Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme

@michaelann.bsky.social

1.4K followers 460 following 2.2K posts

Online Communities, Social Tech, Folk Theories, Epistemic Justice, Queer/Trans HCI. Assistant Prof of Computer Science & Comm Studies @ Northeastern University. @nusealab.bsky.social director. Neurodivergent, trans woman, wife girl, femme lesbian, dork.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · May 13

Hi, I'm Michael Ann, and I'm a Computer Science professor and longtime shitposter! I work on improving social technology. The shitposting is below, the science I'm responsible for is on my site:

- Epistemic Justice: wp.me/P2O4Fr-hN
- Folk Theorization: wp.me/P2O4Fr-9m
- Queer HCI: wp.me/P2O4Fr-9s

6 27

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

Concept: a space where you're not allowed to be shitty to women, even if you, yourself, are a woman

4 15 73

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

Increasingly, the word I'd apply to it is "unforgivable" tbh

1 5

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

I am ANGRY about this.

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

You know, men make me plenty mad. I'm a highly visible trans woman in tech, an insanely male-dominated space where sexism is the order of the day, to the extent that a lot of the WOMEN are sexist as hell. And yet I don't take it out on straight women, because I'm a fucking ADULT.

1 2 32

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

I don't care how mad men make you, turning that anger on a fellow trans woman over her innate sexuality is a fucking travesty, and the sign of a shitty person who is an active danger to other women.

1 1 28

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

I am particularly sick of seeing people from what's (in theory) my own camp (trans lesbians) be utterly shitty to transhets on these grounds. You know what you sound like when you try to pathologize straight trans women for being attracted to men? Bigots! Not smart feminists, not activists, bigots!

1 1 30

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 21h

STOP BEING SHITTY TO PEOPLE BECAUSE OF WHO THEY'RE ATTRACTED TO

Remember how advocacy for our rights initially stemmed from an understanding that we don't choose our attraction, and love should be recognized as love, plain and simple? Remember? Because it sure seems like some of you forgot!

May “Bunny” Peterson 🦄 (Mostly Updates ) @goddessblade.bsky.social · 22h

I am so sick of getting comments like about my sexuality.

It’s transphobic, homophobic, and misogynistic and I’ve tolerated a LOT of this kind of attitude from other queer and trans people. Utterly ridiculous.

Someone quote posting me talking about being transhet saying “Incomprehensible: to depart the Gender of Atrocity only to bend over for it afterwards.”

2 9 62

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 22h

Rapidly turning my wife into a fellow rosemary shipper

1 7

Reposted by Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme

Wilde Butch @wildebutch.bsky.social · 22h

Advocacy which is not born out of love and solidarity invariably leads people to turn on other marginalized groups, to construct rigid privilege hierarchies that don't hold space for the nuance of other group's oppression, and in the end to mimic the form of liberation without the substance

1 13 61

Reposted by Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme

moby spookgirl 🎃🏳️‍⚧️ @eigenvectrix.myatproto.social · 4d

Make no mistake, when the state imprisons a trans woman in a men's prison, it intentionally procures her for the purpose of having her raped. The statistics are extremely clear-cut and consistent in every jurisdiction where they have been collected. There is no way around them

94 500

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 2d

Tbh I *have* observed a consistent bifurcation within the population of trans women but it’s not any of the ones we talk about regularly, pretty sure those are all bullshit

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 3d

I think a lust for cruelty is kinda a red flag, no matter who it's pointed towards. Fights are necessary sometimes - often, even! But ideally, you're not *happy* that you're having to be harsh or even cruel - you're a bit horrified by it, necessary as it might be in a given situation.

4 34

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 3d

I can't stand folks who just really, really enjoy cruelty. And it's not always obvious who this is - some people are very talented at picking targets that no one will stand up for, or that "have it coming," and we ignore the lust for cruelty because we see it as justified in those cases.

4 9 42

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 3d

Trying a thing where I mostly only do meetings in the afternoon, and it's honestly pretty great

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

I've had *slightly* better luck with fat positive spaces that are exclusive to lesbians - seems to be a better understanding of the differences between "attracted to fat people" and unwelcome fetishization in those spaces, but of course YMMV

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

TBH if you're a medical professional recommending weight loss to a trans woman and you're not 100% clear that it could cause intense psychological distress by damaging key gains caused by transition, you're being an unethical jackass.

1 13

Reposted by Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme

Josh Gondelman @joshgondelman.bsky.social · 5d

Whenever anyone says how much of the U.S. economy is tied to AI right now, I'm like...damn, what if a single rich person had any idea other than "try to zero out labor costs through theft."

24 390 1.4K

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

I can see it. I mean, my particular flavor of neurodivergence can not handle "gel on flesh" as a concept in any way, shape, or form..... but in theory, I can *really* see it

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

Get on the wife HRT girlies, I am telling you, it is the way

1 8

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

I'm going to go one further than the current discourse calls for re: being prescriptive about HRT

It's not enough to switch to injections

You have to fall in love with a woman, get married, and have HER administer your injections to you

There, that's the new standard, get to it.

1 5 23

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

Also, look to the future political situations, not jus the current ones - SO MANY well meaning senior folks (all queer themselves) pushed me to move to England, or move to Texas because "Austin is safe", and, uh, look how that worked out 😬

1 12

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

I mean a Canadian university just suspended a trans prof for protected academic speech, and despite it getting turned around, with that + the growing conservative movement in Canada, I think it's wise to approach Canada with some caution at the moment

2 3

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

Can't tell you how many times well-meaning senior faculty got on my case about not applying to stuff in places where my healthcare and safety would always be under attack. It was infuriating.

I need you, trans applicant, to *really* hear me on this: IT'S NOT YOU. IT IS THEM.

2 20

Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme @michaelann.bsky.social · 4d

To all trans PhD students/postdocs entering this year's job market: no, it's *not* you, the faculty members that keep telling you there's great opportunities and then pointing to jobs in places where you would be deeply personally/family/medically unsafe *ARE* being deeply insensitive.

2 6 44

Reposted by Michael Ann, spooky, scary, spooky scary halloween femme

Haunted Nick Seaver @nickseaver.website · 4d

nothing like watching a presentation about ed tech tools to radicalize you against them

6 20 130