Dr Vessy Harizanova
@vessyh.bsky.social
Exploring the intersections of gender, media & power | Part-time feminist killjoy | Specialising in research communication, engagement & impact | she/her
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Thank you to @mrjamesob.bsky.social for having me on, one of the v few people in the UK press to follow this story during what is now a decade of media apathy &/or complicity
‘The threat couldn’t be more urgent and imminent. Yet here we are, still putting our head in the sand.’
@carolecadwalla.bsky.social says it’s ‘peculiar’ that the case of Farage ally Nathan Gill admitting to making pro-Russia speeches for cash isn’t being followed more closely.
@carolecadwalla.bsky.social says it’s ‘peculiar’ that the case of Farage ally Nathan Gill admitting to making pro-Russia speeches for cash isn’t being followed more closely.
October 22, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Thank you to @mrjamesob.bsky.social for having me on, one of the v few people in the UK press to follow this story during what is now a decade of media apathy &/or complicity
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
What do you do when your media org is captured? You start your own.
Introducing....The Nerve!!! @thenerve-news.bsky.social
We're all-female, journalist-owned & launching next week.
Please help us build a truly independent, progressive new media!👊👊👊
Introducing....The Nerve!!! @thenerve-news.bsky.social
We're all-female, journalist-owned & launching next week.
Please help us build a truly independent, progressive new media!👊👊👊
Former Observer big-hitters inc @carolecadwalla.bsky.social launch new title The Nerve with redundancy payouts
After Observer sale: "We decided to launch a title that the journalists themselves would own, that would be truly independent"
pressgazette.co.uk/news/former-...
After Observer sale: "We decided to launch a title that the journalists themselves would own, that would be truly independent"
pressgazette.co.uk/news/former-...
Former Observer big-hitters launch new title with redundancy payouts
Five former Observer journalists including Carole Cadwalladr have launched their own culture publication using their redundancy money.
pressgazette.co.uk
September 26, 2025 at 11:03 AM
What do you do when your media org is captured? You start your own.
Introducing....The Nerve!!! @thenerve-news.bsky.social
We're all-female, journalist-owned & launching next week.
Please help us build a truly independent, progressive new media!👊👊👊
Introducing....The Nerve!!! @thenerve-news.bsky.social
We're all-female, journalist-owned & launching next week.
Please help us build a truly independent, progressive new media!👊👊👊
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
J.K. Rowling's anti-trans bigotry and the alt-right pipeline she's personified require her to undermine and perpetuate real misogyny, so she's browbeating a woman almost half her age who has already been subjected to plenty of sexual violence for playing Hermione
spitfirenews.com/p/jk-rowling...
spitfirenews.com/p/jk-rowling...
J.K. Rowling is wrong about Emma Watson
Anti-trans activism covers up the reality of gender-based violence.
spitfirenews.com
September 30, 2025 at 5:55 PM
J.K. Rowling's anti-trans bigotry and the alt-right pipeline she's personified require her to undermine and perpetuate real misogyny, so she's browbeating a woman almost half her age who has already been subjected to plenty of sexual violence for playing Hermione
spitfirenews.com/p/jk-rowling...
spitfirenews.com/p/jk-rowling...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Israel has just arrested Greta Thunberg and many others.
Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:
“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
1/3
Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:
“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
1/3
Close to 65k watching the livefeed from the Global Sumud Flotilla off the coast of Gaza.
Israel seems to be intercepting right now.
All eyes needed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEN2...
Israel seems to be intercepting right now.
All eyes needed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEN2...
24/7 LIVESTREAM OF GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA
YouTube video by Global Sumud Flotilla
www.youtube.com
October 1, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Israel has just arrested Greta Thunberg and many others.
Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:
“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
1/3
Statement from the Global Sumud Flotilla:
“People of conscience have been abducted. The flotilla broke no laws. What is illegal is Israel’s genocide, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, and Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon.”
1/3
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
‘Lorde offered a politics that dealt in the realities of survival as well as the necessity of defiance: she refused to give ground to white feminists or to a Black nationalism that assumed women’s subservience.’
@keeanga.bsky.social on Audre Lorde: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@keeanga.bsky.social on Audre Lorde: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor · I do not have to be you: Audre Lorde’s Legacy
Lorde never had to persuade her comrades about a strategy, tactic or new idea, lose an argument in order to maintain a...
www.lrb.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 6:39 PM
‘Lorde offered a politics that dealt in the realities of survival as well as the necessity of defiance: she refused to give ground to white feminists or to a Black nationalism that assumed women’s subservience.’
@keeanga.bsky.social on Audre Lorde: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@keeanga.bsky.social on Audre Lorde: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Step into the spectacular world of Stonehenge with Professor Duncan Garrow at the next @uniofreading.bsky.social public lecture, 14 October at 6-8pm! 🪨🌄
Register to watch the livestream now: rdg.ac/4gQGWQV
Watch the trailer: youtu.be/Lrjh7jWYXEM
Register to watch the livestream now: rdg.ac/4gQGWQV
Watch the trailer: youtu.be/Lrjh7jWYXEM
Into the World of Stonehenge - Trailer
YouTube video by University of Reading
youtu.be
October 1, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Step into the spectacular world of Stonehenge with Professor Duncan Garrow at the next @uniofreading.bsky.social public lecture, 14 October at 6-8pm! 🪨🌄
Register to watch the livestream now: rdg.ac/4gQGWQV
Watch the trailer: youtu.be/Lrjh7jWYXEM
Register to watch the livestream now: rdg.ac/4gQGWQV
Watch the trailer: youtu.be/Lrjh7jWYXEM
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
‘Trump tells his supporters they have been duped by the Epstein conspiracy, but some now know that they have been duped and dismissed by him: they can see that is cloaking a confession in an allegation.’
Judith Butler on Trump and Epstein:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Judith Butler on Trump and Epstein:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Judith Butler | Trumpists against Trump
Donald Trump has alienated a good number of his MAGA supporters by seeking to suppress the full disclosure of the...
www.lrb.co.uk
August 7, 2025 at 5:33 PM
‘Trump tells his supporters they have been duped by the Epstein conspiracy, but some now know that they have been duped and dismissed by him: they can see that is cloaking a confession in an allegation.’
Judith Butler on Trump and Epstein:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Judith Butler on Trump and Epstein:
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/au...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
“Gender studies as a discipline…is defined by a set of debates and problematics.” In this 10-Minute Talk, Judith Butler FBA discusses gender as a field of study and its interdisciplinary contributions to research, social analysis and social movements.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvH...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvH...
August 11, 2025 at 9:15 AM
“Gender studies as a discipline…is defined by a set of debates and problematics.” In this 10-Minute Talk, Judith Butler FBA discusses gender as a field of study and its interdisciplinary contributions to research, social analysis and social movements.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvH...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEvH...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
This #WorldBreastfeedingWeek2025 make your workplace part of the #WarmChain of Support.
In this blog @profsarahjewell.bsky.social introduces a new toolkit designed to help employers create breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
#PrioritiseBreastfeeding #WBW2025 #CreateSustainableSupportSystems
#WABA
In this blog @profsarahjewell.bsky.social introduces a new toolkit designed to help employers create breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
#PrioritiseBreastfeeding #WBW2025 #CreateSustainableSupportSystems
#WABA
Creating a breastfeeding-friendly workplace: Why employers hold the key - Connecting Research
rdg.ac
August 4, 2025 at 9:55 AM
This #WorldBreastfeedingWeek2025 make your workplace part of the #WarmChain of Support.
In this blog @profsarahjewell.bsky.social introduces a new toolkit designed to help employers create breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
#PrioritiseBreastfeeding #WBW2025 #CreateSustainableSupportSystems
#WABA
In this blog @profsarahjewell.bsky.social introduces a new toolkit designed to help employers create breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
#PrioritiseBreastfeeding #WBW2025 #CreateSustainableSupportSystems
#WABA
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
This #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, Claudette Maharaj, Director of TRIYBE, highlights how Black hair serves as a powerful symbol of identity, culture and resilience and delves into the profound connection between Black hair and mental well-being.
Beyond the roots: exploring the link between black hair and mental health - Connecting Research
rdg.ac
May 15, 2025 at 11:24 AM
This #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, Claudette Maharaj, Director of TRIYBE, highlights how Black hair serves as a powerful symbol of identity, culture and resilience and delves into the profound connection between Black hair and mental well-being.
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Finally a critical journalistic attempt to understand the manosphere beyond "that scary thing that only exists online". Adressing misogyny online means understanding that it is not an online phenomenon, it is nothing new - it is a systemic problem.
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/m...
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/m...
What actually happens in the manosphere?
As Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ sparks a global conversation around the most insidious corner of the internet, Olivia Petter examines the ideologies underpinning it, how they’re becoming normalised, and wh...
www.independent.co.uk
April 24, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Finally a critical journalistic attempt to understand the manosphere beyond "that scary thing that only exists online". Adressing misogyny online means understanding that it is not an online phenomenon, it is nothing new - it is a systemic problem.
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/m...
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/m...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
The UK supreme court today ruled that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer to biological sex.
Trump's Executive Order 14168, issued on 20 January, similarly proclaims to be ‘Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’.
Judith Butler: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Trump's Executive Order 14168, issued on 20 January, similarly proclaims to be ‘Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’.
Judith Butler: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Judith Butler · This Is Wrong: Executive Order 14168
When diversity, equity and inclusion become ‘threats’ to the order of society, progressive politics in general is...
www.lrb.co.uk
April 16, 2025 at 1:56 PM
The UK supreme court today ruled that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer to biological sex.
Trump's Executive Order 14168, issued on 20 January, similarly proclaims to be ‘Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’.
Judith Butler: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Trump's Executive Order 14168, issued on 20 January, similarly proclaims to be ‘Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government’.
Judith Butler: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Sad day for feminism. The Supreme Court ruling on the definition of woman is taking society one step closer to the erasure of trans people and, ultimately, biological essentialism - denying the complexity of human identity and diversity, reinforcing stereotypes and justifying discrimination.
April 16, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Sad day for feminism. The Supreme Court ruling on the definition of woman is taking society one step closer to the erasure of trans people and, ultimately, biological essentialism - denying the complexity of human identity and diversity, reinforcing stereotypes and justifying discrimination.
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The rise of end times fascism
The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them
www.theguardian.com
April 13, 2025 at 1:32 PM
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
On #InternationalWomensDay we celebrate women but we must also address #GenderInequality and the barriers that persist. Karen Jones (Institute of Education) explores how #maternityleave pressures and #precariousemployment create a #careceiling that limits women’s careers in #academia. #IWD2025
The care ceiling: How precarious employment and maternity leave shape women’s careers in academia - Connecting Research
In this blog, Karen Jones, Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Management, sheds new light on the lived experiences of women academics by exposing the hidden ways in which academic struc...
research.reading.ac.uk
March 8, 2025 at 11:41 AM
On #InternationalWomensDay we celebrate women but we must also address #GenderInequality and the barriers that persist. Karen Jones (Institute of Education) explores how #maternityleave pressures and #precariousemployment create a #careceiling that limits women’s careers in #academia. #IWD2025
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
👀ICYMI: "Universities are expected to engage with their local communities. However, these engagements can have unintended consequences"
#HigherEducation #CivicEngagement #ResearchImpact
#HigherEducation #CivicEngagement #ResearchImpact
How to avoid common pitfalls in engaged research
Engaged research has inherent risks. Shiwei Chen shares seven insights from the Vital Cities and Citizens initiative in Rotterdam for how researchers and their institutions can undertake responsibl…
blogs.lse.ac.uk
February 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
👀ICYMI: "Universities are expected to engage with their local communities. However, these engagements can have unintended consequences"
#HigherEducation #CivicEngagement #ResearchImpact
#HigherEducation #CivicEngagement #ResearchImpact
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
We were delighted to host Sophie Duncan, NCCPE yesterday for an inspiring day of insightful discussions on the role of #publicengagement in #REF2029, the connections between #engagement and #researchimpact and the importance of ethical practice. A huge thank you to Sophie and to all our attendees!
February 21, 2025 at 1:52 PM
We were delighted to host Sophie Duncan, NCCPE yesterday for an inspiring day of insightful discussions on the role of #publicengagement in #REF2029, the connections between #engagement and #researchimpact and the importance of ethical practice. A huge thank you to Sophie and to all our attendees!
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Hello Bluesky! From dinosaurs to deer poo, bees to Beckett, & climate change to childhood literacy, our researchers get stuck into all sorts of topics. So if you’re into innovative, impactful & occasionally messy #research, hit follow – we’ve got you covered.
February 14, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Hello Bluesky! From dinosaurs to deer poo, bees to Beckett, & climate change to childhood literacy, our researchers get stuck into all sorts of topics. So if you’re into innovative, impactful & occasionally messy #research, hit follow – we’ve got you covered.
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
🗣️"New mothers are more likely to leave research careers entirely, new fathers to move into non-university research jobs"
#IDWGS
#IDWGS
What makes the child penalty in academia different?
Women are underrepresented in senior academic positions in economics. Ria Ivandić and Anne Sophie Lassen assess the impact of having children on men and women’s career trajector…
blogs.lse.ac.uk
February 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
🗣️"New mothers are more likely to leave research careers entirely, new fathers to move into non-university research jobs"
#IDWGS
#IDWGS
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Correct: “the dysfunctional marketisation of higher education [..]is at the root of today’s financial black hole”.
One change that should be introduced yesterday is to drastically cap the % universities are allowed to spend on private consultants who are draining the sector of money and skill
One change that should be introduced yesterday is to drastically cap the % universities are allowed to spend on private consultants who are draining the sector of money and skill
The Guardian view on campus cuts: academics pay a high price for Westminster’s mistakes | Editorial
Editorial: The government should not stand aloof as a crisis unfolds in our universities. A new settlement is needed
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Correct: “the dysfunctional marketisation of higher education [..]is at the root of today’s financial black hole”.
One change that should be introduced yesterday is to drastically cap the % universities are allowed to spend on private consultants who are draining the sector of money and skill
One change that should be introduced yesterday is to drastically cap the % universities are allowed to spend on private consultants who are draining the sector of money and skill
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
On the front line of the redundancy crisis in UK higher education: “I found myself sobbing every time I came into the office. It felt unimaginable that an intellectual project into which so many people had invested so much of their lives would simply fade away” #AcademicSky #EduSky
The UK’s redundancy crisis: four views from the front line
Higher education news feeds are currently dominated by near-daily announcements of large job cuts across the UK. But what effect is all this having on the atmosphere within the departments affected – ...
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 11, 2025 at 8:42 AM
On the front line of the redundancy crisis in UK higher education: “I found myself sobbing every time I came into the office. It felt unimaginable that an intellectual project into which so many people had invested so much of their lives would simply fade away” #AcademicSky #EduSky
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Opinion piece in @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social by our own Prof Catherine Rottenberg:
www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/t...
www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/t...
The US Shifts From Progressive to Authoritarian Neoliberalism
“Shock and Awe,” “Fear and Chaos,” “Carnage”—these are just some of the more typical ways mainstream media have described the mood after Donald Trump’s first few weeks in office. From the latest annou...
www.counterpunch.org
February 7, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Opinion piece in @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social by our own Prof Catherine Rottenberg:
www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/t...
www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/t...
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Wait! The Sims is a lot bleaker than I remember
Wait! The Sims is a lot bleaker than I remember
When EA surprise-dropped a rerelease of The Sims 1 and 2, I was delighted to return to a defining video game of millennial childhoods – but it feels different 25 years later
When I was growing up, the genre-defining dollhouse sim The Sims was the…
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Wait! The Sims is a lot bleaker than I remember
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
TEN. THOUSAND.
This is a mind boggling failure of public policy that impacts massively on local economies and the national economy (and the future of our ability to provide healthcare, build stuff, think critically, etc) which the government isn’t touching as it’s too politically complicated.
This is a mind boggling failure of public policy that impacts massively on local economies and the national economy (and the future of our ability to provide healthcare, build stuff, think critically, etc) which the government isn’t touching as it’s too politically complicated.
I’ve just totted these up. Circa 10000 planned redundancies in UK universities. That’s just the declared figures. What are you doing about it Jacqui Smith and Keir Starmer? Nothing isn’t good enough. qmucu.org/qmul-transfo...
UK HE shrinking
This is a live page of all the redundancies, restructures, reorganisations, and closures taking place across the sector at the moment. Solidarity to all. This sector is vital to the country’s…
qmucu.org
January 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
TEN. THOUSAND.
This is a mind boggling failure of public policy that impacts massively on local economies and the national economy (and the future of our ability to provide healthcare, build stuff, think critically, etc) which the government isn’t touching as it’s too politically complicated.
This is a mind boggling failure of public policy that impacts massively on local economies and the national economy (and the future of our ability to provide healthcare, build stuff, think critically, etc) which the government isn’t touching as it’s too politically complicated.
Reposted by Dr Vessy Harizanova
Here’s everything we know so far about Trump’s attempt to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth ⤵️
Everything We Know About Trump's Executive Order on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
From what it says to what it means for you.
www.teenvogue.com
January 29, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Here’s everything we know so far about Trump’s attempt to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth ⤵️