Michael Ann, sociotechnical femme
@michaelann.bsky.social
Online Communities, Social Tech, Folk Theories, Epistemic Justice, Queer/Trans HCI. Assistant Prof of Computer Science & Comm Studies @ Northeastern University. @nusealab.bsky.social director. Neurodivergent, trans woman, wife girl, femme lesbian, dork.
Pinned
Hi, I'm Michael Ann, and I'm a Computer Science professor and longtime shitposter! I work on improving social technology. The shitposting is below, the science I'm responsible for is on my site:
- Epistemic Justice: wp.me/P2O4Fr-hN
- Folk Theorization: wp.me/P2O4Fr-9m
- Queer HCI: wp.me/P2O4Fr-9s
- Epistemic Justice: wp.me/P2O4Fr-hN
- Folk Theorization: wp.me/P2O4Fr-9m
- Queer HCI: wp.me/P2O4Fr-9s
Writing my "current events impact statement" for the last academic year, and struggling to not just record a video of me just gesturing in all directions and screaming
November 11, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Writing my "current events impact statement" for the last academic year, and struggling to not just record a video of me just gesturing in all directions and screaming
Personally, I'm not super hype about another week where folks become more aware of us. The awareness seems to not be helping as much as we hoped.
For 2026, I propose Trans Mystery Week.
For 2026, I propose Trans Mystery Week.
November 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Personally, I'm not super hype about another week where folks become more aware of us. The awareness seems to not be helping as much as we hoped.
For 2026, I propose Trans Mystery Week.
For 2026, I propose Trans Mystery Week.
IDK if you have to explain it was a bit every single time, you might not be so good at doing bits
November 11, 2025 at 6:52 PM
IDK if you have to explain it was a bit every single time, you might not be so good at doing bits
Get yourself a butch girl that will learn how to trim femme hair
November 11, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Get yourself a butch girl that will learn how to trim femme hair
The world is run by the kind of people who looked at Ted Faro and said "ICON 😍😍😍😍😍"
November 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
The world is run by the kind of people who looked at Ted Faro and said "ICON 😍😍😍😍😍"
I like the scent meme going around, it's actually a pretty good one. I, personally, usually smell like roses, lilacs, witch hazel, and a super secret fourth and fifth things that I can't post about publicly because teachers aren't allowed to be human beings in public.
November 11, 2025 at 5:31 PM
I like the scent meme going around, it's actually a pretty good one. I, personally, usually smell like roses, lilacs, witch hazel, and a super secret fourth and fifth things that I can't post about publicly because teachers aren't allowed to be human beings in public.
Someone else will perceive you, Dina, and won't treat you like a consolation prize
November 11, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Someone else will perceive you, Dina, and won't treat you like a consolation prize
Star Trek Online is some of the worst Star Trek fanfic ever written, and I mean that as the highest compliment, it's delightful.
Imagine you wrote some absurdly fanservicey Trek fanfic with a self-insert main character AND THEN THE ACTUAL STAR TREK ACTORS VOICED IT
That's literally the whole game!
Imagine you wrote some absurdly fanservicey Trek fanfic with a self-insert main character AND THEN THE ACTUAL STAR TREK ACTORS VOICED IT
That's literally the whole game!
November 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Star Trek Online is some of the worst Star Trek fanfic ever written, and I mean that as the highest compliment, it's delightful.
Imagine you wrote some absurdly fanservicey Trek fanfic with a self-insert main character AND THEN THE ACTUAL STAR TREK ACTORS VOICED IT
That's literally the whole game!
Imagine you wrote some absurdly fanservicey Trek fanfic with a self-insert main character AND THEN THE ACTUAL STAR TREK ACTORS VOICED IT
That's literally the whole game!
Center to my own understanding of my gender is the fact that women are so deeply discriminated against worldwide, have so many expectations heaped upon us, and are constantly under pressure from pretty much everyone around us... yet this is STILL much more easy and joyful for me than the alternative
November 11, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Center to my own understanding of my gender is the fact that women are so deeply discriminated against worldwide, have so many expectations heaped upon us, and are constantly under pressure from pretty much everyone around us... yet this is STILL much more easy and joyful for me than the alternative
Some lovely coverage of senior @nusealab.bsky.social doctoral candidate @erikavmelder.bsky.social's research with our ARC techniques, second in a series on the kind of epistemically just research approaches I'm always talking about on here! www.khoury.northeastern.edu/research-tha...
Research that hits home: Erika Melder’s community-based push for user-friendly social media - Khoury College of Computer Sciences
Social media platforms often want to be as big as possible, and in as many ways as possible. But one Khoury PhD student is finding that many communities want just the opposite, both for camaraderie an...
www.khoury.northeastern.edu
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Some lovely coverage of senior @nusealab.bsky.social doctoral candidate @erikavmelder.bsky.social's research with our ARC techniques, second in a series on the kind of epistemically just research approaches I'm always talking about on here! www.khoury.northeastern.edu/research-tha...
GTA Online's character creator presents a grand vision of a world where every single woman is extremely clocky.
November 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM
GTA Online's character creator presents a grand vision of a world where every single woman is extremely clocky.
Reposted by Michael Ann, sociotechnical femme
Gay marriage may still be challenged but the way we fight back must be by standing together to defend our community
ALL of our community
Trans people but especially trans women are the most vulnerable among us and if we cannot defend the most vulnerable then we will eventually collectively fail
ALL of our community
Trans people but especially trans women are the most vulnerable among us and if we cannot defend the most vulnerable then we will eventually collectively fail
November 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Gay marriage may still be challenged but the way we fight back must be by standing together to defend our community
ALL of our community
Trans people but especially trans women are the most vulnerable among us and if we cannot defend the most vulnerable then we will eventually collectively fail
ALL of our community
Trans people but especially trans women are the most vulnerable among us and if we cannot defend the most vulnerable then we will eventually collectively fail
Reposted by Michael Ann, sociotechnical femme
If we fail to defend trans rights
Then we cis queers will deserve to lose gay marriage bc it would never have been possible without the labor, love, blood, sweat, hopes, and vision of trans people
Do not stop fighting for our queer family just bc for the moment gay marriage is safe
Then we cis queers will deserve to lose gay marriage bc it would never have been possible without the labor, love, blood, sweat, hopes, and vision of trans people
Do not stop fighting for our queer family just bc for the moment gay marriage is safe
November 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
If we fail to defend trans rights
Then we cis queers will deserve to lose gay marriage bc it would never have been possible without the labor, love, blood, sweat, hopes, and vision of trans people
Do not stop fighting for our queer family just bc for the moment gay marriage is safe
Then we cis queers will deserve to lose gay marriage bc it would never have been possible without the labor, love, blood, sweat, hopes, and vision of trans people
Do not stop fighting for our queer family just bc for the moment gay marriage is safe
The "passing privilege" of regularly being read as a cis girl with a societally unacceptable body type.
Because, you know, fat cis women rule our society and have no hatred lobbed at them ever, which is why they're always the heroes in movies and TV and never face workplace discrimination.
Because, you know, fat cis women rule our society and have no hatred lobbed at them ever, which is why they're always the heroes in movies and TV and never face workplace discrimination.
November 8, 2025 at 8:09 PM
The "passing privilege" of regularly being read as a cis girl with a societally unacceptable body type.
Because, you know, fat cis women rule our society and have no hatred lobbed at them ever, which is why they're always the heroes in movies and TV and never face workplace discrimination.
Because, you know, fat cis women rule our society and have no hatred lobbed at them ever, which is why they're always the heroes in movies and TV and never face workplace discrimination.
Reposted by Michael Ann, sociotechnical femme
Science will never succeed until we recognize the humanity of all scientists and break the dehumanization cultures that crush too many people.
November 8, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Science will never succeed until we recognize the humanity of all scientists and break the dehumanization cultures that crush too many people.
A bit of good news: I think you'd all be pleasantly surprised by how resistant the undergrads are becoming to AI. Institutions have lost their minds on this front, but more and more the students themselves are saying "no" to this horribly corrosive technology.
November 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
A bit of good news: I think you'd all be pleasantly surprised by how resistant the undergrads are becoming to AI. Institutions have lost their minds on this front, but more and more the students themselves are saying "no" to this horribly corrosive technology.
Haha all those years with a therapist trying to worry less about the possibility of worldwide epistemic collapse (a fear I've had since childhood) sure was money I should have used on video games instead.
November 8, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Haha all those years with a therapist trying to worry less about the possibility of worldwide epistemic collapse (a fear I've had since childhood) sure was money I should have used on video games instead.
Grading through the migraine by putting my sunglasses on, hope the students can sense that this feedback is *extra cool* and stylish
November 8, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Grading through the migraine by putting my sunglasses on, hope the students can sense that this feedback is *extra cool* and stylish
We convinced electric sand to think but then we got fooled by the most low-rent trick we could teach the thinking sand.
We are a silly little species.
We are a silly little species.
November 8, 2025 at 6:54 PM
We convinced electric sand to think but then we got fooled by the most low-rent trick we could teach the thinking sand.
We are a silly little species.
We are a silly little species.
As the rare computer scientist who has completely refused to play ball with this harmful AI/LLM fad, all I want to say is that I have marshmallows, graham crackers, all the supplies for s'mores for when it burns down, and I'll share at the simple cost of you listening to one gleeful "I told you so."
November 8, 2025 at 6:51 PM
As the rare computer scientist who has completely refused to play ball with this harmful AI/LLM fad, all I want to say is that I have marshmallows, graham crackers, all the supplies for s'mores for when it burns down, and I'll share at the simple cost of you listening to one gleeful "I told you so."
Is anyone testing all this litmus to make sure it’s still good?
November 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Is anyone testing all this litmus to make sure it’s still good?
Follows are not endorsements but I suppose they are a tacit statement that I'm not going to spend all that much of my time and effort tracing networks of who doesn't like whom for whatever reason within the overall population of transfems on here.
November 7, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Follows are not endorsements but I suppose they are a tacit statement that I'm not going to spend all that much of my time and effort tracing networks of who doesn't like whom for whatever reason within the overall population of transfems on here.
Breaking: fed up from years of everyone making jokes about them, Cornell University decides to *become* the joke willfully.
November 7, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Breaking: fed up from years of everyone making jokes about them, Cornell University decides to *become* the joke willfully.
Reposted by Michael Ann, sociotechnical femme
The use of LLMs for any purpose as a stand-in for a real human or a simulation of a human is indicative of the cultural turn from an information society (understanding reality to be evidence of itself) to one of imagination and make-belive (understanding our desires to be evidence of the world)
November 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The use of LLMs for any purpose as a stand-in for a real human or a simulation of a human is indicative of the cultural turn from an information society (understanding reality to be evidence of itself) to one of imagination and make-belive (understanding our desires to be evidence of the world)
Be the Butlerian Jihad you want to see in the world
November 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Be the Butlerian Jihad you want to see in the world