Rebecca Jane Morgan
@rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
580 followers 770 following 110 posts
Historian of UK trans activism and evangelical politics. Author of Gender Heretics (2023). Enquiries: [email protected] I also write about religion in Greenland: https://religioningreenland.com
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rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
My next book Deviants and Trailblazers: A History of Trans Activism in Britain is in the @plutopress.bsky.social Spring/Summer 2026 catalogue (for a May '26 release)!

This book is the first joined-up history of trans activism in the UK all the ways from the 40s to the present.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
As a litter picker I'd like to point out that the problem of litter is worst in areas that have low income, high population turnover (ie nobody can afford to settle down) and high density. The solution is wealth redistribution, ending landlordism, and more funding, not shaming campaigns and racism.
Robert Jenrick complained of ‘not seeing another white face’ in Birmingham neighbourhood
Shadow justice secretary criticised for suggesting he could tell how integrated Handsworth was based on short visit
www.theguardian.com
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
The main thing we have to do to properly understand who she was is therefore to reverse that trend, so a trans biography is paradoxically going to give her transness a much lower billing than the norm. We have to take the obsessiveness out and put the context back in.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Almost all modern writing on Cowell shows a remarkable lack of curiosity about her work with cars and planes. Focusing only on her transness reduces the fidelity of the things she actually cared about and wanted to be known for. They become just background dressing to the main event: the transition.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
One of the things I'm learning from writing a biography of Roberta Cowell is that telling life stories from a trans perspective sometimes means greatly reducing the emphasis on the subject's transness, letting it be just one part of a whole. Cowell was first of all a racer, engineer, and aviator.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
My next book Deviants and Trailblazers: A History of Trans Activism in Britain is in the @plutopress.bsky.social Spring/Summer 2026 catalogue (for a May '26 release)!

This book is the first joined-up history of trans activism in the UK all the ways from the 40s to the present.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Historically, there is an almost direct negative correlation between the reach of Govt ID systems and trans people's rights. Looser systems give fewer opportunities to oppress.

You know, on top of all the other obvious reasons that this is a horrifying idea.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Keir Starmer to announce plans for digital ID scheme
The prime minister believes a new scheme would help crack down on illegal working in the UK.
www.bbc.co.uk
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Roberta Cowell explaining how fellow prisoners of war passed the time during WW2. They would shout this at a guard tower and then run away.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Found this book in a monastery. No notes
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
We're not going to do anything to stop the genocide, but we recognise the people who are being targeted. That just makes our inaction even more reprehensible...
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Starmer calling for unity and to 'reject hate' right now is a microcosm of why liberalism is failing to comprehend the current moment. The message is fine, but the problem that needs solving is the ongoing genocide and the global slide into autocratic ethno-nationalism, not abstract 'hate'.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Ooo where might one find the Trans Booklight?
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
In 1971 a man was fined £1 for making a rude gesture at a Salvation Army band at an anti-porn rally.

Thank you for your attention.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
No idea what you're yapping about, Wales last played in the RWC 23 and has been on extended hiatus since then
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Article 8 can be ignored "in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Paragraph 2 of Article 8 already gives states the ability to interfere with privacy and family life for a wide range of vague reasons. That's partially why the UK was able to get away with violating the privacy rights of all trans people from 1970 to 2004 (and most of them since then).
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Article 8 is what trans campaigners used to get the Gender Recognition Act through the Goodwin and "I" cases in 2002, when the ECHR ruled that forcing trans people to reveal their sex assigned at birth violates their privacy. 'Updating it for the modern age' just means reducing people's rights.
implausibleblog.bsky.social
Bridget Phillipson, "Labour believes there needs to be reform to the ECHR"

Trevor Philips, "You want to see changes in the ECHR?"

Bridget Phillipson, "Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is looking at Article 8 Provisions to see if they need updating"

*Article 8: Right for private and family life*
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
I'm searching for trans motor racing drivers/riders in history! If you come across any, please do share, especially racers from outside the UK and North America.

I currently know of Roberta Cowell, Michelle Duff, Charlie Martin, Deborah Stokes, Sophie Rebecca, Jerri Bean, and Terri O'Connell.
Black and white image of Roberta Cowell, a British trans racing driver, sitting in her open-wheel racing car at the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, wearing mechanic-style overalls. She achieved victory at this event.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
I guess it's partly because she's from that generation when it was possible to be anti-gay and pro-trans at the same time because transness was considered a mental disorder (and therefore an acceptable form of difference because we just can't help it!)

hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2008...
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament
Hansard record of the item : 'Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill' on Tuesday 6 May 2008.
hansard.parliament.uk
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Anne Widdecombe has always been an interesting one when it comes to trans issues. In 2008 she argued that the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill should cover transphobia as well as homophobia because bigots 'do not make a distinction between people with transgender or homosexual tendencies'.
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Fantastic cat storage solution
rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social
Very happy to say that my chapter on the theory and history of UK trans activism since the 1970s is now available through Bloomsbury as an open access article. It's part of a wonderful new volume edited by @krheyam.bsky.social and Jon Ward.

www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-de...
New and Decolonial Approaches to Gender Nonconformity
www.bloomsburycollections.com
Reposted by Rebecca Jane Morgan
krheyam.bsky.social
It's✨publication day✨! You can order a copy, or get the open access ebook, at www.bloomsbury.com/uk/new-and-d.... And I've got 5 spare hardback copies to give away to anyone who runs a book-sharing scheme or would struggle to access the ebook - hmu if that's you 🏳️‍⚧️📚
Reposted by Rebecca Jane Morgan
transactualuk.bsky.social
The Supreme Court ruling and the draft EHRC Statutory Code has left trans people in the UK feeling scared and confused.

To help you navigate this nightmare, we've created a Know Your Rights resource. Find it at transactual.org.uk/know-your-rights

#Trans #Transgender #Nonbinary #Queer #TransAlly
Text says: What if someone tells me to leave the toilets? There’s a lot of confusion about our rights at the moment. Read our Know Your Rights resource for accurate, up to date info. transactual.org.uk/know-your-rights. Illustration of a person with short hair.
Reposted by Rebecca Jane Morgan
payoub.bsky.social
Absolutely incredible turnout for Budapest Pride! So proud of all the organizers, including some old friends, who estimate hundreds of thousands— major embarrassment to Orban
Reposted by Rebecca Jane Morgan
krheyam.bsky.social
So proud of the incredible list of contributors, at the cutting edge of decolonial work on gender in the arts & humanities, that Jon and I have managed to pull together! Feat. @evacyli.bsky.social @slgrange.bsky.social @onnigust.bsky.social @zeus-japonicus.bsky.social @rebeccajanemorgan.bsky.social