As a fabulous birthday gift this June I was surprised with a trip to the Cornell Lab of O(rniothology) in Ithaca, New York. I didn’t put it together that while visiting with Margaret’s parents in Skaneateles we were less than an hour away from the world-renowned sapsucker woods! nn The Lab is, ‘dedicated to advancing the understanding and protection of the natural world, the Cornell Lab joins with people from all walks of life to make new scientific discoveries, share insights, and galvanize conservation action.’ Though I don’t use them most of the days when I go out looking for…

The Queering Women, Peace and Security (WPS) project is a British Academy funded Innovation Fellowship led by Dr. Jamie Hagen from Queen’s University Belfast and co-director of the Centre for Gender in Politics, and Anupama Ranawana from Christian Aid UK, which focuses on improving engagement with lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LBTQ) women in WPS Programming. nn The full research team also includes María Susana Peralta Ramón of Colombia Diversa who will serve as research coordinator on the project, and Nathalie Mercier of Christian Aid Colombia who will serve as research assistant. nn The year-long fellowship focuses on the role…

For May Day 2022 I’d like to share with you a zine I wrote and my partner Margaret designed. I wrote the zine as a way to celebrate that we are so much more than our jobs. nn The zine includes exercises, opportunities for reflection, a coloring sheet and an invitation to dream beyond who we are within the measures of capitalism. Check it out! nn You can view the zine online: nn You are also welcome to print the zine yourself with the I am Not my Job Zine PDF: When you print the zine yourself it comes with…

In June of this 2o21 Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, developed a report on the Gender Theory. The UN Gender Theory report was delivered to the Human Rights Council at its 47th session. n nIncluded in the report is input offered from over 500 individuals and groups including a letter from the Centre for Gender in Politics. The central recommendations offered to inform this Gender Theory report are now available to read as a Centre for Gender in Politics policy brief including key recommendations. n nThe recommendations…

Earlier this year myself, Maria-Adriana Deiana and Danielle Roberts published a brief Gender Update in the European Journal of Politics and Gender. The piece considers the implications of gender neutral policy on trans communities, with a focus on Northern Ireland. The two key takeaways from the piece are as follows: n Gender-neutral policy can depoliticise gender and marginalise trans people. n Intersectional and gender-aware politics resists reproducing the gender binary when promoting gender equality. n We thank those who spoke to us about this as part of our ESRC-funded ‘Feminist Activism in times of Crisis’ project, including participants from Alliance…

The latest research from the Centre for Gender in Politics focuses on the gendered effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on feminist activists in Northern Ireland (NI). In the piece Maria-Adriana Deiana, Danielle Roberts and I consider the less explored strategies employed by feminist activists to navigate ongoing challenges amid the pandemic, focusing on queer and feminist activists in NI. nn Mobilizing feminist scholarship on the politics of crisis and the study of feminist movements, our article presents findings from a collaborative research project that sought to understand how the crisis engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting on feminist activism…

My response to being lost is generally to be angry. How did I get here and why didn’t I know better? People will be disappointed in me. How embarrassing, to be lost. nn The most recent version of lost I experienced looked more like shouting, ‘have you seen my glasses?’ while scrolling through a shattered phone screen as I hurried out the door to work. That evening as I found my glasses (while looking for my lost slippers) I had to laugh at my cascading RAM failure. Alright, message received: time to defrag. nn In her book A Field Guide…

Shared during the Solidarity for Texas Rally, 2 October nn I lived in Texas for 7 years. I went to primary school in Richardson Texas. I lived a suburban life, swimming with friends in our pool, walking to school, taking piano lessons. Who in my community needed an abortion during those years? I do not know, but I do know that my teachers, my friend’s parents, and people in my church community all included individuals who either got an abortion or loved someone who did. Today I stand in solidarity with my community in Texas, fighting for safe, affordable and…

It has been a wild ride since I was offered my first academic job as Lecturer in International Relations back in June 2019. Fast forward two years, this summer I received my letter confirming me in post for that job. I’ve given it my all since I accepted that job offer, but I don’t think I even knew the half of how much this job would change and challenge me, personally and professionally. nn Learning the academic practices in a new country, continuing to work on my book, co-authoring multiple academic articles, moving a partner and three cats across the…

n Rejections are relentless for the feminist killjoy academic. Nevermind reviewer 2, the academic job market means those of us looking for a secure job and/or working to keep one are generally facing a churn of many, many rejections from job applications, journals, postdocs, grants, and likely in our personal life from friends or family given the challenges of establishing a work/life balance where we show up for those we care about as our best self. n A rejected cat nn How do we heal and hold space for rejection? How do we refuse productivity as self worth and actually…