Sarah Cosgriff 🏳️‍🌈🇵🇭

Happy Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week to aro folks out there! 💚🤍🖤

The list of organisations that have signed our open letter is growing larger with more to be added soon.

Any organisation that would like to sign the letter in support, please get in touch with us via DM or our website.

Individuals can also sign via this link:
tacc.org.uk/biological-s...

Happy Arospec Awareness Week! Aromantic lived experiences are far too often ignored in mainstream media, so this is absolutely fabulous to see!

Today marks 32 years since I moved to the UK 🎉

High Court rules on lawfulness of the EHRC’s interim guidance High Court decides services may lawfully allow trans women to use women’s facilities – but the fight for trans rights continues

The High Court has ruled on our challenge to the EHRC’s interim guidance.

The judgment contains some good news for trans rights – but plenty of bad.

Read our analysis
goodlawproject.org/update/high-...

FAQ: Trans inclusion after the High Court decision on the EHRC’s interim guidance | Good Law Project An explanation of where things stand for services and workplaces

Anti-trans campaigners will try to spin the High Court’s decision into an absolute victory.

But that’s far from the truth – the findings in this case will require the EHRC’s code of practice to be rewritten.

Read our FAQs on where this judgment leaves us:
goodlaw.social/ioen

Pride in STEM are still looking for nominations for this award - you have until the 1st March!

If you would like to consider me - over the last 5 years I have done asexual in STEM advocacy, engaged LGBTQ+ folks with science and helped raise the visibility of LGBTQ+ scientists in education.

The pronoun labeler, which was by far the most useful labeler on the site, was deleted by its creator. But thanks to @ripperoni.com there’s a new one available. I highly recommend it. It’s a great way to share your pronouns or see someone else’s pronouns at a glance.

bsky.app/profile/pron...

a circular hard enamel pin that says "It's Dr actually" in dark metal text on a white enamel background. It is also shown glowing in the dark

it's dr actually pins in nonbinary, trans, agender, genderqueer, genderfluid, bigender, intersex, lgbtq, lesbian, black, white, hot pink, purple, dark green, light green, light blue, and light pink colours

Very excited to announce the new pin in my "It's Dr, Actually" collection: Glow in the dark!! 😍🧪
canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/1841...

I guess this is what happens when you include queer stuff in your freelance work 😂

But on a serious note, it's incredible that this is my job and I'm grateful for the opportunities

It's day 6 of LGBT+ History Month and I'm already tired

I've been to two primary schools with a new science show today! I do a reveal of a demo at the end, which makes the kids cheer really loudly. My poor ears 😂

In April, #PrideinSTEM turns 10! We will have a celebration for it, and we would like to recognize individuals who have had a positive impact on LGBTQIA+ People in STEM, here in the UK!

Do you know someone who fits that description?

Nominate them here:

prideinstem.org/2026/01/27/n...

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🧪🔭

My calendar is incredibly full for February, so I am doing some planning to help make things more manageable.

Something I've found helpful: I block out time in my calendar when I anticipate I will need rest, so I then take this into consideration for scheduling prep work and accepting bookings.

Oh my god I love this version of the tree book pin 😍

I know I already have a tree book pin...but it needs a friend right?

A rectangular enamel pin with two hinges on the left hand side. It looks like a book and has a picture of a tree on the front. The book is titled: Trees, a miniature guidebook. An open version of the pin shows assorted leaf shapes on the pages of the book. The leaves are labelled by species as oak, horse chestnut, sycamore, hawthorn, ash, alder, hazel, holly, lime, beech, and birch

My miniature tree identification pins are finally back in stock and the 2nd edition is better than ever! Please share them around so people can see 💚 canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/4386...

I love being freelance...however today is one of those days where because I work across multiple things, it feels like all of the tabs are open in my brain and it feels a bit overwhelming. Ahh! 😅

I will be okay, just need to sit quietly for a few moments and start closing tabs...

The best thing that folks in the UK can do if they’re feeling inspired by folks in the US is to get connected with your local immigration raid watch and other migrant justice groups.

Labour has only been emboldened by the increase of anti-immigrant violence in the US - don’t let it get any worse.

I've also got a few talks lined up taking place during LGBT+ History Month - it's going to be a busy one!

It's incredible that I am making a living from this work too - I get to be paid to talk to people about something I really care about.

I always wonder if I'm doing the right thing, or saying the right things, and whether what I am doing lines up with the community's needs. I am always so grateful to have the opportunity to talk about asexuality and have organisations value asexuality education for their staff.

I often don't know what happens after I give a talk, especially when I deliver it online and can't see people's reactions in person (as well as conversations after a talk is finished). It's so lovely to hear how this particular talk has made an impact.

Someone saw a talk I gave about asexuality for a healthcare org a few months ago and wants to book me for their organisation. It was so nice to hear how helpful they found it, but also other people telling them independently how it got them thinking about ace and aro perspectives in their work.

Reads: What is trans-exclusionary data activism? And the logo for the Gender + Sexuality Data Lab.

New research maps the campaign to erase trans people from UK data 🔢

This peer-reviewed article offers the first detailed account of how UK campaign groups have sought to define sex as strictly biological across the census, policing, healthcare and digital ID.

doi.org/10.1080/0958...

Graphic which is predominantly text with the BIG logo. The Little Event 2026. Our popular introductory event for people new to STEM Communication in the UK and around the world. 29th January @ 3pm-6.30pm GMT, 31st January @ 10am-2pm GMT. Members £50, Non-members £85, Price includes one year of BIG Membership. Zoom Event, Captions Available, Breakout Room Activities, Bursaries Available. www.big.uk.com

There's still time to grab a ticket for the @big-stem-network.bsky.social #LittleEvent26 next week for early career #SciComm folks!

Lots of great sessions including an overview of the sector from me & @acescicomm.bsky.social

Find the fulll programme online www.big.uk.com/event-6410615

Omg these are so pretty 😍

a collection of rectangular pride flag enamel pins for trans, genderfluid, polyamory, trans inclusive bi, trans inclusive pan, trans inclusive gay, trans inclusive lesbian, genderfae, genderflor, genderfaun, demiboy, demigirl, omnisexual, berrisexual, and almondsexual

New pins are up on my etsy! They're a little more straightforward than my usual designs but I wanted to focus on minority flags that are harder to find as high quality pins.

As always, all sales help support my transition costs so any boost is massively appreciated 🏳️‍⚧️ canopyrobin.etsy.com

Dear Sir Paul, Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied. A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial.

I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research. I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists. I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance. Yours sincerely, Professor Rachel A. Oliver.

Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.

2025 has been quite a time to reflect on.

We have to fight harder in 2026. Our team want to do more and make even more noise to protect trans+ rights this year 🏳️‍⚧️

We can never compete with the budgets of the anti-trans movement, but we can do more with your support:

www.zeffy.com/en-GB/donati...

This has felt like the longest week in the world and Christmas feels like a million years ago 😅

very disappointing.

There is a code of conduct for Royal Society fellows - it's not a value judgement to say that Musk has contravened it!

see relevant bits of code and the Royal Society stated values below.