One reason I'm so anti-Zoom is that I teach classes in queer and trans studies, where part of the point is to handle ideas that the family home renders unthinkable. My undergrad students say things that, were they to say them in their parents' houses, might expose them to harm.
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Prof. Grace Lavery
@graceelavery
Prof. ; PLEASE MISS ; PLEASURE AND EFFICACY . Repped by at Neon Literary. Trans, happy, lucky.Prof. Grace Lavery’s Tweets
Please report this man. What an absolute monster. He wrote Father Ted, what on *earth* has happened.
A few weeks ago, Graham Linehan accused me of “grooming” my students. Twitter forced him to take down that baseless accusation. Today, they suspended his account.
The Tory government’s decision to list anti-fascist groups on a list of terror organizations has created this situation
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next time u r worried whether ur any good at your job, plz remember that Pablo Picasso once tried to paint an owl and it ended up looking like a sad slice of pizza in a cage 🍕😢
A couple of months in advance of the real event, Danny and I were married by @lkoturner in a tiny lil ceremony at our apartment in Berkeley today. Our wedding isn’t until 22nd December, but our marriage starts today. My heart is bursting with love. 💖💖💖
Statement on Graham Linehan’s Invitation to Address the House of Lords.
You don't like "self-ID," fine. Think about the last time you filled out a form with "sex" or "gender" on it. Would you rather that form were replaced with a blood test? No? Then you like self-ID just fine––it's just a question of who gets to self-ID, why, and when.
Just to refresh everyone's memory: Linehan's attack on me was both personal (he accused me of manipulating my students) and institutional (he claimed that queer theory in general works to normalize child abuse). These were the damaging lies of a deranged bigot.
if your “feminism” only extends to women with low testosterone, you need a new name for it
I’m ready to disclose the details of the prior restraint of my research. The culprit is University College London, whose lawyers instructed the executive editor of their online journal THINK PIECES to pull my essay. The essay is linked here.
don’t say “what are your pronouns?” on the first day or class, because students can feel like you’re asking for inappropriate disclosures. Ask them which pronouns they would like you to use “in this space.” All acts of reference are governed by context anyway!
if you don’t think the phrase “transgender craze that’s seducing our daughters” is transphobic, I presume it is because you don’t believe transphobia is real. that phrase is like, pretty much the definition of a phobia
Hey gang, we’re holding up! Linehan is gone and we’re so grateful for all the love and support. Danny has asked me to let you know that you can use either “he/him” pronouns or “they/them” pronouns: flexibility, love, dynamism, growth, delight.
i think that terfs don’t realize that queer people see trans women as *indispensable* to feminism. not optional extras.
one year ago today, Danny and I got married. magic is still a daily lived reality for us, somehow. thanks to my beautiful husband, and the world that lets us be ourselves.
Just to be clear: this is not a “love is love” case or a “privacy of your own home” case. It’s not Lawrence v. Texas redux. It’s not sentimental. It’s not marriage equality. This decision is about being QUEER AS FUCK IN THE WORKPLACE.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAYYYYY 😭😭😭
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See you in the stars, @daniel_m_lavery and @graceelavery! Happy #ValentinesDay 
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ooh a new and especially fucked-up TSA experience at JFK. First, they put me through the scanner as female, which flagged a groin anomaly. Then, the female TSA agent indicated her disgust, so they put me through as male, so the male TSA agent could feel up my bra. Which he did 😡
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I hate that I have the same initials as the worst man on earth!!
cw homophobia, child abuse, Linehan
I hate to do this again, but Linehan has now stepped up his campaign against me, and dozens of his supporters are now in my mentions accusing me of being a pedophile. Please, once more, report this deranged man.
ladies a piece of advice. if you‘re looking for a partner (or some partners), find yourself someone (or some people) that you *admire*. Someone whose judgment you respect, even in disagreement. Who you can rely on to do the right thing even when it is hard. It works well, I find.
Ppl have been saying that what Danny and I have been doing is “very hard,” and I know what they mean, but it’s like, once you formulate the question “am I going to help my family cover up for my pedophile brother and encourage him to volunteer with children?” you know the answer.
today, my future mother-in-law is taking me to look at wedding dresses!!!!
I’m so thrilled that Judith Butler stepped into this ongoing farrago with such clarity and precision. The value of this contribution is, once more, incalculable. I’m proud of my colleague, grateful for my sibling, honored by the shared work.
why must all the fancy bitch chocolate be dark chocolate, and so unpalatably bitter!!!!! I am solidly in the *middle* of this market, but it all tastes like burnt rubber and I’m having none of it. FANCY MILK CHOCOLATE FOR THE REST OF US PLZ
Danny and I just learned that John Ortberg has resigned from Menlo Church. This outcome brings us no pleasure. More than anything, we wish it had not come to this point. We grieve that John’s departure became necessary to ensure real safeguarding.
I feel like we all need to get really good at answering this question.
Every few years, Berkeley takes a survey of the ways staff, faculty, and students identify their sexual orientation. Over the last decade, most of the IDs have been stable except one: the % of bisexuals has skyrocketed. SO CONGRATS TO THE BISEXUALS! Winning the battle of ideas.
I have just learned that a major British university has intervened to prevent a house journal from publishing a juried essay of mine, on the importance of academic freedom. They are scared that they will be sued—I presume by either Kathleen Stock or Alice Sullivan.
people have told me they think i’m making this up, but no, Prof. Kathleen Stock really does conflate “performative” with “is a performance.” a mistake that undergraduates often make, but rarely publish. this is MATERIAL GIRLS (London: Fleet, 2021).
Making his Twitter debut today, I'm thrilled to introduce to you all Maxim Casaubon Lavery, or "Bon-Bon" to his many friends and admirers. Born 14th May, 2020, Bon-Bon is a Japanese Chin, the sweetest creature you've ever met, and today he has pissed outside twice. Weighs 3lb.
I hate to drag this out but another problem with “kids ARE innocent, so they deserve protection” is that it implies that protection is a reward for moral virtue. Anyone who has worked in safeguarding knows abusers weaponize this idea all the time. Bad kids deserve protection too.
he really is the man of my dreams. I love him with every part of my liebesmaschine. I can’t promise that our wedding won’t be extra af.
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i’m terribly happy and my pants are muddy - the road to yosemite was flooded so i proposed by the side of the road. she’s my best girl.
It’s been one of the toughest weeks I can remember, but I feel it more than ever: I am *so grateful* that I am trans, *so grateful* that I am sober, *so grateful* that I’m messy and liquid and in love with everyone. Being trans is an enormous gift. 💖💖💖
i know this is a bit dumb but is anyone else a bit surprised that when jk rowling went terf, she went full-time bizarro terf? i was expecting a little more salad with the steak but no it’s a non-stop vom sluice
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I’m likely to remain angry at this man for a while. He caused a lot of pain to me, to people I love, and to the community. But he is also, very clearly, quite unwell. Trans issues have been a compulsive obsession for him. His obsession has taken a lot from him.
I’m just going to take a moment to say that I am so, so proud of Danny. As I was saying at the time, amidst all of the horrors, it has been a gift to see proven the courage and the values of the person one loves.
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if anyone is wondering what the vibe is like here at Lavery Towers, the answer is: we are fucking angry.
Dearest friends. Thank you for your support over the last few months. Now that the Menlo/Ortberg scandal is in the press, Danny and I are going to withdraw from the issue and hope that community at Menlo finally decides to conduct a full, impartial investigation of the facts.
One reason terfs have been able to make such inroads into British public life is that people assumed that terfism just meant “trans women are not women,” which felt intuitive. They’re now beginning to learn that they has a whole bunch of other reactionary and bizarre views.
everything bari weiss writes begins with anonymous anxious people doing something furtive
One year ago today, my husband made the hardest and bravest decision I have ever known a human to make. He chose to put the safety of others above his own, and above his family’s secrecy and reputation. He lost much and gained much. He inspires me every day. 🖤💋
Four years to the day since we met, two years since I told him he was the love of my life, and today I got to say “we closed the deal” AND buy an extremely dope wedding dress so, yes, some things get better xoxo
Nicole Cliffe has been our champion from the start. Love you sis.
If the phrase “loony grad student, best ignored” doesn’t make your blood boil, you have absolutely no business being in higher education.
wait we’re doing “queer is a slur” today? i thought we were doing “bisexuals are suspicious”
I am happy to offer a follow-up to a tweet from yesterday. Julie Stough, the person who follows only me, and has tweeted only one time, to insult my appearance, has written to apologize to me. I was very happy to accept her apology, and display it here now.
are we sure he's not just really tiny
we’ve arrived in New York and it is SNOWING a little and things feel BUSY and full of LIFE... I just can’t help thinking... why do I never hear anything about this city? u ask me it’s got an interesting lil vibe
rockabye Murphy, on your spaceship
back to your home planet, have a safe trip
when you get there, you will he prime minister
all pups agree that you’re the least sinister
RIP Murphy, 2005 - 2019. We love you so much.
People sometimes think, when I call them fascists, that it’s a generalized insult like “abuser” or “asshole.” But I mean something specific: a fascist is a partisan of an ideology advocating biopolitical control of bodies in the service of normative, usually racial, ideals.
update from my weird relationship: I told D there were counterparts to all of us in the Wario universe, and that there was an evil version of him called Waniel, and he got so scared I had to walk with him to the bathroom so he could brush his teeth
I really did not expect my role in the revolution to be advocating for institutional safeguards against child abuse in the evangelical church. You fight the battle in front of you, I guess.
FUCK THIS BUT danny just accidentally left my wallet (inc. passport, green card, etc) on the subway AND THEN SOME GORGEOUS PARK SLOPE LOVELIES found me on Twitter and we came to their house and everything is restored!
everyone in my classes is getting an A this semester, a decision I made with departmental colleagues. honestly I think we should make that change permanently: mitigates logic of distinction, enables more direct/qualitative feedback on written work, reduces anxiety.
The British High Court's decision in Bell Vs. Tavistock is a disgrace. It weakens protections for patients, endows the British state with enormous power over children's healthcare, and obscures a massive uptick in anti-LGBT bigotry. It must be opposed.
CHEERS to the horny elderly lesbian who gave me the glad eye and murmured “mm I like looking at YOU” as I stumbled into the grocery store in my new leopard print coat
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I hope he gets the help he needs. I hope he has some honest friends able to speak honestly with him. I hope he leaves trans people alone from now on. And I hope that the vicious bigots that held him up for so long—a genocidal ideology—know that they’re next.
My Twitter account has been reinstated, on condition I delete my tweet hoping the Queen dies. Happy to do so: I no longer hope the queen dies.
Danny and I do NOT believe that outing people with sexual compulsions towards children is good general policy. That this is necessary is a tragedy—and solely the fault of those who have perpetrated a cover-up for six months. PLEASE seek institutional accountability.
One year ago today, I debuted the name “Grace.” Thank you, everyone, for teaching me how to become myself xoxoxo
Let’s not forget: the anti-gender ideology actually *is* one of the dominant strains of fascism in our times.
These people are ill. Disgusting. Why does nobody condemn this??
one year ago today went from being the best friend I've ever had to my boyfriend, after kissing me (at first nervously). this morning we went horseback riding. he loves well and he fights fair and rare. thank you, beloved, for your gentleness and vigor, ilysm xo
“Unlike [Johnny] who never acted out on his sinful impulses, [Danny] did...”
Say it with me: TRANSPHOBIA IS CHILD-ENDANGERMENT.
Fix your hearts or die.
ur fave internet transsexuals go for a fancy dinner in Aix-en-Provence
the civil rights of women
have never been
are not
and must not be
“sex-based”
fight biological reductivism. support women. defend queers.
Thanks to everyone writing in solidarity.
In terms of safety, I've got no reason to think that anyone who wants to hurt me knows where I live, but I'm speaking with a private security firm this weekend.
In terms of job security, I'm safe and well supported at Berkeley.
i know we all know this, but my husband is a fucking champ and everyone should send him biscuits and flowers and attractive paraphernalia
I can’t stop thinking about this. A manifesto signed by people who believe themselves feminists, that demands that the state intervene in scientific research to ensure that women shoulder the burdens of gestation and childbirth in perpetuity. Could. Not. Be. Me,
I shouldn’t be surprised that my having rattled the cages of British “gender critical feminism” shook the misogynists awake. Trans women are attacked because we are women, in the the same ways. And, I look boss as hell in my faculty profile picture.
english.berkeley.edu/users/386
oh mister sandman
sand me a man
buff out the corners
as smooth as you can
Friends, I am so, so tired. In the soul, in the bones, in the cavity of my body. Thank you so much for carrying Danny and me the last few weeks. The tide of support has been amazing.
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You ought to be ashamed of yourself, you despicable monster.
sure, is a cutie, but a couple of weeks ago he offered to help me cook, then took twenty minutes to peel (not even chop) four cloves of garlic. when i tried to show him a quicker way he said “i like to peel garlic slowly”
Today, I’ve been clean and sober for five years. Sometimes—especially on Twitter!—my sobriety has more been a biochemical fact than an emotional condition. But still, I have been clean and sober five years. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It very much annoys me that this unpleasant and unwell individual has absorbed so much of my time and energy today. I'm stepping away from screens for a few hours, and when I come back I expect this thread to be FULL of entirely wholesome and delightful content. THANK YOU. <3 <3
✅ my favorite contemporary writer dedicated his best book to me
literary slattern life goal: ACHIEVED
what's up fools?
my publisher was like "bitch you need to get back on Twitter so you can promote your book"
so here I am
for money
against the advice of my therapist
and to the consternation of most of my friends
DO YOUR WORST, INTERNET MOTHERFUCKERS!!
Give me the best advice you can without knowing anything about the context.
happy thanksgiving and thanks for the love today, Twitter. Online communities are strange things sometimes but they are real communities even so - bonds sustained through ambiguous and complex obligation. We’re both so grateful for the community we’ve been able to find online.
a tiresome white man just looked at me and said “huh I guess it’s Halloween every day” and I felt a bit dejected until I realized that that’s actually a future worth fighting for 🎃🍑🎃🍑🎃🍑
At last I am agog with delight to share with you all the front cover for my book, QUAINT, EXQUISITE: VICTORIAN AESTHETICS AND THE IDEA OF JAPAN, forthcoming this Spring from Princeton University Press.
did everyone else remember that one of the jurors in the Clinton Whitewater trial showed up to duty in a Starfleet uniform? Barbara Adams, amazing
trans people cut out of the headline of a story that significantly affects us, thanks NBC
I'm making a statement in response to public remarks made by Beth Seabolt, Elder of Menlo Church, at a town hall meeting in Menlo on the 1st March 2020.
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I know some gender critical people follow me. Now would be a great time to distinguish yourself from this man, who positions himself as your champion, and is widely accepted as such. Or perhaps you also think my tweet about Zoom marks me out as a "groomer"?
We’ve been here for two weeks, proving that John Ortberg has publicly and repeatedly lied about his son’s pedophilia, and colluded to supply his son with unsupervised access to children. Ortberg still has his job, his advisory positions, a publisher... Cancel culture ISN’T REAL.
Sixty one sitcoms; fifteen weeks; easily the most time-consuming syllabus I’ve ever compiled. English 176: The Sitcom, or, “things one decides to do after the tenure vote already happened.”
After a couple of years of being rightfully criticized by terfs for my departmental profile—Jane Claire Jones was right: no real woman puts her hand on her cheek—I’ve decided to replace the image with something more professional, more modern, more disco.
english.berkeley.edu/profiles/386
