Mel Woods
@melwoods.me
Journalist | Writer | Editor Investigating anti-trans hate with @antihate.ca Work in The Walrus, Xtra, The Tyee, HuffPost, etc. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 (they/them) Vancouver Subscribe to my newsletter, Ranch Baby: https://ranch-baby.ghost.io/ Work with me: melwoods.me
The line between "oops, a Conservative majority!" and "the young woke Greens hold the balance of power" ... is VERY THIN
Éric Grenier@ericgrenier.bsky.social · 10h agoBC Election Tracker update: CON🔵 44.6% / 46 seats NDP🟠 44.0% / 45 GRN🟢 8.1% / 2 OBC🟡 1.4% / 0 CBC🔴 1.2% / 0 Full details: www.thewrit.ca/p/the-writs-...
Session one is in the books, and session two is next, “en français!” Join our free, four-hour virtual workshop on trans and gender-diverse reporting, developed with the Trans Journalists Association. Fri., Oct. 23, 1 to 5 p.m. ET via Zoom. Register by Oct. 16: https://beeid.org/f2b2d38fae2e
Mainstream journalism organizations so rarely have trans reporters covering trans issues, or even helping cis reporters understand nuance in complicated pieces. So happy to support @transjournalists.org as they do the work to support and nurture trans journalists! donorbox.org/digging-our-...
Digging Our Heels In | TRANS JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION (Powered by Donorbox)
This year, TJA is digging in our heels. The Trans Journalists Association exists so that trans and gender-expansive journalists can build careers that last and so that newsrooms cover our communities ...
donorbox.org
This already seems clearly be better than a certain other "filmed adaptation of a book series about a British child who encounters a magic world" that is also dropping in the coming months
Every Film Now@everyfilmnow.bsky.social · 12h agoThe first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s ‘NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW’ has been released. In theaters next February. #Narnia #GretaGerwig
Hungary removes anti-LGBTQ provisions from 'child protection' law, batting back Orban legacy
Hungary removes anti-LGBTQ provisions from 'child protection' law, batting back Orban legacy
The vote was praised by rights groups, who add that 'there is still a lot to do' on LGBTQ rights.
lemonde.fr
I used to be so scared to put any holes in the walls of my apartments for fear of losing my damage deposit. But a friend once said that at a certain point, you can simply accept that a damage deposit is a fee you paid to do what you want.
When @robinstevenson.bsky.social and Julie McLaughlin published the children’s book “Pride Puppy,” they had no idea it would become a target for censorship and be part of a case at America’s highest court. xtramagazine.com/culture/prid...
How a Canadian kids’ book became the centre of a U.S. Supreme Court case | Xtra Magazine
“Pride Puppy” was written to highlight the joy of Pride. It became a political flashpoint
xtramagazine.com
I'm working on a scan of the state of anti-trans hate in Canada, and am hoping to connect with other researchers/advocates working in this space. If that's you or someone you know, please reach out—I'd love to chat! And please share this amongst your networks! My email is mel@antihate.ca.
Happy Friday! It’s been a heavy week, so please enjoy this image of my cat attempting to trap me in bed and prevent me from logging into work this morning
From the heartland of Danielle Smith’s Alberta, comic artist @hal-monitor.bsky.social documents the resilience of trans Albertans in the face of government censorship. xtramagazine.com/culture/tran...
Trans Albertans are strong. We aren’t going anywhere | Xtra Magazine
Trans Albertans reflect on what makes their home province special, even in the wake of Premier Danielle Smith’s legislative attacks and book restrictions
xtramagazine.com
Professional news! Today I officially started in my new position as an Investigator with @antihate.ca, where I’ll be focusing on researching, documenting, and reporting on anti-trans hate movements in Canada. It's heavy and challenging work, but work I am excited to dive into. ✨🏳️⚧️
Gender Queer has only been out for 7 of the last 35 years, yet it is number one on this list.
School Library Journal@slj.com · last wk.ALA Releases 150 Most Challenged Books from 1990–2025 www.slj.com/story/ALA-Re...
This also means I am open for tips and other information about anti-trans organizing, discourse, and movements across Canada. My new email is mel@antihate.ca ... reach out!
Mel Woods@melwoods.me · 5d agoProfessional news! Today I officially started in my new position as an Investigator with @antihate.ca, where I’ll be focusing on researching, documenting, and reporting on anti-trans hate movements in Canada. It's heavy and challenging work, but work I am excited to dive into. ✨🏳️⚧️
Wrote a bit for my newsletter about how timely this work is, and my excitement at focusing in on working with the other folks at CAHN to draw connections between different hate movements in Canada, and bring some of the most influential bad actors to light. ranch-baby.ghost.io/mel-woods-ca...
Mel’s collection of horrible Tweets will continue
This week, I start my new job investigating and reporting on anti-trans hate in Canada with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network
ranch-baby.ghost.io
Makes me wonder how much AI is involved in generating Juno content TBH ... this is the sort of writing error that LLMs make all the time
Daniel Robson@dancollen.bsky.social · 5d agoDespite publishing over 30 pieces about the Tumbler Ridge shooting, far-right blog Juno News appears to be somewhat unfamiliar with the shooter's name. Juno said yesterday Jesse Van Rootselaar was Jesse Strang's accomplice James Cody Bryant. (Van Rootselaar is Strang, the shooter's, legal name.)
This also means I am open for tips and other information about anti-trans organizing, discourse, and movements across Canada. My new email is mel@antihate.ca ... reach out!
Mel Woods@melwoods.me · 5d agoProfessional news! Today I officially started in my new position as an Investigator with @antihate.ca, where I’ll be focusing on researching, documenting, and reporting on anti-trans hate movements in Canada. It's heavy and challenging work, but work I am excited to dive into. ✨🏳️⚧️
Professional news! Today I officially started in my new position as an Investigator with @antihate.ca, where I’ll be focusing on researching, documenting, and reporting on anti-trans hate movements in Canada. It's heavy and challenging work, but work I am excited to dive into. ✨🏳️⚧️
BC Conservatives Run Full Slate of Candidates With Views Ranging from Conspiratorial To Bigoted Party leader Doerkson refused to drop candidate who made anti-LGBTQ statements. pressprogress.ca/bc-conservat...
BC Conservatives Run Full Slate of Candidates With Views Ranging from Conspiratorial To Bigoted
Party leader Doerkson refused to drop candidate who made anti-LGBTQ statements.
pressprogress.ca
Really appreciate Jen and @thetyee.ca asking me to weigh in about the person arrested in connection to the Tumbler Ridge tragedy, and how the ensuing media narrative is both a symptom of the larger anti-trans hate movement and will directly contribute to its continued amplification.
Jen St. Denis@jenstden.bsky.social · 6d ago"With any development in a case like this, thoughts should immediately go to the victims... But discussion of the victims or their families has taken a back seat to unprecedented levels of anti-trans vitriol from both public figures and media," writes @melwoods.me thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
Attempts to directly connect the Tumbler Ridge tragedy, and particularly the recent arrest of James Cody Bryant, to transness is a symptom of the larger anti-trans hate movement. @melwoods.me writes. thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...
A Predictable Wave of Anti-Trans Hate | The Tyee
The arrest of an alleged accomplice in the Tumbler Ridge shooting has fuelled a false narrative linking trans people with violence.
thetyee.ca
Cassy Lee is a middle-school librarian based in California. In a new comic as part of Xtra’s “Comics Against Censorship” series, she reflects on how having access to affirming books enriches the lives of her queer and trans students. xtramagazine.com/culture/scho...
How school librarians hold space in the stacks for queer students | Xtra Magazine
As an affirming librarian, my work is not indoctrination. It is celebration
xtramagazine.com
Writing about the Tumbler Ridge arrest today, and I'm honestly appalled at the level of intentional misgendering from officials and media. To be clear, I don't care if the suspect is offended. This isn't even about pronoun policing. But this sort of stuff is what spreads anti-trans hate at large.
Every once in a while in my beat I'll hear from someone who appears to misgender with purpose to like, stick it to the killer. I cant get over how childish it. They're dead! They wont hear you misgender them!! Only regular, living, non-child murdering folks will hear you!!!
Writing about the Tumbler Ridge arrest today, and I'm honestly appalled at the level of intentional misgendering from officials and media. To be clear, I don't care if the suspect is offended. This isn't even about pronoun policing. But this sort of stuff is what spreads anti-trans hate at large.
Canadian and U.S. journalists ... are you covering the news rolling out about the person charged in connection to the Tumbler Ridge shooting? It's time refresh yourself on the @transjournalists.org style guide. styleguide.transjournalists.org?_gl=1*1sbq6f...
Trans Journalists Association Stylebook and Coverage Guide
The Transgender Journalists Association’s Stylebook and Coverage Guide is a tool reporters, editors, and other journalists can use to improve news coverage of trans people and the stories that affect ...
styleguide.transjournalists.org
As new rolls in about the person arrested in the U.S. related to the Tumbler Ridge tragedy and their gender identity, I desperately hope that media is conscious of how this can and will fuel an anti-trans hate firestorm in Canada and the U.S. xtramagazine.com/power/tumble...
The Tumbler Ridge shooting is already fuelling anti-trans hate in Canada | Xtra Magazine
Bad actors on the right are leaping to connect the shooter’s trans identity to the violence
xtramagazine.com
@antihate.ca put out a report last year detailing how insidious the spread of anti-trans hate was following the shooting. If this news is what's being reported right now, expect a lot more in both Canada and the U.S. xtramagazine.com/video/tumble...
New report details online anti-trans hate following Tumbler Ridge shooting | Xtra Magazine
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network analyzed the wave of anti-LGBTQ2S+ social media posts following the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge
xtramagazine.com