This page includes all of our previous blog posts categorised by their general theme. Click on the links in the menu or the title of each category to access the comprehensive list of each section.
Very Special Friendships: Glimpses of Queer Relationships Among Women in the Colonial Archive
by Kirsten Kamphuis (she/her/hers) As postcolonial historians have long demonstrated, everybody brings much more to the archive than their scholarly background. When I enter the archives of Roman Catholic teaching orders, as I have repeatedly done during my doctoral work on girls’ education in colonial Indonesia, I enter as a white, middle-class woman and a… Read More »Very Special Friendships: Glimpses of Queer Relationships Among Women in the Colonial Archive
The Fixation of Meaning: Pornography Then and Now
by Andrea Zuliani (he/they) The sexual revolution of the eighteenth century has been one of the most famous events in history, as it involved the disruption of both the political and social characteristics of states. The analysis of this text will primarily focus on the use of queer pornography. It will focus on both the… Read More »The Fixation of Meaning: Pornography Then and Now
Policing and Pride
by James Whitfield (he/him/his) Since the inception of the first UK pride, it has been a mix of protest and celebration. Often both have been so fused it is impossible to differentiate the two. However, over the years, many have questioned whether the element of protest is still present within pride. Arguments critiquing pride point… Read More »Policing and Pride
The Bi-lemma: Too queer to be straight and too straight to be queer
by Polly Anna (she/her) “Sorry, love. You can’t come in. You’re not a member.” I am sheltering myself from the rain under the doorway of popular Manchester gay bar G-A-Y, being denied entry by a bouncer who is already looking past me to the next person in the queue. I try to question her decision… Read More »The Bi-lemma: Too queer to be straight and too straight to be queer
Mind the gap: the dominance of MLM content in fan-created works
by E. Jarcy (they/them) **Before beginning, it is worth noting that for the purposes of this piece, the author examined only content on Archive of Our Own to get the largest sample sizes for data and did not inspect fanfiction.net, Wattpad, or other fancontent sites. ***Additionally, the term ‘queer’ is used in this piece as… Read More »Mind the gap: the dominance of MLM content in fan-created works
“It’s just a phase”: How to forgive yourself for changing
by Sultana M.E (they/them/theirs) Most young queer kids have experienced it before, that sinking feeling, like someone tossed 10 pounds of nickels and dimes into your stomach. The panicked moment when your feelings shift away from the identity you’ve been clinging to. Am I wrong? Am I faking this? We all want to feel validated… Read More »“It’s just a phase”: How to forgive yourself for changing
“It’s just a phase”: How to forgive yourself for changing
by Sultana M.E (they/them/theirs) Most young queer kids have experienced it before, that sinking feeling, like someone tossed 10 pounds of nickels and dimes into your stomach. The panicked moment when your feelings shift away from the identity you’ve been clinging to. Am I wrong? Am I faking this? We all want to feel validated… Read More »“It’s just a phase”: How to forgive yourself for changing
On The Thought of Renaming Myself: Why I Like My Deadname But At The Same Time Hate It
by Adrian (he/him/his) Most Indonesians only have one name. That’s right, their first name is also their official name. Depending on their ethnicity, they may also go by their nickname—usually given by parents or grandparents based on their personality or physical build. Such a name does not appear on government-issued documents. My birth name has… Read More »On The Thought of Renaming Myself: Why I Like My Deadname But At The Same Time Hate It
A Letter to My Body – Warped Canvas
by Phoenix Wilks (they/them/theirs) You got a new coat of paint today. A new art piece to distract from what you are. If the artwork is beautiful maybe no one will notice that you are warped. Maybe I won’t. And it’s not that there’s anything wrong with the shape of you, in many ways you… Read More »A Letter to My Body – Warped Canvas
Nineteenth Century Prisons and Gender Diversity.
By James Whitfield (he/him/his) The following post came about while I was sifting through the British Newspaper Archives. My purpose was not to provide a particularly systemic account of history but look for small stories or narratives that could highlight gender diversity within the prison system. I wanted to focus upon the nineteenth century, primarily… Read More »Nineteenth Century Prisons and Gender Diversity.
Bois of Isolation – Queering Gender Binaries in the Confines of Pandemic
By Dawn Woolley (she/her) and AC Davidson (she/they). Do we experience and express our gender identities differently in pandemic lockdown? Can sharing selfies via Instagram be a way to collectively queer the gender binary? These questions and our own experiences of lockdown led us to set up Bois of Isolation (BOI) – a platform on… Read More »Bois of Isolation – Queering Gender Binaries in the Confines of Pandemic
Mind the gap: the dominance of MLM content in fan-created works
by E. Jarcy (they/them) **Before beginning, it is worth noting that for the purposes of this piece, the author examined only content on Archive of Our Own to get the largest sample sizes for data and did not inspect fanfiction.net, Wattpad, or other fancontent sites. ***Additionally, the term ‘queer’ is used in this piece as… Read More »Mind the gap: the dominance of MLM content in fan-created works
Examining the Role of Family and Queerness in Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby
by Chelsea Gallagher (she/her/hers) The word “transition” can be traced back to the Latin word “transitionem”. Originally used as a noun to describe “going across or over”, but what is the power it holds today? With the evolution of self-discovery tied with gender, we find ourselves free to transition constantly to promote change, growth, and… Read More »Examining the Role of Family and Queerness in Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby
‘one can love’ Richard Bruce Nugent, Fire!!, and the Harlem Renaissance
By Jack Bowman (he/him) American artist and author Richard Bruce Nugent was the first openly gay Black writer. Although operating within what is now widely understood as a vibrant artistic scene of gay, lesbian, and bisexual participants, Nugent was one of the only expressly out members of the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote and created from… Read More »‘one can love’ Richard Bruce Nugent, Fire!!, and the Harlem Renaissance
Women’s domesticity and the reinforcement of masculinity: a spatial gendered analysis of the Sino-Western relationship in Canton during Qing dynasty
by Andrea Zuliani (he/they) Why are women and their positionality/absence in society essential in history? And why particularly in the history of Sino-Western interactions? The history of the Sino-Western commerce in China is characterised not only by the exchange of goods, but also by its intrinsic human and multicultural interactions. These must be understood within… Read More »Women’s domesticity and the reinforcement of masculinity: a spatial gendered analysis of the Sino-Western relationship in Canton during Qing dynasty
Very Special Friendships: Glimpses of Queer Relationships Among Women in the Colonial Archive
by Kirsten Kamphuis (she/her/hers) As postcolonial historians have long demonstrated, everybody brings much more to the archive than their scholarly background. When I enter the archives of Roman Catholic teaching orders, as I have repeatedly done during my doctoral work on girls’ education in colonial Indonesia, I enter as a white, middle-class woman and a… Read More »Very Special Friendships: Glimpses of Queer Relationships Among Women in the Colonial Archive
The Fixation of Meaning: Pornography Then and Now
by Andrea Zuliani (he/they) The sexual revolution of the eighteenth century has been one of the most famous events in history, as it involved the disruption of both the political and social characteristics of states. The analysis of this text will primarily focus on the use of queer pornography. It will focus on both the… Read More »The Fixation of Meaning: Pornography Then and Now
Ibi Profane’s: Dragged Through History Review
A review of our first online event ‘Ibi Profane’s Dragged Through History’ by Hannah Ayres.
Event Review: Warwick Is Not (Always) White
A review of Lola Olufemi’s ‘Uses of the Feminist Imagination’ by Somak Biswas.
Event Review: Nanette Screening
A review of our Nanette screening by Nick Cherryman.