Carol Ballantine
@cballantine.bsky.social
Social scientist, researcher, writer. Currently researching sexual & gender based violence in HEIs. Adjunct fellow, ucd school of geography. Writing in the Stinging Fly, Banshee & elsewhere. She/ Her
Pinned
Opinion: Trans lives aren’t black and white, our conversations about them shouldn’t be either
Carol Ballantine says she worries about parents like her trying to make sense of gender in an ever-more polarised context.
www.thejournal.ie
Carol Ballantine says she worries about parents like her trying to make sense of gender in an ever-more polarised context.
www.thejournal.ie/readme/trans...
www.thejournal.ie/readme/trans...
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
This is an amazing thread, pls read all the alt text 😂
THREAD.
3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.
We decided to call him Jim.
This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.
We decided to call him Jim.
This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
November 27, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This is an amazing thread, pls read all the alt text 😂
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.
November 26, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Excellent piece by my colleague, Professor Ciara Smyth:
The real migration crisis is not the one you’ve been hearing about – The Irish Times
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
The real migration crisis is not the one you’ve been hearing about – The Irish Times
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Opinion: The real migration crisis is not the one you’ve been hearing about
‘Politics of affect’ stokes anxieties about immigration, allowing Government to then respond
www.irishtimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Excellent piece by my colleague, Professor Ciara Smyth:
The real migration crisis is not the one you’ve been hearing about – The Irish Times
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
The real migration crisis is not the one you’ve been hearing about – The Irish Times
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Rest in Peace and Power, the incomparable Margaretta D'Arcy. 90 years of activism for #peace. She never gave up.
Ní bheidh a leithéad arís ann.
Ní bheidh a leithéad arís ann.
November 23, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Rest in Peace and Power, the incomparable Margaretta D'Arcy. 90 years of activism for #peace. She never gave up.
Ní bheidh a leithéad arís ann.
Ní bheidh a leithéad arís ann.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books pages.
November 16, 2025 at 4:15 PM
My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books pages.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 🎤
If you’ve read this far and still need convincing, please check out our preprint arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 and this infographic: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
10/10
If you’ve read this far and still need convincing, please check out our preprint arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 and this infographic: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
10/10
November 13, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk 🎤
If you’ve read this far and still need convincing, please check out our preprint arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 and this infographic: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
10/10
If you’ve read this far and still need convincing, please check out our preprint arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820 and this infographic: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
10/10
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Many call on researchers to behave differently. But researchers are dispersed across disciplines, institutions & countries. Let's face it, we are hard to coordinate.
So we call on the actors with real power:
Funders and institutions. 💪
They can set the policies and reshape incentives. 8/n
So we call on the actors with real power:
Funders and institutions. 💪
They can set the policies and reshape incentives. 8/n
November 13, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Many call on researchers to behave differently. But researchers are dispersed across disciplines, institutions & countries. Let's face it, we are hard to coordinate.
So we call on the actors with real power:
Funders and institutions. 💪
They can set the policies and reshape incentives. 8/n
So we call on the actors with real power:
Funders and institutions. 💪
They can set the policies and reshape incentives. 8/n
What a phenomenal cartoon.
When my twins were very young, I had to have conversations with a lot of people who worried that allowing them to wear princess dresses would result in them being bullied. This would have been a wonderful response to have had 🌈🦋🏳️⚧️
When my twins were very young, I had to have conversations with a lot of people who worried that allowing them to wear princess dresses would result in them being bullied. This would have been a wonderful response to have had 🌈🦋🏳️⚧️
November 9, 2025 at 2:04 PM
What a phenomenal cartoon.
When my twins were very young, I had to have conversations with a lot of people who worried that allowing them to wear princess dresses would result in them being bullied. This would have been a wonderful response to have had 🌈🦋🏳️⚧️
When my twins were very young, I had to have conversations with a lot of people who worried that allowing them to wear princess dresses would result in them being bullied. This would have been a wonderful response to have had 🌈🦋🏳️⚧️
Fascinating article, about language, gender, and research communication (click bait science): highly recommended!
To which we might add that, as with so many things, the solution (as proposed by some of the people discussed here) isn't simply "do as the men do"—it's to rethink whether the norms associated with femininity (friendliness, warmth) don't have some advantages we could do to embrace more.
This is a really fascinating discussion of changing linguistic conventions and how women are expected to write differently.
debuk.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/e...
debuk.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/e...
November 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Fascinating article, about language, gender, and research communication (click bait science): highly recommended!
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
A reminder that Zohran's da is one of the great African anti-colonial social scientists
penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book/?isbn=9...
penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book/?isbn=9...
Good Muslim, Bad Muslim | Penguin Random House Secondary Education
Distinguished political scientist and anthropologist Mahmood Mamdani, father of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, offers an “exceptionally clear [and] especially shocking” (San Francisco...
penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:46 AM
A reminder that Zohran's da is one of the great African anti-colonial social scientists
penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book/?isbn=9...
penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com/book/?isbn=9...
This article about Indian equality activists in Dublin is fascinating. Gen Z influencers animating an overlooked tradition of anti-caste organising.
From a Dublin base, an anti-caste influencer has been growing a global audience. In less than two years, Amit Wasnik has attracted tens of thousands of online followers with his posts focused on the life and ideas of BR Ambedkar.
From a Dublin base, an anti-caste influencer grows a global audience
In less than two years, Amit Wasnik has attracted tens of thousands of online followers with his posts focused on the life and ideas of BR Ambedkar.
www.dublininquirer.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:38 AM
This article about Indian equality activists in Dublin is fascinating. Gen Z influencers animating an overlooked tradition of anti-caste organising.
This is really worth a read: a clear-headed analysis of the spoiled votes, described compellingly as reflective of “agency without a landing place”. I believe Connolly’s win is a brilliant moment for the left; but we need to pay attention to this too…
I've completed an analysis of the spoiled voter in the link below. This is a voter who will invariably come into play in the future.
kevcunningham.substack.com/p/who-are-th...
kevcunningham.substack.com/p/who-are-th...
Who are the people who spoiled their ballot and why?
An initial analysis
kevcunningham.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:42 AM
This is really worth a read: a clear-headed analysis of the spoiled votes, described compellingly as reflective of “agency without a landing place”. I believe Connolly’s win is a brilliant moment for the left; but we need to pay attention to this too…
This!!
Who knows. Maybe the difficulty of the process was where artists honed their craft and sharpened their communication skills, and that the millions of decisions in any piece of work, made over time by an individual, were where the richness of human artistic expression was hidden.
October 28, 2025 at 7:59 AM
This!!
Great read
Why is your ankle named after a Greek hero and your uterus after a Renaissance anatomist? The answer says as much about power and memory as it does about medicine.
How anatomical names can carry hidden histories of power and exclusion
Why is your ankle named after a Greek hero and your uterus after a Renaissance anatomist? The answer says as much about power and memory as it does about medicine.
tcnv.link
October 27, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Great read
I am unashamedly obsessed with Anne Enright: her glorious opinions, her razor-sharp prose. This interview was a treat. What an absolute treasure.
Tomorrow’s Ticket today, including my interview with Anne Enright
October 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
I am unashamedly obsessed with Anne Enright: her glorious opinions, her razor-sharp prose. This interview was a treat. What an absolute treasure.
This brief essay nicely elucidates this even briefer tweet
October 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
This brief essay nicely elucidates this even briefer tweet
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
With 3 constituencies left to count - Catherine Connolly has received the highest number of votes of any candidate for presidency in the history of the state
According to @womenforelection.bsky.social data - MDH in 2018 had 822k #Aras25
According to @womenforelection.bsky.social data - MDH in 2018 had 822k #Aras25
October 25, 2025 at 5:09 PM
With 3 constituencies left to count - Catherine Connolly has received the highest number of votes of any candidate for presidency in the history of the state
According to @womenforelection.bsky.social data - MDH in 2018 had 822k #Aras25
According to @womenforelection.bsky.social data - MDH in 2018 had 822k #Aras25
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
This was unique circumstances for spoiled vote: no anti-gov candidate anywhere on the right, loud online campaign, week of riots. It’s still going to end up with less than half the vote Peter Casey got as a similar protest. The “political earthquake” here is the thumping victory for the united left
October 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
This was unique circumstances for spoiled vote: no anti-gov candidate anywhere on the right, loud online campaign, week of riots. It’s still going to end up with less than half the vote Peter Casey got as a similar protest. The “political earthquake” here is the thumping victory for the united left
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Looking forward to learning how the government will pander to those protest voters.
You know, the 63% who voted for a clear left wing voice.
You know, the 63% who voted for a clear left wing voice.
October 25, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Looking forward to learning how the government will pander to those protest voters.
You know, the 63% who voted for a clear left wing voice.
You know, the 63% who voted for a clear left wing voice.
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
The Ionas are going to claim ownership of the entire wad of spoiled votes, and the old firm parties are going to interpret that as a sign they need to move further to the right.
That should not be the lesson to learn from a left-wing landslide. But just watch 'em.
That should not be the lesson to learn from a left-wing landslide. But just watch 'em.
October 25, 2025 at 8:40 AM
The Ionas are going to claim ownership of the entire wad of spoiled votes, and the old firm parties are going to interpret that as a sign they need to move further to the right.
That should not be the lesson to learn from a left-wing landslide. But just watch 'em.
That should not be the lesson to learn from a left-wing landslide. But just watch 'em.
Posting so I don’t lose this and it’s perfect for a class I’m teaching! Thank you, @georgeradics.bsky.social
@georgeradics.bsky.social looks at backlash politics against the UNDP's "Being LGBT in Asia" project in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. It's a much-needed contribution on a neglected region in anti-gender politics.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Anti-gender backlash politics as anti-Western politics: examining the UN’s “Being LGBT in Asia” project in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand
The United Nations (UN) project “Being LGBT in Asia” advocates for laws and policies that are protective of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) people and attempts to generate lasting networks...
www.tandfonline.com
October 25, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Posting so I don’t lose this and it’s perfect for a class I’m teaching! Thank you, @georgeradics.bsky.social
Reposted by Carol Ballantine
Please spread the word!
Join our meet and greet session on Thursday October 30th to share your experiences as a writer with a disability, as we devise a range of targeted supports for disabled writers.
Please contact Declan Meade by Wednesday October 22nd
We’d love to hear from you.
stingingfly.org/news/a-call-...
Please contact Declan Meade by Wednesday October 22nd
We’d love to hear from you.
stingingfly.org/news/a-call-...
October 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Please spread the word!
My favourite bookshop I’m so sorry to hear this. Solidarity, @booksupstairs.bsky.social 💪🏼
October 6, 2025 at 3:38 PM
My favourite bookshop I’m so sorry to hear this. Solidarity, @booksupstairs.bsky.social 💪🏼
Improvised owl physio would be a good title for a story, or a band. Read the whole thread, it’s heartening!
Six weeks ago, I picked up a year-old tawny owl with a broken leg off the main road near our home and dropped him off at our nearest vet.
After a few days, I received one of the most bizarre phone calls I’ve ever had, asking “So when are you coming to pick up your owl?” 🧵
After a few days, I received one of the most bizarre phone calls I’ve ever had, asking “So when are you coming to pick up your owl?” 🧵
October 5, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Improvised owl physio would be a good title for a story, or a band. Read the whole thread, it’s heartening!