The millions wasted on "Pregnant Men" and "Gay Porn Studies"
Self-promo time: I'm on Bombshells this week with Amy Sheppard and Fleur Elizabeth
A cheeky plug of my time on the Bombshells podcast this week.
I had a lot of fun and hope you enjoy it too.
*Also pasting some articles below of topics I discuss in the podcast.
Examples of taxpayer-funded AHRC studies
The Europe that Gay Porn Built, 1945-2000 Funded Value: £841,830 Sequins, Self & Struggle: Performing and Archiving Sex, Place and Class in Pageant Competitions in Cape Town Funded Value: £189,017
Taxpayer-funded Job of the Week: Gay Porn Researcher (£30k+)
I don’t normally post job adverts on my Substack, but simply couldn’t resist when I saw a fabulous opportunity to research gay porn. The background You may remember in March that I wrote about a research project titled The Europe That Gay Porn Built,
The "world's premier green, autistic drag queen" funded by Arts Council England
Today I will tell you how the taxpayer funded the artist Oozing Gloop (above), described as “the world’s premier green, autistic drag queen”. When I first read this description (without a photograph to go on), I thought “green” described someone who was into environmentalism. I had no idea that Oozing Gloop was
"Trans Performance Now: Glitching cisgenderism" - £185,627 from the taxpayer
Today I will explain how you, dear taxpayer, are funding a research project titled: Trans Performance Now: Glitching cisgenderism. It’s another Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) good’n, with the project running from January this year to June 2025.
Islington and Camden Council's woke splurge on "Rainbow" kayaking
Like most people, the sight of a utility bill through the door fills me with dread. Council tax is one I’m none too keen on. I pay around £107 per month in Islington - and that’s with a “single person discount”. It’s quite a lot on top of everything else.
The Government's hate crime spending
This week, Rishi Sunak condemned Scotland’s new hate crime laws, and said that people should not be criminalised “for stating simple facts on biology”. As usual with this Government, look into its funding and you will see that the Conservatives are saying one thing - and paying for the other.
UK Research and Innovation: An explainer
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is one area I cover the most in my journalism. So much so that I thought I would do a quick guide that can be used as a reference - should anyone want to look at it while reading one of my pieces about the numerous studies it funds.
Why is Arts Council England so woke?
In recent times, I can’t help thinking that the public mood is turning against Arts Council England (ACE) as more and more people realise its woke ways. To clarify; I don’t think ACE is awful per se. It funds wonderful projects and theatres, such as Sadler’s Wells, which has long been a favourite in my family.
It simply beggars belief that, even after all the shocking revelations we’ve seen, civic life is so captured. I wonder how ‘gay porn & pregnant men’ can still surprise us. Great research & lovely lively writing, Charlotte. Thank you. Will share.