Lynda Boothroyd
@drboothroyd.bsky.social
Cross-cultural and experimental psychologist / anthropologist.
Working on: appearance ideals, body image, sexual selection, gender, social transmission.
Working in: 🇬🇧 🇨🇴 🇳🇮🇲🇽 🇿🇼 🇨🇳
(A veces posteo en español.)
Prof @ Durham
http://www.boothlab.org
Working on: appearance ideals, body image, sexual selection, gender, social transmission.
Working in: 🇬🇧 🇨🇴 🇳🇮🇲🇽 🇿🇼 🇨🇳
(A veces posteo en español.)
Prof @ Durham
http://www.boothlab.org
Pinned
Lynda Boothroyd
@drboothroyd.bsky.social
· Sep 24
Pilot trial assessing acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effects of a body image intervention for adolescents in rural Nicaragua
School-based interventions to promote body esteem and media literacy are a cost-effective way to improve body image and foster resilience against appe…
www.sciencedirect.com
New paper: body image intervention in rural Nicaragua!
Want to know more about body image education? Read this paper!
Want to know about LatAm body image projects? Read this paper!
Want to know how to rigorously report a pilot trial? Read this paper!
Want to know how I caught COVID that time...? 😆
Want to know more about body image education? Read this paper!
Want to know about LatAm body image projects? Read this paper!
Want to know how to rigorously report a pilot trial? Read this paper!
Want to know how I caught COVID that time...? 😆
Had a good chat with the folks at BBC Radio 4 about what science actually says about attraction and appearance ideals.
A key point to emphasise: most of the male appearance pressure in the media is about what MEN think men should be. Not women.
10 mins in here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
A key point to emphasise: most of the male appearance pressure in the media is about what MEN think men should be. Not women.
10 mins in here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
AntiSocial - Men and Loneliness - BBC Sounds
Should society intervene to help lonely men?
www.bbc.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Had a good chat with the folks at BBC Radio 4 about what science actually says about attraction and appearance ideals.
A key point to emphasise: most of the male appearance pressure in the media is about what MEN think men should be. Not women.
10 mins in here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
A key point to emphasise: most of the male appearance pressure in the media is about what MEN think men should be. Not women.
10 mins in here:
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Exciting day in the lab - Dr @georgiamt.bsky.social passed her viva in record time with only 2 corrections!
@zannaclay.bsky.social and I are proud academic mamas indeed.
@zannaclay.bsky.social and I are proud academic mamas indeed.
January 16, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Exciting day in the lab - Dr @georgiamt.bsky.social passed her viva in record time with only 2 corrections!
@zannaclay.bsky.social and I are proud academic mamas indeed.
@zannaclay.bsky.social and I are proud academic mamas indeed.
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
A core feature of Narrative Therapy is that we build our identities from the stories we tell and are told around/about us. If the story is "Spike's a clumsy bastard" then when I drop a glass taking it out of the dishwasher it's MY Fault, not that the glass is slippery.
Watching doc about resilience that reaffirms many changes I made last few years to my mental outlook (I read a LOT of brain books). Brains are hallucination engines. If the story is the world is shit, everything is fucked, brain reframes every interaction this way. It impacts behavior; shuts us down
January 11, 2026 at 9:50 PM
A core feature of Narrative Therapy is that we build our identities from the stories we tell and are told around/about us. If the story is "Spike's a clumsy bastard" then when I drop a glass taking it out of the dishwasher it's MY Fault, not that the glass is slippery.
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Gender studies really is the quintessential "useless" major that correctly explains basically everything that's going on in the world right now
January 6, 2026 at 5:55 AM
Gender studies really is the quintessential "useless" major that correctly explains basically everything that's going on in the world right now
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
🔴 ÚLTIMA HORA | Donald Trump anuncia en su red social que han capturado a Nicolás Maduro y que lo han llevado fuera del país. dozz.es/9h1l010
January 3, 2026 at 9:38 AM
🔴 ÚLTIMA HORA | Donald Trump anuncia en su red social que han capturado a Nicolás Maduro y que lo han llevado fuera del país. dozz.es/9h1l010
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Trunp says Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country.
January 3, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Trunp says Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country.
So this is actually happening. Somewhat speechless right now. I've been reminded Caracas is the far side from Colombia ... but impossible to believe if they're actually sending in marines (see posts in that thread of choppers landing) this won't get much worse.
Multiple detonations.
(via Faytuks Network on Twitter)
(via Faytuks Network on Twitter)
January 3, 2026 at 6:37 AM
So this is actually happening. Somewhat speechless right now. I've been reminded Caracas is the far side from Colombia ... but impossible to believe if they're actually sending in marines (see posts in that thread of choppers landing) this won't get much worse.
Even if I thought gAI can do what is claimed (it can't) I did in fact do GCSE History and I know exactly how the benefits of railway-construction turned out for canal companies once the materials were delivered and the railways were operational...
#AcademicSky
We can't keep saying that AI will create new jobs, simply bc new tech historically created new jobs.
** The very POINT of AI is to simulate or exceed the work capacity of humans **
(unlike, say, the telephone or internet)
Recognizing the black swan as a black swan is important.
We can't keep saying that AI will create new jobs, simply bc new tech historically created new jobs.
** The very POINT of AI is to simulate or exceed the work capacity of humans **
(unlike, say, the telephone or internet)
Recognizing the black swan as a black swan is important.
December 31, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Even if I thought gAI can do what is claimed (it can't) I did in fact do GCSE History and I know exactly how the benefits of railway-construction turned out for canal companies once the materials were delivered and the railways were operational...
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Caroline Bird
So good! A masterclass, really, in efficiency: the essence of a sonnet in 14 words, including volta; the destabilizing yet utterly apt image; the kite string of the poem letting the title soar...
So good! A masterclass, really, in efficiency: the essence of a sonnet in 14 words, including volta; the destabilizing yet utterly apt image; the kite string of the poem letting the title soar...
December 24, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Caroline Bird
So good! A masterclass, really, in efficiency: the essence of a sonnet in 14 words, including volta; the destabilizing yet utterly apt image; the kite string of the poem letting the title soar...
So good! A masterclass, really, in efficiency: the essence of a sonnet in 14 words, including volta; the destabilizing yet utterly apt image; the kite string of the poem letting the title soar...
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Literally one of the reasons I’m skeptical of gAI is because I’m a historian and technology is one of the things I study, but also who looks at the recent history of Silicon Valley and trusts a single word they tell us
Hoverboards are the future, segways are the future, betamax, laser disc, Google glass is the future, 3d tvs are the future, curved screens are the future.
Like do we have to traipse through the whole graveyard of tech to get these people to understand just becauae you say it doesn't make it true.
Like do we have to traipse through the whole graveyard of tech to get these people to understand just becauae you say it doesn't make it true.
December 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Literally one of the reasons I’m skeptical of gAI is because I’m a historian and technology is one of the things I study, but also who looks at the recent history of Silicon Valley and trusts a single word they tell us
Not so funny fact - I once picked up a reference from a co-author without reading it. Then I re used it. Multiple times. His original context presumably got lost, I ended up using it to mean the opposite of what it actually said. The author mentioned it to me at a conference. Lesson learned!
Do not cite an academic paper unless you’ve read it
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
www.rollingstone.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Not so funny fact - I once picked up a reference from a co-author without reading it. Then I re used it. Multiple times. His original context presumably got lost, I ended up using it to mean the opposite of what it actually said. The author mentioned it to me at a conference. Lesson learned!
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Journal article: “the data are available on request”
The data:
The data:
December 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Journal article: “the data are available on request”
The data:
The data:
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Reliance on chatbots and proliferation of fake, fraud, and frippery academic text is creating a huge amount of labour. There’s no extra pay for it.
bsky.app/profile/cjpo...
bsky.app/profile/cjpo...
This lengthy checking process is now a core, mind-numbing and soul destroying feature of marking of dissertations and coursework essays and the reason why our teaching team are discussing vivas and closed book exams...but hey, the tech bros promise that AI is making everything better. 😭
December 20, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Reliance on chatbots and proliferation of fake, fraud, and frippery academic text is creating a huge amount of labour. There’s no extra pay for it.
bsky.app/profile/cjpo...
bsky.app/profile/cjpo...
This is one of those sad-laugh moments. It was a weekend of horrible news, and it ended with more, but Rob Reiner at least leaves the world with things to smile about in the midst of chaos.
December 15, 2025 at 8:26 AM
This is one of those sad-laugh moments. It was a weekend of horrible news, and it ended with more, but Rob Reiner at least leaves the world with things to smile about in the midst of chaos.
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
If you have to train students to recognize when a *university provided* resource is lying to them, maybe the university should not provide that resource.
December 12, 2025 at 10:54 AM
If you have to train students to recognize when a *university provided* resource is lying to them, maybe the university should not provide that resource.
I guess if it's not COVID hitting my research projects, it's the US invading a neighbouring country...?
share.google/sL79Ob8Ge8SC...
share.google/sL79Ob8Ge8SC...
Follow live: US seizes tanker near Venezuela, Trump says
The US president said the tanker was the
share.google
December 10, 2025 at 9:05 PM
I guess if it's not COVID hitting my research projects, it's the US invading a neighbouring country...?
share.google/sL79Ob8Ge8SC...
share.google/sL79Ob8Ge8SC...
There are whole articles written on how Ben Wyatt represents an ideal of positive masculinity. King of the nerds.
December 6, 2025 at 8:44 PM
There are whole articles written on how Ben Wyatt represents an ideal of positive masculinity. King of the nerds.
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Excited to get this paper published! 🌟
We argue that men exaggerate patriarchal beliefs in an effort to signal conformity to others, which in turn fuels misperceptions about peers - making patriarchal norms resistant to change.
royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...
We argue that men exaggerate patriarchal beliefs in an effort to signal conformity to others, which in turn fuels misperceptions about peers - making patriarchal norms resistant to change.
royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...
December 4, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Excited to get this paper published! 🌟
We argue that men exaggerate patriarchal beliefs in an effort to signal conformity to others, which in turn fuels misperceptions about peers - making patriarchal norms resistant to change.
royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...
We argue that men exaggerate patriarchal beliefs in an effort to signal conformity to others, which in turn fuels misperceptions about peers - making patriarchal norms resistant to change.
royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article...
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Streeting to next launch inquiry into “over-diagnosis” of left-handedness.
“Never used to be like this,” he insists.
“Never used to be like this,” he insists.
December 4, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Streeting to next launch inquiry into “over-diagnosis” of left-handedness.
“Never used to be like this,” he insists.
“Never used to be like this,” he insists.
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
We should note that not all the news in the last couple of days has been bad. The WI and the Girl Guides might have folded under pressure, but there's been a very encouraging legal decision today: bsky.app/profile/reac...
Maria Kelly (an engineering and HR lead at aerospace firm Leonardo UK, represented by Sex Matter’s Naomi Cunningham) challenged her employer over transgender colleagues using female toilets. She lost.
December 3, 2025 at 4:34 PM
We should note that not all the news in the last couple of days has been bad. The WI and the Girl Guides might have folded under pressure, but there's been a very encouraging legal decision today: bsky.app/profile/reac...
Well congrats on a small, vocal (legal-threat-making) minority who have now stopped trans women from *checks notes* gathering in friendship with other women to do crafts, make jam, and discuss their lives and experiences.
Excellent misuse of over-simplified 'science' and intolerance...
/sarcasm
Excellent misuse of over-simplified 'science' and intolerance...
/sarcasm
Women’s Institute will no longer accept trans women as members from April
Exclusive: CEO says decision taken with ‘utmost regret and sadness’ after supreme court ruling on definition of a woman
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Well congrats on a small, vocal (legal-threat-making) minority who have now stopped trans women from *checks notes* gathering in friendship with other women to do crafts, make jam, and discuss their lives and experiences.
Excellent misuse of over-simplified 'science' and intolerance...
/sarcasm
Excellent misuse of over-simplified 'science' and intolerance...
/sarcasm
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
Interested in the evolution of social behaviour? We have a fully-funded PhD opportunity on human social hierarchies, nonverbal behaviour and health! Supervised by myself, @bridgetwaller.bsky.social and @ellamcloughlin.bsky.social.
Informal enquires encouraged!
www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-co...
Informal enquires encouraged!
www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-co...
Physiological health outcomes of dominance hierarchies in team-based contexts
Find out more about this fully funded PhD studentship opportunity.
www.ntu.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Interested in the evolution of social behaviour? We have a fully-funded PhD opportunity on human social hierarchies, nonverbal behaviour and health! Supervised by myself, @bridgetwaller.bsky.social and @ellamcloughlin.bsky.social.
Informal enquires encouraged!
www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-co...
Informal enquires encouraged!
www.ntu.ac.uk/study-and-co...
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
🧵 1/ Excited to share this work from CCEs Francisco Gómez Jiménez, whose research explores gender diversity across cultures 🌍
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Testing Biological Evolutionary Patterns Amongst Muxes: A Chat with Dr. Francisco Gómez Jiménez
YouTube video by Gender Diversity Across Cultures
www.youtube.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
🧵 1/ Excited to share this work from CCEs Francisco Gómez Jiménez, whose research explores gender diversity across cultures 🌍
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
Francisco introduces the muxes of the Istmo Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico - a remarkable example of longstanding, culturally grounded gender diversity 🏳️🌈
🎥👇
So ... you'll get minimum wage minus the repayments?
Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage on.ft.com/3M2AYkD
Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage
Surprise move from chancellor means some university graduates in England may have to pay back debts sooner
on.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:07 PM
So ... you'll get minimum wage minus the repayments?
Reposted by Lynda Boothroyd
“My parents worked hard” always strikes me as insulting to young people who are also working hard to pay extortionate rents that will likely deny them the opportunity to own their own home.
November 24, 2025 at 11:04 AM
“My parents worked hard” always strikes me as insulting to young people who are also working hard to pay extortionate rents that will likely deny them the opportunity to own their own home.