Cllr Dr Max Morris

I really hate the dogwhistle "would you leave your front door open for anyone to come in" question. That's the wrong question.
The real analogy is "If a stranger knocked on your door and asked you for help, would you help them?"

and for me, the answer is yes, in a heartbeat. every time.

Oxford City Council backs city's minority communities in vote A Green party motion called on Oxford City Council to oppose far right rhetoric.

Very proud of my fellow Green councillors for proposing this motion. "We are a rich tapestry, we are strengthened by our diversity, and we must stand up as a council and as a city for that diversity, unite against the far right and the divisive narratives of them." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nearly 3000 new members in the 24 hours since the Party Political Broadcast.

Extraordinary.

Hope is returning. 💚🚀

Join.greenparty.org.uk

Straight off the back of the biggest Green Party conference, our party political broadcast is out tonight!

Please share 💚

The Green Party for the last few days have gained 1000 new members every single day.

We've just reached 87,000 members!!!!

Let's make hope normal again.

Join.greenparty.org.uk

Max and Alex on Bournemouth Pier

Had an amazing weekend at the Green Party Conference. Catching up with old friends and making lots (and lots) of new ones as the party's membership soars. Inspiring to be a small part of a movement that's bringing hope rather than hate and light in what can sometimes seem like ever darker times. 🏖️☀️💚

Fringe

🌱 Incredible turnout for our @thegreenparty.bsky.social fringe on the Party’s relationship with the trade union movement.

Great discussion with deputy leader @mothinali.bsky.social, GreensOrganise, members & fellow trade unionists on ensuring workers are at the forefront of the green agenda. ✊💚

Full text is as follows: The idea of culture war is increasingly deployed to capture a range of political disputes, often centring around the legal and political treatment of institutions such as the nation or the family. Indeed, among the vast range of topics described as being part of the 'culture war', we can find gender, migration, disability, children's rights, and online safety and security, to name just a few. However, culture war issues are not just political in nature. Rather, such arguments both occur around and involve implications for law. For example, the idea that a migrant is 'illegal' often functions as a central facet of political arguments for why that person should be denied state protection. In the context of trans rights, similar dynamics can be seen at play with reconfigurations of the ontological and epistemological basis of rights, featuring as a central element in many arguments. In recognition of this, this current topic invites papers which consider the impacts of contemporary 'culture wars' on the function, nature, and operation of law. As well as the discursive and rhetorical deployment of law within other forms of argument. We welcome papers which explore: - theoretical conceptualisations of ‘culture war’ - the use of ‘law’ within ‘culture war’ arguments - the emergence and deployment of pseudo-law in ‘culture war’ contexts - the impact of ‘culture war’ politics on legal institutions and actors - the effects of ‘culture war’ arguments on law-making conceptions of law in the popular imaginary consideration of the jurisprudential and philosophical implications of ‘- culture wars’ for the nature and form of law - the significance and contestation of norms within equality law and human rights law in the context of current moral panics. Dr Alex Powell (University of Warwick) Alex.Powell@warwick.ac.uk Dr Sandra Duffy (University of Bristol) sandra.duffy@bristol.ac.uk Dr Max Morris (Oxford Brookes University) maxmorris@brookes.ac.uk

The Call for Papers for SLSA2026 is now live!

This year, alongside @sandraduffy.bsky.social, and @maxmorris.bsky.social, I will be running a current topic on "Law in the Culture Wars".

If you have a paper idea, please feel free to get in touch with us!

www.sussex.ac.uk/collaborate/...

Really proud of Oxford Green friends at the counter demonstration today.
#RefugeesWelcome

Greens for Trans Liberation Trans rights are human rights.  The Green Party has long affirmed that:  • Trans women are women, trans men are men, and non-binary identities exist.  • Everyone deserves dignity, safet...

I just signed the petition calling for the Green Party to refuse to platform organisations that want to undermine trans rights at official Party events. Will you join me? you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

One of our health and safety officers, Jill Millar, explains why our members should vote yes ❌ and yes ❌ in the local ballot. Jill explains that cuts to time for assessment are being driven by a desire for financial savings. As a result, both the student experience and staff wellbeing will suffer.

Yesterday the UN declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Today Keir Starmer rolls out the red carpet for Trump - Israel's biggest ally and a cheerleader for its atrocities. Shameful.

Max trying on a retro jumper in a changing room mirror

New semester, new frumpy jumper 👾🌈💖

Kafka-land at UC Berkeley The 160 members of the university notified that their names were forwarded to the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights were not informed of any specific allegations against them.

Judith Butler's response to their name being turned over to the federal government by UC Berkeley as part of a Trump administration antisemitism investigation is well worth reading: www.thenation.com/article/soci...

If scepticism is only directed towards minorities, despite contrary evidence, I'm not sure what else to call it.

Yes, the selective focus of your questions towards a minority group is a sign of bigotry.

What about parents who come out as gay? What about straight cis men who have affairs?

Our branch secretary, @stuartwhigham.bsky.social, explains why our members should vote yes ❌ and yes ❌ in the local ballot. Stuart outlines the impact that wider cuts to workload tariffs will have on our Associate Lecturer colleagues.

Transgender Parenting: A Review of Existing Research Author(s): Stotzer, Rebecca L; Herman, Jody L; Hasenbush, Amira | Abstract: The authors of this report reviewed 51 studies that analyze data about transgender parents. This report reviews the existing...

From a quick google and glance at the data, trans parents are good parents:

escholarship.org/uc/item/3rp0...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33211742/#:~...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

The research is crystal clear that the children of LGBTQ+ parents do as well (if not better) than those raised by cis straight parents. The only reason that the children of single parents (with a single income) struggle is because of inadequate state support or investment in childcare and education.

UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era’ move Prominent professor Judith Butler among students and faculty investigated for ‘alleged antisemitic incidents’

No one is safe: Prominent professor Judith Butler among students and faculty investigated for ‘alleged antisemitic incidents’

UC Berkeley shares 160 names with Trump administration in ‘McCarthy era’ move

It's an odd time to be preparing to teach two and a half critical courses on gender and sexuality studies this semester. Unsure how long I'd be employable for in some places claiming to champion "free speech". Also wish I had nearly as much influence to "indoctrinate" students as is being claimed! 😅

Our campaigns officer, Ma​ïa Pal, explains why our members should vote yes ❌ and yes ❌ in the local ballot. Successive cuts to research time undermine the research-led teaching which is the essence of a University education.

"1. A really interesting—and extremely well-written— analysis of sex work, sex worker rights, and queer liberation politics. The reviewers both agree that this paper is as close to perfect as one would hope. While both have made minor comments throughout, they hope that these clarificatory queries will further strengthen your already stellar paper. In particular, they both flagged the need to expand a little on the social backgrounds of your interview subjects as this would add depth to, and contextualize, your analysis of respectability politics. On a personal note, I particularly enjoyed reading about your participants’ experiences as they navigated identity in a “post-identity” era. 2. We ask that you add an updated abstract and indicate some key words with your abstract that could relate to these themes..."

Well that might just be the fastest and most flattering peer review I've ever received! 🤩

Drawing on unpublished data from my book to explore identity and respectability politics in queer/sex work social movements. 🏳️‍🌈

If anyone wanted to publicly review my book I can probably get you a free copy? 📖

Very pleased that mine and @apowelllaw.bsky.social and @maxmorris.bsky.social proposal was selected for the SLSA Current Topics - and to Alex in particular for generating the idea that we worked out! Looking forward to it.

Exclusive: Zack Polanski wants trade unions to affiliate to Green Party 'The Labour Party as a party of change is beyond dead'

I spoke to @zackpolanski.bsky.social at #TUC25 about the relationship he wants to see between trade unions and the Green Party.

Text describing why we are asking members to vote yes in the industrial ballot.

Text describing why we are asking members to vote yes in the industrial ballot.

We are balloting for industrial action at Oxford Brookes. 🚨🚨 REMINDER to all members to return your ballots in the post 🚨🚨

Logged onto twitter dot com to promote my book after ten months of abstinence/liberation from it and oh my goodness how nothing has changed! Good on those who have stuck with it and continue to relish debating bigots but I prefer the novelty and thoughtfulness here over the daily two minutes hate. 😅

So so proud of @maxmorris.bsky.social! As one of a very small number of people who have had a chance to read this, ahead of publication, it is a critical and captivating book, and also very accessibly written (for academic work, that is). Happy reading 📚🍾🤩

A pile of Max's book, Not Sex Work, on a Pride Progress flag

Max holding a copy of their book

This week I received some physical copies of my first book, 'Not Sex Work: Queer Intimacy, Post-identity, and Incidental Encounters in the Digital Era'. It explores the overlaps between #SexWork and #LGBTQ+ studies through a queer socialist feminist perspective. 📚☂️🏳️‍🌈 www.routledge.com/Not-Sex-Work...