Jonny Best is a British musician, researcher, and producer who identifies as a gender critical gay man.
Background
Jonathan “Jonny” Best worked in theatre as a director (with RSC, National Theatre etc), as a staff director in opera (ENO, Royal Opera & Opera North), in commercial theatre (pantomime, West End musicals and plays), classical music (with Aurora, BBC Scottish Symph, and ten years in association with City of London Sinfonia).
In 2005 Best became the artistic director of Manchester’s Queer Up North Festival. Best was criticized for inviting the act Bitch to perform after they had played the trans-exclusionary Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.
Best then produced Classical Sheffield, Festival of the North East, and Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.
Best began a doctorate degree in music at University of Huddersfield in 2016.
Activism
Best made a number of provocative statements, believing there are no such things as misgendering and deadnaming. Huddersfield University opened an investigation, but later apologized to Best.
Best has written for anti-trans publication UnHerd, arguing that “The marginalisation of sex in trans activism sits uneasily with the centrality of sex to lesbian and gay activism.”
Best is especially critical of UK’s Stonewall:
But this good-natured debate is as nothing compared to the division that has opened up in lesbian and gay communities following Stonewall’s 2015 decision to re-formulate homosexuality around the nebulous concept of “gender identity”. Its policy today, which it has promoted through its Diversity Champions scheme, is that biological sex is less important than self-declared “gender identity” — an inner feeling of being either man or woman, male or female, which, according to Stonewall, is an identity we all possess. It follows that biological males can be lesbians, and biological females can be gay men. To disagree is transphobic.
Stonewall’s strategy for dealing with the fallout has been to insist that there can be “no debate”, characterising entreaties to discussion as equal to debating trans people’s very existence.
References
Best, Jonny (August 2018). My first brush with trans activism and what I learned. Medium https://www.jonnybest.co.uk/my-first-experience-of-trans-activism
Best, Jonny (October 7, 2020). Why I can’t trust Stonewall any more. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2020/10/why-i-cant-trust-stonewall-any-more/
Best, Jonny (August 27, 2021) Stonewall’s greatest betrayal. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/08/stonewalls-greatest-betrayal/
Resources
Jonny Best (jonnybest.co.uk)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Jo Bartosch is a British writer and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Josephine Eleanor “Jo” Bartosch was born in August 1982.
Bartosch founded the group Chelt Fems, a network of feminist activists, academics and professionals. From 2017 to 2019 Bartosch was co-director with Sadia Hameed of Gloucester-based Critical Sisters, which “offers a platform for marginal feminist opinion with particular emphasis on unravelling the twin man-made beliefs of gender and religion.”
From 2019 to 2020 Bartosch was Director of Click Off Limited. Bartosch was replaced by Edward Charles Buxton after resigning.
From 2017 to 2018 Bartosch was a Co-Director of Libra Learning Ltd. with Sadia Hameed and Emma Robertson.
From 2018 to 2022, Bartosch was a Director of Not Buying It Ltd. with Naomi Paxton, Almudena Fernandez-Alonso, Edward Charles Buxton, Rebecca Mordan, Josephine Liptrott, Kate Kerrow, Ellen Mary Grogen, Jeremy Jonathan Coutinho, and Rachel Carline Bell. Bartosch resigned in May 2022.
Bartosch has authored several reports exploring the links between violence against women and commercial sexual entertainment.
References
Bartosch, Jo (September 14, 2017). What about the children who said they were transgender – and then changed their minds? The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/john-lewis-gender-neutrality-trangender-children-medicalisation-lesbian-gay-education-a7946426.html
Bartosch, Jo (). Why won’t progressives speak up about NHS conversion therapy? Kemi Badenoch laid out evidence of the practice in a letter today 07 FEB 2024
Bartosch, Jo (). Network Rail’s capitulation to Stonewall The railway company has been mocked for its The myth of JK Rowling’s ‘heart of darkness’ Another opinion column unfairly maligns the Harry Potter author 16 JAN 2024
Bartosch, Jo (). Britain has bigger problems than toothbrushing Keir Starmer’s jaw-dropping proposal will anger parents 12 JAN 2024
Bartosch, Jo (). Kemi Badenoch is right about Britain’s trans ‘epidemic’ Linguistic disputes can’t disguise the surge in referrals 14 DEC 2023
Bartosch, Jo (). Why is Doctor Who obsessing over pronouns? Britain’s public broadcaster is championing a niche ideology
27 NOV 2023
Bartosch, Jo (25 AUG 2023). The New York Times is finally standing up to trans censorship Advocacy groups have criticised the paper for its gender coverage
Bartosch, Jo (12 JUL 2023). Nancy Kelley leaves Stonewall in a mess The outgoing charity boss dragged a once-great organisation down a rabbit hole
Bartosch, Jo (). The problem with ‘cis’ Elon Musk has vowed to restrict the word on Twitter. 22 JUN 2023
Bartosch, Jo (13 JAN 2023). Tate criticised for Drag Queen Story Hour children’s readings Several groups claim the gallery is targeting kids with gender propaganda
Bartosch, Jo (04 MAY 2022). The Survivors’ Network succumbs to gender ideology The group is failing to provide women with all-female spaces.
Bartosch, Jo (16 FEB 2022). Unions are failing women The NEU is the latest to bow to trans activists
Bartosch, Jo (18 JAN 2022). Inside the Tory trans civil war 18 JAN 2022
Bartosch, Jo (09 DEC 2021). Inside the trans publishing purge
Bartosch, Jo (11 OCT 2021). Feminist “dinosaurs” are getting organised Protestors outside the Labour Party HQ were embracing David Lammy’s label
Bartosch, Jo (30 AUG 2018). When did women’s rights stop being human rights?
Critical Sisters Ltd Company number 10875625 Sadia Hameed and Jo Bartosch, Directors.
Resources
Josephine Bartosch (jobartosch.co.uk)
The Critic (thecritic.co.uk/author)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Spiked (spiked-online.com)
The Spectator (spectator.co.uk)
New Statesman (newstatesman.com)
Uncommon Ground (uncommongroundmedia.com)
Independent (independent.co.uk)
Feminist Current (feministcurrent.com)
Daily Mail (dailymail.co.uk)
4W (4w.pub)
The Article (thearticle.com)
UnHerd (unherd.com)
Conatus News (conatusnews.com)
- conatusnews.com/newlook/author/jbartosch/ [archive]
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist and former politician. Ali is an anti-Islam and anti-transgender activist. Ali is often associated with the intellectual dark web, a gateway to the far right.
Background
Ayaan Hirsi Magan was born November 13, 1969 in Mogadishu. Ali’s parent Hirsi Magan Isse was a political prisoner who escaped Somalia in 1977, eventually settling the family in Kenya.
In 1992 Ali sought asylum in The Netherlands to avoid an arranged marriage. Ali worked as a translator while earning a master’s degree in 2000 from Leiden University. Ali became a Muslim apostate around that time. Ali’s 2004 film “Submission” with Theo Van Gogh criticized Islam and led to Van Gogh’s murder. Ali faced threats and went into hiding. In 2006 an exposé revealed Ali lied on the Dutch asylum application. Ali resigned from Parliament and was ultimately allowed to retain Dutch citizenship. Ali took a position at the American Enterprise Institute in the US, getting her green card in 2007.
In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center listed Ali as an anti-Muslim extremist, though they later removed the whole list.
Ali created the AHA Foundation and has worked for conservative organizations like the Hoover Institution.
Anti-transgender activism
Ali wrote for anti-trans publication UnHerd:
Those who would divorce “woman” from its biological implications often present their ideas as innocuous. They are, we are told, simply champions of “inclusion”. But their ideology is hardly uncontroversial, and surrendering to it is not harmless. The past year has seen reports of transgender women attacking women in female-only spaces and unfairly winning trophies in women’s sports. The spirit of these failures was perhaps best-distilled in the words of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who in March was unable to define what being a woman entailed during her Senate confirmation hearing. “I’m not a biologist,” she said, as if one needed to be a professional scientist to know basic biological facts.
A word of clarification. I am immensely sympathetic to the plight of transgender people and believe they ought to have the same moral and legal rights as everyone else. To be against militant trans activists’ gender ideology is not to be transphobic. Rather, it is simply to agree, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie succinctly put it, that “trans women are trans women”. Adichie was savaged for this and other statements evincing wrongthink, but acknowledging that trans women are distinct from women, that there are potential conflicts between their rights, and that gender ideology opens the door to abusive men masquerading as women, should not be controversial. Standing up for the rights of transgender people should not mean pretending sex does not exist altogether.
Podcast
Ali’s podcast logrolls for other anti-trans activists, including:
References
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (December 27, 2022). The year the West erased women. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/12/the-year-the-west-erased-women/
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (March 25, 2022). Do we need a Trans Olympics? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/03/do-we-need-a-trans-olympics/
Resources
Ayaan Hirsi Ali (ayaanhirsiali.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Hoover Institution (hoover.org)
Danielle Crittenden Frum is a Canadian-American writer and anti-transgender activist.
Crittenden platformed many other anti-transgender activists while hosting the podcast The Femsplainers with Christina Hoff Sommers.
Background
Danielle Ann Crittenden was born April 20, 1963 in Toronto, Ontario. Crittenden’s parents and stepparent are all writers. After graduating from Northern Secondary School in 1981, Crittenden began working as a writer. Crittenden wrote a column for the New York Post and was a contributor at The Huffington Post.
Crittenden married David Frum in 1988 and converted to Judaism. They have three children, Miranda Ann Frum (1991–2024), Nathaniel Saul Frum (born 1993) and Beatrice Sarah Worthy Frum (born 2001). Much of Crittenden’s subsequent writing was on cooking, lifestyle, and parenting.
Anti-transgender activism
Crittenden is one of the higher-end “mommy bloggers,” a genre of writers and readers highly susceptible to anti-transgender radicalization. Crittenden’s 1999 book What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us: Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman lays out Crittenden’s conservative views.
From 2018 to 2022 Crittenden and Christina Hoff Sommers hosted the podcast The Femsplainers, which described trans women as “men identifying as women.” The hosts have suggested that trans women would violently attack people who questioned their gender identity. Their many anti-transgender guests over the years include Jordan Peterson, Debra Soh, Claire Lehmann, Meghan Murphy, Caitlin Flanagan, Emily Yoffe, Heather Heying, Bridget Phetasy, Andrew Sullivan, Meghan Daum, Mona Charen, Dave Rubin, Abigail Shrier, Bari Weiss, Katie Herzog, Corinna Cohn, “Angus Fox,” “Two mothers,” Carole Hooven, and Helen Joyce.
Crittenden is a biological essentialist and sex segregationist:
Denying or glossing over biological differences between men and women doesn’t help anyone — least of all women. As [Hadley] Freeman and others have observed, the legal and institutional brunt of ignoring these differences falls most heavily upon women (we don’t see transmen racing to be admitted to men’s prisons or compete in male sports, for example. Nor are transmen trying to cancel doctors who might recklessly assert their male patients more often than not possess prostate glands).
Crittenden (2022)
Crittenden further explained these positions to Inez Feltscher Stepman:
So that’s kind of the thread that keeps on going through all the conversations we’re having today, and that we’ve seen, I think, really magnified in these debates about trans, or there are 63 genders or whatever, that we’re trying again to deny any credibility to biological differences, to accept that there are biological differences. And the best way to deal with biological differences is to acknowledge them and think about how can we work with those to get the respect and equality and opportunities we all want as women, but without making the opposite sex the enemy. Also, without making the things we feel naturally as men or women somehow suspect or wrong or something we should suppress. If that makes sense.
Fletcher Stepman (2022)
References
Crittenden, Danielle (March 4, 2022). When The Sexes Blur There’s No Sex. The Femsplainers With Danielle Crittenden https://femsplainers.substack.com/p/when-the-sexes-blur-theres-no-sex
Stepman, Inez Feltscher (May 4, 2022). Danielle Crittenden – On Disappearing Feminine Allure, the Heated Battle Between the Sexes, and Whether Feminism Has Always Been Out of Touch. High Noon Podcast https://www.iwf.org/2022/05/04/danielle-crittenden-disappearing-feminine-allure-feminism-out-of-touch/
Frum, David (March 21, 2024) Miranda’s Last Gift. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/05/david-frum-miranda-daughter-grief/677815/
Obituary (February 21, 2024). Miranda Frum. The Globe and Mail https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/miranda-frum-obituary?id=54427346
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Substack (substack.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Fig Tree & Vine (figtreeandvine.com) [archive]
- Lifestyle site “aimed at an affluent Jewish demographic”
Danielle Crittenden (daniellecrittenden.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
HuffPost (huffpost.com)
David Frum is a conservative Canadian-American political commentator and anti-transgender activist. Frum was a major figure in anti-LGBT activism in the 1990s, though Frum has since acknowledged some of those views were wrong.
Background
David Jeffrey Frum was born June 30, 1960 in Toronto. Frum is a nepo baby whose family was also involved in writing and publishing. Frum earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Yale University in 1982 and a law degree from Harvard in 1987.
A major figure in the neoconservative movement that led America into the Iraq War, Frum wrote for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Manhattan Institute, the Weekly Standard, and the National Post.
Frum was tapped to write speeches for George W. Bush, leaving in 2002. Frum joined neocon think tank American Enterprise Institute and continued litigating support for the Iraq invasion. Frum became a US citizen in 2007. Frum was a blogger for National Review and worked on Rudy Giuliani’s presidential run. Frum was asked to leave American Enterprise Institute in 2010.
Frum married “mommy blogger” and anti-transgender activist Danielle Crittenden Frum in 1988. They have three children, Miranda Ann Frum (1991–2024), Nathaniel Saul Frum (born 1993) and Beatrice Sarah Worthy Frum (born 2001).
Anti-LGBT activism
Frum was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Frum later acknowledged this was wrong.
Frum joined The Atlantic as a senior editor in March 2014. During that time, under editor and anti-trans activist Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine ramped up its attacks on the transgender rights movement.
Frum commented on the transphobic 2018 cover story about the ex-transgender movement by Jesse Singal:
Frum was certainly right about that.
In 2020, Frum analyzed the transgender political positions of Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren, name dropping Joe Rogan’s views on transgender athletes: “After the transgender mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox began—literally—smashing opponents’ heads…”
Frum made several appearances on the anti-transgender podcast The Femsplainers co-hosted by Frum’s spouse and Christina Hoff Sommers.
References
Coyne, Andrew; Frum David (December 1995). How Far Do We Take Gay Rights? Saturday Night, pp. 66-75.
Frum, David (March 11, 1997). Gay Marriage. Slate https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1997/03/gay-marriage-2.html
Frum, David (June 27, 2011). I was wrong about same-sex marriage. CNN https://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/27/frum.gay.marriage/index.html
Frum, David (October 11, 2007). “Rudy & Me”. National Review. Archived from the original
Frum, David (2020). Bernie Can’t Win. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/bernie-sanderss-biggest-challenges/605500/
Frum, David (March 21, 2024) Miranda’s Last Gift. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/05/david-frum-miranda-daughter-grief/677815/
Obituary (February 21, 2024). Miranda Frum. The Globe and Mail https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/miranda-frum-obituary?id=54427346
Resources
David Frum (davidfrum.com)
New Majority (newmajority.com) [archive]
FrumForum (frumforum.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Michael Shellenberger is an American author, environmental policy analyst, politician, and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Michael D. “Mike” Shellenberger was born in 1971 in Colorado and grew up in Greeley. Shellenberger has three siblings born to parent Nancy and two step-siblings via stepparent, Don (1942–2021). Shellenberger graduated from Greeley Central High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Earlham College in 1993. In 1996 Shellenberger earned a master’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Shellenberger is married to sociologist and policy analyst Helen J. Lee Shellenberger (born July 31, 1975). They have two children, Joaquin B. Rosman Shellenberger (born 1999) and Kestrel Shellenberger (born November 2, 2005). They live in Berkeley, California.
Environmental policy work
In 2003 Shellenberger co-founded the Apollo Alliance, an umbrella organization now called BlueGreen Alliance.
Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus founded market research firm American Environics. They wanted to look at “mistaken assumptions in progressive political movements.”
After working in public relations, Shellenberger co-founded the Breakthrough Institute with Ted Nordhaus in 2003. In 2016, Shellenberger left Breakthrough to found Environmental Progress, focused on keeping American nuclear power plants online.
Shellenberger is a cofounder of anti-drug organization California Peace Coalition and in 2022 founded Shellenberger LLC.
Anti-progressivism
Like many anti-trans people, Shellenberger began as a progressive, then by being critical of progressive political positions, primarily around the environment. Twenty years later, Shellenberger is among many self-described “centrists” whose anti-progressivism has curdled into conservatism.
Shellenberger is author of the 2021 book San Fransicko: How Progressives Ruin Cities.
Political career
Shellenberger ran for California Governor in 2018 as an independent, coming in 9th in the primary with 31,692 votes, or 0.5%.
In 2022 Shellenberger came in third in the primary with 290,286 votes, or 4.1%.
Anti-trans activism
Shellenberger is a heavy Twitter user and was hand-picked by Elon Musk in 2022 to review non-public discussions by former Twitter employees and current users. Anti-trans activist Bari Weiss brought Shellenberger on to write for The Free Press in 2022.
In 2023, Shellenberger started being more open and militant about anti-transgender views. Shellenberger has a Substack called Public which frequently platforms anti-transgender views and guests, notably Leighton Woodhouse, Mia Hughes, and Alex Gutentag. Most of the regular contributors were associated with Shellenberger’s previous project Environmental Progress.
References
Ashton, Mia; Shellenberger, Michael (May 25, 2023). Why The Media Attacks Detransitioners. Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-the-media-attacks-detransitioners
Shellenberger, Michael (May 4, 2023). Join The Pro-Freedom Resistance. Public https://public.substack.com/p/join-the-pro-freedom-resistance
Shellenberger, Michael; Woodhouse, Leighton (April 10, 2023). VIDEO: “Oh my God” – San Francisco Students React To Trans “Kidnapping” Of Swimmer Riley Gaines. Public https://public.substack.com/p/video-oh-my-god-san-francisco-students
Klett, Leah MarieAnn (April 10, 2023). Michael Shellenberger tells Joe Rogan he returned to Christianity in response to societal ‘hatred, anger.’ Christian Post https://www.christianpost.com/news/michael-shellenberger-tells-joe-rogan-why-hes-a-christian.html
Shellenberger, Michael; Woodhouse, Leighton; Rowley, Madeleine (April 8, 2023). Why Trans Activists Attack Women. Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-trans-activists-attack-women
Redmond, Tim (April 3, 2023). Michael Shellenberger, who says progressives ruin cities, has alarming transphobic tweets. 48 Hills https://48hills.org/2023/04/michael-shellenberger-who-says-progressives-ruin-cities-has-alarming-transphobic-tweets/
Shellenberger, Michael (March 27, 2023). Why are we sterilizing children? Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-are-we-sterilizing-children
Shellenberger, Michael (March 29, 2023). “We Can’t Even Agree On What A Woman Is.” Public https://public.substack.com/p/we-cant-even-agree-on-what-a-woman
Shellenberger, Michael (March 22, 2023). Why This Detransitioner Is Suing Her Health Care Providers. Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-this-detransitioner-is-suing
Power, Nina (March 16, 2023). “If You Had Asked Me At 11 If I Wanted To Be A Boy, I Would Have Said ‘Yes.’” Public https://public.substack.com/p/if-you-had-asked-me-at-11-if-i-wanted
Power, Nina (March 16, 2023). Need To Keep Masses Afraid Is Behind Elite Embrace Of Wokeism And Censorship. Public https://public.substack.com/p/need-to-keep-masses-afraid-is-behind
Shellenberger, Michael; Woodhouse, Leighton (February 13, 2023). Normies Of The World, Unite! Public https://public.substack.com/p/normies-of-the-world-unite
Woodhouse, Leighton (February 13, 2023). What Happened to the Left? Public https://public.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-the-left
Shellenberger, Michael (December 10, 2022). The Twitter Files, Part 4 https://twitter.com/shellenberger/status/1601720455005511680
Shellenberger, Michael (November 11, 2021). Why Wokeism Is A Religion. Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-wokeism-is-a-religion
Shellenberger, Michael (March 20, 2013). The Ecology of Obesity. The Breakthrough Institute https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-ecology-of-obesity
Satff report (February 17, 2013). Greeley Central High School graduate waxes philosophic on energy. Greeley Tribune https://www.greeleytribune.com/2013/02/17/greeley-central-high-school-graduate-waxes-philosophic-on-energy/
Armstron, David (August 5, 1997). Progressive PR. SFGate https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Progressive-PR-3239880.php
Resources
Desmog (desmog.com)
- Michael Shellenberger
- Excellent overview of Shellenberger’s environmental track record
- Traces the origins of Shellenberger’s political shift to the far right
SourceWatch (sourcewatch.org)
Michael Shellenberger (shellenberger.org)
Shellenberger for Governor (shellenbergerforgovernor.com)
Breakthrough Institute (thebreakthrough.org)
Lumina Strategies (luminastrategies.com) [archive]
Business Ethics Network (businessethicsnetwork.org)
Communication Works (communicationworks.org) [archive]
Institute for Global Communications (igc.org)
Apollo Alliance (apolloalliance.org) [archive]
California Peace Coalition (californiapeacecoalition.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
- ShellenbergerMD [transferred to shellenberger in 2023]
- shellenberger
Substack (substack.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Christina Hoff Sommers is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Sommers is critic of “gender feminism” or “victim feminism” and has supported many anti-trans activists over the years.
Background
Christina Marie Hoff Sommers was born on September 28, 1950 in Petaluma, California. Sommers earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1971 and a doctorate in philosophy from Brandeis University in 1975.
After writing several works on ethics, Sommers began a career questioning “gender feminism,” a set of tenets central to third-wave feminism. Sommers went on to write several books on the subject:
- Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women (1994)
- The War Against Boys (2000)
- Freedom Feminism: Its Surprising History and Why It Matters Today (2013)
Sommers married philosopher Frederic Tamler “Fred” Sommers (1923 – 2014). Sommers’ stepchild is philosopher Saul Tamler Sommers (born 1970).
Anti-transgender activism
Sommers is sympathetic to other anti-transgender activists and frequently platforms people with anti-transgender views. From 2018 to 2022 Sommers and Danielle Crittenden hosted the podcast The Femsplainers, which described trans women as “men identifying as women.” The hosts have suggested that trans women would violently attack people who questioned their gender identity. Their many anti-transgender guests over the years include Jordan Peterson, Debra Soh, Claire Lehmann, Meghan Murphy, Caitlin Flanagan, Emily Yoffe, Heather Heying, Bridget Phetasy, Andrew Sullivan, Meghan Daum, Mona Charen, Dave Rubin, Abigail Shrier, Bari Weiss, Katie Herzog, Corinna Cohn, Angus Fox, “Two mothers,” Carole Hooven, and Helen Joyce.
References
29 January 2018 8:15 AM, @Femsplainers.
TERFWars: Men identifying as women are challenging women’s sports, women’s groups, women’s spaces, and even the very definition of womanhood. Disagree — and they may threaten to beat the crap out of you. New episode w #MeghanMurphy. L
Resources
American Enterprise Institute (aei.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Nick Gillespie is an American libertarian author, right-wing pundit, and anti-transgender activist. Gillespie’s podcast frequently promotes other figures from the anti-transgender fringe, including Jesse Singal, Michael Shermer, Michael Shellenberger, Steven Pinker, Abigail Shrier, Scott Barry Kaufman, Debra Soh, Katie Herzog, and Meghan Daum.
Background
Nicholas John “Nick” Gillespie was born August 7, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Middletown, New Jersey. Gillespie was raised Catholic and graduated from Mater Dei High School. Gillespie earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 1985, a master’s degree from Temple University in 1990, and a doctorate from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1996. Gillespie married author and academic Katharine Marie Walke Gillespie (born 1960). They have two children, Jack and Nick. The Gillespies have since divorced. In 2023 Gillespie became engaged to Sarah Rose Siskind.
Gillespie has been associated with Reason magazine. Gillespie edited the 2004 book Choice: The Best of Reason and co-authored the 2011 book The Declaration of Independents.
Anti-trans promotion
With the exception of conservative trans libertarian Deirdre McCloskey, Gillespie has never platformed any trans journalists, scientists, lawyers, politicians, or activists who could address anti-trans guests’ statements or Gillespie’s own misconceptions.
References
Gillespie, Nick (May 24, 2023) Jesse Singal: How To Stay Honest While Doing Journalism
Gillespie, Nick (March 29, 2023). Deirdre McCloskey: ‘What We Want Is a Nonslave Society’
Gillespie, Nick (August 17, 2022). Michael Shermer: ‘Women Are Not Just Tits and Ass. There’s More to It Than That, a Lot More.’
Gillespie, Nick (July 29, 2022). John Cleese: Wokeism Is the Enemy of Comedy—and Creativity
Gillespie, Nick (January 12, 2022). Michael Shellenberger: How Progressives Ruined American Cities
Gillespie, Nick (October 13, 2021). Steven Pinker: Rationality Has Made Us Richer, Kinder, and More Free
Gillespie, Nick (July 7, 2021). Abigail Shrier: Trans Activists, Cancel Culture, and the Future of Free Expression
Gillespie, Nick (April 14, 2021). Jesse Singal: Why We Keep Falling for Psychological Quick Fixes
Gillespie, Nick (September 30, 2020). Scott Barry Kaufman on Narcissists and Libertarians
Gillespie, Nick (August 19, 2020). Debra Soh: The End of Gender
Gillespie, Nick (June 17, 2020). Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on Left-Wing Cancel Culture
Gillespie, Nick (October 30, 2019). Meghan Daum Is Done with ‘Cancel Culture.’ But Is America?
Gillespie, Nick (February 20, 2019). Let’s Talk About Sex Differences with Christina Hoff Sommers and Debra Soh: Podcast
Resources
Reason (reason.com)
Reason Foundation (reason.org)
Fox News (foxnews.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Daily Beast (thedailybeast.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Dave Chappelle is an American comedian. Considered one of the greatest standups of all time, his late career has been marked by a series of transphobic incidents.
Background
David Khari Webber Chappelle was born August 24, 1973 in Washington, DC. His parents were politically active academics. He graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 1991. He moved to New York City and began honing his act, quickly becoming a regular at comedy clubs and in late night guest spots. He began appearing on televisions shows and t=developing pilots. His first starring role was in the 1998 film Half Baked. He recorded his first comedy special in 2000. In 2003 he starred in the sketch comedy program Chappelle’s Show, then left abruptly in 2005 at the height of the show’s popularity. He made sporadic appearances until 2013, when he started touring full-time again. In 2017, Netflix released the first of five comedy specials starring Chappelle. In 2019 he won the Mark Twain Prize.
Chappelle and his wife have three children.
Anti-transgender statements
Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special The Closer included transphobic jokes and a defense of transphobic author JK Rowling, during which he declared “I’m team TERF.” In his defense, Chappelle said some of his best friends were trans, citing trans comedian Daphne Dorman.
Netflix employees organized a walkout and demanded that The Closer be taken off of Netflix. CEO Ted Sarandos refused to take down the special, stating that he “does not believe it falls into hate speech.” Chappelle’s alma mater Duke Ellington School decided not to name its theater after him.
Chappelle continued to troll the trans community with jokes and play the victim. In 2022, Chappelle brought transphobe Elon Musk onstage at a San Francisco show, and Musk was booed off stage.
References
Chapman, Wilson (May 21, 2022). John Mulaney Draws Criticism for Having Dave Chappelle Open, Tell ‘Transphobic Jokes’ at Ohio Show. Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
Yang, Maya (October 7, 2021). ‘I’m team Terf’: Dave Chappelle under fire over pro-JK Rowling trans stance. The Guardian. [archive]
After Dave Chappelle Visit, Some Duke Ellington Students And Parents Speak Out. WAMU.
Blistein, Jon (July 12, 2022). Emmys Ready to Honor Another Dave Chappelle Special Filled With Transphobic Jokes. Rolling Stone.
Gerstmann, Evan. Dave Chappelle, Transphobia And Anti-Semitism. Forbes. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
Carras, Christi (October 20, 2021). Protesters demand accountability from Netflix after Chappelle backlash spurs walkout. Los Angeles Times.
Carras, Christi (October 20, 2021). Fed up with Chappelle fallout, Netflix employees are leading a walkout today in L.A. Los Angeles Times.
Donnelly, Matt (October 20, 2021). ‘I Screwed Up’: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Addresses Dave Chappelle Fallout. [archive]
Weekend Update: House Passes Build Back Better Bill – SNL, retrieved July 18, 2022
Dave Chappelle declines having Duke Ellington School theater named for him”. The Washington Post
AJ Willingham (June 21, 2022). Dave Chappelle says his former high school theater will no longer be named after him. CNN
Dave Chappelle Name Won’t Go On Duke Ellington Theater In DC. DCist. [archive]
Kearns, Madeleine (June 22, 2022). Dave Chappelle’s Plot Twist. National Review.
Resources
IMDb (imdb.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Luminary Podcasts (luminarypodcasts.com)
Chappelle Radio City (chappelleradiocity.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Matt Walsh is an American conservative commentator and anti-transgender extremist.
Background
Walsh was born June 18, 1986 and grew up in a conservative Catholic household near Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from high school, Walsh began working in radio in Delaware and later Kentucky. After Walsh’s show was cancelled in 2013, Walsh put more energy into a conservative blog started in 2012. In 2014 Walsh began contributing to The Blaze in 2014, then The Daily Wire in October 2017.
In April 2018, Walsh began hosting a weekday show on YouTube called The Matt Walsh Show. In April 2023 YouTube demonetized Walsh’s channel for repeated attacks on trans people, particularly Dylan Mulvaney.
Anti-trans activism
Walsh has accused “the media, Hollywood, and the school system” of recruiting children into the LGBT community.
Walsh is one of several media figures who gets money and attention by attacking trans and gender diverse children. In 2022, Walsh published an anti-trans children’s book titled Johnny the Walrus and released the anti-trans propaganda piece What Is a Woman? Walsh also helped organize a “rally to end child mutilation” protest in Nashville, part of Walsh’s campaigns against hospitals and clinics that provide trans health services.
Books
- The Unholy Trinity: Blocking the Left’s Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender (2017)
- Church of Cowards: A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians (2020)
- Johnny the Walrus (2022)
- What Is a Woman?: One Man’s Journey to Answer the Question of a Generation (2022)
Media
Black, Jordan (September 20, 2023). The Sad, Unremarkable Mind of Matt Walsh – Part 1. Dead Domain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjPFQPK_1QM
Black, Jordan (October 4, 2023). The Sad, Unremarkable Mind of Matt Walsh – Part 2. Dead Domain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N09MXwF0Zs
Resources
Matt Walsh (themattwalshblog.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
IMDb (imdb.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
TikTok (tiktok.com)