Anson Mackay 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

World Athletics’ mandatory genetic test for women athletes is misguided. I should know – I discovered the relevant gene in 1990 World Athletics says its genetic test for women ensures ‘the integrity of women’s sport’ – but science does not support this overly simplistic idea.

World Athletics says that "The SRY gene is a reliable proxy for determining biological sex." The guy who literally discovered the gene and has spent the last 35 years researching it says they're wrong. theconversation.com/world-athlet...

A graphic of a book. The cover is a deep red and had a good line illustration of an erupting volcano.

It's about time I announced a project that I've been working on in the last year... I wrote a book!

'Volcanoes: 10 things you should know' published by @orionbooks.bsky.social Seven Dials will be out in September. It's available to pre-order now. Links: linktr.ee/volcanologist

This looks brilliant. And gorgeous cover too!

Run time!

Anson in a teal coloured vest holding a finishers medal for Lakeland50. They are standing in front of a teal blue backdrop with a mountain logo and text saying Lakeland 50 & 100, and Montane

#fbf to only last Saturday, with official finishers photo for my 80km / 50 mile ultra in the Lake District #runsky

This is going to ruin so many cis women's lives. They had to end it in the 2000's because it resulted in women having their lives destroyed, partners leaving them, family disowning them etc. After some high profile suicides and attempts , they had to stop.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_o...

what a relief for you!

The fight for trans safety is a fight for everyone’s safety – MPs must have the chance to debate it | Freddy McConnell The supreme court has made a mockery of gender recognition. Our politicians must not allow the EHRC to further shatter trans lives, says journalist Freddy McConnell

The fight for trans safety is a fight for everyone’s safety – MPs must have the chance to debate it | Freddy McConnell

Labour: Ditched its longstanding pledge to demedicalise gender recognition for trans people before the 2024 election • And then abandoned even plans for watered-down reform • Made the Tories’ temporary ban on puberty blockers for trans children indefinite • Endorsed the flawed and discredited Cass Review • Refused to pass legislation to protect trans people’s gender recognition following the recent Supreme Court ruling • Introduced a new Section 28 for trans people • Banned trans women from standing for internal Women’s Officer posts • Oversaw the UK dropping to its lowest ever place in the ILGA-Europe rankings of LGBT+ rights in European countries • Has adopted covertly transphobic language (‘sex-based rights’, ‘transmen’, ‘transwomen’) in internal documentation • Took no action against Rosie Duffield even after years of vile social media posts targeting trans (and bi) people – including sharing a post denying Nazi persecution of trans people • Re-elected Duffield Women’s PLP Chair on International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia 2021 • Suspended the whip from Stonewall founder Michael Cashman for (rightly) criticising Duffield • Reappointed a ‘gender-critical’ bigot, Baroness Falkner, as Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission • Then tried to appoint ANOTHER ‘gender-critical’ figure, Mary-Ann Stephenson, as Falkner’s successor! • Suspended Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a gay MP and one of the most vocal pro-trans parliamentarians, on bogus charges shortly before the last election • Oversaw the introduction of new CPS guidelines that put trans people at risk of prosecution if they do not disclose their gender identity before having sex • Multiple Labour MPs attempted to dilute a motion at the Council of Europe condemning anti-LGBT+ hatred • Labour MPs abstained on backing trans rights in Scotland • Unlike other European countries, has not issued updated travel warnings for trans travellers to the US • Hosts anti-trans groups at its conferences

Health Secretary Wes Streeting: Responded to the (flawed, discredited) Cass Review by saying he’d been wrong to say trans women are women • Banned the use of puberty blockers, against international best practice and evidence, and severely restricted gender healthcare for trans children • Supports segregation of trans patients in hospitals • Has expressed sympathy for conversion therapy groups • Implemented a ban on young trans people being able to obtain hormone therapy outside the NHS • Has overseen guidance directing GPs not to monitor trans people’s blood values – putting them at harm if they are forced to self-medicate due to NHS failings • Wrote in The Sun to share the lie that the NHS no longer uses the term ‘women’ • Shared the false claim that the practice history of doctors who transition to a new legal gender would not be disclosed to patients • Shared false claims that terms such as ‘breastfeeding’ are being ‘erased’ • Invited transphobic groups to produce NHS exclusion guidelines • Has overseen a rise in GPs refusing hormone prescriptions to trans people, which can have serious mental and physical health consequences • Responded to the recent Supreme Court ruling by calling on those who’d previously recognised trans people’s lived gender identities to reconsider • Was named What the Trans ‘Villain of the Year’ in 2024 • Issued an apology to Duffield for how she had been treated, ignoring her years of vitriol against trans people on social media STARMER’S LABOUR: THE MOST ANTI-LGBT+ GOVT SINCE THATCHER

Prime Minister Keir Starmer: Responded to the recent Supreme Court ruling by declaring that trans women are not women • Attended a deeply homophobic church to deliver his Easter message • Then did it AGAIN two years later! • Supports the exclusion of trans women from sports • Refused to meet with trans Labour members to discuss concerns about institutional transphobia in the party • Left Marsha de Cordova in post as Shadow Equalities Secretary even after she shared overtly transphobic content on social media • Staged a fake meeting with LGBT+ community members (in reality all Labour staffers/councillors) for a publicity stunt • In 2023, expressed ‘concerns’ about the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in Scotland that was supported by his Scottish Labour colleagues • Believes trans children should require parental permission to socially transition Education Secretary and ‘Equalities’ Minister Bridget Phillipson: Responded to the recent Supreme Court ruling by immediately declaring trans people should use toilets according to ‘biological sex’ • Supports the removal of anti-transphobia policies at universities • Supports trans schoolchildren being outed to their parents • Welcomed the fine imposed on the University of Sussex due to students using their free speech to protest campus transphobia • Erased the word ‘trans’ from the new schools guidance • Prohibited schools from promoting ‘gender identity’ and ‘social transition’ – Section 28 all over again • Requires schools to misrepresent the law about ‘biological sex’ and gender recognition STARMER’S LABOUR: THE MOST ANTI-LGBT+ GOVT SINCE THATCHER

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood: During protests against LGBT-inclusive RSE in schools, argued that pupils’ ‘religious background’ and ‘age appropriateness’ should be considered • Agrees with J. K. Rowling’s views on ‘biological sex’ • Claimed it is ‘absolutely unacceptable’ to criticise the recent Supreme Court ruling • Home Secretary Yvette Cooper: Passed guidelines that would allocate trans women to male prisons – threatening their safety and dignity • Responded to a demonstration for trans rights by condemning washable chalk graffiti on a statue • Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy: Deleted all her past tweets supportive of trans people when the government switched to an explicitly anti-trans position • Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar: During the NHS Fife tribunal case, backed the ‘gender-critical’ nurse accused of harassing trans doctor Beth Upton • U-turned on previous support for gender recognition reform in Scotland • Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens: Shared content from gender-critical group Woman’s Place UK • Parliamentary Under-Secretary Feryal Clark: Described LGBT+ affirming education as ‘nonsense’ on social media • Parliamentary Under-Secretary Jess Phillips: Shared a conspiracy theory on social media alleging that the murderer of Phoenix Netts was a trans woman • Tonia Antoniazzi MP: Accused Welsh government of being ‘dictated to’ by Stonewall and having an ‘ideological culture’ • Jonathan Hinder MP: Supports exclusion of trans women from (non-competitive, mixed-sex) Parkruns

Updated: Starmer’s Labour: The most anti-LGBT+ govt since Thatcher. A list of the awful things they've done and said regarding LGBT+ people, especially trans people.

Hah, I do the same (left, fwiw) but usually involves chewing rather than biting!

Gorilla habitats and pristine forest at risk as DRC opens half of country to oil and gas drilling bids Government launches licensing round for 52 fossil fuel blocks, potentially undermining a flagship conservation initiative and affecting an estimated 39 million people

Democratic Republic of the Congo, again, opens its forests and peatlands for auction for oil exploration. Shockingly reckless. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A romantic who’s heart keeps fluttering off in new directions 😁

Hah! Mine would be 🩵 but I occasionally flutter with 💜

The first 100% effective HIV prevention drug is approved and going global An epidemic that's been sustained for 44 years might finally be quelled, with the milestone approval of the first HIV drug that offers 100% protection with its twice-yearly injections. It's a landmark...

The FDA has approved lenacapavir [brand name Yeztugo] – a capsid inhibitors, which provide almost 100% protection against #HIV infection.

“Yeztugo could be the transformative #PrEP option we’ve been waiting for"

newatlas.com/infectious-d...

A tad achy 😂 I bumped into Mick (Spine) a few times on the course - his hiking skills are phenomonal!!

Anson holding up their race medal, taking selfie with two friends

Lake surrounded by hills and forests

Lots of people running / hiking up a very steep hill!

Elevation graph over distance for the lakeland50 ultramarathon

Had an epic weekend in the Lake District, taking on the Lakeland50 (mile) #ultramarathon, with over 2800m elevation!

My knee held up amazingly well, such as no pain just discomfort. Maybe I can get back to running long distances regularly rather than relying on the dreaded watt bike 😂 #runsky

That’s incredible 💚 - only 4+ hours more than me doing the 50 😍😂

Thank you!

Some great advice I’ll definitely be following as I tackle Lakeland’s 50 mile (80km) ultra tomorrow!

I’m one of 4 non-binary runners this year, and can be tracked #runsky

live.opentracking.co.uk/25lakeland50...

I love Wilton’s!

Great to see other evidence of butterflies 🦋 doing well this year outside of my n=1 garden 😅

I’ve highlighted a section from the guidance that reads ‘How the different sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDs are transmitted.’

The new Sex and Relationships guidance issued by the Department of Education appears unaware that a) AIDS can’t be transmitted and b) the ‘S’ stands for syndrome and isn’t just a plural for AID.
Educational guidance so ill-informed can’t be trusted.
And it isn’t even the worst thing about it. 😡

*gah, I mean shirt!

Looks like a great night was had! I hope you found your waistcoat this morning... ;-) X

Who'd want a 'normal' wedding! Congratulations both XX

Jeez, this is awful!

Pathways to an Intergovernmental Panel on Pandemics: lessons from the IPCC and IPBES Colin J Carlson, Christopher H Trisos, Ben Oppenheim, Shweta Bansal, Sara E Davies, Aïda Diongue-Niang, Victoria Y Fan, John D Kraemer, Rachel Golden Kroner, Lawrence O Gostin, David T S Hayman, Marion Koopmans, Torre E Lavelle, Carlos G das Neves, Zoe O’Donoghue, Laura M Pereira, Benjamin Roche, Matiangai Sirleaf, Kayla Zamanian, Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio, Alexandra L Phelan Pandemics pose a global threat to human wellbeing, justice, economies, and ecosystems and are comparable with other planetary crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss in terms of urgency and impact. The global community would benefit from a dedicated scientific synthesis body to assess pandemic risks and solutions. In this Personal View, we explore proposals for an Intergovernmental Panel on Pandemics and assess potential pathways to its creation. Learning lessons from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) might help national governments and international organisations to chart a course through important decisions about format, governance, operations, scientific scope and process, and ability to recommend policies that make the world safer.

🚨 Very, very big news. Today, a global coalition - including members of the IPCC, IPBES, and WHO expert advisors, as well as independent virologists, epidemiologists, and lawyers - started the process of creating an "IPCC for Pandemics."

🔓 www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
🧵 Five things to know 👉

THREAD 🧵 of initial thoughts on the transphobic schools "guidance" produced by this deeply transphobic Labour government today.

SECTION 28+

This morning the media coverage of the new RHSE guidance for schools led me to suggest it represents Labour’s Section 28. The real thing is, however...

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I absolutely love this!

Today is International Non-Binary People's Day and the first day of Non-Binary Awareness Week

The day was first celebrated in 2012, started by Katje van Loon. The date was chosen for being precisely midway between International Women's Day and International Men's Day.