Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
@hbowescatton.bsky.social
720 followers 540 following 290 posts
Academic researching 1) inclusion in doctoral education and 2) LGBTQIA+ identities and politics. Northern, working class, queer, cis feminist. Lifts heavy things for fun. Views mine.
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hbowescatton.bsky.social
The Open Day runs from 10.30-15.30 UK time, and will cover our different research degree programmes, funding etc. Come along and meet academics and current students. To register, email [email protected]
hbowescatton.bsky.social
Research within WELS is grouped into eight thematic research areas:

• Children and families

• Education and learning

• Global development

• Health and wellbeing

• Languages and literacies

• Social care
hbowescatton.bsky.social
Thinking of doing a PhD at @openuniversity.bsky.social? The Faculty of Wellbeing Education and Language Studies is having a virtual open day on 16th October. Details ⬇️🧵
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
natacha.bsky.social
This is important.

The Government is introducing a new "Section 28 2.0" for trans kids and is listening to anti-trans groups, including representative of a group whose members actively support and encourage torturing children (through conversion therapy) to try and make them cis.
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
powes.bsky.social
October is #BlackHistoryMonth 🖤💜 We asked our Committee to share books that inspire them to keep learning about Black history & reflecting on how we can amplify Black voices, challenge inequities & dismantle barriers. Here are their recommendations- Let us know what’s on your reading list ⬇️
Black History month book recs- 
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
In The Ditch by Buchi Emecheta
Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Long Song by Andrea Levy Black History Month book recs
Hidden histories: Black in Psychology by Parise Carmichael-Murphy and Dr Adam Danquah
Mental Health and Otherness: Intersections between Gender, Race, Class and Age by Ilana Mountian
The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House by Audre Lorde. Black History Month book recs
Integrating Multiculturalism and Intersectionality Into the Psychology Curriculum: Strategies for Instructors by Jasmine A Mena and Kathryn Quina
Towards an Aesthetics of the Epistemologies of the South: Manifesto in Twenty-Two Theses by Boaventura de Sousa Santos
Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex by Incite! Women, Gender Non-Conforming, and Trans People of Color Against Violence.
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
natacha.bsky.social
This is spot on from @zackpolanski.bsky.social, who is himself Jewish and comes from Manchester.

Shabana Mahmoud is being deeply dishonest, disingenuous and dangerous by conflating protests against genocide with this antisemitic attack. It is not antisemitic to protest against the horror in Gaza.
saulstaniforth.bsky.social
@zackpolanski.bsky.social is asked about the Home Secretarys comments that yesterdays protests about Israels actions were dishonourable (she also said they were unBritish).

Zack is spot on.
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
wearequeeraf.com
This Saturday after painstaking research and FOIs by @clairestranstalks.bsky.social with @whatthetrans.com, we'll publish 'The Gender Clinic Files' in our newsletter:

A new investigative series exposing deep structural issues with UK Transgender healthcare

Sign up 👉 www.wearequeeraf.com/subscribe/
Picture of documents with NHS branding, with title: The Gender Clinic Files and text that reads: A new investigative series that exposes deep structural issues with the UK’s approach to Transgender healthcare in the QueerAF newsletter with What The Trans!? every Saturday this month. QueerAF and What The Trans logos all on a blue background showing a blurred out medical setting.
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
echomikeromeo.bsky.social
We're starting a new 'ArtsLab' (research network) in trans studies at Glasgow! It's very exciting and I hope that in time we can become a real centre for research in this field. Find out more - including details of our upcoming launch event - on our website: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/art...
Logo with the words 'GLINTS: Glasgow Lab for Intersex, Non-binary and Trans Studies' in coral text on a purple background.
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
cassetteboy.bsky.social
New! Cassetteboy vs Keir Starmer.

This took absolutely ages, so if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/cassetteboy we'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
transsolidarity.bsky.social
Lucy Powell has warned that Labour should not wave through a devastating trans bathroom ban 👇

Ripping up trans rights would be a disaster for Labour, for business, for women, and for the wider LGBT+ community.

It's wrong. Labour needs to stop aping Trump and Farage, and protect our human rights.
Lucy Powell calls for MPs to vote on single sex space guidance
The Labour deputy leadership candidate calls for a debate and vote on guidance which is expected to say that trans people should be excluded from single sex spaces.
news.sky.com
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
emiliab.bsky.social
#UK #TransRights An FOI has just confirmed what all of us have feared: for the Youth gender services, since July 2024, not a single patient has been referred to commence HRT. And 22 have been moved from youth to adult services , also without treatment. This is scandalous.
hbowescatton.bsky.social
This!

This petition was at over half a million when I signed it last night, and growing by about a thousand a minute.
sjgroenewegen.co.uk
In principle, I’m not actually automatically opposed to ID cards. However, from how the present UK government is going about this and related matters, it’s a straightforward nope, not on your life.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards
We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.
petition.parliament.uk
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
notrightruth.bsky.social
New essay: REJECT TRANS DOOM-POSTING.

It's about grief, loss, institutional failures, and the horror of the current moment.

It's also a love letter to trans community, and the things we do with and for one another.
Reject Trans Doom-Posting
This week I took the long train down to the south of England for my friend Robyn’s funeral. She died very suddenly three weeks ago, aged just 32. Robyn gave so much love to the world, and was so lo…
ruthpearce.net
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
loreandordure.com
Seriously how hard is it to say “This is an outrageous attack on our friends and neighbours who are in this country legally and have followed all the rules to get settled status, who are valued members of our communities, get to fuck frog-face”?
adambienkov.bsky.social
Keir Starmer’s spokesperson asked for the PM's response to Nigel Farage’s plan to deport hundreds of thousands of people living and working completely legally in the UK, replies that he thinks it is “unworkable” and “unfunded”.

So his objection is that they’ve got their sums wrong
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
tacc.org.uk
Update: the EHRC has completed its internal review and upheld its blanket refusal of our FOI requests under Section 14(1). They admit some requests were “well focussed, purposeful and of public interest,” but still refused them all. 1/
Response letter related to Freedom of Information Act requests. The letter addresses request refusals, resource constraints, and compliance issues. Tone is formal and explanatory.

Text: "Response
I have reviewed our refusal of the requests set out in Annex A of our refusal
notice to determine whether the refusal was appropriate and compliant with
the provisions of the FoIA.
The Commission has disclosed the relevant decision-making document used
to determine our refusal of the requests under a separate FOI request,
reference 12231728, and I have considered the rationale contained within this
document alongside the points raised in your review request as part of my
review.
While I continue to respect your right to request information under the FoIA
and acknowledge that some of your previous requests have been well
focussed, purposeful and attract value on matters of public interest, the
volume, frequency and nature of the requests set out in Annex A of our refusal
notice would place a significant sustained demand on the Commission’s
resources if it were to comply.
We aim to be transparent and helpful in our responses and have endeavoured
to meet our obligations under the FoIA, as evidenced by our continued
compliance with targeted and proportionate requests submitted since our
refusal notice was issued, including the request referenced above (12231728)
and a request concerning workforce diversity and the protected characteristic
of gender reassignment (12045024).
As such, your review request is not upheld, and the Commission maintains its
refusal to comply with the requests set out in Annex A of our refusal notice
under Section 14(1) of the FoIA."
Reposted by Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)
leannecpowner.bsky.social
It's RESEARCH week here on #PhDYr1 !

Have a designated landing spot for research ideas. Could be a digital note in Google Keep or similar, a tabbed page in your Everything Notebook/bullet journal, or any other thing you won't lose and can easily get to.