eel, i
@eliacugini.bsky.social
media/culture writer, autofiction phd student, public-facing transsexual. he/they
Pinned
eel, i
@eliacugini.bsky.social
· Nov 20
Against the rise of gender critical non-fiction
A case against the publishing industry's apolitical facade.
vashtimedia.com
pinned thread to help people find me on here:
hello! i'm eli, a UK culture writer (part-time) and contemporary literature PhD student (full-time). i put up this piece on transphobia and zionism in the publishing industry last month:
vashtimedia.com/books-transp...
hello! i'm eli, a UK culture writer (part-time) and contemporary literature PhD student (full-time). i put up this piece on transphobia and zionism in the publishing industry last month:
vashtimedia.com/books-transp...
I’m watching Breathless for the first time and I was not aware it would be such an accurate portrayal of being pursued by the worst man alive
February 10, 2026 at 10:36 PM
I’m watching Breathless for the first time and I was not aware it would be such an accurate portrayal of being pursued by the worst man alive
my wife is wearing funeral couture to the function again
February 10, 2026 at 9:46 PM
my wife is wearing funeral couture to the function again
increasingly adopting the tinfoil hat theory that tate mcrae is actually an S tier pop girl, who is being suppressed into A/B tier both because she’s low-key personality wise (like dua lipa) and because she’s muscular rather than skinny/dainty
February 6, 2026 at 10:51 AM
increasingly adopting the tinfoil hat theory that tate mcrae is actually an S tier pop girl, who is being suppressed into A/B tier both because she’s low-key personality wise (like dua lipa) and because she’s muscular rather than skinny/dainty
Reposted by eel, i
Reposted by eel, i
Fanfiction's total cultural victory: defector.com/fanfictions-...
Fanfiction’s Total Cultural Victory | Defector
In 2012, a self-published author of erotic Twilight fanfiction, whose books had gained a large fan base online, was offered a seven-figure contract by a major American publisher. E.L. James’s Fifty…
defector.com
February 2, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Fanfiction's total cultural victory: defector.com/fanfictions-...
you may think fanfiction's influence on the novel stops at bargain-bin romance books; you would be wrong - it's everywhere. i went deep on the relationship between fanfiction and contemporary publishing for @defector.com
defector.com/fanfictions-...
defector.com/fanfictions-...
Fanfiction’s Total Cultural Victory | Defector
In 2012, a self-published author of erotic Twilight fanfiction, whose books had gained a large fan base online, was offered a seven-figure contract by a major American publisher. E.L. James’s Fifty Sh...
defector.com
February 2, 2026 at 6:45 PM
you may think fanfiction's influence on the novel stops at bargain-bin romance books; you would be wrong - it's everywhere. i went deep on the relationship between fanfiction and contemporary publishing for @defector.com
defector.com/fanfictions-...
defector.com/fanfictions-...
so intensely fascinated / horrified by the social media wars and harassment campaigns surrounding heated rivalry that i’ve been trying to find the book Fandom is Ugly everywhere and have had to request it to my uni library lol
February 1, 2026 at 9:50 PM
so intensely fascinated / horrified by the social media wars and harassment campaigns surrounding heated rivalry that i’ve been trying to find the book Fandom is Ugly everywhere and have had to request it to my uni library lol
Reposted by eel, i
Rowling's people inviting Epstein to a dinner and a performance of The Cursed Child, long after he was convicted of child sexual abuse... exquisite.
February 1, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Rowling's people inviting Epstein to a dinner and a performance of The Cursed Child, long after he was convicted of child sexual abuse... exquisite.
btw if you're in belfast tomorrow and have the evening free you should go see my brilliant girlfriend's debut hour at black box
www.glistrr.com/events/e/c%C...
www.glistrr.com/events/e/c%C...
Céilí Rae Minogue: Emotional Rollercoaster Tickets
Buy tickets for this event at The Black Box, Belfast on Mon 2 Feb 2026. Powered by glistrr.
www.glistrr.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:35 PM
btw if you're in belfast tomorrow and have the evening free you should go see my brilliant girlfriend's debut hour at black box
www.glistrr.com/events/e/c%C...
www.glistrr.com/events/e/c%C...
I am going to lose my mind. As someone currently doing legal research into sex deception laws, I don’t trust rape law as far as I could throw it, but this is not a CURIOUS FEATURE OF THE LAW
One of the curious features of the law of rape is that if you obtain someone's consent to sex by falsely promising to wear a condom (Story One below) it's rape and if you obtain someone's consent by falsely telling them you are single (Story Two below) it's not rape.
February 1, 2026 at 11:01 AM
I am going to lose my mind. As someone currently doing legal research into sex deception laws, I don’t trust rape law as far as I could throw it, but this is not a CURIOUS FEATURE OF THE LAW
in my attempts to spend more time on bluesky, i’m gonna keep a thread here of my favourite first-time film watches by month
January:
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025)
BLUE MOON (2025)
January:
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025)
BLUE MOON (2025)
January 31, 2026 at 7:27 PM
in my attempts to spend more time on bluesky, i’m gonna keep a thread here of my favourite first-time film watches by month
January:
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025)
BLUE MOON (2025)
January:
STOP MAKING SENSE (1984)
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928)
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (2025)
BLUE MOON (2025)
i hate to be a killjoy but a lot of my mutuals are posting as if Good Law Project just beat Sex Matters in court and the Hampstead Ponds are safely trans-inclusive for good now, when what actually happened is something like 'SM got turned down by one kind of court and told to use a different one'
January 29, 2026 at 6:18 PM
i hate to be a killjoy but a lot of my mutuals are posting as if Good Law Project just beat Sex Matters in court and the Hampstead Ponds are safely trans-inclusive for good now, when what actually happened is something like 'SM got turned down by one kind of court and told to use a different one'
i just opened instagram, tapped this one trans guy influencer’s story, and got hit with a blast of an original song called ‘pussyboy’ that was so intensely horrifying that i feel like i should be able to file for emotional damages
January 29, 2026 at 12:40 AM
i just opened instagram, tapped this one trans guy influencer’s story, and got hit with a blast of an original song called ‘pussyboy’ that was so intensely horrifying that i feel like i should be able to file for emotional damages
i do not need more work but i want to write about the traitors and the police/prison/military industrial complex sooo bad. but since the US doesn’t have civilian traitors i’d have to find a british or irish magazine
January 28, 2026 at 11:02 PM
i do not need more work but i want to write about the traitors and the police/prison/military industrial complex sooo bad. but since the US doesn’t have civilian traitors i’d have to find a british or irish magazine
Reposted by eel, i
A surge in harassment and fear has been reported by Black and brown LGBTQI+ people following the UK supreme court’s 2025 ruling on biological sex.
Charities say people are facing increased scrutiny and abuse in public spaces.
✍🏼Jaheim Karim
hyphenonline.com/2026/01/26/t...
Charities say people are facing increased scrutiny and abuse in public spaces.
✍🏼Jaheim Karim
hyphenonline.com/2026/01/26/t...
How the supreme court's gender ruling affected people of colour - Hyphen
Trans and non-binary people — particularly those whose gender, racial and religious identities intersect — are facing increased harassment
hyphenonline.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:50 PM
A surge in harassment and fear has been reported by Black and brown LGBTQI+ people following the UK supreme court’s 2025 ruling on biological sex.
Charities say people are facing increased scrutiny and abuse in public spaces.
✍🏼Jaheim Karim
hyphenonline.com/2026/01/26/t...
Charities say people are facing increased scrutiny and abuse in public spaces.
✍🏼Jaheim Karim
hyphenonline.com/2026/01/26/t...
Reposted by eel, i
In our latest installment of the Humans of Masafer Yatta x Vashti column, resident of the village of Tuwani Shoug Al-Adara captures in crisp prose how Israel's occupation has turned what should be a simple walk across the street into a minefield. www.vashtimedia.com/how-to-cross...
How to cross a road under apartheid
The army’s new gates outside my village are a catastrophe.
www.vashtimedia.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:06 PM
In our latest installment of the Humans of Masafer Yatta x Vashti column, resident of the village of Tuwani Shoug Al-Adara captures in crisp prose how Israel's occupation has turned what should be a simple walk across the street into a minefield. www.vashtimedia.com/how-to-cross...
just got very positive peer review back on my first academic article :):) it’s a three-author collaboration in games studies and i’m so so pleased with what we came up with. excited to finish edits
January 27, 2026 at 7:33 PM
just got very positive peer review back on my first academic article :):) it’s a three-author collaboration in games studies and i’m so so pleased with what we came up with. excited to finish edits
people constantly hound rape victims for not prosecuting their rapists, saying they’re somehow responsible if the person rapes someone else. meanwhile if you try to prosecute, and you have actual audio evidence that you’ve been assaulted, it could still be used to put YOU through a trial
The police are failing women and protecting abusers. Seeking justice should never put women on trial.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gl0r0052po
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gl0r0052po
I accused a police officer of rape, but I ended up on trial
How a secret audio recording played in court helped clear a woman accused of making a false rape allegation.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 27, 2026 at 12:43 PM
people constantly hound rape victims for not prosecuting their rapists, saying they’re somehow responsible if the person rapes someone else. meanwhile if you try to prosecute, and you have actual audio evidence that you’ve been assaulted, it could still be used to put YOU through a trial
only problem with traitors s4 endgame being amazing is that people are gonna be gassing up studio lambert all year again
January 24, 2026 at 1:27 PM
only problem with traitors s4 endgame being amazing is that people are gonna be gassing up studio lambert all year again
alex and i won £125 at the pub quiz last night despite being the smallest team! so we definitely need to avoid it for a month or two before we bring alecto and emma…
January 23, 2026 at 3:03 PM
alex and i won £125 at the pub quiz last night despite being the smallest team! so we definitely need to avoid it for a month or two before we bring alecto and emma…
my heated rivalry article is getting syndicated in France which seems like a vote of confidence when it comes to a show about gay sex
January 21, 2026 at 3:11 PM
my heated rivalry article is getting syndicated in France which seems like a vote of confidence when it comes to a show about gay sex
Reposted by eel, i
Building on the BashBack leak - Who funds the Free Speech Union?
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/who-funds-...
Who funds the Free Speech Union?
Toby Young’s outfit went to court to hide its donors. Today we reveal that funders include US anti-abortion groups, Brexit politicians and Tufton Street insiders.
democracyforsale.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Building on the BashBack leak - Who funds the Free Speech Union?
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/who-funds-...
Reposted by eel, i
In this week’s Pickle, editor Evan Robins (@evenrobins.bsky.social) unpacks the international networks and financial flows behind AI-powered mass surveillance and state terror. www.vashtimedia.com/uks-biggest-...
One of the UK’s biggest corporations is profiting from ICE
With its contract due to end soon, we can put a dent in the US surveillance regime.
www.vashtimedia.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:34 PM
In this week’s Pickle, editor Evan Robins (@evenrobins.bsky.social) unpacks the international networks and financial flows behind AI-powered mass surveillance and state terror. www.vashtimedia.com/uks-biggest-...
actually sickening that the ruling talks about Rose as 'a biological male, one believed to be in a sexually functional relationship with a female partner'. i'm working on a piece about this atm but sexual harassment against trans women has just been fully normalised in media and policy
January 16, 2026 at 2:56 PM
actually sickening that the ruling talks about Rose as 'a biological male, one believed to be in a sexually functional relationship with a female partner'. i'm working on a piece about this atm but sexual harassment against trans women has just been fully normalised in media and policy
afaict they're announcing a partial victory in the darlington nurses case as if it's a full victory and taking a certain quote out of context, but i don't know what repercussions the judgment might have for trans women until i've read it in full
January 16, 2026 at 11:49 AM
afaict they're announcing a partial victory in the darlington nurses case as if it's a full victory and taking a certain quote out of context, but i don't know what repercussions the judgment might have for trans women until i've read it in full