Co-production and participatory research are increasingly recognised as a way of building equitable outcomes in research projects. But sex workers continue to be excluded from academic research on sex work, writes Carolina Are @bloggeronpole.bsky.social on @lseimpactblog.bsky.social

Academia’s “whorephobia” undermines research on sex work - LSE Impact

Sex workers are excluded from academic research on sex work, yet there could be much to gain from integrating their expertise into academic research.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

Hot off the press, the latest collab between yours truly & @pambriggs.bsky.social is now out, open access, in Creator & Influencer Studies. link.springer.com/content/pdf/...

Yesterday I presented my research on shadowbanning, de-platforming and platform appeals to Samantha Niblett MP, together with a group of badass sex educators, activists and brands.

Last week marked the conclusion of a very busy few weeks spent co-organising the #LSE’s Knowledge Beyond Boundaries conference & co-organizing + teaching the Impact Research Lab (IRL) programme pilot ⤵️

The same government who wants to apply this to nudity on App Stores. Love that for us

Matt Burgess (WIRED)@mattburgess1.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NEW: The UK plans to use AI face scans to determine the age of asylum seekers at the border from next year. However, a leaked report shows the government has known the tech isn’t accurate for more than a year. In some cases, the technology could predict a 13.5-year-old to be an adult

It's still government policy to roll out AI tutors and other forms of AI across primary and secondary education. Maybe a rough equivalent would be banning all kids from public parks in case someone sells heroin to some of them, while also prescribing methadone to all kids, just for funsies.

Since the UK government seems intent on playing political football with young people’s digital & offline lives with the social media ban, I'm resharing the paper that @pamogranite.bsky.social, Catherine Talbot & I wrote re: the importance of SM for LGBTQIA+ users journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Social media affordances of LGBTQIA+ expression and community formation - Carolina Are, Catherine Talbot, Pam Briggs, 2025

Faced with offline discrimination, LGBTQIA+ users frequently turn to social media to find role models, build social networks and test out new forms of self-expr...

journals.sagepub.com

Summer School: Class, Culture & Discontents Free + free lunch. What's not to like? July 23-24th in Balham (South London) 11-3pm each day featuring some great speakers talking on some very timely topics Supported by @thesociologicalreview.org www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/summer-sch...

Summer School: Class, Culture & Discontents

Summer School on class, culture and discontents.

eventbrite.co.uk

I put some words on if the big phone OS providers can stop children from sharing explicit images in this article by @stokel.bsky.social. Also some excellent words by @bloggeronpole.bsky.social & Julian Hayes. Overall, great collection of words. Go read. www.newscientist.com/article/2529...

In the @newscientist.com talking about why the Starmer government's latest promise to 'stop children from seeing and sharing explicit images' sounds great as a headline, but is going to have severe unintended consequences in practice, and it's going to be hard to implement successfully.

New Scientist@newscientist.com · 2mo ago

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned tech firms, including Apple and Google, that they must voluntarily implement tools to stop children sharing explicit images, but experts warn this is easier said than done

Not surprised to see that during the @oversightboard.bsky.social's pilot case considering account removals from Meta, the Board was literally flooded by public comments from users whose accounts had been wrongly removed without redress.

Oversight Board@oversightboard.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Oversight Board has upheld Meta's decision to permanently disable an Instagram account that made death threats against a journalist. This newly published case is the first time the Board has reviewed Meta's approach to permanently disabling accounts. www.oversightboard.com/news/board-u...

You used to be able to google the time of the sunset, and Google would give you the exact time right on top every single time. Thankfully, with artificial intelligence, you can now ask Google what time the sun will set and it will conveniently tell you "I don't know."

Organising this summer school with support from @thesociologicalreview.org 🚨Class, Culture & Discontents 📍23rd & 24th July 🏫 Balham, South London 🧑‍🍳 Free lunch Great line-up of speakers on a wide range of topics, come one, come all Free tickets ⬇️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/summer-sch...

I'm in @theguardian.com today talking about being a #pilates girlie, although ofc I had no chill & had to bring in my research about algorithms to discuss which type of pilates girlie is visible & why the manosphere has to ruin even the nice things in life: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘As soon as I left the first session I felt taller’: is reformer pilates as amazing – or awful – as they say?

One of the fastest-growing fitness trends is also one of the most divisive. To its fans, it promises a stronger, healthier body; to its critics, it’s another way to make women feel insecure. Time to s...

theguardian.com

Since the UK govt's consultation about social media bans for under-16s is now live, it's fitting to share our newly-published papers from our AoIR2025 panel discussing the effects of platform governance's constrains, limits or outright bans on crucial information & networks for several users.

Listening to @bloggeronpole.bsky.social chatting to @siridahl.com for the First Thirst podcast is such a joy. Two of my fav creative forces of good getting to talk about early formative crushes is exactly what I needed this morning

Thanks everyone for the engagement with my recent "Sexy Jail" / shadowbanning appeals paper :) if you're looking for a short summary, the #LSE have kindly published a press release about it with key facts and stats. Read it here: www.lse.ac.uk/news/latest-...

Instagram’s Account Status tools criticised by creators in new study

Creators say Instagram’s Account Status tools amount to 'performative transparency' in a new LSE study where respondents report the features give users little insight or real avenues to challenge deci...

lse.ac.uk

“It’s a reminder that feminism is powerful and important and even transformative, which is why there’s so much pushback from those who benefit from the old inequalities and the old silences, which are pretty much the same thing.” @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 5mo ago

Decades of feminism paved the road to Andrew’s arrest | Rebecca Solnit

@platformsnsociety.bsky.social Congrats @bloggeronpole.bsky.social!

Dr Carolina Are / Blogger On Pole@bloggeronpole.bsky.social · 6mo ago

1st paper of 2026 & in my new job, out open access in Platforms & Society! With a survey amongst 100 creators of pole dance content, I found Instagram’s attempt at transparency & accountability via Account Status shadowbanning appeals was entirely performative: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10....

1st paper of 2026 & in my new job, out open access in Platforms & Society! With a survey amongst 100 creators of pole dance content, I found Instagram’s attempt at transparency & accountability via Account Status shadowbanning appeals was entirely performative: journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10....

V concerned to see great research orgs partner up with NCOSE to repeal Section 230. This article has is a v good history of NCOSE (once Morality In Media) & their campaigns against… literally any depiction of anything but conservative values on TV / the internet. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

The (not so) secret governors of the internet: Morality policing and platform politics - Zachary J McDowell, Katrin Tiidenberg, 2023

A growing body of academic work on internet governance focuses on the ‘deplatforming of sex’, or the removal and suppression of sexual expression from the inter...

journals.sagepub.com

I was really sad to hear that the First Monday Journal will soon cease publication. Back in 2020, First Monday became the home of one of my very first papers, and the kindness and time taken in peer review was incredibly helpful to me as a PhD student and early-career researcher.

I really want to study this as a social phenomenon. How, when, and why queer/kink communities shift from platform to platform, and how they maintain (or attempt to maintain) resilience throughout the process and in the aftermath. As I mentioned to @bloggeronpole.bsky.social a couple weeks back.

Lady Huge@ladyhuge.bsky.social · 6mo ago

My friend group has moved from Skype to Curse Voice to Discord. We can move again.

Has the EU killed doomscrolling? Grabbing the popcorn about this latest EU commission decision labelling TikTok's design as addictive & asking it to change it. As I told @techpolicypress.bsky.social this sets a precedent & I wonder if it will trigger copycat decisions.

Chris Stokel-Walker@stokel.bsky.social · 6mo ago

What happens next now that the European Commission has found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act? My latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social press unpicks the process - and what's likely to happen www.techpolicy.press/the-eu-wants...

Popped into the BBC yesterday to record my bit of Radio 4's Anti-Social #podcast with Adam Fleming three years since my last appearance on it :) This time I talked about the 2016 vs 2026 trend, why Gen Z think Millennials are cringe and the real reasons behind these online trends...

*grabs popcorn*

Chris Stokel-Walker@stokel.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I think the European Union just killed off the concept of the infinite scroll (and with it, most apps that you use on a daily basis) www.reuters.com/business/med...

A lot of you resonated with this post about my choice to leave Twitter (thanks!). Now, I've spoken with @stokel.bsky.social for a British Medical Journal article about Royal Colleges and institutions leaving X. My thoughts here: www.bmj.com/content/392/...

Royal Colleges of Physicians and General Practitioners join the X exodus—why medical leaders are refusing to tweet

A series of medical royal colleges are stepping back from Elon Musk’s social media platform X after issues of abuse and hatred. Three have left, and two more are reviewing their activity. Chris Stokel...

bmj.com

I took part in this event in December and really enjoyed the nuanced conversations the day generated, thanks to a variety of different speakers. They're now part of this briefing, which includes some of my recommendations. Thanks @wfd.org and @ldnsocmedobs.bsky.social for having me!

London Social Media Observatory@ldnsocmedobs.bsky.social · 6mo ago

📣🚨 New Briefing Paper Alert ! 📃 We are excited to announce the launch of our briefing paper on TikTok, Politics and Elections, co-produced with @wfd.org ➡️ www.wfd.org/tiktok-polit... 🧵[1/4]

Really enjoyed this long read by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social Solnit in The Guardian, beautifully explaining something I myself have been feeling, but that crucially my participants have expressed in relation to AI optimisation. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

What technology takes from us – and how to take it back | Rebecca Solnit

The long read: Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out – but it’s going to take collectiv...

theguardian.com