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MJ (Maryana) Balezina

@mjbalezina

[they/them] political science phd student @ Aarhus University trans* rights & discrimination https://maryanabalezina.github.io/ πŸ‡΅πŸ‡Έ

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23.10.2023
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Latest posts by MJ (Maryana) Balezina @mjbalezina

TLDR: reducing fairness concerns may increase support for trans inclusion, particularly among trans-negative individuals. But it's not a clean solution, and support remains pretty lukewarm overall (as my follow-up work shows).

Glad it's out right as the Winter Olympics wrap up πŸ€™ (6/6)

25.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

That suggests some heterogeneity in how the public thinks about trans inclusion. Even people with negative attitudes aren't monolithic; context (specifically, perceived fair play threat) shapes their views. The catch: in most sports trans inclusion is likely seen as a grave threat to fair play (5/6)

25.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Consistent with the literature, people supported trans inclusion in shooting more than in steeplechase.

But here's the more interesting bit: this gap held even among trans-negative respondents β€” they were *also* more supportive when perceived fairness concerns were lower. (4/6)

25.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Some sports ethicists argue that certain sports are more prone to fairness concerns than others (think sprinting vs. equestrian).

Using a survey experiment, I compared support for trans inclusion in steeplechase vs. rifle shooting as proxies for high vs. low fair-play threat. (3/6)

25.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Opponents of trans inclusion in sports often invoke fairness and possible "competitive advantage" as their main concern. But do all sports raise the same fairness worries equally? Probably not. That's what I set out to test. (2/6)

25.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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My first dissertation paper is out in Sexuality Research and Social Policy β€” open access! πŸŽ‰ It's about trans inclusion in sports and what fairness concerns actually do to public support.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Short thread below πŸ‘‡

25.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

πŸ‘€ anybody interested in co-chairing smth on trans rights with me? promise i have experience in chairing for the ecpg πŸ’…πŸ»

15.07.2025 15:40 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Thus ends another #ISPP2025. As usual, a great conference - really interesting work and wonderful people. Thanks to the organisers and thanks to my fellow session panel @mjbalezina.bsky.social, Melissa Vega and Anna Wlodarczyk. See you next year in Newcastle!

07.07.2025 09:33 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

For queer people this needs to be a lesson about how incredibly fragile the state of seeming mainstream approval and assimilation is. "Just wanting to be normal" will never create power, will never deliver security. The answer is community care, support, empowerment. This is what Pride is about.

05.07.2025 10:25 πŸ‘ 185 πŸ” 28 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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🚨NEW ARTICLE ALERT🚨

@zeinmurib.bsky.social has analysed US state-level legislative debates over trans healthcare in 2023 to show that pseudoscience fuels anti-trans mobilization πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈβœŠ

It's ✨FREE ACCESS✨
πŸ“– doi.org/10.1332/2515...

03.07.2025 08:01 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Speaking on trans exclusion in sports (Title IX & Trump’s EO in particular) feels especially urgent right now, given recent developments at UPenn regarding Lia Thomas.

I’ll be presenting my pre-registration tomorrow at #ISPP2025, 8:30 AM, Thursday in RB209.

Slides/snippets below.

02.07.2025 07:48 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
β€’ UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories;
β€’ UPenn will issue a public statement to the University community stating that it will comply with Title IX, specifying that UPenn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy
Penn Athletics female intimate facilities;
β€’ The statement will specify that UPenn will adopt biology-based definitions for the words 'male' and 'female' pursuant to Title IX and consistent with President Trump's Executive Orders "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism" and "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports";
β€’ UPenn will post the statement in a prominent location on its main website and on each of its websites for women's athletics;
β€’ UPenn will rescind any guidance which violated Title IX, remove or revise any internal and public-facing statements or documents that are inconsistent with Title IX, and notify all staff and women's athletics of all such rescissions; and
β€’ UPenn will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer.

β€’ UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories; β€’ UPenn will issue a public statement to the University community stating that it will comply with Title IX, specifying that UPenn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy Penn Athletics female intimate facilities; β€’ The statement will specify that UPenn will adopt biology-based definitions for the words 'male' and 'female' pursuant to Title IX and consistent with President Trump's Executive Orders "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism" and "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports"; β€’ UPenn will post the statement in a prominent location on its main website and on each of its websites for women's athletics; β€’ UPenn will rescind any guidance which violated Title IX, remove or revise any internal and public-facing statements or documents that are inconsistent with Title IX, and notify all staff and women's athletics of all such rescissions; and β€’ UPenn will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer.

BREAKING

The University of Pennsylvania has come to an agreement with the Trump administration on what the Department of Education said was its Title IX violations.

This will include stripping trans athlete Lia Thomas of her records, titles, and recognitions.

01.07.2025 20:22 πŸ‘ 1430 πŸ” 583 πŸ’¬ 398 πŸ“Œ 984

P.S. If you're also headed to ISPP in Prague in literally two (??) days β€” pls hit me up πŸ™πŸ» I need company for checking out all the cool spots around town πŸ‘ŸπŸΊπŸœ

29.06.2025 09:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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⭐️ That’s a wrap on EPSA in Madrid 😌

Had an absolute blast (and not just because of the good cerveza and coldbrews)! To old and new connections alike: hope to see y’all in Belfast for EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Έβž‘οΈπŸ‡¬πŸ‡§

(And if I’m not there… blame the UK visa regs 🫠)

29.06.2025 09:53 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Mentally bracing for the Madrid heat β˜€οΈ but also hyped to be part of a πŸ”₯bangingπŸ”₯ panel organized by @fraraffaelli.bsky.social, with @bertous.bsky.social as a discussant. Come see me talk about trans inclusion on Saturday or catch me downing iced coffee around #EPSA2025 in the days before πŸ‘€

24.06.2025 13:01 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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BREAKING: In a 6-3 Roberts decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care is not subject to heightened scrutiny. This decision will strip millions of trans people off their constitutional rights.

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

18.06.2025 14:17 πŸ‘ 1285 πŸ” 486 πŸ’¬ 42 πŸ“Œ 115

omg congrats!! πŸŽ‰

17.06.2025 11:25 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This is great!! @polcomm.bsky.social is launching a database for polcom teaching resources! #ica25

13.06.2025 23:13 πŸ‘ 46 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

For everyone interested in working with computational tools, this is an amazing Postdoc position at the Political Science Department in Aarhus

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

25.03.2025 09:14 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
When Do Political Parties Moralize?: A Cross-National Study of the Use of Moral Language in Political Communication on Immigration | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core When Do Political Parties Moralize?: A Cross-National Study of the Use of Moral Language in Political Communication on Immigration - Volume 55

🚨 Very happy to have a new study out in @bjpols.bsky.social with @kristinabsimonsen.bsky.social

We research across 8 countries what drives parties to use moral rhetoric in their communication:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

07.03.2025 08:33 πŸ‘ 95 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1

🚨 #Data alert πŸ“£ We just released #ParlLawSpeech – full texts of more than 40k bills, 28k laws, and 3 mio. parliamentary speeches from 7 countries (AT, CZ, DE, DK, ES, HR, HU) and the EU! If you study democracy with #TextAsData / #NLP methods, this is for you! A short 🧡 (1/3) #PoliSkyData #polisky

13.02.2025 17:29 πŸ‘ 263 πŸ” 107 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 9
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As much as I love AU and Aarhus, I look forward to my three-month research stay with the CEU Pol Sci department (DSPS) starting today! Feels good to be back 😌

15.01.2024 14:43 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

hey gendersky polisky, @maryanab.bsky.social and I want to put together a QTA/text-as-data panel for #ecpg2024 methods section πŸ€“ if you apply methods like these to gender-related topics, or know someone who does, please reach out to us!

the deadline is Dec 7 βœ…

29.11.2023 19:48 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
A Global Analysis of Transgender Rights: Introducing the Trans Rights Indicator Project (TRIP) | Per... A Global Analysis of Transgender Rights: Introducing the Trans Rights Indicator Project (TRIP)

Amazing work by @myleswilliamson.bsky.social introducing a new Trans Rights Indicator Project (TRIP) on @PoPPiblicsphere

#GenderSky #Polisky

20.10.2023 08:36 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1