgent research with pertinent relevance far beyond the UK, including in Norway.
New research maps the campaign to erase trans people from UK data 🔢
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
January 21, 2026 at 6:24 PM
This is brilliant and urgent research with pertinent relevance far beyond the UK, including in Norway.
Just in case any criminology lecturers are stuck for real world material this week….
Shabana Mahmood here, and the vibes are not getting better.
January 20, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Just in case any criminology lecturers are stuck for real world material this week….
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
People like to whine about echo chambers but to develop a clear analysis and agenda you actually do need to be in a closed dialogue with people who share your values sometimes.
It is how you refine your position and get a sense of what next steps are collectively possible.
It is how you refine your position and get a sense of what next steps are collectively possible.
January 8, 2026 at 6:56 PM
People like to whine about echo chambers but to develop a clear analysis and agenda you actually do need to be in a closed dialogue with people who share your values sometimes.
It is how you refine your position and get a sense of what next steps are collectively possible.
It is how you refine your position and get a sense of what next steps are collectively possible.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
All that ‘protect-our-sovereign -borders-against-people-with-no -guns-in-tiny-dinghies’ rings hollow in a world where our so-called allies kill or extract leaders extrajudicially and by invading sovereign territory.
Borders are being breached illegally and violently & not by people seeking asylum
Borders are being breached illegally and violently & not by people seeking asylum
January 4, 2026 at 8:46 AM
All that ‘protect-our-sovereign -borders-against-people-with-no -guns-in-tiny-dinghies’ rings hollow in a world where our so-called allies kill or extract leaders extrajudicially and by invading sovereign territory.
Borders are being breached illegally and violently & not by people seeking asylum
Borders are being breached illegally and violently & not by people seeking asylum
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
"The notion that queerness is "un-African" is one of Britain's most successful lies, and most enduring exports."
www.wearequeeraf.com/the-colonial...
www.wearequeeraf.com/the-colonial...
The colonial lie at the heart of Africa’s homophobic 'culture war'
The notion that queerness is "un-African" is one of Britain's most successful lies, and most enduring exports
www.wearequeeraf.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:01 AM
"The notion that queerness is "un-African" is one of Britain's most successful lies, and most enduring exports."
www.wearequeeraf.com/the-colonial...
www.wearequeeraf.com/the-colonial...
What a delicious #bookmas, 🎄 📚 I am stoked to get stuck into this pile and most especially this one by @badaude.bsky.social
December 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
What a delicious #bookmas, 🎄 📚 I am stoked to get stuck into this pile and most especially this one by @badaude.bsky.social
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Don’t forget that #joinin is
Around for anyone spending this time alone, or feeling alone in a crowd for that matter.
Hell, you don’t even need to be lonely, you might be perfectly happy on your own, but enjoy an online chat to break it up a bit.
Do you. Join in if you like.
Around for anyone spending this time alone, or feeling alone in a crowd for that matter.
Hell, you don’t even need to be lonely, you might be perfectly happy on your own, but enjoy an online chat to break it up a bit.
Do you. Join in if you like.
Feeling alone at Christmas? Why not join an annual virtual party started by Sarah Millican on X but now here?! I’m doing my best to keep this tradition going. Use #JoinIn on Dec 25 if you need company or just want a chat. Like/Save this feed to see all the #JoinIn posts bsky.app/profile/did:...
a kid in a knight costume is asking who will join us
Alt: a kid in a knight costume is asking who will join us
media.tenor.com
December 24, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Don’t forget that #joinin is
Around for anyone spending this time alone, or feeling alone in a crowd for that matter.
Hell, you don’t even need to be lonely, you might be perfectly happy on your own, but enjoy an online chat to break it up a bit.
Do you. Join in if you like.
Around for anyone spending this time alone, or feeling alone in a crowd for that matter.
Hell, you don’t even need to be lonely, you might be perfectly happy on your own, but enjoy an online chat to break it up a bit.
Do you. Join in if you like.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
This thread by a former NYT editor documents how the NYT came to push the Cass Review so hard over other reviews. It was dictated from the top by editors. They sidelined their own London reporter to put Azeen Ghorayshi on it.
How the nyt used the Cass report to restart its anti-trans propaganda campaign in the US:
Coverage of the report was initially assigned to a nyt UK correspondent, usual practice for a UK report. The story being prepared cited critics who called Cass a shoddy, political document that defied science
Coverage of the report was initially assigned to a nyt UK correspondent, usual practice for a UK report. The story being prepared cited critics who called Cass a shoddy, political document that defied science
One reason the NYT has burned its credibility with trans people is that they still cite the discredited Cass report in reporting on trans healthcare. Never the German, Utah, or other systematic reviews supporting care. They also never provide the political context behind restrictions in care.
December 20, 2025 at 10:59 AM
This thread by a former NYT editor documents how the NYT came to push the Cass Review so hard over other reviews. It was dictated from the top by editors. They sidelined their own London reporter to put Azeen Ghorayshi on it.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
A colloquial German word about someone viewed as low on intellect, especially popular in the 1990s, was Teletubbyzurückwinker. It means “one who waves back at the Teletubbies.”
December 19, 2025 at 12:38 PM
A colloquial German word about someone viewed as low on intellect, especially popular in the 1990s, was Teletubbyzurückwinker. It means “one who waves back at the Teletubbies.”
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
A PhD is a great idea if you want to work your ass off for a few years and then somehow feel like a failure when you finish it successfully
December 8, 2025 at 2:55 PM
A PhD is a great idea if you want to work your ass off for a few years and then somehow feel like a failure when you finish it successfully
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
If you see this please share (i.e. repost, not just like)! The Barbellion Prize is a unique award for writers with disabilities. We need to raise £20k to secure its future, so please make a donation, no matter how large, no matter how small, here: barbellionprize.org/donate/ Thank you!
donate | The Barbellion Prize
barbellionprize.org
December 6, 2025 at 2:38 PM
If you see this please share (i.e. repost, not just like)! The Barbellion Prize is a unique award for writers with disabilities. We need to raise £20k to secure its future, so please make a donation, no matter how large, no matter how small, here: barbellionprize.org/donate/ Thank you!
Sadly, I know nothing about publishing, but I suspect this is the correct take. It was dreadfully bookless, as book segments go.. #toyshow
December 6, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Sadly, I know nothing about publishing, but I suspect this is the correct take. It was dreadfully bookless, as book segments go.. #toyshow
I feel the book section is insufficiently bookish #toyshow
Not to criticise Bonnie, but this is a lot of book time being used to look at a dress #LateLateToyShow
December 5, 2025 at 11:41 PM
I feel the book section is insufficiently bookish #toyshow
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
In Ireland they force children to stay up late to watch other children perform in a toy show for adults
December 5, 2025 at 5:25 PM
In Ireland they force children to stay up late to watch other children perform in a toy show for adults
Correct take.
And also: I’ll still watch it, and cry when Troy Parrot shows up, dope that I am
And also: I’ll still watch it, and cry when Troy Parrot shows up, dope that I am
The Toy Show has gone too far. It's become this weird combination of the Telathon and Jim'll Fix It, and there aren't enough books.
December 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Correct take.
And also: I’ll still watch it, and cry when Troy Parrot shows up, dope that I am
And also: I’ll still watch it, and cry when Troy Parrot shows up, dope that I am
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
This is an amazing thread, pls read all the alt text 😂
THREAD.
3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.
We decided to call him Jim.
This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.
We decided to call him Jim.
This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
November 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This is an amazing thread, pls read all the alt text 😂
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.