Mark McCormack
@markmccormack.bsky.social
Sociologist. Professor. Focus on sexualities, transgressive consumption and society. Author of 'Discovering Sociology' and 'The Declining Significance of Homophobia'. Posts are in a personal capacity. I volunteer with The Loop, read and play badminton.
Pinned
Mark McCormack
@markmccormack.bsky.social
· Jun 14
Poppers, the Politics of Exemption and the Characteristics of Poppers Users in the annual English Festival Study, 2014–23
Abstract. This paper explores the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, self-reported alkyl nitrite (‘poppers’) use and sexual behaviours
academic.oup.com
Poppers, the Politics of Exemption and the Characteristics of Poppers Users in the annual English Festival Study, 2014–23: Now in an issue at BJC: academic.oup.com/bjc/article/...
Reflecting on the value of books for academics; planning an interdisciplinary PhD proposal with a colleague, and I knew the book on my shelf to go to. Not sure I've ever read it fully, and haven't gone to it in 10 years, but already I'm sure its provided a clear underlying framework for the project.
January 28, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Reflecting on the value of books for academics; planning an interdisciplinary PhD proposal with a colleague, and I knew the book on my shelf to go to. Not sure I've ever read it fully, and haven't gone to it in 10 years, but already I'm sure its provided a clear underlying framework for the project.
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Honestly, it really is galling how frequently the ownership and leadership of the NYT does shit like this to the benefit of Trump, the GOP, and the far right
January 24, 2026 at 12:22 AM
Honestly, it really is galling how frequently the ownership and leadership of the NYT does shit like this to the benefit of Trump, the GOP, and the far right
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum.
January 20, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum.
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The Carney doctrine
Open comment thread on the PM's Davos speech
paulwells.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
Reposted by Mark McCormack
In any other context, requiring a high-productivity sector to offshore the production of its highest value-added exports would be seen as the economic illiteracy it so obviously is...
www.ft.com/content/a23c...
www.ft.com/content/a23c...
UK drops target for international student recruitment
Government to encourage education providers to open campuses overseas as it focuses on reducing migration
www.ft.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:01 AM
In any other context, requiring a high-productivity sector to offshore the production of its highest value-added exports would be seen as the economic illiteracy it so obviously is...
www.ft.com/content/a23c...
www.ft.com/content/a23c...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
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 19, 2026 at 1:42 PM
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...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Writing is thinking
Outsourcing the entire task of writing to LLMs will deprive us of the essential creative task of interpreting our findings and generating a deeper theoretical understanding of the world.
Outsourcing the entire task of writing to LLMs will deprive us of the essential creative task of interpreting our findings and generating a deeper theoretical understanding of the world.
January 18, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Writing is thinking
Outsourcing the entire task of writing to LLMs will deprive us of the essential creative task of interpreting our findings and generating a deeper theoretical understanding of the world.
Outsourcing the entire task of writing to LLMs will deprive us of the essential creative task of interpreting our findings and generating a deeper theoretical understanding of the world.
Also; when I was at Durham, it was understood that it was *impossible* to score more than 78 on an assignment and 72 was *really good*. Work was done to use the fuller range of grades during my time. This was both a good thing and will see an increase in 1sts.
incentives are fun
January 16, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Also; when I was at Durham, it was understood that it was *impossible* to score more than 78 on an assignment and 72 was *really good*. Work was done to use the fuller range of grades during my time. This was both a good thing and will see an increase in 1sts.
This is also the classic catch-22 for post-92s: if your students perform poorly, you are failing them; if your students perform well, you are gaming the system because that can't possibly happen.
incentives are fun
January 16, 2026 at 10:24 AM
This is also the classic catch-22 for post-92s: if your students perform poorly, you are failing them; if your students perform well, you are gaming the system because that can't possibly happen.
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Beyond Monogamy: What Sociology Reveals About How We Really Relate by @ryanscoatsphd.bsky.social.
www.bcu.ac.uk/research/blo...
www.bcu.ac.uk/research/blo...
Expert Blog - Beyond Monogamy: What Sociology Reveals About How We Really Relate
When many people think about relationships, they often imagine a straightforward path: meet someone, fall in love, commit exclusively to that one person, get married. Various Western sociologists have...
www.bcu.ac.uk
January 16, 2026 at 9:43 AM
Beyond Monogamy: What Sociology Reveals About How We Really Relate by @ryanscoatsphd.bsky.social.
www.bcu.ac.uk/research/blo...
www.bcu.ac.uk/research/blo...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research.
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
January 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research.
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
It is really important to understand that the asylum hotel chaos of 2022-24 is a *failed experiment in closed borders* (in contrast to the liberal visa policy)
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
“Robert Jenrick is the man who as Immigration Minister oversaw the open borders experiment that led to the biggest increase in illegal immigration in our country”
Labour's Steve Reed reacts to Robert Jenrick's decision to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK
Labour's Steve Reed reacts to Robert Jenrick's decision to defect from the Conservatives to Reform UK
January 16, 2026 at 8:23 AM
It is really important to understand that the asylum hotel chaos of 2022-24 is a *failed experiment in closed borders* (in contrast to the liberal visa policy)
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
The hotel chaos comes from passing multiple laws that all claims will be refused & to stop processing claims
bsky.app/profile/pete...
The new special issue of @bsaecf.bsky.social's Sociology is a good one: Sociology Under Attack. Including studies on India, Hungary and Brazil, as well as cross-cutting themes on neoliberalism, and its impact on environmental research and anti-racism.
journals.sagepub.com/toc/soca/59/6
journals.sagepub.com/toc/soca/59/6
Sociology - Volume 59, Number 6
Table of contents for Sociology, 59, 6
journals.sagepub.com
January 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM
The new special issue of @bsaecf.bsky.social's Sociology is a good one: Sociology Under Attack. Including studies on India, Hungary and Brazil, as well as cross-cutting themes on neoliberalism, and its impact on environmental research and anti-racism.
journals.sagepub.com/toc/soca/59/6
journals.sagepub.com/toc/soca/59/6
This is a key point. I suspect it's because when it comes to sexuality / pornography / similar, the state is very happy to regulate individual behaviour but very wary of regulating businesses. I think this approach is wrong, but its historically been the case.
I am once again reminding you all that the UK government introduced an Online Safety Act that is effectively a porn ban on most adult porn websites, but is dithering over banning a website that is actually creating child porn.
January 13, 2026 at 11:34 AM
This is a key point. I suspect it's because when it comes to sexuality / pornography / similar, the state is very happy to regulate individual behaviour but very wary of regulating businesses. I think this approach is wrong, but its historically been the case.
Good grief
Ukip have submitted a new logo and slogan to the Electoral Commission, swapping the £ pound sterling symbol for a cross, that looks very much like it is modelled on the Iron Cross used by Prussia & Germany 1871-1918 and Hitler's Nazi regime from 1933-45
January 13, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Good grief
Reposted by Mark McCormack
‘If a drug boasted such benefits [as the arts] governments would be pouring billions into it. Instead, funding has been slashed across the culture sector.’
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 10, 2026 at 4:37 PM
‘If a drug boasted such benefits [as the arts] governments would be pouring billions into it. Instead, funding has been slashed across the culture sector.’
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Hello Tim Cook I worked at Tumblr when you gave us 48 hours to get rid of all the consenting, adult boobs. Up all night at your whim, out of the blue. But you're still cool with Twitter and its CSAM and revenge porn and whatever the fuck this is? Why do you even HAVE guidelines?
Previously, several of these companies, like Apple, IBM, and Disney, have paused advertising on X in response to antisemitic content. But antisemitism on X never slowed, sexual abuse imagery increased, and all of these companies quietly resumed advertising anyways.
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-deepf...
spitfirenews.com/p/grok-deepf...
Why isn't there a bigger Grok boycott?
Advertisers, politicians, and investors are still all-in on X, despite a sexual abuse crisis.
spitfirenews.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Hello Tim Cook I worked at Tumblr when you gave us 48 hours to get rid of all the consenting, adult boobs. Up all night at your whim, out of the blue. But you're still cool with Twitter and its CSAM and revenge porn and whatever the fuck this is? Why do you even HAVE guidelines?
Significant national self harm
Uh oh for the university business model as student visa applications hit four year low since Oct.
Only 29,300 applications last month, down from 35,200 in Dec 2024. Back in December 2022 more than 46,000 would-be international students applied…
www.researchprofessional.com/news-article...
Only 29,300 applications last month, down from 35,200 in Dec 2024. Back in December 2022 more than 46,000 would-be international students applied…
www.researchprofessional.com/news-article...
January 8, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Significant national self harm
Reposted by Mark McCormack
Farage: "I believe in vaccinations when they're vaccinations. I don't think what happened with Covid were vaccinations. You have to keep having them every 6 months."
Conspiratorial nonsense.
Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.
Conspiratorial nonsense.
Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.
January 7, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Farage: "I believe in vaccinations when they're vaccinations. I don't think what happened with Covid were vaccinations. You have to keep having them every 6 months."
Conspiratorial nonsense.
Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.
Conspiratorial nonsense.
Some vaccinations like Covid shots require multiple/seasonal doses because immunity fades & viruses change.
Reposted by Mark McCormack
ICE agent allegedly shot & killed a woman driving through an immigration raid in Minneapolis this morning.
According to video of aftermath it appears the woman's wife & dog were in the car when she was shot in the head.
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
According to video of aftermath it appears the woman's wife & dog were in the car when she was shot in the head.
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
January 7, 2026 at 5:54 PM
ICE agent allegedly shot & killed a woman driving through an immigration raid in Minneapolis this morning.
According to video of aftermath it appears the woman's wife & dog were in the car when she was shot in the head.
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
According to video of aftermath it appears the woman's wife & dog were in the car when she was shot in the head.
www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
The author of a viral Reddit thread alleging fraud at a food delivery company tried to back up his claim by sending me AI-generated documents. Today I'm publishing those documents in the hopes that it helps other reporter see what we're up against in the age of AI www.platformer.news/fake-uber-ea...
January 6, 2026 at 1:08 AM
The author of a viral Reddit thread alleging fraud at a food delivery company tried to back up his claim by sending me AI-generated documents. Today I'm publishing those documents in the hopes that it helps other reporter see what we're up against in the age of AI www.platformer.news/fake-uber-ea...
Not being allowed to speak to a human adviser from HMRC really doesn't help with tax returns...
January 6, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Not being allowed to speak to a human adviser from HMRC really doesn't help with tax returns...
"When faced with such complaints [of porn addiction], clinicians are encouraged to address behaviors without conjuring addiction labels."
The Guardian still pushing this stuff, and never commenting that Porn Addiction is just... not a real thing (1/3)
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
More than half of UK therapists report rise in out-of-control porn use
Exclusive: Survey finds growing number ‘neglecting responsibilities’ or ‘damaging relationships’ as a result
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:18 AM
"When faced with such complaints [of porn addiction], clinicians are encouraged to address behaviors without conjuring addiction labels."
The Guardian still pushing this stuff, and never commenting that Porn Addiction is just... not a real thing (1/3)
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
More than half of UK therapists report rise in out-of-control porn use
Exclusive: Survey finds growing number ‘neglecting responsibilities’ or ‘damaging relationships’ as a result
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 12:16 AM
The Guardian still pushing this stuff, and never commenting that Porn Addiction is just... not a real thing (1/3)
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Reposted by Mark McCormack
A good point that media outlets misreport this story if they give agency to the AI Grok itself - which generates contradictory statenents whenever prompted to do so
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
Grok Can't Apologize. Grok Isn't Sentient. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did?
Elon Musk’s chatbot has been “undressing” women and children in public. Journalists are letting xAI off the hook by pretending the bot is responsible.
www.readtpa.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:35 PM
A good point that media outlets misreport this story if they give agency to the AI Grok itself - which generates contradictory statenents whenever prompted to do so
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...
www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...