Susanna Rustin

Why is there such a generational divide in views on sex and gender in Britain? | Susanna Rustin I believe the key lies in our respective life stages, says social affairs journalist Susanna Rustin

I wrote about the Equality Act and why i think it's wrong to assume young gender identity activists are progressive www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on abortion prosecutions: decriminalisation can’t wait | Editorial Editorial: The trial of Nicola Packer shows why MPs should seize the opportunity to change the law and safeguard vulnerable women now

Guardian view: decriminalise abortion www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Interview with one of the extremely rare US Democrats to stick up for women's single-sex sports and spaces: just 22 years old and a former volunteer for Bernie Sanders

At last, a moment of clarity – the UK supreme court has upheld the rights of women | Susanna Rustin It is vital that we give credit to the tireless campaigners who brought us to this point, says Guardian writer Susanna Rustin

Me in the Guardian on the Supreme Court. Women's rights are sex-based, always have been, and this fight isn't over. But the judgment is a huge moment.
://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/17/clarity-uk-supreme-court-rights-of-women-campaigners?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Julie Bindel's excellent new book A patriarchal society’s attitude to lesbians is a litmus test

🖋 i wrote a review of Julie Bindel's excellent new book about lesbians, I've never posted on substack before so not many people have seen it. Please have a read, & share if you like it open.substack.com/pub/susannar...

‘Barcelona or death’: mothers watch and wait as Senegal’s men risk all to reach Europe For many the perilous journey to Spain seems the only future. Can the country’s new government create enough jobs and prospects to make them stay?

This is such a good piece -sexual politics of migration are often ignored, is rare to read about the women left behind www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Thanks so much for reviewing my book and sharing on here 🙏

Susanna Rustin‘s account of independent MP Eleanor Rathbone is “a stark reminder that political and legislative progress for women is not linear, but often a precarious, exhausting and continued negotiation“.

Laura Hamilton on @susannajrustin.bsky.social @politybooks.bsky.social. buff.ly/JlhNOTO

great thread Tom

.. including two responses to my piece on T-levels (some of which are good, as letter-writer says, the problem is thinking they should replace so much else).. and also this lovely one 🎂

Really great page of Guardian letters on education...

T-levels are a disaster – and young people are suffering because ministers won’t admit it | Susanna Rustin They were supposed to boost vocational learning, but they’re not popular with students and the dropout rate is high. Time for a dose of realism, says Guardian journalist Susanna Rustin

..while the whole issue - like the college sector where it's happening- isn't getting the attention it deserves & needs if the situation is to improve. Please have a read: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Very pleased to have a piece on T-levels in today's paper. These reforms were meant to transform vocational ed for the better - boosting life chances of 60% who don't go to uni. But it hasn't worked! & this isn't being faced..

Thanks for sharing!

T-levels are a disaster – and young people are suffering because ministers won’t admit it | Susanna Rustin They were supposed to boost vocational learning, but they’re not popular with students and the dropout rate is high. Time for a dose of realism, says Guardian journalist Susanna Rustin

I wrote about T-levels, which were meant to transform vocational learning but haven't worked out. And why this whole mess doesn't get anything like the attention it deserves www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on undercover policing: the struggle for accountability continues | Editorial Editorial: The public inquiry into police spies was brought about by the bravery of the women they abused, as a new documentary shows

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on AI and copyright: creativity should be cherished, not given away | Editorial Editorial: The government’s consultation was weighted towards big tech. Now is the time for a rethink

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

New Public Mobilisation is the answer Old habits die hard. While New Public Management (NPM) might have fallen out of fashion in the think-tank community, it is alive and well in Whitehall. Its core...

New Public Management is not fit for purpose (though it is alive and well in many parts of Whitehall).

We need New Public *Mobilisation* if mission-led government is to have impact.

My latest MJ column… www.themj.co.uk/public-mobil...

Great thread,thank you !

*correction: refuges!

The Guardian view on violence against women: put victims and survivors first | Editorial Editorial: The problem is getting worse, while the last government’s strategy has little to show for it. Ministers should go back to basics

"Victim support and women's refuses are chronically underfunded..
A policy focused on the needs of victims and survivors would send a powerful message" - editorial on violence against women
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

AntiSocial - Surrogacy - BBC Sounds Should surrogacy be allowed?

I'm on today's episode of AntiSocial @bbcradio4.bsky.social @bbcsounds.bsky.social talking about feminist arguments about surrogacy since the 80s.
Is a good episode I think, range of voices/views on contested subject www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Making the patriarchy progressive | Victoria Smith | The Critic Magazine “The core of patriarchal ideology, as with all exercise of power, is not the rules but the double standard.” It’s amazing how often this point, expressed here by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, is missed by those…

This is a fantastic piece by @glosswitch.bsky.social thecritic.co.uk/making-the-p...

The Guardian view on teachers’ pay: colleges don’t deserve second-class status | Editorial Editorial: College staff deserve a pay rise along with their peers. Widening the gap with schools would be a serious mistake

Here's tonight's editorial on the very weird, unfair decision by Bridget Phillipson not to include sixth form colleges in teacher pay rise:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Men's rights dressed up as progressivism turns out to be intoxicating..

I basically agree but think anti-feminism is another ingredient.
Because the issue pits male people's identity claims against female people's privacy/safety.
And loads of men, it turns out, think the former is *much* more important (as sadly do far too many women)

It’s a blind spot for liberal / social democratic etc parties throughout the world. They’ve painted themselves into a corner that they’re struggling to get out of.

I'm one of many who are desperately frantically trying to help..

..wishing or pretending that women's rights ( including sports and prisons without males in them) can be safely disregarded by parties hoping to run governments. *Because it isn't true* 2/2

This is a really good piece by @susandalgety.bsky.social.
I have no idea how many US voters were put off by the Democrats' anti-science sex denialism (in the misleading name of "trans rights"). But liberals/ democrats everywhere urgently need to stop thinking .. 1/2 x.com/DalgetySusan...