Helen Bowes-Catton (she/her)

The Temporality of Bodily Autonomy I recently took part in the February BARE seminar on Temporalities and Bodily Autonomy. We discussed how perceptions of time shape autonomy - how institutional time can be glacial, often reinforcing e...

Autumn Thomson followed up with this great post reflecting on how issues of bodily autonomy and temporality played out in media coverage of Lindsey Vonn's crash in the Olympic downhill skiing.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/tempor...

It was really interesting to discuss how conflicts between institutional time and lived time play out across different domains- in law, in sexual consent, in pregnancy, in higher education- and how these tensions constrain bodily autonomy in similar and different ways.

Temporalities and Bodily Autonomy The February 2026 seminar in the Bodily Autonomy Research and Engagement (BARE) series brought together three Open University researchers - Caroline Derry, Victoria Newton and Helen Bowes-Catton - to ...

I really enjoyed talking about how temporality and bodily autonomy intersect for disabled PGRs at this seminar organised by the Reproduction, Sexualities & Sexual Health Research Group (RSSH) and the OU Trans Staff Network.
🧵

bit.ly/4bet41u

#POWES2026 POWES CONFERENCE 2026 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS ON FEMINIST CONNECTION & SOCIAL JUSTICE SUBMISSION DEADLINE: EXTENDED TO 13TH MARCH tinyurl.com/powes2026

⚠️We've extended the deadline for abstracts for #POWES2026!
⏳New deadline- 13th March
ℹ️ Full details here- tinyurl.com/powes2026
🏃‍♀️‍➡️Go go go!

Psychology of Women & Equalities Review (POWER) Call for Papers Special issue - Feminism in Asia The Psychology of Women & Equalities Review (POWER) supports critical feminist debate on the psychology of women and equalities across research, teaching, and professional practice. This special issue seeks to decentre feminist theory and praxis from the Global North and foreground perspectives on feminism and psychology in Asia. Feminist movements have resonated with diverse marginalised communities, contributing to social transformation. Yet, significant gaps remain in the incorporation of non-Western women’s experiences and theorising within mainstream feminist and psychological scholarship. Even within the Majority World, hegemonic and dominant community narratives can erase minority voices and present misleading accounts of national homogeneity. The year 2025 witnessed Gen Z led protests across many Asian countries, building on decades of activism and social change. These fissures in the social fabric have emerged from long-standing systemic violence against the most marginalised within South Asia and beyond. Women’s activism continues to shape reform and policy, while LGBTQ+ activism contributes to redefining sexual freedoms and gender roles This issue intends to address intersections of gender, sexuality, disability, caste, political identity, and other forms of marginalisation through a psychological and feminist lens, whilst acknowledging both global and local feminist imaginaries. While decentring Western feminist paradigms is crucial, it is equally vital to challenge dominant discourses within Asian feminist scholarship. We welcome submissions from early-career researchers, activists, individuals working in academic-adjacent industries, and academics working in and around Asia.

Topics suggested, but not limited to Emerging discourse in psychology Voices of minorities within the nation Feminism and popular culture Imagining a psychology of women Feminism in Education Psychology’s response to feminist and queer movements Addressing ethnic violence Feminist resistance to nationalism Methodology We are open to qualitative and innovative methodologies. We welcome the following submissions Theoretical and empirical papers. Reviews of relevant books, films and other popular media. Short papers, commentaries, interviews and other non-traditional submissions such as art, poetry and photography in our ‘Agora ’section. Send an abstract between 300-500 words and a 50 word author(s) biography by 15th April 2026. Important dates Outcome of abstract selection - 30th May 2026 Full submissions - 10th December 2026 Publication date July 2027 - July 2027 All articles (excluding creative works) will be peer reviewed. Please note, by submitting a manuscript, you will also be invited to peer review other submissions.Submissions should be a maximum of 8,000 words excluding references. Book reviews should be 750-1000 words including references. Contact the guest editor Dr Sonia Soans via QR Code or use this link https://shorturl.at/U5yr8

CALL FOR PAPERS- Special Issue of BPS journal POWER on Feminism in Asia. Details in images/alt text below.

Please repost and share with your networks!

Masculinities in Focus: Opportunities and Challenges for Change | BPS This is the second in a series of online connection events around the theme "Masculinities in focus: Opportunities and Challenges for Change".

A reminder about our Masculinities in Focus: Opportunities and Challenges for Change event taking place on 4th March!

Details below- please repost!

www.bps.org.uk/event/mascul...

While I'm grumbling about usage, I also really don't like 'shop' as a transitive verb, in the context of 'Shop our sale!'

(I turned 50 a few weeks ago... is this what happens? Am I just Like This Now? 😆)

Is it just me who bristles at the term 'learnings from...'? It feels like a plural without a singular. I don't feel like you can say 'a learning'.

I guess 'lessons from...'/ 'a lesson from' feels a bit too didactic and 'learnings' feels a bit more active but... I really don't like it.

On February 6th Lucy Powell, Labours deputy leader, wrote to Zack Polanski accusing him & the Greens of sharing "misleading election material & claims on social media" & told him "its time to stop the bogus bar charts"

Labour on social media last night & the poll they're referring to⬇️

‘I Just Filled Out a Form’ Experiences of Doctoral Students with Disabilities, Long-Term Health Conditions and/or Additional Study Needs | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research

Our previous piece on the experiences of disabled doctoral students: sjdr.se/articles/10....

‘I'm not a caseworker, nor a carer, nor a support worker’: supervising doctoral researchers with disabilities, long-term health conditions and/or additional study needs This article presents results from a study which investigated the experiences of doctoral supervisors supporting disabled postgraduate research students (PGRs) at a university in the United Kingdom...

New article out today, reporting findings from our study on supervisors' experiences of supporting disabled doctoral students. It's a companion piece to our previous work on student experiences (link in thread).

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

POWES CONFERENCE 2026 Call for abstracts on feminist connection and social justice. Submission deadline 27th Feb 2026. tinyurl.com/powes2026

📢Abstract submissions are now OPEN for #powes2026
⚖️The conference theme this year is 'Feminist Connection and Social Justice'
⏰Submission deadline: 27 February 2026
ℹ️More info: tinyurl.com/powes2026

Call for book chapters: abstracts by 16th March 2026

Rethinking queer ageing: The significance of geo-temporal contexts. Edited by Linn Sandberg, Rebeka Põldsam and Rebecca L. Jones (me!)

Academic understandings of LGBTQ+ ageing are dominated by Anglo-American contexts, which means that [...]

I gave a quote to a Metro news article:

"This new government guidance will cause extreme harm to trans children of all ages. Study after study have shown that trans children need policies that are the exact opposite of what this Government is enforcing... 1/

Trans children ‘will lose any hope of happiness’ under school gender guidance 'Trans children need to be supported and respected.'

The best headline I have seen on this in a major paper:

metro.co.uk/2026/02/13/t...

In a pretty grim decision - with one very considerable silver lining - the High Court has dismissed our challenge to the EHRC Interim guidance.

A number of resources follow in a 🧵.

Solidarity with trans, non binary and intersex people, today and always. 🏳️‍⚧️

Help us appeal the High Court’s judgment on trans rights | Good Law Project

Donate to the @goodlawproject.bsky.social crowdfunder to appeal the decision from the courts today.

goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/...

NHS closed Tavistock over care complaints – there were only eight An eye-opening FOI report has revealed that just eight people complained about the Tavistock gender clinic's care provision in 10 years.

In a functional country, this would be a scandal. A service suffering only from chronic underfunding was ripped apart because the media created a myth of 1000s of complaints of malpractice. The truth - as in my family’s experience - was very different.
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...

So cute! Great to see these little guys on campus - it will make getting supplies easier for research students on site 👍

'Benedict Bridgerton being a messy bisexual is an old trope – but it works' 'They're paying homage to that tradition of the queerness lurking in the in between'

I had a great time talking to the Metro about bisexuality in Bridgerton last week 🙂

share.google/fw30WdyLBz3y...

Future Issues | Politics and Governance Politics and Governance is an innovative new offering to the world of online peer-reviewed open access publishing in the Political Sciences.

Are you doing research on anti-trans politics? Consider submitting to the special issue of @cogitatiopag.bsky.social 'Global Politics and Anti-Trans Moral Panics: Transfeminist Perspectives', co-edited by me, @ashstokoe.bsky.social and @ginagwenffrewi.bsky.social to be published in 2027 (1/2)

Text from Sullivan Review Report 2 that reads - 13. The expansion and politicisation of ethics committees poses serious risks to research, including research on sex and gender, potentially affecting researchers working from any perspective on this issue. To address this: a. The terms of reference of ethics committees should state that it is not within their remit to prevent researchers from using the concept of sex, collecting data on sex, or using sex-based language. b. Ethics committees should not refer researchers to ask advice from EDI committees. c. Universities should consider paring back the scope and power of ethics committees, including removing the requirement for low-risk research which does not involve any medical or other experimental intervention or contact with children or vulnerable populations or genuine risk of harm to research participants or researchers or potentially unlawful acts to undergo formal ethical review by default.

Text from the Sullivan Review report 2 that reads - . Ethics committees must ensure that ethical review does not lead to onerous delays, in particular in the case of time-sensitive research. By default, ethics committees should approve research proposals and should do so promptly. e. Ethical review is continually expanding, for example to cover undergraduate students, and to cover secondary data analysis. This expansion should be halted. f. Ethics committees must explicitly distinguish between ethical risk and reputational risk, and not conflate the two. Reputational risk should never be treated as an ethical consideration, let alone a reason to treat a proposal as ‘high risk’ by an ethics committee. g. The centralisation of ethics committees should be reconsidered. Paradoxically, review by a centralised committee can lead to projects deemed ‘high risk’ being judged by academics lacking in relevant expertise, whereas ‘low risk’ projects are more likely to be judged by disciplinary peers. h. ESRC should review its guidance for research organisations and research ethics committees with a view to reducing the burden on research organisations, reducing risks to academic freedom, and acknowledging the risk of politicisation of ethics processes. Guidance should highlight the value of academic freedom as a value which underpins the ability of researchers to deliver knowledge as a public good which benefits society as a whole. The risk that research ethics committees may prevent valuable research from being carried out in a timely way should be noted. ESRC should engage with academic experts on research ethics and ensure transparency in the process of reviewing its guidance.

The Sullivan Review & Ethics: A Thread

A key problematic of the Review is its significant consequences for ethical principles/governance. Its 2nd report recommends universities consider ‘paring back the scope and power of ethics committees’ in varied ways Read them below

doi.org/10.1111/tran.70057

We are currently searching for one expert by experience: either with lived experience of, or of experience of working with conversion practice survivors. This opportunity can be paid or on a volunteer basis. Due to the potentially distressing nature of the topic, please consider this before applying and reach out with any questions. Role specification: - Co-facilitating two workshops for creative outlets with participants. - Attending at least 4 meetings across an 18 month period. - Within these meetings you will play a part in shaping the research, and materials with our largely LGBTQ+ research team. Location : - Predominantly online - 1/2 workshops will be in person, with travel reimbursed and a venue decided based on participant convenience. - 2nd workshop will be online. This research study aims to centre the voices of conversion practice and change effort survivors, this research is queer, trans-led, survivor-led and trauma-informed.

Non-binary and survivor-led researchers from the University of Hertfordshire are looking for an expert by experience to join our participatory action research project looking at the strengths of LGBTQIA+ survivors of conversion practices.

#TransResearch #ResearchSurvey #LGBTQResearch

Graphic reading 'the UK Government-commissioned 'Sullivan Review' of sex and gender in data and research collection threatens British research and trans inclusion. Here's why.'

📣 Today @felicitycallard.bsky.social and I have published the first peer-reviewed response to the 'Sullivan Review' of research and data on sex and gender.

doi.org/10.1111/tran...

The Review could threaten trans rights and inclusion, erode academic freedom, and undermine research quality.

a priest with his arms outstretched and a cross on his neck Alt: Nic Cage as a priest twirling with his arms outstretched for some reason.

Me: Big day at work today!
15yo: Ah yes, you're inducting people into your cult today!

😂

(It's PhD student induction day @ougradsch.bsky.social, woop!)

Just what I needed to read this morning!

The light is definitely returning (I can see how dirty the windows are!) and the birds are starting to sing in the mornings...

Puberty blocker bans in Queensland and NZ risk extreme harm to trans youth, UK expert warns Sociologist who surveyed effect of 2024 UK ban says denial of gender-affirming care has left trans and non-binary children in ‘abject misery and severe distress’

Re-upping this article in the Guardian Oz, about my research into the extreme harm being caused by Wes Streeting's puberty-blocker ban.

UK mainstream media has collectively ignored my research (as I expected) but not the Guardian Australia.

Needless the UK and US Guardian's didn't share it.

A list of potential priorities for research skills training capability building.

Really interesting evidence café discussions about priorities for research skills training over the next five years. #RCHlaunch