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Tom Chivers is a British science writer and anti-transgender activist. Chivers was the science editor at UnHerd when they published numerous unscientific articles about sex, gender, and biology. Chivers and podcast co-host Stuart Ritchie frequently logroll for anti-trans activist Jesse Singal.

Note: for the British poet and archaeologist born in 1983, see thisisyogic.com

Background

Thomas “Tom” / “Tommy” Chivers began writing for The Telegraph in 2007. Chivers was science editor at UnHerd from 2018 to 2022, then became a science writer at the i newspaper.

Chivers has written for the Times, the Observer, the Guardian, politics.co.uk, New Scientist, CNN, Wired, Smithsonian Air & Space, and BuzzFeed UK.

Chivers is author of The Rationalist’s Guide to the Galaxy (2019), How to Read Numbers (2021), and Everything is Predictable (2024).

Anti-trans activism

Setting aside some questionable pieces on “Thai transvestites” and what-not, Chivers’ first salvo in anti-transgender activism was a 2014 piece criticizing Kevin Williamson for using Laverne Cox to assert that trans women are not women:

This, Williamson would no doubt claim, is the-emperor-has-no-clothes telling-it-like-it-is. “Sex is a biological reality,” he points out, unarguably. Indeed it is. No amount of surgery or hormone therapy will allow Cox to become pregnant, no terms of address will turn that stubborn Y chromosome into a second X. That is, indeed, a simple fact of human biology.

But who disagrees with that? No one. Williamson’s fearless truthsaying is, in fact, a fatuous statement of the obvious, dressed up as iconoclasm.

Chivers appended a note in 2016, adding: “In fact some people DO dispute that sex is a biological reality.” While some people might take issue with the term “biological reality,” the central issue is that what we call “sex” describes a collection of traits. This collection of traits includes potential gamete production, chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy, which often align but sometimes do not. Saying that this collection of traits is a binary is inaccurate and unscientific. It erases a lot of natural human variation, particularly regarding people with differences of sex development.

Chivers characterizes biologists who use value-neutral terms and conceptualizations as engaging in “science denial.” Chivers defends the term “biological sex ” and supports anti-transgender reparative therapy.

Chivers is situated within the right-wing media landscape in the UK:

The UK has an increasing number of small but influential online-only media, in addition to the websites, apps and podcasts of many of the titles listed above. On the political right, sites like Conservative Home, Spiked, UnHerd, CapX, Reaction and The Spectator’s Coffee House blog are sources of right-wing opinion and debate but play relatively little role in breaking news stories.

CMDS (2021)

Podcast

In July 2023, Chivers and Ritchie launched The Studies Show, a podcast on controversial scientific issues. The podcast was later rebranded in September 2025 as Science Fictions, which is the title of a 2020 book by Ritchie. Episodes include:

References

Center for Media, Data and Society (November 2021). Media Influence Matrix: United Kingdom. https://cmds.ceu.edu/sites/cmcs.ceu.hu/files/attachment/basicpage/1923/mimukfinalreport_0.pdf

Selected writing by Chivers

Chivers, Tom (December 7, 2021). Trans counselling is not conversion therapy. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/12/trans-counselling-is-not-conversion-therapy/

Chivers, Tom (December 10, 2019). Of course biological sex exists. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2019/12/yes-of-course-biological-sex-exists/

Chivers, Tom (December 10, 2019). The Left’s science denial. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/09/the-lefts-science-denial/

Chivers, Tom (April 2, 2015). 25 Quite Unexpected Facts About Sex. Buzzfeed https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomchivers/facts-about-sex

Chivers, Tommy (June 1, 2014). Whether or not Laverne Cox is a woman is not a question of biology; it’s a question of language. https://tommychivers.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/whether-or-not-laverne-cox-is-a-woman-is-not-a-question-of-biology-its-a-question-of-language/

Tom Chivers (June 1, 2008). Thai transvestites compete in Miss Tiffany Universe. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2061631/Thai-transvestites-compete-in-Miss-Tiffany-Universe.html

Media

Science Fictions with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (November 26, 2025). Unpaywalled: Jonathan Haidt vs. social media. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/unpaywalled-jonathan-haidt-vs-social

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (July 7, 2025). Paid-only Episode 21: Psychological sex differences. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/paid-only-episode-21-psychological

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers, Stuart Ritchie, and Jesse Singal (May 12, 2025). Paid-only Episode 20: The Studies Show LIVE with Jesse Singal. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/paid-only-episode-20-the-studies

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (December 30, 2024). Un-paywalled: Youth gender medicine & the Cass Review. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/un-paywalled-youth-gender-medicine

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (December 9, 2024). Paid-only Episode 15: Sex and sport: The battle of the sexes. Or is it “genders”? https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/paid-only-episode-15-sex-and-sport

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (September 16, 2024). Paid-only Episode 12: Jonathan Haidt vs. social media. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/paid-only-episode-12-jonathan-haidt

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (August 26, 2024). Episode 47: The 25 year old brain. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/episode-47-the-25-year-old-brain

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (August 19, 2024). Paid-only Episode 11: Sex education. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/paid-only-episode-11-sex-education

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (April 23, 2024). Paid-only Episode 7: Youth gender medicine & the Cass Review. https://www.thestudiesshowpod.com/p/paid-only-episode-7-youth-gender

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (January 22, 2024). Paid-only Episode 4: Male and female brains. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/paid-only-episode-4-male-and-female

The Studies Show with Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie (December 4, 2023). Episode 19: Science and politics. https://sciencefictionspod.substack.com/p/episode-19-science-and-politics

Resources

Tom Chivers (tomchivers.com)

WordPress (wordpress.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

i news (inews.co.uk)

Substack (substack.com)

UnHerd (unherd.com)

The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)

  • Tom Chivers
  • telegraph.co.uk/authors/t/tk-to/tom-chivers

Douglas Murray is a conservative British author and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Douglas Kear Murray was born July 16, 1979 in London. Murray graduated from Oxford. In 2006 Murray wrote a book defending neoconservatism. Murray was director of Centre for Social Cohesion, but conflicts about their anti-immigration and anti-Islamist stances forced the organization to merge into the Henry Jackson Society after Murray left.

Murray has written for most major anti-trans publications, including The Spectator, The Telegraph, National Review, The Wall Street Journal, UnHerd, and the New York Post. In February 2022, Murray became a Fox News contributor. Murray is a fellow at the National Review Institute.

Anti-transgender activism

Murray identifies as gay and aligns with the faction of anti-trans queer conservatives.

Murray has said that it is a lie that a man can become a woman. In September 2020, during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Murray compared accepting trans people to “late-empire sign of things falling apart”. Murray believes there is no such thing as non-binary gender.

Murray’s 2019 book The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity has a section called Trans. Murray believes that identity politics are a threat to Western civilization.

References

Briwn, Rivkah (March 6, 2020). The Jewish community should see Melanie Phillips and Douglas Murray for what they are – wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/melanie-phillips-douglas-murray-jewish-book-week-muslims-trans-issues-a9380166.html

Horton, James (March 4, 2025). Douglas Murray: a pathetic nuisance who’s had a mid-life radicalisation crisis. Canary https://www.thecanary.co/opinion/2025/03/04/douglas-murray/

Shatto, Rachel (January 31 2022). Joe Rogan Continues to Spew Anti-Trans Rhetoric on His Spotify Podcast. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/1/31/joe-rogan-continues-spew-anti-trans-rhetoric-his-spotify-podcast

Wood, Heloise (May 10, 2021). Douglas Murray criticises transphobia letter, slamming ‘left-wing bubble’ of publishing. The Bookseller https://www.thebookseller.com/news/douglas-murray-criticises-transphobia-letter-slamming-left-wing-bubble-publishing-1259104

January, Brianna (September 18, 2020). Joe Rogan and guest discuss whether trans people are a sign of “the end of America”. Media Matters for America https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/joe-rogan-and-guest-discuss-whether-trans-people-are-sign-end-america

Reynolds, Daniel (September 17, 2019). Right-Wing U.K. Writer Epically Schooled for Misgendering Sam Smith.The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/people/2019/9/17/right-wing-uk-writer-epically-schooled-misgendering-sam-smith

Anti-trans coverage

Kearns, Madeleine (October 1, 2019). An Interview with Douglas Murray: Gender, Race, and Identity. National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/10/douglas-murray-book-the-madness-of-crowds-gender-race-and-identity/

Dori, Roni (July 29, 2021). Douglas Murray: ‘What I Mind Is the Lie That a Man Can Become a Woman’. Haaretz https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-07-29/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/what-i-mind-is-the-lie-that-a-man-can-become-a-woman/0000017f-e3f4-d568-ad7f-f3ff39520000

Selected writing by Murray

Murray, Douglas (September 4, 2025). Coward Malcolm Gladwell admits he lied about trans athletes — and reveals an important truth about our modern culture. New York Post https://nypost.com/2025/09/04/opinion/malcolm-gladwell-admits-he-lied-about-trans-athletes-because-telling-the-truth-destroyed-careers/

Murray, Douglas (June 26, 2025). Standing up to bullying, unscientific transgender activist mob. New York Post https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/opinion/standing-up-to-bullying-unscientific-transgender-activist-mob/

Murray, Douglas (February 8, 2025). Trump’s stopping US spending on crazy foreign projects – why can’t Britain? The Sun https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/33255319/keir-starmer-trump-labour-funk/

Murray, Douglas (August 1, 2024). Brutal, unfair Olympic beating tragic result of letting biological men compete in women’s sports. New York Post https://nypost.com/2024/08/01/opinion/brutal-unfair-olympic-beating-tragic-result-of-letting-biological-men-compete-in-womens-sports/

Murray, Douglas (June 22, 2023). ‘Gender-affirming surgery’ puts a feel-good phrase on child butchery. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/06/22/gender-affirming-surgery-puts-a-feel-good-phrase-on-child-butchery/

Murray, Douglas (July 14, 2022). Can we ever be woke enough for the trans extremists? New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/07/14/can-we-ever-be-woke-enough-for-the-trans-extremists/

Murray, Douglas (June 16, 2022 ). Trans surgery for children is not a ‘right’ to be fought for. New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/06/16/trans-surgery-for-children-is-not-a-right-to-be-fought-for/

Murray, Douglas (October 22, 2021). How Stonewall was exposed: The charity can no long explain its fanciful dogmas. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/10/how-stonewall-was-exposed/

Murray, Douglas (August 6, 2021). Does Owen Jones have a woman problem? Certain journalists aren’t allowed to express scepticism about the transgender debate. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/08/does-owen-jones-have-a-woman-problem/

Murray, Douglas (May 26, 2021). How Stonewall sacrificed gay rights. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/05/how-stonewall-sacrificed-gay-rights/

Murray, Douglas (May 7, 2021). Publishing is now a Left-wing bubble. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/05/publishing-is-now-a-leftist-bubble/

Murray, Douglas (November 22, 2019). Can we ever be woke enough for the trans extremists? New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/07/14/can-we-ever-be-woke-enough-for-the-trans-extremists/

Murray, Douglas (November 22, 2019). Has trans activism gone too far? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2019/11/has-trans-activism-gone-too-far/

Murray, Douglas (November 8, 2019). Drag kids are the product of a dangerous American delusion: The way the 12-year-old drag act, Desmond is Amazing, has been pushed on the world betrays a worrying tendency. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2019/11/drag-kids-are-the-product-of-a-dangerous-american-delusion/

Murray, Douglas (September 14, 2019). It’s now easier for a teacher to decide your little girl is a little boy than it is to give them aspirin! In a vital new book, DOUGLAS MURRAY reveals how transgender rights have become one of the most toxic issues of our age. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7464157/DOUGLAS-MURRAY-reveals-transgender-rights-one-toxic-issues-age.html

Murray, Douglas (March 6, 2019). Why Titania is perfect for our times: The avenging SJW angel, Titania McGrath, has disrupted a tired genre. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2019/03/why-titania-is-perfect-for-our-times/

Media

The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss and Douglas Murray (May 27, 2023). Douglas Murray: From Poetry to Free Speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKNzcX-6vYs

TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, and Douglas Murray (May 24, 2023). Douglas Murray Opens Up on America, AI and LGBTQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1FxfJr6Bik

Sky News / The Rita Panahi Show with Rita Panahi and Douglas Murray (Feb 3, 2023). ‘Religious zealotry’ of trans debate falling apart as it ‘defies reality’: Douglas Murray. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRePOQqWKmk

Sky News / The Rita Panahi Show with Rita Panahi and Douglas Murray (December 28, 2022). ‘Cultural weirdness’: Douglas Murray slams trans girl experiencing ‘period pain’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-kXxCotNXk

Fox News with Jesse Watters and Douglas Murray (December 8, 2022). Douglas Murray on trans activists battering lesbian feminist group: We’ve seen this coming for years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6megJ0FbpU

London Real with Brian Rose and Douglas Murray (August 10, 2022). Douglas Murray on Gender Pronouns ♀♂⚥ ⚲ ☿ ⚦ ⚨ ⚩ …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0tMT76EgNk

TalkTV with Peter Tatchell and Douglas Murray (April 1, 2022). Douglas Murray: ‘Can a man be trans if he remains a man?’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtoHDp3LpzQ

Sky News / The Rita Panahi Show with Rita Panahi and Douglas Murray (March 21, 2022). Douglas Murray: ‘Everything we all know is forgotten’ with transgender ideology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYR4QvOuAP8

Skeptic with Michael Shermer and Douglas Murray (October 16, 2020). Michael Shermer with Douglas Murray — The Madness of 2020 (Special Episode). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWjugMlQ_54

John Anderson Media with John Anderson and Douglas Murray (Jan 9, 2020). The Madness of Crowds | Douglas Murray. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYaYk09kEDs

Cosmic Skeptic / Within Reason with Alex J. O’Connor and Douglas Murray (November 20, 2019). Debating Douglas Murray on Gender, Reparations, and Extinction Rebellion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCtBUvFL-QQ

Times News with Rod Liddle and Douglas Murray (September 23, 2019). Douglas Murray on gender, race and identity | Liddle’s Got Issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3nLx_sAgE0

Resources

Douglas Murray (douglasmurray.net)

Gatestone Institute (gatestoneinstitute.org)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

The Spectator (spectator.co.uk)

The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)

UnHerd (unherd.com)

Helen Pluckrose is a British writer and anti-transgender activist. Pluckrose was editor of anti-trans group blog Areo magazine from 2018 to 2021 and served on the advisory board of anti-trans hate group Genspect.

Pluckrose is critical of postmodernism and cultural constructivism. While claiming to take a “liberal” position that is generally trans-supportive, Pluckrose has espoused many anti-transgender views.

Background

Pluckrose was born in August 1974. Pluckrose earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of East London and a master’s degree from Queen Mary University of London. Pluckrose was a social care worker from age 17 to 34.

In 2017 Pluckrose, Peter Boghossian, and James A. Lindsay carried out the “grievance studies” affair, where they submitted 20 hoax papers to academic journals in hopes of getting them published. One recommended that people challenge their transphobia by inserting sex toys into their anuses.

Pluckrose was editor of anti-trans group blog Areo magazine from 2018 to 2021, founding Areo Magazine Ltd in 2019. Pluckrose and Lindsay published the book Cynical Theories in 2020. Pluckrose founded Counterweight Support Limited in 2021.

Pluckrose and spouse David have one child.

Anti-transgender activism

Pluckrose asserts that “extreme trans activists” want to compel people to accept the following:

  • people must believe that trans people “straightforwardly are the gender they experience themselves to be”
  • people must use language that reflects a trans person’s gender
  • people must be trans-inclusive when choosing sexual partners

Pluckrose’s most significant anti-trans position is that “transitioning children is difficult to justify ethically.”

Pluckrose’s reasoning is a form of cisgender supremacy that prioritizes the well-being of cisgender children over the well-being of transgender children. According to Pluckrose, giving parental consent to medical transition for a trans youth “cannot justify permanently damaging the bodies” of young people who might not benefit in the long term from medical transition. In Pluckrose’s argument this “collateral damage” is worse than collateral damage to trans young people denied medical transition.

Pluckrose’s position is predicated on the potent “regret” narrative and its medicalized manifestations: “desistance” in minors and “detransition” in adults. Regret narratives are vastly overrepresented in mainstream media because it taps into parental anxiety and justifies suspicion about all trans people. Those who believe being trans is a medical problem like “social contagion” often believe there is a cure. Those who believe being trans is an ideology or cult often cling to the powerful fantasy of trans apostasy.

Ideologues who wish to involve themselves in the bodily autonomy of others often amplify regret narratives. For instance, though abortion regret is rare, abortion opponents amplify regret narratives to make abortion less accessible for those who might benefit, including minors.

During Pluckrose’s tenure at Areo, there were several articles critical of trans people (written by people like anti-trans activist Louise Perry), and no articles written by trans people.

In a 2020 Quillette interview, Pluckrose complained about trans activism:

People are being no-platformed, fired, and cancelled for disagreeing with these ideas. Here in the UK, the police have investigated somebody posting a limerick on Twitter that did not adhere to trans activism’s concept of gender identity and a journalist publishing an interview with a historian who said slavery was not genocide. Gender critical feminists are routinely threatened and intimidated for making arguments that self-ID is a threat to women’s sex-based rights. 

References

Perry, David M. (November 8, 2018). In the Age of Trump, We Need Cutting-Edge Humanities More Than Ever. Pacific Standard https://psmag.com/education/in-the-age-of-trump-we-need-cutting-edge-humanities-more-than-ever/

Anti-trans coverage

Khazan, Olga (September 27, 2021). A Support Group for the Unwoke. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/09/counterweight-cancel-culture-support-ground/620203/

Hill, Jason D. (December 16, 2020). On Activist Scholarship: An Interview with Helen Pluckrose. Quillette https://quillette.com/2020/12/16/on-activist-scholarship-an-interview-with-helen-pluckrose/

Forstater, Maya (May 13, 2020). “Trans Rights: Be Nice”? Maya Forstater https://hiyamaya.net/2020/05/13/3632/

Perry, Louise (July 8, 2019). Minds Without Bodies: Transgenderism and the Authentic Self. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2019/08/07/minds-without-bodies-transgenderism-and-the-authentic-self/

Schuessler, Jennifer (October 4, 2018). Hoaxers Slip Breastaurants and Dog-Park Sex Into Journals. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/arts/academic-journals-hoax.html

Selected writing by Pluckrose

Pluckrose, Helen (March 19, 2025). Liberalism is Not Wishy-Washy, Fence-Sitting Centrism. It is strong and consistent opposition to authoritarianism. The Overflowings of a Liberal Brain https://www.hpluckrose.com/p/liberalism-is-not-wishy-washy-fence

Pluckrose, Helen (November 30, 2024). Please Don’t Get Stuck On Whether “Cis” Is a Slur or Not. The Overflowings of a Liberal Brain https://www.hpluckrose.com/p/please-dont-get-stuck-on-whether

Pluckrose, Helen (March 27, 2024). Are Women Oppressed or Oppressors? The Incoherence of Critical Social Justice on Patriarchy. The Overflowings of a Liberal Brain https://www.hpluckrose.com/p/are-women-oppressed-or-oppressor

Pluckrose, Helen (December 14, 2022). Why Does the Trans Debate Focus so Much on Women? No, it’s not the patriarchy. The Overflowings of a Liberal Brain https://www.hpluckrose.com/p/why-does-the-trans-debate-focus-so

Smith M (Pluckrose pseudonym) (2018). Going in Through the Back Door: Challenging Straight Male Homohysteria and Transphobia through Receptive Penetrative Sex Toy Use. Sexuality & Culture. 22 (4): 1542. 10.1007/s12119-018-9536-0

Pluckrose, Helen (September 27, 2017). An Argument for a Liberal and Rational Approach to Transgender Rights and Inclusion. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/09/27/an-argument-for-a-liberal-and-rational-approach-to-transgender-rights-and-inclusion/

Books

Pluckrose, Helen (2024). The Counterweight Handbook: Principled Strategies for Surviving and Defeating Critical Social Justice – At Work, in Schools, and Beyond. Pitchstone Publishing, ISBN 978-1634312288

Pluckrose, Helen; Lindsay, James (2020). Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity – and Why This Harms Everybody. Pitchstone Publishing, ISBN 978-1634312028

Media

heretics. with Andrew Gold and Helen Pluckrose (March 21, 2024). The FASCINATING Truth About Trans Ideology – Helen Pluckrose | heretics. 39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuwGcVT6YZQ

Transparency with Aaron Kimberly, Aaron Terrell, and Helen Pluckrose (March 10, 2024). EP 83 – Gender Ideologies – with Helen Pluckrose. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gisc3wAfwQ

Resources

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grievance_studies_affair)

Counterweight (counterweightsupport.com) [archive]

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Sam Leith is an English author and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Leith was born on January 1, 1974 in London and was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford. Leith is a “nepo baby” whose parents were also involved in journalism and publishing. Leith authored the 2012 memoir Going Nowhere: A Life in Six Videogames.

Leith is an officer in Leith/Bowden Productions Limited with spouse Alice Bowden and was an officer in 69 Dalberg Road Freehold Ltd with Camilla Clare Cookson. Leith is a parent to children.

Anti-transgender activism

Like anti-trans New York Times counterpart Pamela Paul, Leith gatekeeps coverage of the literary and journalistic contributions of trans and gender diverse people and our allies. Leith is also in a position to promote anti-trans authors and books, which happens regularly. As an example, Leith is a signatory on a 2020 Sunday Times open letter supporting openly transphobic author J.K. Rowling. Leith also contributes to anti-trans publication UnHerd, criticizing Judith Butler and standing up for gender critical activists who dislike the term TERF.

While Leith believes trans people should be accommodated “within the constraints available to reality,” Leith felt moved go mask off in 2023 after deciding that convicted criminal Sarah Jane Baker was emblematic of transgender activism.

Leith’s beliefs and concerns:

  • this “directly affects a relatively tiny proportion of the population”
  • “housing male-bodied sex offenders in the female prison estate” is a problem
  • “ideologues promoting irreversible surgery or hormone treatments on pre-pubescent children” are a problem
  • “biological sex is a real thing”
  • activists make “ever more ludicrous and uncompromising claims about the nature of reality”
  • uplifts outlier conservative trans people including Debbie Hayton and Buck Angel

References

Diamond, Jonny (September 30, 2020) Our terrible year of open letters continues: JK Rowling edition. LitHub https://lithub.com/our-terrible-year-of-open-letters-continues-jk-rowling-edition/

Anti-trans coverage

O’Connor, Roisin (September 28, 2020). JK Rowling: Ian McEwan and Graham Linehan among literary figures to support author amid transphobia row. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/jk-rowling-transgender-views-support-ian-mcewan-sunday-times-b666932.html

Selected writing by Leith

Leith, Sam (July 10, 2023). Trans activists don’t help themselves. The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/trans-activists-dont-help-themselves/

Leith, Sam (September 24, 2020). The intellectual shabbiness of Judith Butler. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2020/09/the-intellectual-shabbiness-of-judith-butler/

Leith, Sam (November 14, 2013). Sam Leith: A father’s dilemma. Prospect https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/51727/sam-leith-a-fathers-dilemma

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

The Guardian (theguardian.com)

The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)

  • Sam Leith columns [archive]
  • http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/samleith/

London Evening Standard (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/)

  • Sam Leith columns [archive]
  • http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/columnistarchive/Sam%20Leith-columnist-942-archive.do

Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov)

X/Twitter (x.com)

The Spectator (spectator.co.uk)

UnHerd (unherd.com)

Megan Twohey is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Twohey co-wrote a scaremongering New York Times article about healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth titled “They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?” The piece helped spark a newsroom revolt against management during the Times’ 2020s anti-trans coverage crisis.

Background

Megan Twohey was born on October 26, 1976 to John and Mary Jane Twohey.

Mary Jane Twohey handled PR for Northwestern University after transphobic eugenicist J. Michael Bailey arranged a live “fucksaw” demonstration for students.

Megan Twohey graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1994. After graduating from Georgetown University in 1998, Twohey worked at Washington Monthly, then National Journal from 1999 to 2001, then Moscow Times from 2001 to 2002. Twohey joined the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from 2003 to 2007.

Twohey then joined parent John Twohey at Tribune Media’s Chicago Tribune in 2007. From 2012 to 2016, Twohey was with Thomson Reuters, then joined the New York Times in 2016.

Twohey and Jodi Kantor published a 2017 exposĂŠ about Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual abuse and assault that figured prominently into Weinstein’s downfall and ultimate conviction, earning a Pulitzer Prize. Their 2019 book She Said was adapted into a 2022 film of the same name.

Twohey and literary agent Vadim “Jim” Rutman (born ~1975) were married on June 12, 2016 and have one child.

Anti-trans activism

Twohey co-wrote a 2022 New York Times article on puberty blockers for gender diverse youth that culminated in a 2023 newsroom revolt against Times leadership.

The story is about “emerging evidence of potential harm” and the “long-term physical effects and other consequences” of Lupron and other medications that can manage onset of puberty. Any drug carries a risk of side effects, which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tracks via adverse event reports. FDA approved Lupron for central precocious puberty in 1993. It has since been used for trans and gender diverse youth experiencing unwanted puberty. Doctors have wide latitude to use approved drugs “off label,” including use to delay puberty for trans and gender diverse youth.

Several years earlier, co-author Christina Jewett began reporting on cisgender people who believe puberty blockers which they took as minors led to short- and long-term adverse side effects. Children whose puberty starts at 5 to 8 years old often face social problems, and those capable of pregnancy are at higher risk of unwanted sexual attention and assault. Doctors work with parents to weigh the risks and benefits before getting informed parental consent. As with any medical treatment, some people will be harmed more than they were helped.

Focusing on uncommon side effects and unknown risks is a long-used pretense to restrict or ban contraception and abortion, especially for minors. For more information, see this site’s analysis of “They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?”

The piece was cited as part of a series by a small group of anti-trans writers within the New York Times. GLAAD stated: “In November 2022, the Times published a story by Megan Twohey and Christina Jewett that got the science of healthcare for trans people so wrong that the WPATH had to write a multi-page tear-down explaining how the Times misrepresented the facts at every turn.”

2023 correspondence

On September 3, 2023, I received an email from Twohey copied to Times external communications executive Danielle Rhoades Ha. Twohey requested that biographical information on this page be removed, all of which had been previously published.

My reply:

In 2003 J. Michael Bailey was presenting images and confidential clinical information about six-year olds from my community for laughs to future clinicians.

This vulgar misuse of our children without their knowledge or consent was part of a tour for Bailey’s transphobic book that came out under the federal imprimatur of the National Academies Press. That book is framed by the fabricated case report of a six-year-old gender diverse child whose “curing” is presented as evidence that children should not get gender affirming care.

Back when the Times still had a public editor, I expressed my concerns about your employer’s sustained support for Bailey and like-minded grifters like Alice Dreger who manipulate science and media to harm our children. The Times did worse than nothing. That Times reporter and the Science editors defamed me as payback, a major media coup that allowed Bailey and friends to continue harming children, adding years to my work getting their infamous Toronto children’s gender clinic shut down.

I won’t even get into Bailey’s sex with a book subject/patient, etc. Your mother got paid to help Bailey and employer Northwestern get out in front of his live “fucksaw” demonstration. Your family got paid to help Bailey stay tenured.

Not one journalist in America has published one article that speaks truth to power about these 50 years of attacks on our children via Archives of Sexual Behavior. A reporter from the Chicago Tribune once asked Dreger directly about Bailey’s fabrication and Dreger’s cover-up, but the story got spiked. 

In a just world, Bailey’s book would be retracted, Bailey’s editor would be fired, Dreger’s article would be retracted, and Dreger’s editor would be fired. It would just take one article. Instead we get decades of Times coverage like hand-wringing about side effects of treatment that is being banned across the country, forcing families from NBA legends to struggling single parents to join in the largest mass interstate migration since COVID.

Few organizations have done more to make trans lives harder than the New York Times. You, your family, and the organizations that have paid all of you are part of the problem. I’m simply documenting all this for historians.

PS: Your profile is standard encyclopedia fare. Your family members are all media professionals who’ve been in the public eye, and your six-year-old’s full name and age are published on the New York Times website.

Twohey ignored my outline of the Twohey family’s negative impact on hundreds of thousands of American children, merely disputing my postscript. I then provided Twohey a Times website link. Despite being under no obligation to do so, I honored part of Twohey’s request.

References

Acharya, Ustav (August 19, 2020). Megan Twohey. Bio Wikis https://biowikis.com/megan-twohey/

Klein, Charlotte (February 27, 2023). Inside the New York Times blowup over transgender coverage. Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage-debate

Jones, Imara (July 17, 2023). S02E05: Capturing The New York Times. The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality https://translash.org/transcript-capturing-the-new-york-times/

Duffy, Kaiyti (November 29, 2022). Recent Anti-Trans Articles Miss the Point of Gender-Affirming Care. Teen Vogue https://www.teenvogue.com/story/recent-anti-trans-articles-miss-the-point-of-gender-affirming-care

Thiesen, Lauren (November 15, 2022). How Many Trans People Does The New York Times Believe There Should Be? Defector https://defector.com/how-many-trans-people-does-the-new-york-times-believe-there-should-be

Sonoma, Sirena (April 19, 2023). The New York Times’ Inaccurate Coverage of Transgender People is Being Weaponized Against the Transgender Community. GLAAD https://glaad.org/new-york-times-inaccurate-coverage-transgender-people-being-weaponized-against-transgender/

Eckert, AJ (December 4, 2022). What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Urquhart, Evan (November 14, 2022). NYT Investigation Offers Biased Reporting on Puberty Blocker Concerns. Assigned https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/nyt-investigation-finds-concerns-about-puberty-blockers-for-trans-youth

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Jewett, Christina (February 2, 2017). Drug used to halt puberty in children may cause lasting health problems. Kaiser Health News https://www.statnews.com/2017/02/02/lupron-puberty-children-health-problems/

Anti-trans coverage

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Wulfsohn, Joseph A. (November 15, 2022). New York Times story on puberty blockers fuels critics amid trans debate: ‘Decade late on this story.’ Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-story-puberty-blockers-fuels-critics-amid-trans-debate-decade-late-story

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Selected writing by Twohey

Twohey, Megan; Jewett, Christina (November 14, 2022). They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost? New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/health/puberty-blockers-transgender.html

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  • Megan Twohey
  • https://www.loc.gov/events/2020-national-book-festival/authors/item/no2019132747/megan-twohey/

Christina Jewett is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Jewett co-wrote a scaremongering New York Times article about healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth titled “They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?” The piece helped spark a newsroom revolt against management during the Times’ 2020s anti-trans coverage crisis.

Background

Christina D. Jewett was born on May 11, 1980 and grew up in Griffith, Indiana. Jewett earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 2002. Jewett reported for the Sacramento Bee from 2002 to 2008, ProPublica from 2008 to 2009, and the Center for Investigative Reporting from 2009 to 2016. Jewett was then a correspondent for Kaiser Health News from 2016 to 2021 before joining the New York Times as a correspondent focusing on federal healthcare regulation in 2021.

Jewett married Floyd Charles Marvin III (born 1974). They have two children.

Anti-trans activism

While writing for Kaiser, Jewett began reporting on cisgender people who believe puberty blockers which they took as minors led to short- and long-term adverse side effects. Children whose puberty starts at 5 to 8 years old often face social problems, and those capable of pregnancy are at higher risk of sexual harassment and assault. Doctors work with parents to weigh the risks and benefits before getting informed consent. As with any medical treatment, some people will be harmed more than they were helped.

In 2022, Megan Twohey and Jewett co-wrote a New York Times article on puberty blockers for gender diverse youth that culminated in a 2023 newsroom revolt against Times leadership.

The story is about “emerging evidence of potential harm” and the “long-term physical effects and other consequences” of Lupron and other medications that can manage onset of puberty. Any drug carries a risk of side effects, which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tracks via adverse event reports. FDA approved Lupron for central precocious puberty in 1993. It has since been used for trans and gender diverse youth experiencing unwanted puberty. Doctors have wide latitude to use approved drugs “off label,” including use to delay puberty for trans and gender diverse youth.

Focusing on uncommon side effects and unknown risks is a long-used pretense to restrict or ban contraception and abortion, especially for minors. For more information, see this site’s analysis of “They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?”

References

Klein, Charlotte (February 27, 2023). Inside the New York Times blowup over transgender coverage. Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/new-york-times-trans-coverage-debate

Jones, Imara (July 17, 2023). S02E05: Capturing The New York Times. The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality https://translash.org/transcript-capturing-the-new-york-times/

Duffy, Kaiyti (November 29, 2022). Recent Anti-Trans Articles Miss the Point of Gender-Affirming Care. Teen Vogue https://www.teenvogue.com/story/recent-anti-trans-articles-miss-the-point-of-gender-affirming-care

Thiesen, Lauren (November 15, 2022). How Many Trans People Does The New York Times Believe There Should Be? Defector https://defector.com/how-many-trans-people-does-the-new-york-times-believe-there-should-be

Bolies, Corbin (March 7, 2023). The New York Times’ Trans Coverage Debacle Was Years in the Making. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-new-york-times-trans-coverage-debacle-was-years-in-the-making

Eckert, AJ (December 4, 2022). What the New York Times gets wrong about puberty blockers for transgender youth. Science Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-new-york-times-gets-wrong-about-puberty-blockers-for-transgender-youth/

USPATH and WPATH respond to NY Times article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost? published on November 14, 2022 (PDF). https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022.pdf

Sonoma, Sirena (April 19, 2023). The New York Times’ Inaccurate Coverage of Transgender People is Being Weaponized Against the Transgender Community. GLAAD https://glaad.org/new-york-times-inaccurate-coverage-transgender-people-being-weaponized-against-transgender/

Rook, Erin (November 18, 2022). Reckless NY Times reporting fuels disinformation about trans youth. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/11/reckless-ny-times-reporting-fuels-disinformation-trans-youth/

Urquhart, Evan (November 17, 2022). The NYT’s big piece on puberty blockers mucked up the most important point about them. Slate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Staff report (October 13, 2021). Stephen Jewett. Northwest Indiana Times https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/obituaries/stephen-jewett/article_00853351-ee9a-5bcd-be8b-b04c4c64b3ac.html

Anti-trans coverage

Oladipo, Gloria (February 18, 2023). Nearly 1,000 contributors protest New York Times’ coverage of trans people. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/17/new-york-times-contributors-open-letter-protest-anti-trans-coverage

Wulfsohn, Joseph A. (November 15, 2022). New York Times story on puberty blockers fuels critics amid trans debate: ‘Decade late on this story.’ Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-story-puberty-blockers-fuels-critics-amid-trans-debate-decade-late-story

Reilly, Patrick (February 15, 2023). New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/02/15/new-york-times-blasted-for-editorial-bias-in-transgender-coverage/

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender people. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3859501-nyt-contributors-blast-papers-coverage-of-transgender-people/

Warrington, James (February 16, 2023). How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war. The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

Selected writing by Jewett

Twohey, Megan; Jewett, Christina (November 14, 2022). They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost? New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/health/puberty-blockers-transgender.html

Jewett, Christina (Feb. 2, 2017). Drug used to halt puberty in children may cause lasting health problems. Stat10 / Kaiser Health News https://www.statnews.com/2017/02/02/lupron-puberty-children-health-problems/

Resources

New York Times (nytimes.com)

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In 2022, New York Times writers Megan Twohey and Christina Jewett co-wrote a scaremongering article on puberty blockers for gender diverse youth that culminated in a 2023 newsroom revolt against Times leadership.

The article promoted and popularized several anti-trans talking points about gender affirming care for minors, including “bone density” and “low quality evidence.”

The piece is part of a strategy by anti-trans hate groups like Genspect to get FUD propaganda (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) about gender affirming care into mainstream media. Focusing on uncommon side effects and unknown risks is a long-used pretense to restrict or ban similar healthcare like contraception and abortion, especially for minors.

Background

The story is about “emerging evidence of potential harm” and the “long-term physical effects and other consequences” of Lupron and other medications that can manage onset of puberty. Any drug carries a risk of side effects, which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tracks via adverse event reports. FDA approved Lupron for central precocious puberty in 1993. It has since been used for trans and gender diverse youth experiencing unwanted puberty. Doctors have wide latitude to use approved drugs “off label,” including use to delay puberty for trans and gender diverse youth.

Several years earlier, Jewett began reporting on cisgender people who believe puberty blockers which they took as minors led to short- and long-term adverse side effects. Children whose puberty starts at 5 to 8 years old often face social problems, and those capable of pregnancy are at higher risk of sexual harassment and assault. Doctors work with parents to weigh the risks and benefits before getting informed consent. As with any medical treatment, some people will be harmed more than they were helped.

Headlines used for the story include:

  • They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?
  • Puberty Blockers Can Help Transgender Youth. Is There a Cost?

Below are anti-trans talking points that were promoted and popularized via this article.

Bone density

Puberty involves a release of hormones that affect bone deposition throughout the body. Puberty blockers affect that process, so bone health is monitored in adolescent patients, usually with a baseline measurement before treatment followed by scheduled measurements.

One of the three young people profiled had to stop puberty blockade due to done density issues. While this is a well-known risk and uncommon side effect, it can usually be monitored and managed. Having to stop hormone blockade altogether due to bone density is rare.

Via USPATH/WPATH:

The anecdote provided of an adolescent who began, and then stopped pubertal suppression due to bone density loss lacks important details, including age and pubertal stage at initiation of puberty blockers, length of time on blockers, baseline bone density (“Z-score”), and whether the bone density comparison was made to identified gender or birth-assigned sex. Additional important information not provided includes calcium intake, and vitamin D intake and level, as well as level of physical activity, all of which play a substantial role in maintenance of bone mineral density.

“Low-quality evidence”

Jewett and Twohey also parrot the “low-quality evidence” claim put forth by anti-trans activists, based on a scale devised by Gordon Guyatt. Federal judge Sarah E. Geraghty rejected these claims in a 2023 Georgia case where anti-trans activists Paul Hruz, Michael Laidlaw, and James Cantor testified against Yale University professor of pediatrics Meredithe McNamara:

The undisputed record shows that clinical medical decision-making, including in pediatric or adolescent medicine, often is not guided by evidence that would qualify as “high quality” on the scales used by Defendants’ experts. 30 (Doc. 70-1, McNamara Decl. ¶¶ 23–28; Tr. 74:11–75:1 (McNamara Testimony); Tr. 133:614 (Hruz Testimony).) In fact, the record shows that less than 15 percent of medical treatments are supported by “high-quality evidence,” or in other words that 85 percent of evidence that guides clinical care, across all areas of medicine, would be classified as “low-quality” under the scale used by Defendants’ experts. (Doc. 70-1, McNamara Decl. ¶ 25; Tr. 74:11–75:1.) Defendants do not refute Dr. McNamara’s testimony on this point, and indeed they “concede” that “low-quality” evidence “can be considered.” 31

Geraghty (2023) [emphasis mine]

Geraghty also noted the obvious biases of Hruz, Laidlaw and Cantor:

Defendants’ experts’ insistence on a very high threshold of evidence in the context of claims about hormone therapy’s safety and benefits, and on the other hand their tolerance of a much lower threshold of evidence for claims about its risks, the likelihood of desistance and/or regret, and their notions about the ideological bias of a medical establishment that largely disagrees with them. That is cause for some concern about the weight to be assigned to their views, although the Court does not doubt that those they express are genuinely held.

(“Dr. [Paul] Hruz fended and parried questions and generally testified as a deeply biased advocate, not as an expert sharing relevant evidence-based information and opinions. I do not credit his testimony.”); Eknes-Tucker v. Marshall, 603 F. Supp. 3d 1131, 1142–43 (M.D. Ala. 2022) (explaining that the court gave Dr. James Cantor’s “testimony regarding the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors very little weight”); C. P. by & through Pritchard v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, No. 3:20-CV-06145-RJB, 2022 WL 17092846, at *4 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 21, 2022) (noting that it was a “close question” as to whether Dr. Michael Laidlaw was qualified to testify about the medical necessity of gender-affirming care because he has treated only two patients with gender dysphoria and has done no original research on gender identity).

Geraghty (2023)

Mentioned

  • Emma Basques (gender diverse youth), Emma’s doctor, and parents Cherise and Arick
  • Jacy Chavira  (gender diverse youth)
  • [unnamed] (gender diverse youth and parent)
  • Norman Spack, endocrinologist
  • Sundeep Khosla, bone researcher
  • Hilary Cass, pediatrician
  • Catherine Gordon
    • We were surprised to see reference to a subjective statement from Dr. Catherine Gordon, MD regarding “getting behind” on bone density, and we question whether this comment was taken out of context. Dr. Gordon is a long-standing advocate for trans youth care, and in her June 2022 single-author commentary published in Pediatrics, she stated that, “The duration of pubertal suppression with gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone agonists varies, but can extend up to 4 years for younger patients who are not able to provide consent until age 16 for receipt of gender-affirming therapy. Puberty blockers represent an invaluable intervention for these children and adolescents, to reduce anxiety and ‘buy time’ until final decisions can be made about gender assignment.” A subsequent commentary co-authored by Dr. Gordon and published in November 2022 in JAMA Open Access stated, “Concerns about skeletal losses become less significant in an adolescent with active suicidal ideations. Although the significance of the risks may be unclear, there is strong evidence regarding the benefits of GnRHa in transgender youth: it can be a life-changing and lifesaving treatment for a vulnerable population who is at high risk for anxiety, depression, and suicide.”
  • Peggy Cohen-Kettenis, psychologist
  • WPATH
  • Walter Meyer, pediatric endocrinologist and psychiatrist
  • Jenn Burleton
  • American Academy of Pediatrics and the international Endocrine Society, which in 2017 had described the limited research on the effects of the drugs on trans youth as “low-quality.” 
  • more than 50 doctors and academic experts around the world
  • Models: Dutch, US, UK, Sweden, Finland

Supporters

Critics

  • WPATH and USPATH
  • GLAAD
  • Melissa Gira Grant of New Republic
  • Erin Reed of Erin in the Morning
  • Kate Sosin of 19th News
  • Molly Redden of HuffPost
  • Trans author Jennifer Finney Boylan
  • Christina Cauterucci, Jules Gill-Peterson, and Bryan Lowder in Slate
  • Kaiyti Duffy in Teen Vogue
  • Erin Rook in LGBTQ Nation
  • AJ Eckert in Science Based Medicine
  • Trans journalist Dawn Ennis
  • Child psychiatrist Jack Turban

References

WPATH / USPATH (November 22, 2022). USPATH and WPATH Respond to NY Times Article “They Paused Puberty, But Is There a Cost?” published on November 14, 2022. [PDF] https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2022/USPATHWPATH%20Statement%20re%20Nov%2014%202022%20NYT%20Article%20Nov%2022%202022%20CORRECTION.pdf

GLAAD (February 14, 2023). 180+ journalists, New York Times contributors call out biased coverage of transgender people in joint letter as 100+ organizations and notables echo call, citing pattern of inaccurate, harmful trans coverage in the New York Times https://glaad.org/releases/new-york-times-contributors-call-out-biased-coverage-of-transgender-people-in-joint-letter/

2022 NYT story and links

Twohey, Megan; Jewett, Christina (November 14, 2022). They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost? New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/health/puberty-blockers-transgender.html [archive]

  • The Mental Health of Transgender Youth: Advances in Understanding Maureen D. Connolly, M.D.   • Marcus J. Zervos, M.D. • Charles J. Barone II, M.D. • Christine C. Johnson, Ph.D. • Christine L.M. Joseph, Ph.D. Published:August 18, 2016•DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.012•
  • Jody L. Herman Senior Scholar of Public Policy Andrew R. Flores Affiliated Scholar Kathryn K. O’Neill Policy Analyst How Many Adults and Youth Identify as Transgender in the United States? June 2022 https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/trans-adults-united-states/
  • Cass Review Interim report: Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People -https://cass.independent-review.uk/publications/interim-report/
  • Public consultation Interim service specification for specialist gender dysphoria services for children and young people 20 October 2022 -https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/specialised-commissioning/gender-dysphoria-services/supporting_documents/B1937iiInterimservicespecificationforspecialistgenderdysphoriaservicesforchildrenandyoungpeople22.pdf
  • Emily Bazelon https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/magazine/gender-therapy.html
  • Azeen Ghorayshi https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/health/florida-gender-care-minors-medical-board.html
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6647755/
  • Johanna Olson-Kennedy, MD,corresponding author1 Yee-Ming Chan, MD, PhD,2 Robert Garofalo, MPH, MD,3 Norman Spack, MD,2 Diane Chen, PhD,4 Leslie Clark, PhD,1 Diane Ehrensaft, PhD,5 Marco Hidalgo, PhD,1 Amy Tishelman, PhD,2 and Stephen Rosenthal, MD5 Impact of Early Medical Treatment for Transgender Youth: Protocol for the Longitudinal, Observational Trans Youth Care Study JMIR Res Protoc. 2019 Jul; 8(7): e14434. Monitoring Editor: Gunther Eysenbach; Reviewed by James Lykens and Adrienne Pichon. doi: 10.2196/14434
  • CHAD TERHUNE, ROBIN RESPAUT, and MICHELLE CONLIN (Oct. 6, 2022). Reuters https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-care/
  • Dani Blum (July 18, 2022). -https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/18/well/live/endometriosis-symptoms-treatment.html
  • Putting numbers on the rise in children seeking gender care By ROBIN RESPAUT and CHAD TERHUNE Filed Oct. 6, 2022, Reuters https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-data/
  • GORDON, CATHERINE M Skeletal Health and Bone Marrow Composition Among Youth Project Number 5R01HD101421-03 Contact PI/Project Leader .Other PIs Awardee Organization BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL https://reporter.nih.gov/search/VccdwST9P0yW2AM-BR598g/project-details/10401768
  • Uppdrag granskning Mission: Investigate: Trans children -https://www.svtplay.se/video/33358590/uppdrag-granskning/mission-investigate-trans-children-avsnitt-1?info=visa
  • Stephen M. Rosenthal, M.D. statement-https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/rosenthal-in-alabama-court-case/f616e90a9b4bfe2d/full.pdf
  • Rick Rojas https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/14/us/alabama-transgender-law.html
  • Consensus Parameter: Research Methodologies to Evaluate Neurodevelopmental Effects of Pubertal Suppression in Transgender Youth Diane Chen, John F. Strang, Victoria D. Kolbuck, Stephen M. Rosenthal, Kim Wallen, Deborah P. Waber, Laurence Steinberg, Cheryl L. Sisk, Judith Ross, Tomas Paus, Sven C. Mueller, Margaret M. McCarthy, Paul E. Micevych, Carol L. Martin, Baudewijntje P.C. Kreukels, Lauren Kenworthy, … See all authors  Published Online:11 Dec 2020https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2020.0006
  • Consensus Parameter: Research Methodologies to Evaluate Neurodevelopmental Effects of Pubertal Suppression in Transgender Youth Diane Chen, John F. Strang, Victoria D. Kolbuck, Stephen M. Rosenthal, Kim Wallen, Deborah P. Waber, Laurence Steinberg, Cheryl L. Sisk, Judith Ross, Tomas Paus, Sven C. Mueller, Margaret M. McCarthy, Paul E. Micevych, Carol L. Martin, Baudewijntje P.C. Kreukels, Lauren Kenworthy, Megan M. Herting, Agneta Herlitz, Ira R.J. Hebold Haraldsen, Ronald Dahl, Eveline A. Crone, Gordon J. Chelune, Sarah M. Burke, Sheri A. Berenbaum, Adriene M. Beltz, Julie Bakker, Lise Eliot, Eric Vilain, Gregory L. Wallace, Eric E. Nelson, and Robert Garofalo-https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/trgh.2020.0006
  • http://admin.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2022/longer-treatment-with-puberty-delaying-medication-leads-to-lower-bone-mineral-density -https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9624627/
  • “Bone Mass in Young Adulthood Following Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analog Treatment and Cross-Sex Hormone Treatment in Adolescents With Gender Dysphoria,” Klink et. al, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2015
  • “Effect of Pubertal Suppression and Cross-Sex Hormone Therapy on Bone Turnover Markers and Bone Mineral Apparent Density (BMAD) in Transgender Adolescents,” Vlot et. al, Bone, 2017 
  • “The Effect of GnRH Analogue Treatment on Bone Mineral Density in Young Adolescents With Gender Dysphoria: Findings From a Large National Cohort,” Joseph et. al, Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2019
  • “Physical Changes, Laboratory Parameters and Bone Mineral Density During Testosterone Treatment in Adolescents With Gender Dysphoria,” Stoffers et. al, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2019
  • “Bone Development in Transgender Adolescents Treated With GnRH Analogues and Subsequent Gender-Affirming Hormones,” Schagen et. al, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2020
  • “Short-Term Outcomes of Pubertal Suppression in a Selected Cohort of 12- to 15-Year-Old Young People With Persistent Gender Dysphoria in the U.K.,” Carmichael et. al, PLOS One, 2021
  • “Pubertal Suppression, Bone Mass and Body Composition in Youth With Gender Dysphoria,” Navabi et. al, Pediatrics, 2021

Sally Chatterton is a British writer and anti-transgender extremist. Chatterton is editor of anti-trans publication UnHerd and is responsible for its consistent platforming of conservative and anti-trans voices.

Background

Chatterton earned a bachelor’s degree from Birmingham University in 1994 and earned a master’s degree from Institut Britannique, Paris in 1995.

Chatterton previously wrote for The Daily Telegraph and The Independent.

Chatterton was website editor for CapX, a publication of the right-wing Centre for Policy Studies.

Anti-transgender activism

Chatterton joined UnHerd in 2018. Chatterton has platformed dozens of conservative and anti-trans writers, including personally platforming Hannah Barnes and Kathleen Stock in attacks on trans healthcare for our children.

Media

UnHerd with Sally Chatterton and Kathleen Stock (October 19, 2023). Kathleen Stock: Inside Britain’s new trans clinics. UnHerd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QboHWVDCyDQ

UnHerd with Sally Chatterton and Hannah Barnes (March 2, 2023). Hannah Barnes: What went wrong at the Tavistock Centre. UnHerd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ZqW6MxWxs

Resources

UnHerd (unherd.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

Counterweight was an anti-transgender organization founded by Helen Pluckrose. The organization was active from 2021 to 2023.

People

The Counterweight website listed the following people:

Media

Counterweight events and media included many key conservative trans people and ex-transgender activists, including:

Anti-trans activists involved included:

2023 Closure

In 2023 Counterweight closed and recommended that supporters go instead to similar anti-trans organization Institute for Liberal Values.

Important Announcement

It is with heavy hearts that we have decided to close Counterweight. Thank you so much for your support and guidance throughout the past few years. Though we are closing, we see a hopeful future in the hands of other very capable organisations. We’ve worked closely with the Institute for Liberal Values, in particular, and see our mission live on through their advancement of liberalism, equality of opportunity, and justice. You can visit their website to access their support and resources here: ilvalues.org

Anti-trans coverage

Ames, Jonathan (October 15, 2021). I help thousands of Britons fight for social justice, says anti-woke campaigner Helen Pluckrose. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-help-thousands-of-britons-fight-for-social-justice-says-anti-woke-campaigner-helen-pluckrose-fqg73dtd9

Khazan, Olga (September 27, 2021). A Support Group for the Unwoke. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/09/counterweight-cancel-culture-support-ground/620203/

Walden, Celia (February 17, 2021). Why I started an anti-woke helpline: Helen Pluckrose explains why she set up a service that helps to get people talking – and resolve conflicts. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/inside-counterweight-anti-woke-helpline-fighting-workplace-cancel/

Resources

Counterweight (counterweightsupport.com) [archive: 2021 to early 2023]

Facebook (facebook.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Institute for Liberal Values (ilvalues.org)

Hold my Drink Podcast / Counterweight Podcast

Milo Yiannopoulos is a British right-wing extremist and troll. Yiannopoulos is a key figure in the alt-right and intellectual dark web movements.

Background

Milo Hanrahan was born on October 18, 1983 in Chatham, Kent, England to Catholic parents who soon divorced. Yiannopoulos is the surname of Milo’s subsequent stepparent.

Yiannopoulos attended University of Manchester and Wolfson College, Cambridge, but did not earn degrees from either. Yiannopoulos published works and photos as Milo Andreas Wagner around this time. Yiannopoulos founded Wrong Agency Limited in 2009. It dissolved in 2011.

Yiannopoulos wrote for the Catholic Herald and covered technology for the Daily Telegraph. There, Yiannopoulos developed a knack for clickbait and anti-progressive trolling. Yiannopoulos co-founded technology “drama” blog The Kernel and subscription newsletter The Nutshell with Stephen Pritchard. Following closure over unpaid debts, investor Berlin42 purchased the domain and settled all debts, relaunching The Kernel with Yiannopoulos as editor. In 2014, The Kernel was acquired by Daily Dot Media, and Yiannopoulos stepped down.

From 2014 to 2017, Yiannopoulos covered technology for Breitbart News. While there, Yiannopoulos was a key figure in Gamergate, a complex misogynistic online harassment campaign and right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. Yiannopoulos was also a key figure in the 2016 presidential candidacy of Donald Trump.

Yiannopoulos left Breitbart in 2017, founded Milo Worldwide LLC, and self-published the book Dangerous after it was dropped by publisher Simon & Schuster after earlier comments Yiannopoulos made about pedophilia resurfaced. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of Yiannopoulos after transit ads for Dangerous were rejected by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,.

In 2018, Yiannopoulos self-published the books How to Be Poor and How to Be Straight. In 2021 Yiannopoulos claimed to be an ex-gay and began fundraising to create a conversion therapy center in Florida. In 2023, Yiannopoulos was involved in the presidential campaign of Kanye West.

Anti-transgender activism

Yiannopoulos made countless inflammatory statements about transgender people during the 2010s, especially in connection with Donald Trump.

Here’s the dirty secret that only the progressive left doesn’t understand: Nobody cares about trannys. There aren’t any of them anywhere. No one cares. If you’re obsessed with gay issues, if you are gay and you go to gay clubs and you only read the left wing press, all you’ll ever hear about is “people want to cut their (expletives) off.” But the rest of the country doesn’t care. There just aren’t that many of them around. Who cares? And Donald Trump knows this, which is why it wasn’t damaging to him when he said he doesn’t care what bathroom Caitlyn Jenner uses, and it’s not damaging to him now when he’s gone the other direction and said he doesn’t want them in the military. No one in America actually cares, and Donald Trump instinctively understands this.

Mitchell (2017)

References

Mitchell, Conner (July 31, 2017). Yiannopoulos doesn’t hold back on transgender rights, women in military, more. The Palm Beach Post https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/31/yiannopoulos-doesn-t-hold-back/7089635007/ [archive]

Reynolds, Daniel (October 26, 2016). Milo Yiannopoulos Takes Transphobia on Tour. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/10/26/milo-yiannopoulos-takes-transphobia-tour

Anti-trans coverage

Long, Camilla (February 26, 2017). Milo Yiannopoulos is not so ‘funny and hot and right’ any more. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/milo-yiannopoulos-the-pied-piper-of-hate-goes-up-in-flames/news-story/a302709bea5b6fdc571c3a025992f3ff

Lynskey, Dorian (February 21, 2017). The rise and fall of Milo Yiannopoulos – how a shallow actor played the bad guy for money. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/21/milo-yiannopoulos-rise-and-fall-shallow-actor-bad-guy-hate-speech

Williams-Grut, Oscar (June 2, 2013). The Kernel’s back to make new enemies. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-kernel-s-back-to-make-new-enemies-8640597.html

Dunbar, Max (January 9, 2013). Milo Yiannopoulos and the Kernel. WordPress https://maxdunbar.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/milo-yiannopoulous-and-the-kernel/

Dowell, Ben (July 7, 2012). Milo Yiannopoulos – meet the ‘pit bull’ of tech media. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/08/milo-yiannopoulos-kernel-technology-interview

Resources

RationalWiki (rationalwiki.org)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

  • nero [suspended]
  • KernelMag

Wrong Agency Limited [UK]

  • Company number 07035584

Sentinel Media Ltd [UK]

  • Company number 07837639

The Kernel (kernelmag.com) [archive]

Milo Worldwide LLC

Milo Entertainment Inc.

Milo Inc.

Dangerous (dangerous.com) [archive 2017-2019]

Flickr (flickr.com)

  • Milo Andreas Wagner
  • flickr.com/photos/milo_wagner/
  • The Kernel
  • flickr.com/people/37025991@N08

Daily Dot (dailydot.com)

  • The Kernel [archive]
  • kernelmag.dailydot.com