Category: Analysis & Commentary
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Goths For Breakfast 2026: Charity Teach-a-Thon to feed hungry kids!
Event: Romancing the Gothic, Theme: Books & Literature, Theme: Clothing & Tailoring, Theme: Conventions & Literary Events, Theme: Film & Cinema, Theme: Gothic Horror, Theme: Gothic Romance, Theme: Guillermo del Toro, Theme: Horrors & Thrillers, Theme: Television & Entertainment, Theme: Uniforms & Costumes
It’s that wonderful time of year again – Romancing the Gothic, run by the inimitable Doctor Sam Hirst, is raising money for Magic Breakfast, a UK-based charity that provides free breakfasts for hungry school kids across England and Scotland. I am privileged to be a part of the incredible line-up for tomorrow, where you can…
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Gregory House, Disabled Bastard, in House MD Season 1
Theme: Ableism, Theme: Alcoholism & Drug Use & Addiction, Theme: Autism & ADHD, Theme: Character Study, Theme: Chronic Pain, Theme: Close Reading & Analysis, Theme: Disability, Theme: House MD, Theme: Identity & Personality, Theme: Mobility Aids & Assistive Devices, Theme: Self-Esteem Issues, Theme: Shame & Self-Loathing, Theme: Television & Entertainment
Starting with E1: Everybody Lies. Analysing House MD S1’s approach to disability and ableism within its narrative. House MD is one of the most shows ever made, and I love it, I think it’s great, I think it’s really fucked up. House MD, if you are not familiar — or, more likely, if you’ve seen it posted…
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Alien: Romulus: An Abortive Attempt at Homage to a Classic
Romulus started out promising, then proved itself an awful disappointment. The original Alien (1979) is far and away one of my favourite sci-fi films, one I’ve written about in the past, and I have a lot of affection for Aliens (1986) and even Alien 3 (1992), for all I feel it has its narrative flaws.…
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What’s In A Uniform?: Imperial Attitudes Reflected in Starfleet’s Uniforms
Relationships with imperial attitudes reflected in uniform and costuming in Star Trek Originally published in An Injustice! Introduction Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a post-war and post-scarcity future filled to the brim with infinite diversity in infinite combinations, is often posited as a luxury-filled communist utopia in space. In the 24th century within the United…
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Crimson Peak: A Love Letter To Gothic Romance
Adoring thoughts on Guillermo Del Toro’s 2015 masterpiece. This review and bit of analysis is related to the talk I’ll be giving on Crimson Peak tomorrow, responses to misogyny and marginalisation in and around Gothic fiction, and how much of this social conservatism is mirrored in BookTok and modern retorts to problematic fiction. All proceeds…
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The Real Harm in “Harmful Content”
Exploring the true harm in “harmful content” and “problematic” media. Originally published in An Injustice! We live, unfortunately, in a world increasingly defined by people’s lack of media literacy. It isn’t as simple as people not reading, because people do — as schools and universities increasingly cut or allocate resources away from English literature, history, and other…
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Addressing Common Arguments Against “Consuming Harmful Content”
Challenging purity culture in online spaces and their fears of “problematic media”. Constant and continuous arguments endure on social media about the dreaded and frightening spectre of problematic media — from television shows that supposedly “glorify” unhealthy relationships or “sexualise” and “excuse” abusive relationships; to erotica, adult books, and 18+ fanfiction that supposedly teach teenagers bad life…
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Woe, Boypussy Be Upon Ye: Transing Characters in Fanfic & Fanart
What’s the deal with envisioning your blorbos as transgender? Originally published in Prism & Pen. It’s been unbelievably positive for me as a trans dude, the change in approach to trans characters in fandom and subsequently in media in general, and I just wanted to write a bit about my experiences with the cultural shift…