Bodie A. Ashton
@manwithoutatan.bsky.social
historian | pet shop boys fanatic | australian in germany | very bisexual | constantly podcasting | "oh, dr. bodie!" per jordan gray | they/them | latest book: “the pet shop boys and the political”
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
I choose to believe that Scott Adams is in hell and it is just an endless expanse of office backrooms where no one, not a single soul, is around to care about your Takes and Observations
January 13, 2026 at 3:42 PM
I choose to believe that Scott Adams is in hell and it is just an endless expanse of office backrooms where no one, not a single soul, is around to care about your Takes and Observations
Look I’m all for pointing at the catastrophic state of US policing now, but come on. It’s not like it hasn’t been a murderous despicable apparatus since forever. Put another way: they *are* behaving professionally, because the violence *is* their profession; the target list has just expanded a bit.
Before Trump, law enforcement were trained to behave professionally. At a traffic stop they would start with words such as "Mam, may I see your drivers license and registration."
ICE evidently trains their goons to start a stop with screamed profanity, quickly followed by violence.
ICE evidently trains their goons to start a stop with screamed profanity, quickly followed by violence.
January 12, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Look I’m all for pointing at the catastrophic state of US policing now, but come on. It’s not like it hasn’t been a murderous despicable apparatus since forever. Put another way: they *are* behaving professionally, because the violence *is* their profession; the target list has just expanded a bit.
The thing is, you don’t even NEED the slogan to have originated with Falangists or any other fascist or fascist-adjacent movement. Its meaning is obvious and — especially when explicitly aimed at their *own population*, extremely chilling.
They are absolutely fascists, but this slogan appears to be hallucinated
January 11, 2026 at 12:49 PM
The thing is, you don’t even NEED the slogan to have originated with Falangists or any other fascist or fascist-adjacent movement. Its meaning is obvious and — especially when explicitly aimed at their *own population*, extremely chilling.
Me: oh hey so I travelled across the country twice on the day that they thought would be catastrophic for trains, and I had no dramas. So on this sunny beautiful day my relatively quick trip up to Berlin should be easy.
Deutsche Bahn: you fool. You complete idiot.
Deutsche Bahn: you fool. You complete idiot.
January 11, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Me: oh hey so I travelled across the country twice on the day that they thought would be catastrophic for trains, and I had no dramas. So on this sunny beautiful day my relatively quick trip up to Berlin should be easy.
Deutsche Bahn: you fool. You complete idiot.
Deutsche Bahn: you fool. You complete idiot.
Well…yes? Okay? There is a good reason to censor material relating to the sexual abuse of children (among others — Grok has of course been manipulating images of many other people too!), in the same way that there are good reasons to police people yelling “fire!” in a crowded cinema.
Of course he does.
Wanting to ban AI manipulation of the sexualisation of children is now “censorship.” 🙄
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Wanting to ban AI manipulation of the sexualisation of children is now “censorship.” 🙄
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Musk says outcry over X's Grok service is 'excuse for censorship'
The government is urging Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
www.bbc.com
January 11, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Well…yes? Okay? There is a good reason to censor material relating to the sexual abuse of children (among others — Grok has of course been manipulating images of many other people too!), in the same way that there are good reasons to police people yelling “fire!” in a crowded cinema.
The UK playing the greatest hits of West German moral panics of the 1970s, when right-wing press organs such as BILD freaked out about the idea that “women [sic!!] will soon be able to call themselves fathers.”
A transgender man cannot be registered as “father” on the birth certificates of children delivered by his female partner, a senior judge has ruled. He could not be registered as such because he was neither the biological nor gestational parent of either child. [Times]
January 10, 2026 at 10:49 AM
The UK playing the greatest hits of West German moral panics of the 1970s, when right-wing press organs such as BILD freaked out about the idea that “women [sic!!] will soon be able to call themselves fathers.”
Wait. Did people literally believe that Tim Walz replaced the state flag with the Somalian national flag?
January 9, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Wait. Did people literally believe that Tim Walz replaced the state flag with the Somalian national flag?
I love the Adelaide Writers Week, which makes their indefensible censorship of Randa Abdel-Fattah even more painful. But it’s great to see many of the writers taking a principled stand — knowing, firstly, just how important it is to them and, secondly, that this is not a definitive list.
January 9, 2026 at 6:40 AM
I love the Adelaide Writers Week, which makes their indefensible censorship of Randa Abdel-Fattah even more painful. But it’s great to see many of the writers taking a principled stand — knowing, firstly, just how important it is to them and, secondly, that this is not a definitive list.
Beyond the obvious implications of all that’s been happening there, the US government has not only murdered a woman, but it is smearing her as a domestic terrorist to justify having done so. This seems like an easy moral question for Dems and indeed Americans as a whole: will you let this stand?
January 8, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Beyond the obvious implications of all that’s been happening there, the US government has not only murdered a woman, but it is smearing her as a domestic terrorist to justify having done so. This seems like an easy moral question for Dems and indeed Americans as a whole: will you let this stand?
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
Very cool how her queerness and Actual Wife Who Was There When She Was Shot is being constantly erased by both the media and now elected senators.
Not at all a chilling trend to set
Not at all a chilling trend to set
Renee Nicole Good was a mother of three, including a 6-year-old boy who is now an orphan.
Renee was deeply loved by many. Her mom described her as “one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.”
This is who we lost yesterday.
Renee was deeply loved by many. Her mom described her as “one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.”
This is who we lost yesterday.
January 8, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Very cool how her queerness and Actual Wife Who Was There When She Was Shot is being constantly erased by both the media and now elected senators.
Not at all a chilling trend to set
Not at all a chilling trend to set
No, the Financial Times is not a serious journalistic outlet.
January 8, 2026 at 1:26 PM
No, the Financial Times is not a serious journalistic outlet.
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
Bump for my CFP for Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... Deadline 14 February! Have had a few abstracts already and it's shaping up to be great. 🗃️
Call For Papers: Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present | UON
Centre for Historical Studies, University of Northampton, UK Monday 15 – Tuesday 16 June 2026 Nostalgia, defined most simply as a wistful or...
www.northampton.ac.uk
January 8, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Bump for my CFP for Nostalgia and Radical Politics, Past and Present www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo... Deadline 14 February! Have had a few abstracts already and it's shaping up to be great. 🗃️
Today is the day I've decided that maybe I should plan out the next book if I *don't* get the funding I've applied for. Head empty, no thoughts.
Well no, that's a lie. I have *some* thoughts. I'm just not sure how realisable they are.
Well no, that's a lie. I have *some* thoughts. I'm just not sure how realisable they are.
January 8, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Today is the day I've decided that maybe I should plan out the next book if I *don't* get the funding I've applied for. Head empty, no thoughts.
Well no, that's a lie. I have *some* thoughts. I'm just not sure how realisable they are.
Well no, that's a lie. I have *some* thoughts. I'm just not sure how realisable they are.
Very excited* to have my project application on trans history evaluated by Grok or whatever.
Hauptausschuss der DFG ermöglicht unter Rahmenbedingungen künftig die Nutzung von KI in der Begutachtung
#AI
www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles...
#AI
www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles...
Künstliche Intelligenz in der Begutachtung
www.dfg.de
January 8, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Very excited* to have my project application on trans history evaluated by Grok or whatever.
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
I generally dislike ‘canary in a coal mine’ arguments but more people need to grasp just how entangled transphobia is with the erosion of liberal democracy, and that some centrists’ pandering to or embrace of it is equally emblematic of their own disillusion with and reluctance to stand up for it.
Jesse Watters highlights that Renee Nicole Good, the woman killed by ICE, had "pronouns in her bio" and "leaves behind a lesbian partner and a child from a previous marriage"
January 8, 2026 at 9:53 AM
I generally dislike ‘canary in a coal mine’ arguments but more people need to grasp just how entangled transphobia is with the erosion of liberal democracy, and that some centrists’ pandering to or embrace of it is equally emblematic of their own disillusion with and reluctance to stand up for it.
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
A 6 year old came home from school today, excited to tell her mom about her day, the fun she had & the art she made, and found out she'll never be able to because she was murdered by Trump's secret police and people are really discussing the best way to reintegrate these stormtroopers into society.
January 7, 2026 at 10:59 PM
A 6 year old came home from school today, excited to tell her mom about her day, the fun she had & the art she made, and found out she'll never be able to because she was murdered by Trump's secret police and people are really discussing the best way to reintegrate these stormtroopers into society.
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
Do not post shit that will get you on watch list
Do not sign up for protests- just go
Wear a mask if you are protesting
No matter how mad you are: Stay safe and stay smart
Do not sign up for protests- just go
Wear a mask if you are protesting
No matter how mad you are: Stay safe and stay smart
January 7, 2026 at 9:04 PM
Do not post shit that will get you on watch list
Do not sign up for protests- just go
Wear a mask if you are protesting
No matter how mad you are: Stay safe and stay smart
Do not sign up for protests- just go
Wear a mask if you are protesting
No matter how mad you are: Stay safe and stay smart
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
For my newsletter this morning, I called for a ban on Grok after X, the child porn app formerly known as Twitter, started removing the clothes of women and girls in photos posted on the site. www.burnsnotice.com/grok-the-chi...
Grok, the Child Porn Generator, Should Be Illegal
X, the child porn company formerly known as Twitter, is now removing the clothes of women and children with photos on the site on behalf of its users.
I first joined Twitter in December 2015. Deeply ...
www.burnsnotice.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:39 PM
For my newsletter this morning, I called for a ban on Grok after X, the child porn app formerly known as Twitter, started removing the clothes of women and girls in photos posted on the site. www.burnsnotice.com/grok-the-chi...
This morning: recorded a podcast. It was a lot of fun!
This afternoon: emotionally collapse to the soundtrack of vintage Death Cab for Cutie.
Maybe I need coffee.
This afternoon: emotionally collapse to the soundtrack of vintage Death Cab for Cutie.
Maybe I need coffee.
January 7, 2026 at 3:09 PM
This morning: recorded a podcast. It was a lot of fun!
This afternoon: emotionally collapse to the soundtrack of vintage Death Cab for Cutie.
Maybe I need coffee.
This afternoon: emotionally collapse to the soundtrack of vintage Death Cab for Cutie.
Maybe I need coffee.
Gavin Newsom is a dangerously queerphobic prick and the fact that supposed liberals in the US are lionising this bigot is depressing as hell.
Isn't homophobia hilarious?
10/10. No notes.
January 6, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Gavin Newsom is a dangerously queerphobic prick and the fact that supposed liberals in the US are lionising this bigot is depressing as hell.
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
Im neuen Jahr möchte ich mich an #onthisday Postings versuchen, v.a zu historischen tin* Personen.
Den Anfang macht die trans Frau Liddy Bacroff, die heute vor 83 Jahren umgebracht wurde 😢
Den Anfang macht die trans Frau Liddy Bacroff, die heute vor 83 Jahren umgebracht wurde 😢
January 6, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Im neuen Jahr möchte ich mich an #onthisday Postings versuchen, v.a zu historischen tin* Personen.
Den Anfang macht die trans Frau Liddy Bacroff, die heute vor 83 Jahren umgebracht wurde 😢
Den Anfang macht die trans Frau Liddy Bacroff, die heute vor 83 Jahren umgebracht wurde 😢
I’m on a warm train trundling its way through lots of snow to go to the office.
Winter is definitely my time of year.
Winter is definitely my time of year.
January 6, 2026 at 9:14 AM
I’m on a warm train trundling its way through lots of snow to go to the office.
Winter is definitely my time of year.
Winter is definitely my time of year.
Reposted by Bodie A. Ashton
can someone remind me what it's called when you harass a woman because she isn't into your sex thing?
January 5, 2026 at 9:05 PM
can someone remind me what it's called when you harass a woman because she isn't into your sex thing?