Photo courtesy of Marta Kochanek

I am a social researcher, currently based in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, UK.

I completed my PhD at the University of Warwick in 2016. My thesis looked at how trans health is differently understood within trans community spaces, activist groups and professional literatures, and how this can have important consequences for access to care. It’s currently under embargo, but if you’d like to read a copy please contact me and I’ll see what I can do.

In addition to trans health, my research interests include ethnography (and autoethnography), feminist theory, Internet studies, gender studies, queer theory, and trans cultural studies.

I’m also an activist, punk/metal musician, DJ, conference organiser and gig promoter (I like to keep busy!) My currently active bands are Abandoned Life and Dispute Settlement Mechanism. I co-organise events through Revolt! and Rolling Head Promotions.

During the 2000s and early 2010s I was an elected trans representative in the National Union of Students, working for both the NUS LGBT Campaign and NUS Women’s Campaign (for which I was the first ever trans rep). I also worked as a staff writer for Lesbilicious.

This website has grown organically around the blog, which pre-dates my academic career. At various times it has been known as Trans Youth Takes On World, Writings of a Trans Activist, and Trans Activist Takes On World. In the early days of the blog I wrote anonymously, so in some older posts I refer to myself in the third person(!)

Old blog banner

Today, the ‘blog’ section of this website is updated sporadically. I typically use it to discuss news and issues relating to trans health and feminism, but this can vary.

(last updated: 5th September 2017)