LGBT+
Dare to be different
17/04/25 20:40 Filed in: Politics
This is not a good time to be an LGBTQ+ person – and it’s particularly not a good time to be a trans woman. In the past month alone, LGBTQ+ rights have been attacked in three very different countries. And that’s leaving aside the USA, where the war on woke is waged 24/7. Read More…
War on woke
05/04/25 18:47 Filed in: Personal
Programs that promote diversity, equality and inclusion are under attack. The targets include immigrants, women, people of colour, and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole – although trans people are now public enemy no.1. America is the front line, but the war on woke is global. Read More…
What's in a name?
05/04/25 18:41 Filed in: Personal
In the beginning there was gays, then gays and lesbians… Read More…
SO does not accept
05/04/25 18:37 Filed in: Personal
Coming out to your family: hard but essential. Read More…
Trans and religious
05/04/25 18:28 Filed in: Personal | Christianity
Two of the biggest influences on my life have been my developing sense of trans identity and my religious faith. So this is by way of a combined autobiography… Read More…
Gerda Wegener
05/04/25 18:07 Filed in: Personal
"Women do not exist to satisfy the male gaze" – Gerda Wegener Read More…
Pride of St James's
19/03/25 16:56 Filed in: Personal | Christianity
Yesterday I returned to St Pancras Euston Road for the regular Tuesday evening Sanctuary Eucharist offered by St James’s Piccadilly. Once again, the service was moving and restorative. The evening was a step forward for Ariane – not only because of the service, but also through what happened afterwards. Read More…
The 80s: Photographing Britain
25/02/25 13:24 Filed in: Personal
The 80s: Photographing Britain is an exhibition currently running at the Tate Britain. I visited this last week with Sheena. Not only was she as lively and knowledgeable as ever, she also disclosed a long-standing interest in photography. So that is something else that connects us. Read More…
Conundrum
23/02/25 18:53 Filed in: Personal
I have started to read books by and about trans women. This is for several reasons. One is to make my own trans journey three–dimensional. Another is to learn as much as possible about the trans condition. But most of all, I want to know what it feels like to be female. So I have started with one of the best available guides: Conundrum, the autobiography of Jan Morris. Read More…
All Hallows Leeds
27/10/24 14:47 Filed in: Christianity
All Hallows church in Leeds is one of the most inclusive churches I have ever attended. The congregation is gender-diverse and absolutely anyone is welcome. I went as Ariane and felt completely at home. Read More…
Love and hate
10/08/24 10:47 Filed in: Christianity
If you live in a democratic society, and the governing body makes a decision that you don’t like, what can you do? There are various options:
(1) You can accept it, while seeking protection for your own views.
(2) You can protest the decision and seek it to change it through argument and persuasion.
(3) You can reject it and throw your toys out of the pram.
(4) You can leave the jurisdiction and move to some other place where the decisions are more to your liking.
Which course do you think has recently been taken by a prominent Anglican church and its associates? Read More…
(1) You can accept it, while seeking protection for your own views.
(2) You can protest the decision and seek it to change it through argument and persuasion.
(3) You can reject it and throw your toys out of the pram.
(4) You can leave the jurisdiction and move to some other place where the decisions are more to your liking.
Which course do you think has recently been taken by a prominent Anglican church and its associates? Read More…
The new normal
03/08/24 10:10 Filed in: Personal
Continuing this Ariane week: two further trips to London, on Wednesday and Thursday. The female clothing seems entirely natural now. It's no different from being out in jeans and t-shirt. Presenting as Ariane feels the same as being in boy mode. The main difference is in my home situation, which sometimes causes practical problems. But the situation is starting to feel temporary. Read More…
Now you see us
11/07/24 23:29 Filed in: Personal
On Tuesday, Ariane returned to Tate Britain for the exhibition Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520–1920. I had two reasons for doing so. The first was educational. I realised that I had not heard of any female artists, except Gwen John, and the only painting of hers that I knew was her self-portrait (which is included in the exhibition). Second, to strengthen my growing sense of femaleness, as I am more and more seeing everything from a female point of view. Read More…
Ariane the Londoner
25/06/24 23:01 Filed in: Personal
Ariane made her London debut three weeks ago with the Pride Eucharist at St James’s Piccadilly. A lovely contemplative service with Taizé chants and beautiful music and liturgy. On that occasion she was accompanied by Penny and Paul from Farncombe. Today, Ariane went back to London, this time on her own, and this time for a double treat. It was, however, unfortunate to be wearing a long black dress, on what felt like the hottest day of the year so far. Read More…
Electiondategate: is Ariane implicated?
24/06/24 17:00 Filed in: Politics
On 24 May, I published a blog post entitled ‘Ariane will take your money now.’ In this post I explained that Ariane had correctly predicted the election date of 4 July, an hour or two before the Prime Minister announced it to the nation. Today, the Labour Party has written to the Gambling Commission asking it to name everyone who is being investigated in connection with Electiondategate, in particular any trans bloggers and any other person with no right of entry to women’s single-sex spaces. In view of this, I want to issue a statement on my own personal position. Read More…
Only connect
17/06/24 23:30 Filed in: Christianity
‘Only connect’ is the epigraph at the start of EM Forster’s novel Howard’s End. In the novel its primary meaning is that we need to connect the head and the heart – ‘the prose and the passion’ – in order to become unified human beings. A secondary meaning is that we should put our greatest energy into personal relationships. Our deep connections with other people are what make our lives significant. But I want to focus on a third meaning which has nothing to do with the novel. This is the capacity of the human mind to see connections and patterns between things which appear very different. So in this post: what connects the contemplative life, the Christian writer CS Lewis, and the attitude of the Church of England to matters of gender and sexuality? Read More…
Home is where the heart is
05/06/24 10:56 Filed in: Christianity
For such a long time I have wanted to unite my faith and my sense of who I am. Now I have found the gold at the end of the rainbow. Read More…
The future is female
25/05/24 20:05 Filed in: Personal
Today the first prize for affirming Ariane's female identity goes to Patroa Studio. I came across their work by chance in a market stall north of the cathedral. They produce art designs which are printed on cloth. This one says it all for me… Read More…
Running in Berlin – Tiergarten
25/05/24 07:22 Filed in: Fitness
People say that Berlin is a 24-hour city. That may be true in the centre, but it's not true in the western suburb of Moabit at 6.00am on a Saturday morning. I saw very few people and cars at the start of a slightly extended 10K which included the perimeter of most of the Tiergarten – Berlin's largest and most famous park. Read More…