🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
LightNews LightNews
banner
rossbrooks.co.uk
🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
@rossbrooks.co.uk
13K followers 10K following 570 posts
Historian. #histsci. #queerhistory. Working on my first book: Darwin and the Queer Origins of Life (Yale University Press, August 2026). Trekkie. Classical music. Seaside living (near Brighton). He/him. rossbrooks.co.uk. Agent: www.philippasitters.co.uk.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
rossbrooks.co.uk
🌈 Dr Ross Brooks @rossbrooks.co.uk · Nov 3
@bsky.app now has over 40M users! 🦋💙

To celebrate, I thought I'd repost the cover image of The Science of Life (August 1929) from which the beautiful butterflies on my profile banner are taken. The central specimens are all gynandromorphs (simultaneously female and male). #histsci #queerhistory 🌈🗃️
Front cover of issue 12 of The Science of Life by Julian Huxley, G. P. Wells, and H. G. Wells and published in August 1929. Illustrating an article titled ‘What Determines Sex,’ a colour photograph features a selection of butterflies from the collections of the London Natural History Museum. Down the centre are five gynandromorph specimens. For four of the species, female and male specimens are placed either side of the gynandromorph for comparison. Image made from my own copy.
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
joshlukedavis.com
oh look, the monkeys are at it again 🐒🌈🦍

(and a little quote from me)
www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Primates’ same-sex sexual behaviour ‘may reinforce bonds amid environmental stress’
Behaviour among non-human species could help keep groups together in face of social challenges, says study
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
sciam.bsky.social
New research links same-sex behaviors in nonhuman primates to the evolution of complex social structures
New Study Probes How Same-Sex Behaviors Evolved in Nonhuman Primates
New research links same-sex behaviors in nonhuman primates to the evolution of complex social structures
www.scientificamerican.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
dollyjorgensen.bsky.social
Are you in UK and want to hear about my book Ghosts Behind Glass? 3 public talks in Feb:
Cambridge Museum of Zoology, 11 Feb www.museum.zoo.cam.ac.uk/events/talk-...
M Shed Bristol, 12 Feb  www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/m-s...
Oxford NatHist Museum, 13 Feb www.oumnh.ox.ac.uk/event/dead-a...
Ghosts Behind Glass
How museums display extinct species—and what these exhibits say about us.   While it’s no longer possible to encounter a dodo in the wild, we can still come face-to-face with them in museums. The rema...
press.uchicago.edu
January 12, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
danielfountain.bsky.social
Out now! Queer Crafts: Material Practices and the Making of Identity available via the Bloomsbury website and all good bookstores! www.bloomsbury.com/uk/queer-cra...
A copy of a book called Queer Crafts. It is a pink cover with images of blue and white ceramic vessels on it.
January 7, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
brionyneilson.bsky.social
A watch in the form of a beetle – made in Switzerland, c.1850 (The Met) 🗃️
photo shows a watch made of gold, enamel, and jewels in the form of a beetle – the wings of the beetle are lifted to reveal part of the watch face beneath
January 9, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
passportmag.bsky.social
The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen museum in Dusseldorf, Germany is featuring an LGBTQ+ exhibition entitled "Queer Modernism 1900 to 1950" through February 15th.

Find out more about the exhibition: https://bit.ly/4svVfzI

#lgbtq #germany #queermodernism #exhibition #kunstsammlung #art #artist
January 7, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
linneansociety.bsky.social
The programme is out for our Symposium, Exploring Queerness in Natural History, on 5 February.

We're excited to hear from our Symposium Curators, Connor Butler and @aquadan1.bsky.social, as well as talks from Simon Goldhill, @canopyrobin.com and @rossbrooks.co.uk. (1/3)

buff.ly/jc6Unz7
Symposium | Exploring Queerness in Natural History
A one-day, interdisciplinary symposium centring LGBTQ+ inclusion in the environmental sector.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
royalhistsoc.org
Join us on Tuesday 10 February for the 2026 Global History Lecture, hosted in partnership with @ghilondon.bsky.social

Professor Vinita Damodaran will speak on 'Decolonising the Natural History Collections of Empire' bit.ly/4qLCaYB

Booking for in-person & online attendance is now open #Skystorians
2026 Global History Lecture, with the German Historical Institute, London - RHS
On Tuesday 10 February, the Society hosts its annual Global History Lecture, in partnership with the German Historical Institute, London. This year we are delighted to welcome Professor Vinita Damodar...
bit.ly
January 8, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
tlmarttinen.bsky.social
Check out the insightful critique on the racialization of Roma in Europe by Marius Turda and Bolagi Balogun. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The Racialization of Roma as “Black” in Interwar Romania and Beyond | Slavic Review | Cambridge Core
The Racialization of Roma as “Black” in Interwar Romania and Beyond - Volume 84 Issue 3
www.cambridge.org
January 7, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
royalhistsoc.org
We also have a similar Starter Pack for societies and groups whose members promote #history worldwide bit.ly/4sq5Axf.

And a third Pack for UK-based research institutes and centres in #history and the humanities: bit.ly/44Wv9fg. Recommendations for additions to these two packs welcome #Skystorians
Societies & groups for historians, international
Join the conversation
bit.ly
January 7, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
royalhistsoc.org
If you're looking for #history networks on BlueSky in 2026, our Starter Pack - recently updated - has details of 150 leading societies, organisations and groups active in the UK and Ireland bit.ly/4ptl0On

#Skystorians
Societies & groups for historians, UK and Ireland
Join the conversation
bit.ly
January 7, 2026 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
wokestudies.bsky.social
Cartoon of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), dressed as a dandy, made during his trip to the United States in 1882. Drawing by Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly (September 9th)
#Irish #Literature #decadence #fashion #theatre #drama
Cartoon of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), dressed as a dandy, made during his trip to the United States in 1882. Drawing by Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly (September 9th)
January 7, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
krheyam.bsky.social
Happy new year to all of you *and* to this gorgeous set of forthcoming books! I am beyond excited to finally share A Cultural History of Gender (and especially the volume I've edited, The Early Modern World) with you all.
January 6, 2026 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
schilthuizen.bsky.social
La sexualité animale: au-delà de la reproduction rfi.my/CKHk.BS
La sexualité animale: au-delà de la reproduction
« Tous les goûts sont dans la nature », dit le proverbe, repris d'ailleurs en sous-titre du livre de l'éthologue Emmanuelle Pouydebat paru en 2025, Sexus animalus. L'exploration de la sexualité animal...
rfi.my
January 7, 2026 at 6:23 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
tvolmag.bsky.social
🎯Skeletal sex is an estimate shaped by hormones, environment, and population variation—and current methods erase intersex and trans lives.

🔗Read the article: www.prosocial.world/posts/an-ant...

#gender #nonbinary #sexuality #anthropology #evolution #biology
An Anthropologist’s Perspective on Sex and Gender in the Skeleton
Anthropological methods show that skeletal sex is an estimate, not a certainty, revealing the limits of binary claims about human identity.
www.prosocial.world
December 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
tricksterprince.bsky.social
I couldn't agree more with @mirror.co.uk that it's a good time to investigate Agatha Christie's London.

Especially because there's 40% off Songs of Seven Dials in the @manchesterup.bsky.social sale.

manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526181954/

#sevendials #20s30s
January 6, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
isaiashernandez.bsky.social
I am pleased to announce the release of my latest article in the Observatory. I believe the findings and discussions presented here contribute meaningfully to our understanding of queer ecology.

#academia #science #education #queer
How Queer Ecology Reveals the Diversity of Nature and Human Experience
observatory.wiki
January 5, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
manchesterup.bsky.social
Mermaids, unicorns, vampires are an empowering part of our queer folk heritage, author @sachacoward.bsky.social tells @lgbtqnation.com in a recent interview here: www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/12/merm...

'Queer as Folklore' is out now in paperback!
Mermaids, unicorns, vampires are an empowering part of our queer folk heritage - LGBTQ Nation
Queer people have existed in folklore throughout history. Realizing that gives us magical powers, Sacha Coward says.
www.lgbtqnation.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
clio2.bsky.social
Weekly #LGBTQ #Trans update on Daily Kos

www.dailykos.com/stories/2026...

Btw @rossbrooks.co.uk , this borrowed your cheery Bluesky post about the Globe Theater. Thanks for sharing that.
LGBTQ+ update: Shakespeare; further dispatches from the war on trans youth; pansy craze; more
Big updates on RFK Jr.'s proposal to shut down essentially all gender-affirming care for trans youth, as reported here 2 weeks ago. There is an opportunity to file comments, open until Feb. 17. ALSO, ...
www.dailykos.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
jamiebgall.co.uk
EU pals - shipping is restored!
For the first time since Brexit you can now get my rainbow Science and Science Fiction pin badges across Europe.

Tell your pals!
proudscience.etsy.com
A series of Pride coloured police boxes An array of science and sci fi themed rainbow pin badges Six pins in the style of Doctor Who characters.
January 5, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by 🌈 Dr Ross Brooks
royalhistsoc.org
Applications are also invited for a new RHS programme for 2026, co-hosted with @ihr.bsky.social and @chalkefestival.bsky.social.

'Pitch my Project' is for early career historians to present their research at the Chalke History Festival in June bit.ly/44kfUMM. Closing date: 6 February. #Skystorians
Pitch my Project: an opportunity for early career historians to present their work at the Chalke History Festival 2026 - RHS
Have you ever wanted to share your research with a wide audience? Would you like to gain experience in public speaking, and be supported to develop imaginative ways to communicate your research to the...
bit.ly
January 5, 2026 at 9:53 AM
rossbrooks.co.uk
Mood ('cos it's a bit nippy out):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K8...

'See'st thou not how stiff
And wondrous old
Far unfit to bear the bitter cold'
Jakub Jósef Orlinski - Purcell - King Arthur - The Cold Song
YouTube video by Classical HD Live
www.youtube.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:41 AM
rossbrooks.co.uk
Incidentally, the Globe has regular LGBTQ-themed guided tours. There are also excellent learning resources in their free guide 'Finding Queerness in Our Records': cdn.shakespearesglobe.com/uploads/2025... 🌈🎭🏳️‍⚧️🗃️

www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/gui... #queer #history #theatre #drama
January 4, 2026 at 10:18 AM
rossbrooks.co.uk
Annual New Year cocktails up the Shard with the brilliant @djberry.bsky.social. Then we went to see a wonderfully wintry production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe (actually the Globe's indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, so not *too* wintry!). Great day! #London 🍸🎭
Two chaps posing happily in the cocktail bar at the top of the Shard in London. Dominic is wearing a light blue top. I'm wearing a purple jumper and a striped shirt. The cityscape, including the River Thames, can be seen in the background. Photo of myself inside the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse just before a performance. I'm wearing a purple jumper and a striped shirt. I'm also wearing specs. Other audience members and the stage can be seen in the background.
January 3, 2026 at 8:43 PM