Owen Blacker
@owenblacker.bsky.social
🇪🇺🏳️🌈🏴🇵🇸♿⧖ he/him, cis.
Queer political geek; proud social justice warrior+trans ally. Queering Wikipedia (and chair of @wmlgbt.org), Open Rights Group, ex-mySociety. Dysgwr. My opinions, not my employer’s.
t.me/owenblacker
owen.blacker.me.uk
Queer political geek; proud social justice warrior+trans ally. Queering Wikipedia (and chair of @wmlgbt.org), Open Rights Group, ex-mySociety. Dysgwr. My opinions, not my employer’s.
t.me/owenblacker
owen.blacker.me.uk
Reposted by Owen Blacker
The Norwegian government is staying fairly quiet for now, but as a sign of the shifting vibe here the former head of Norway’s armed forces has come out and called the US a “neo-fascist banana republic” and a “hostile great power without norms”. www.dn.no/politikk/tid...
Tidligere forsvarssjef om Trumps USA: – Neo-fascistisk bananrepublikk (+)
Tidligere forsvarssjef Sverre Diesen mener USA er blitt «en normløs og fiendtlig innstilt stormakt», og advarer samtidig mot å feste vår lit til Europa. Harald Sunde mener det haster med en plan B.
www.dn.no
January 19, 2026 at 8:56 PM
The Norwegian government is staying fairly quiet for now, but as a sign of the shifting vibe here the former head of Norway’s armed forces has come out and called the US a “neo-fascist banana republic” and a “hostile great power without norms”. www.dn.no/politikk/tid...
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Must be a weird feeling for the Americans stationed there that their quiet backwater deployment has become a potential flashpoint and the opposing side is mostly white people who speak perfect English.
Footage shows Danish troops arriving in Greenland as part of a new military deployment. Among the personnel who landed on the island is Major General Peter H. Boysen, Chief of the Danish Army Command. #Greenland
January 19, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Must be a weird feeling for the Americans stationed there that their quiet backwater deployment has become a potential flashpoint and the opposing side is mostly white people who speak perfect English.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
I think about this constantly youtu.be/9GQoHIBDogU?...
William Shatner Tries To Describe The Awe of Space, Jeff Bezos Shoots Champagne Like An Asshole
YouTube video by Ron Jones
youtu.be
January 19, 2026 at 10:49 PM
I think about this constantly youtu.be/9GQoHIBDogU?...
Reposted by Owen Blacker
very funny to think about that time Bezos took Shatner to space and Shatner had a world shaking experience of sublime meaninglessness and Bezos just cheerfully and blithely sprayed him with champagne and ever since not a single one of these bozos has listened to Shatner as he talks, including here
January 19, 2026 at 10:44 PM
very funny to think about that time Bezos took Shatner to space and Shatner had a world shaking experience of sublime meaninglessness and Bezos just cheerfully and blithely sprayed him with champagne and ever since not a single one of these bozos has listened to Shatner as he talks, including here
Reposted by Owen Blacker
I'm not sure someone from Shakespearean England would actually be too scandalized by the idea of a person with a penis playing a woman on stage
January 19, 2026 at 5:14 PM
I'm not sure someone from Shakespearean England would actually be too scandalized by the idea of a person with a penis playing a woman on stage
Reposted by Owen Blacker
"They made the character trans!!!!"
No... they didn't? A trans woman just happens to be playing her.
"Mulvaney stole the role from a woman!!!"
Pretty sure she auditioned for it and got it?
No... they didn't? A trans woman just happens to be playing her.
"Mulvaney stole the role from a woman!!!"
Pretty sure she auditioned for it and got it?
January 19, 2026 at 6:51 PM
"They made the character trans!!!!"
No... they didn't? A trans woman just happens to be playing her.
"Mulvaney stole the role from a woman!!!"
Pretty sure she auditioned for it and got it?
No... they didn't? A trans woman just happens to be playing her.
"Mulvaney stole the role from a woman!!!"
Pretty sure she auditioned for it and got it?
Reposted by Owen Blacker
So apparently Dylan Mulvaney got cast in a Broadway musical... which resulted in transphobes losing their minds and threatening to "Bud Light" the show... and now the show's Twitter page is locked down. Cool cool.
January 19, 2026 at 6:49 PM
So apparently Dylan Mulvaney got cast in a Broadway musical... which resulted in transphobes losing their minds and threatening to "Bud Light" the show... and now the show's Twitter page is locked down. Cool cool.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
January 19, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Reposted by Owen Blacker
The problem was not labeling Trump correctly as a fascist. The problem was not treating him as one. They still aren’t! That creates a gap where you’re warning people that things are on fire, but instead of evacuating or getting water, you’re casually sitting down with a cup of tea.
You want to know why Chuck Schumer is talking about affordability & not Trump being a fascist? It's because we already tried talking about him being a fascist *& everyone ignored us*.
A big part of why we are at where we are is that much of the world, the press, foreign leaders, a big hunk of US voters, simply refused to believe it when Democrats said Trump would be as bad as he is.
January 19, 2026 at 9:44 PM
The problem was not labeling Trump correctly as a fascist. The problem was not treating him as one. They still aren’t! That creates a gap where you’re warning people that things are on fire, but instead of evacuating or getting water, you’re casually sitting down with a cup of tea.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, discusses the nonprofit's partnership with queer fashion designer Willy Chavarria in its More Than a Game campaign.
How the ACLU is using fashion to fight for trans kids
www.out.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project, discusses the nonprofit's partnership with queer fashion designer Willy Chavarria in its More Than a Game campaign.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Thinking, Whatever's in the Epstein files is even worse than we all imagined, and plenty of us have revoltingly lewd imaginations.
This is I'll-start-a-war-to-make-you-forget-for-10-minutes horrific. It's gotta be.
This is I'll-start-a-war-to-make-you-forget-for-10-minutes horrific. It's gotta be.
thinking about how, in the Russian history elective I took in HS, every time a tsar was facing domestic weakness the teacher would turn to the assembled students and ask "so what is it time for?" and we would chant "stunning territorial annexation!" and she would respond "well, DUH, girls"
January 19, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Thinking, Whatever's in the Epstein files is even worse than we all imagined, and plenty of us have revoltingly lewd imaginations.
This is I'll-start-a-war-to-make-you-forget-for-10-minutes horrific. It's gotta be.
This is I'll-start-a-war-to-make-you-forget-for-10-minutes horrific. It's gotta be.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
“Wherever you look, you will find records of trans people: the problem is not that we’re not there, but that our stories are buried by neglect or misunderstanding.”
I really appreciated this @hjosephinegiles.bsky.social essay about Scottish trans history: hjosephinegiles.substack.com/p/dancing-wi... I love how it shows its working - & therefore how others can do this kind of research, empirical and imaginative, into early C20 Scottish trans life.
Dancing with Daisy May
A Scottish story from exactly a century ago
hjosephinegiles.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:20 PM
“Wherever you look, you will find records of trans people: the problem is not that we’re not there, but that our stories are buried by neglect or misunderstanding.”
Reposted by Owen Blacker
“The truth always lies somewhere in the middle” has to be one of my least favorite phrases. Sometimes, one side is actually truthful and one side is actually malicious and lying!
January 19, 2026 at 8:34 PM
“The truth always lies somewhere in the middle” has to be one of my least favorite phrases. Sometimes, one side is actually truthful and one side is actually malicious and lying!
Reposted by Owen Blacker
"If you move I'll tase you. Get the fuck out of the car"
'"YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"', has a WHOLE new meaning under #Trumpism. 🗽
January 19, 2026 at 8:53 PM
"If you move I'll tase you. Get the fuck out of the car"
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Dying because you haven't enough money for care, is not choosing to die.
Just fyi. On Friday, Lord Falconer, who's shepherding the assisted dying bill through the Lords, admitted that he thought it was fine if someone chose to die because they didn't have enough money for care
If you're left wing and support the principle, I really need you to look at the bill's details
If you're left wing and support the principle, I really need you to look at the bill's details
January 19, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Dying because you haven't enough money for care, is not choosing to die.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
LET'S GOoOo 🚀🔥
introducing Gallifrey Cabaret 2026 - bigger, bolder, and more bonkers than ever before 🪩‼️
kicking off with a massive night at London's iconic Clapham Grand, followed by a camp cosmic club night 🕺🏻🥳
ready for the adventure of a lifetime? then take our hands and ALLONS-LGBT! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈💫
🩷🩷✨
introducing Gallifrey Cabaret 2026 - bigger, bolder, and more bonkers than ever before 🪩‼️
kicking off with a massive night at London's iconic Clapham Grand, followed by a camp cosmic club night 🕺🏻🥳
ready for the adventure of a lifetime? then take our hands and ALLONS-LGBT! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈💫
🩷🩷✨
January 19, 2026 at 7:01 PM
LET'S GOoOo 🚀🔥
introducing Gallifrey Cabaret 2026 - bigger, bolder, and more bonkers than ever before 🪩‼️
kicking off with a massive night at London's iconic Clapham Grand, followed by a camp cosmic club night 🕺🏻🥳
ready for the adventure of a lifetime? then take our hands and ALLONS-LGBT! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈💫
🩷🩷✨
introducing Gallifrey Cabaret 2026 - bigger, bolder, and more bonkers than ever before 🪩‼️
kicking off with a massive night at London's iconic Clapham Grand, followed by a camp cosmic club night 🕺🏻🥳
ready for the adventure of a lifetime? then take our hands and ALLONS-LGBT! 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈💫
🩷🩷✨
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Oh my Christ Brooklyn Beckham's Stories
January 19, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Oh my Christ Brooklyn Beckham's Stories
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Oh are we doing that whole bit again where we pretend Brianna Ghey died because of social media rather than because of the people who stabbed her 28 times.
Mother of murdered Brianna Ghey urges Starmer to ban social media for under-16s
Mother of murdered Brianna Ghey urges Starmer to ban social media for under-16s
Esther Ghey says daughter’s eating disorder and self-harm had been exacerbated by harmful online content
The mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has urged Keir Starmer to ban social media for under-16s, adding to growing pressure on the prime minister before a crunch vote on the issue on Wednesday.
Esther Ghey wrote to Starmer on Monday explaining in detail how she felt her daughter’s eating disorder and self-harm had been exacerbated by TikTok influencers with whom she had become obsessed. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Oh are we doing that whole bit again where we pretend Brianna Ghey died because of social media rather than because of the people who stabbed her 28 times.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Hi! I'M USA Today Bestselling author Erik J. Brown and my new thriller BETTER THE DEVIL is out TODAY! It's a thriller about a queer homeless teen who assumes the identity of a long-missing boy only to find out his new home is no safe haven, and a killer knows he's lying. linktr.ee/ErikJBrown
January 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Hi! I'M USA Today Bestselling author Erik J. Brown and my new thriller BETTER THE DEVIL is out TODAY! It's a thriller about a queer homeless teen who assumes the identity of a long-missing boy only to find out his new home is no safe haven, and a killer knows he's lying. linktr.ee/ErikJBrown
Reposted by Owen Blacker
Anyway, I built a bot to find prominent* BlueSky users who don't use alt text.
bsky.app/profile/eden...
Some blocked me after being added to it.
I wish I knew a better way to encourage decent behaviour other than publicly shaming. Polite requests get nowhere.
(*Based on my own vague criteria.)
bsky.app/profile/eden...
Some blocked me after being added to it.
I wish I knew a better way to encourage decent behaviour other than publicly shaming. Polite requests get nowhere.
(*Based on my own vague criteria.)
January 19, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Anyway, I built a bot to find prominent* BlueSky users who don't use alt text.
bsky.app/profile/eden...
Some blocked me after being added to it.
I wish I knew a better way to encourage decent behaviour other than publicly shaming. Polite requests get nowhere.
(*Based on my own vague criteria.)
bsky.app/profile/eden...
Some blocked me after being added to it.
I wish I knew a better way to encourage decent behaviour other than publicly shaming. Polite requests get nowhere.
(*Based on my own vague criteria.)
Reposted by Owen Blacker
You would have thought that Labour MPs would be keen on making their posts accessible to their blind and partially sighted constituents.
I've yet to find an MP who consistently uses alt text.
I've yet to find an MP who consistently uses alt text.
As a dad and MP, I worry about the impact of social media on our children. Over 250 people in #WorsleyAndEccles have contacted me on this.
I’ve written to the Secretary of State to push for action - promoting safety while preserving access to positive, interest-based spaces.👇
I’ve written to the Secretary of State to push for action - promoting safety while preserving access to positive, interest-based spaces.👇
January 19, 2026 at 7:02 PM
You would have thought that Labour MPs would be keen on making their posts accessible to their blind and partially sighted constituents.
I've yet to find an MP who consistently uses alt text.
I've yet to find an MP who consistently uses alt text.
Reposted by Owen Blacker
It’s truly wild, but I would love to know who it was that was forced to forward this message to the ambassador and prefaced it with this paragraph which clearly reads as “we’re sorry. It’s mad. We know it’s mad. It wasn’t us. We’re just forwarding it as instructed. We’re truly sorry.”
![Dear Ambassador:
President Trump has asked that the following message, shared with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, be forwarded to your [named head of government/state]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:lpqxwli7omtad4lmmstbfw4r/bafkreifyzagc3wv6tpc2fubbwbpd32fo4cjkf74ky2nt54sfitnaeyjtjq@jpeg)
January 19, 2026 at 6:59 PM
It’s truly wild, but I would love to know who it was that was forced to forward this message to the ambassador and prefaced it with this paragraph which clearly reads as “we’re sorry. It’s mad. We know it’s mad. It wasn’t us. We’re just forwarding it as instructed. We’re truly sorry.”
Reposted by Owen Blacker
one argument for "natural" burial instead of cremation is that you get to be part of a gigantic mycelial network
if you’re ever worried you’re past your prime and haven’t achieved anything just remember bananas are best as bread and grapes are best as wine. the universe is probably just waiting to do something delicious with your corpse
January 19, 2026 at 11:49 AM
one argument for "natural" burial instead of cremation is that you get to be part of a gigantic mycelial network
Reposted by Owen Blacker
"The number of trans people is simultaneously presented as so large that their participation in data projects jeopardizes the quality of information gathered (), yet also so small that their concerns about how they are counted can be ignored ()"
Well worth your time reading this:
Well worth your time reading this:
New research maps the campaign to erase trans people from UK data 🔢
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.
doi.org/10.1080/0958...
January 19, 2026 at 5:05 PM
"The number of trans people is simultaneously presented as so large that their participation in data projects jeopardizes the quality of information gathered (), yet also so small that their concerns about how they are counted can be ignored ()"
Well worth your time reading this:
Well worth your time reading this: