Trans in Academia Conference

~ Cheryl

On Saturday I was in London to give a paper at a very special academic conference. It was specifically for trans-identified people to talk about their research, and their experiences of life in academia.

Before I go any further, however, a brief word on terminology. The official title of the conference was Trans, Intersex and Gender Non-Conforming in Academia 2. I’ve been using trans as a very loose umbrella term because the whole thing needs a bit of unpacking. Firstly, while some intersex people do end up transitioning gender, many of them are perfectly happy with the gender they were assigned at birth. Therefore they should not be included in the term “trans”. Gender Non-Conforming is a relatively new term that is being used to indicate those people whose presentation is outside of social gender norms, but who are happy with the gender that they were assigned at birth. Again those people don’t strictly count as trans, but they are generally discriminated against as if they were trans. Yeah, I know, it is complicated.

I’m not going to say too much about individual papers and presentations, because the conference maintained a media blackout. Some of those presenting were concerned about their own safety, or the safety of their families, if it became known that they had attended. However, I can make one general point.

A lot of the issues we covered dealt with policy in various forms. There was policy to keep trans people safe in an academic environment, policy in the health service, and policy within areas control by the government (passports, prisons, legal gender recognition). In all of these cases it was very clear that there is a lot of good policy around, but that policy was useless if it wasn’t backed up by enforcement. All too often, policy exists, but most people ignore it, and those with the power to enforce it don’t have the will to do so.

Aside from that, I got to meet lots of interesting people, found some more trans historians, and had lots of conversations about science fiction. It was fun day, and the whole thing was very well run by Sahra Taylor. We need to do this again, and next time we need to make sure that Sahra (or whoever else is in charge) gets more support.

Ahoy London – Conference on Saturday

~ Cheryl


Look at this awesome free conference on trans, intersex and gender non-confirming people in academia. It features fabulous folk such as Jay Stewart, Meg-John Baker, Sophie Labelle, Natacha Kennedy & Kat Gupta. And me, I’m afraid, but the program is double-streamed while I’m on. Come along and say hello. Booking details here.

Special thanks to Sahra Taylor for doing all of the hard work of organising this, and to Mollie for the best accessibility provision I have ever seen at a conference.

Podcast Workshop in Bristol

~ Cheryl

On Thursday October 12th my Ujima colleague, Miranda Rae, and I will be running a Podcasting for Beginners workshop at the BBC offices. Here’s Miranda’s blurb:

Want to launch your own Podcast but not sure where to start? Or perhaps you have already started one but would like to improve it or develop it further? If either applies, this is the workshop for you! Podcaster, producers and broadcasters Miranda Rae (Radio 4, Radio 5, Sony Award Winner, Galaxy Radio, Ujima Radio) and Cheryl Morgan (Publisher, Critic, Hugo Award Winner) will guide you through a three hour crash course that will leave you with all the confidence and know how you need to get going with your very own podcast!

YOU WILL LEARN:
What makes a great podcasting story
How to conduct a good interview
How to get your Podcast out there
Branding your Podcast
Basic technical skills (Recording/Editing)
Recording a Skype Call
What equipment and software need to produce a Podcast

That’s 6:30pm to 9:30pm on Thursday, 12th October. A bargain at £30 per head. There’s a Facebook event with booking details here.

September Fringe: Chloe Headdon & Anna Smith Spark

~ Cheryl

Thanks to some very fast work by Tom Parker we have Monday’s Fringe readings available already.

Our first reader for September was Chloe Headdon, who had so impressed us in the April open mic.

Ever since she was little Chloe has wanted to be either a writer or a knight, so she now combines a bit of both. Chloe’s work is inspired by myths and legends, especially King Arthur, medieval history, and the British landscape. She is currently working on a young adult fantasy novel as well as other short stories. In her spare time, Chloe practises Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and can regularly be found fighting people twice her size with swords.

Chloe read from the opening chapters of her novel. Before she got going, I introduced a guest from the USA.

Next up was Anna Smith Spark. She lives in London, and loves grimdark and epic fantasy and historical military fiction. Anna has a BA in Classics, an MA in history and a PhD in English Literature. She has previously been published in the Fortean Times and the poetry website www.greatworks.org. Previous jobs include petty bureaucrat, English teacher and fetish model.

The first book in the Empires of Dust series (The Court of Broken Knives) was published by Harper Voyager in June 2017. Anna read from the opening chapters of the book.

Finally there was the Q&A. I talked to Chloe about hitting people with big swords and her job in the heritage industry. I have huge admiration for her willingness to get in an arena to fight Francesca Terminiello. I talked to Anna about epic poetry, studying ancient history, what she feeds her shoes, and whether she had any advice for Chloe about getting published. Then Justin Newland asked a philosophical question about history and we discovered that, with three historians on a panel, the discussion can go on for ever. The conversation touched on the sex life of Alexander the Great and tasteless bathroom conversions in historic buildings.

Pete Sutton previewed this year’s Bristol literary festivals, of which BristolCon will of course be a part. The festivals seem to be breeding as we now have a horror convention and a poetry festival in October as well as the Festival of Literature. There are rumors of a festival devoted to Westerns as well.

There is no Fringe next month, but there will be an open mic at BristolCon. The guests for November are Jonathan L Howard & Baylea Hart.

Trans: It Isn’t Simple

~ Cheryl ~ 3 Comments

Apologies for another lecture, but I’ve been doing training today so my brain is in that mode.

This particular post was sparked by something I saw online today. Someone, I’m pretty sure a cis person, was stating authoritatively that gender identity is fixed by the age of three. I think they were trying to be helpful, trying to say that trans people can’t be “cured”, but it is more complicated than that.

Personally I can’t date knowing that I was trans further back than starting school. I didn’t have much to go on. There were no girls my age near where I lived. We’d only just got a TV. I’d been pretty much on my own. Even so, all that I knew when I started school was that there was something wrong.

I have a friend who didn’t realize that he was trans until he started puberty. I have another who didn’t realize that she was trans until she was middle-aged. Both have since undergone significant medical treatment. They are no less trans than I am. I also know people who have elected not to have medical treatment, but have transitioned socially. They too are trans.

The idea that there are simple and definitive diagnostic tests for being trans was one of the things that held me back from transitioning for around 20 years. I read a lot, and I wasn’t certain that I’d be accepted as a patient, or indeed that transition was right for me. Nowadays we’d say that I was Questioning, but kids these days get to experiment, without having to make irreversible decisions about their lives, which is good.

Insistence on a simple, diagnostic test also plays into the TERF myth that anyone who starts a transition process, and either decides to stop at being non-binary, or back out to their assigned gender, was somehow “misdiagnosed” and has been forced into transition by pro-trans fanatics. Many people need to experiment, and the purpose of treatment should be to find what works for the patient, not to force everyone to follow a particular path. (And certainly not to force people into roles that reinforce the gender binary, unless those roles are what they are comfortable in.)

I know that “it’s complicated” isn’t an easy thing to explain. People tend to prefer easy answers. But sometimes it is an important thing to explain.

Farah on Heinlein

~ Cheryl

For some time now Farah Mendlesohn has been working on a book about the work of Robert A. Heinlein. We have chatted about it occasionally, and I have been itching to read it. However, Heinlein produced a lot of work, and the resulting book was so long that Farah hasn’t been able to find an academic publisher willing to take it. Consequently she has decided to go through the crowdfunding publisher, Unbound. Farah needs to raise enough money to get Unbound to publish the book. Any excess raised is being shared between The Foundation for America’s Blood Centres and Con or Bust. You can support the project here.

Picacio Sales for Disaster Relief

~ Cheryl

Hugo-winning artist, John Picacio, is making some of his work available in a sale to benefit disaster relief for those affected by the earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico on September 7th, and victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. There are five original works of art available for sale. A portion of the sale price of each one will go to the disaster relief effort of the purchaser’s choice. For details of the items available, see John’s blog.

OutStories AGM and Queer Classical Erotica

~ Cheryl

The OutStories Bristol AGM will take place on Saturday, October 7th at Bristol University. Some of you may remember that last year we had a fabulous talk from Dr. Jana Funke about Radclyffe Hall, which is still available in audio here. This year’s talk promises to be equally good.

Edward Warren is best known for giving his name to the Warren Cup, a Roman goblet which is decorated with explicit scenes of men having sex with each other. Warren was a passionate collector of Classical antiquities that provide evidence of same-sex relationships in past times. Dr. Jen Grove of will talk about Warren’s work, the objects he collected, and their use in advocating for LGBT rights both in his time and now.

Full details of the event, which is free to attend, are available here.

Forthcoming Appearances

~ Cheryl

Here are a few places where you will be able to find me in the coming weeks.

First up we have BristolCon Fringe on Monday, featuring the legendary Anna Smith-Spark, owner of the deadliest shoes in the writing business, and Chloe Headdon, one of the best readers from the last open mic event. As usual I will be hosting, and interrogating the readers afterward. I may ask Anna what her shoes eat.

If you happen to be in London, on September 30th I will be at this conference on being trans, intersex and gender non-confirming in academia. I’ll be talking about trying to do trans history when many historians believe that people like you didn’t exist before the 20th Century.

October sees the annual Bristol Festival of Literature and we will once again be doing the ranty feminist author panel. I may talk a bit about Space Marine Midwives. And Dreadnought, always Dreadnought.

I won’t be at BristolCon this year as I will be in Bologna for an academic conference. I’m also doing one in Melbourne early in November, though only by Skype. If you are interested in either, let me know.

And on November 4th, if all goes according to plan, I will be at LaDIYfest in Bristol. Watch this space for details on what I might end up doing there.

Translation News from Italy

~ Cheryl

I have a press release from Apex announcing that they will be doing an English language edition of Francesco Verso’s novel, Nexhuman. The book has won a heap of awards in Italian, and was published in English a while back by an Australian small press. Much as I love my Aussie pals, having the book picked up by Apex is likely to get the book far more attention.

Anyone who spends any time at European conventions will know Francesco. He’s infectiously enthusiastic, and has done some great work bringing Chinese SF to Italy. I really hope this does well for him. He kindly gave me a copy of the book in Dortmund, but I have been drowning in Tiptree reading since them. However, Rachel Cordasco has a rave review over at Strange Horizons.

The translator of the book (whom Apex appear to have forgotten to mention) is Sally McCorry.

Grandville: The Badger Is Back!

~ Cheryl

At last, the final volume of Bryan Talbot’s magnificent graphic novel series, Grandville, is almost with us. Release of Grandville: Force Majeure is scheduled for November. And there is a trailer. Well I know what I am getting myself for Saturnalia.

Last Week on Ujima – Crime, Cricket, Umbrellas & Protest

~ Cheryl

With profuse apologies for the day, here are the Listen Again links for last week’s show.

We started off with my friend Lucienne Boyce talking about her latest historical novel, Butcher’s Block. This is a new Dan Foster mystery novel, Dan being a Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist. We got onto the subject of bodysnatchers, and thence onto the horrors of 18th century medicine. Inevitably, when Lucienne and I get together, we start talking about suffragettes as well. Not in the 18th century, of course, but next year is the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, which gave some British women the vote.

Next up was my report on the Kia Super League Finals Day, including interviews with Raf Nicholson of The Cricketer, and Stafanie Taylor, hero of the hour and captain of the West Indies women’s team.

You can listen to the first hour of the show here.

The second hour began with a pre-recorded, trans-Atlantic interview with Nancy 3 Hoffman, owner and curator of the world’s only umbrella cover museum. Nancy is packing the museum into suitcases and bringing on it’s holidays to Bristol for a couple of weeks.

Finally I welcomed Amirah and Cat from the Bristol People’s Assembly into the studio. They told me all about the big anti-austerity demonstration that was to take place in Bristol at the weekend. I see from the news reports that it drew some pretty big crowds. It is also the first time I can recall the mayor of a city calling a demonstration against his own policies. Marvin says he has no choice but to make cuts because of reductions in the money he gets from central government, and he wanted people in Westminster to know how angry the people of Bristol are about it all.

You can listen to the second hour of the show here.

The playlist for the show was:

  • Thin Lizzy – Fight or Fall
  • Sade – Is it a Crime
  • Eurythmics – Sisters are Doing It for Themselves
  • Queen – We Are the Champions
  • DJ Bravo – Champion
  • Billy Holiday – Stormy Weather
  • Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
  • UB40 – One in Ten
  • Bob Marley – Get Up, Stand Up

Dragon Hunting in Bath

~ Cheryl


As I mentioned earlier, I took yesterday off. Donna Hanson was in Bath as part of her GUFF Trip (that’s the fan fund for taking fans from Australia and New Zealand to Worldcon). I offered to pop into town and show her around. She’s seen a lot of Bath before, but there was something going on that I wanted to see, and I figured it was right up her street as well.

The Victoria Art Gallery is running an exhibition called Here Be Dragons. It features dragon art by a number of well known illustrators of children’s books, including Chris Riddell, John Howe, Axel Scheffler and Cressida Cowell. The illustration above is a bad photo (by me) of a LEGO mosaic based on an original piece by Cressida Cowell.

The exhibition also has a companion app that allows kids (of all ages) to hunt dragon eggs around town. The “eggs” as posters with pictures of the eggs on them. The app has a compass that will point to a selected egg, and tells you how far away it is. When you have found the poster in question you use the phone’s camera to prove that you have found it. I was especially interested in this because it uses some of the same technology as I’m hoping to use for app ideas I have.

The exhibition is open until October 8th. It isn’t huge, but it is fun, especially for kids.

History Goes Viral

~ Cheryl

No, I’m not referring to the ongoing-nonsense about whether people of color existed before they were “discovered” by European colonialists. While I was down in Hove I spotted this tweet from one of the best satirical accounts on Twitter:

Naturally I couldn’t resist offering a few comments. Somewhat to my surprise, some of those tweets I made have over 900 likes. One has over 1000. And it is still going, well over a week later.

Interestingly, despite all of the attention, I haven’t got much in the way of new followers. I’m not overly upset over that. After all, hordes of followers generally means endless harassment. As it is I check new followers for TERFs and block them on sight. But this has been something of a window on what social media popularity is like. I’m rather glad it doesn’t happen often.

Oh, and that tweet has lots of very funny replies. The whole thread is worth reading.

Missing in Blogdom

~ Cheryl

Yeah, I know it has been very quiet here of late. When I got back from Worldcon I basically had to do a whole month’s worth of day job in two weeks. I really shouldn’t have taken a couple of days off to go to Hove for the cricket, because things have been a bit crazy since then. Of course it was glorious, so I don’t regret it, but it made the past week even more frantic than it needed to be. I took yesterday off, but today it is back at work again and the coming week looks like being equally busy.

Anyway, I’ll have a little bloggery today, and tomorrow I must do the post for last week’s Ujima show. Other stuff may or may not happen. I will at least be on social media a bit.

It is @StonewallUK #ComeOutForLGBT Day

~ Cheryl


It is campaign time with Stonewall again, and the current message is that, while we might have come along way, there is still a long way to go.

A centerpiece of the campaign is a new survey which reveals that anti-LGB hate crime has increased by 79% since their previous survey in 2013. There’s no comparison figure for anti-trans hate crime because Stonewall wasn’t advocating for trans people in 2013, but the current survey shows that 41% of trans people have experienced hate crime in the past year, compared to only 16% for LGB people.

The report also reveals that 81% of the people who experienced hate crime did not report it to the police. 71% did not report the incident to anyone other than the Stonewall survey. These numbers are not broken down between LGB and T, but one of the submissions to the government’s 2016 Trans Equality Inquiry — from hate crime specialist, Professor Neil Chakraborti — stated that many trans people don’t bother to report hate crime because for them it is a daily occurrence.

It is also worth noting that the report says 25% of trans people who contacted the “emergency services” felt that they had been discriminated by the people they were dealing with. It appears from the report that by “emergency services” Stonewall primarily means calling 111 for medical assistance, but there are equivalent fears about reporting hate crime to the police.

Anyway, one of the things Stonewall asked people to do is get a photo taken with their slogan and an ally. I haven’t had time to do that, so I make something using the slogan and the most recent photo I have of Kevin and I together (at Worldcon in Helsinki which is why we have the massive badges). As I am sure I have said before, without Kevin’s love and support I would probably not have survived transition. Stand up for your friends, people. Even if it is only one life you save, you have still made a difference.

Introducing Talking LGBT+ Bristol #LGBT247

~ Cheryl


The lovely people at Bristol 24/7 have embarked upon a project, backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, to share the hidden history of LGBT+ life in Bristol through film, print and social media. Naturally this is of great interest to us at OutStories Bristol. I’m sure that I and my colleagues will be contributing in various ways. If you happen to have a story to tell, you can contribute too, of course. And the rest of you will get to enjoy the fruits of the project.

You can learn more about the project, and find out how to get involved, at the Bristol 24/7 website.

While you are there, you may also want to check out this article about Bristol’s LGBTQ Refugees group. I went to talk to them last night. They are a lovely bunch.

August Fringe – G.V. Anderson & Lucy Hounsom

~ Cheryl

For the August Fringe meeting we were delighted to welcome G.V. (Gemma) Anderson whose first professional sale, “Das Steingeschöpf”, is a finalist for the World Fantasy Awards. Naturally we are all very proud of her. Because she had an early train to catch I did some quick Q&A after her reading, focusing on her sudden success and the crowdfunding campaign to get her to San Antonio for the World Fantasy Convention.

Our headline guest for August was Lucy Housom whose second novel in her Worldmaker series, Heartland, was published that week. The series will conclude with Firestorm next year and we have already booked Lucy to come back and read from it.

Much of the Q&A involved covers and marketing. Lucy’s books have recently been re-launched with dramatically different covers. Because she works for a well known major bookstore chain, Lucy has a special insight into how books are marketed. Lucy also discussed her podcast, Breaking the Glass Slipper, which is nicely feminist but seems to need more cake. There was also some mention of gin theft.

As we still had some time before Gemma had to leave for her train, we were able to do a joint Q&A with both readers. We continued to address issues of covers and marketing, including why Gemma writes under her initials but Lucy does not. We also talked about use of foreign and invented languages.

We seem to have got the audio working much better now that the microphone feeds directly into the recorder. However, this does mean that when people shout questions from the audience the recording will not capture them.

Thrilling End to County Championship

~ Cheryl

The women’s county cricket season came to an end yesterday with a nail-biting finish. Going into the final round of games, Yorkshire headed the league with a narrow advantage over Warwickshire, with Lancashire trailing in third. Warwickshire and Lancashire were due to play each other, while Yorkshire had an easier game against 4th-placed Nottinghamshire.

As Raf Nicholson reports, Lancashire pulled off a spectacular 5-wicket away victory, thanks largely to some brilliant bowling from Sophie Ecclestone.

Meanwhile Yorkshire were having a bad day, scoring only 178. Fortunately for them they didn’t need to win. They had a substantial points lead over Lancashire. If the worst came to the worst, taking 5 Notts wickets would gain enough bonus points to tie with Lancashire and take the title on a tie break as they had won the head-to-head. Nottinghamshire, however, were having none of this, and roared to a six-wicket victory. So Lancashire ended up champions by just one point.

Down in Division 2, there was a top-of-the-table clash between Hampshire and Somerset. Hampshire managed to win that one, which I think means that they took the division title, but both teams will be promoted to Division 1 for next season. That’s good news for both Western Storm and Southern Vipers who naturally want their feeder teams playing at the highest level possible.