soul of a [woman] in the body of a [man] (or vice versa)
Unfortunately, many cisgender people and some trans people take these metaphors literally. Critics will retort “no one is born in the wrong body.”
Most trans people reject all forms of the “wrong body” idea. That’s why this convenient and lazy description is mainly used by cisgender people, gender-diverse children, and low-information trans adults.
As I wrote in the academic journal Gender Medicine in 2006:
Gender identity and expression take on different meanings within different systems of thought. Because medical technologies are available to assist in the somatic expression of these identities, several medicalized disease models of the phenomena have developed.Â
The traditional focus on the so-called “triadic therapy” of hormones, genital surgery, and living “in role” has diminished in my lifetime. Trans and gender diverse people have many more choices for how to express themselves. Unfortunately, some people believe that medical transition will make them a new person or solve problems it can’t. As my therapist once said, “There’s never a happy ending to an unhappy journey.”
Bettcher TM (2014). Trapped in the Wrong Theory: Rethinking Trans Oppression and Resistance. Signs Vol. 39, No. 2 (Winter 2014), pp. 383-406 https://doi.org/10.1086/673088
Data & Society is an independent nonprofit research organization which aims to “advance public understanding of the social and cultural implications of data-centric technologies and automation.”
2018 YouTube report
In 2018, Rebecca Lewis released a report on a network of YouTube accounts that uplifted people and channels associated with the alt-right or “reactionary right” movement. The report was focused on white nationalism and far-right extremism, but the same “mainstream” conservative accounts have frequently been involved in laundering anti-transgender extremism into mainstream media.
Jessica Simpson, formerly known as Jessica Yaniv, is a Canadian litigant and troll known for several controversies regarding sexuality and gender identity.
Background
Jessica Serenity Simpson was born June 12, 1987. While attending Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 2008, Simpson called for a National Sex Day and promised free condoms to participants. After over 140,000 people joined the event’s Facebook group, Simpson said it was a marketing stunt.
Simpson ran a tech review website called Trusted Nerd while working at call centers and doing tech support as JY Knows It Business Consulting. Simpson ran the social media for pop music siblings Cimorelli, originally to get rid of impostors, but was apparently posting on behalf of the group from around 2010 to 2017. Louise Nussac, a fan of Cimorelli, was also involved in working with the group and alleged that Simpson engaged in inappropriate activity while managing the accounts. Nussac also alleged that Simpson was behind a string of personal attacks.
Teenager Jessica Rumpel reportedly filed an anonymous tip against Simpson to a Canadian child exploitation tipline, but no charges came from the complaint. Simpson claims the inappropriate messages were by an impersonator or were not sent to Rumpel.
Simpson was a frequent participant in Langley township council meetings, often on gender-related controversies. In 2019 Simpson unsuccessfully proposed a topless “all-bodies swim” at a Langley Township public pool for ages 12 and up, with parents and guardians prohibited.
Simpson’s antics have been widely covered in conservative media and among anti-transgender activists, most notably by Rebel News. Simpson and critics were fond of trolling each other on social media, leading to several temporary and permanent suspensions. Anti-trans extremist Meghan Murphy unsuccessfully sued Twitter to reinstate a personal account following a fight with Simpson. Murphy’s account was later reinstated by anti-transgender troll Elon Musk. Anti-trans author and activist Lindsay Shepherd was briefly banned from Twitter in 2019 after exchanging insults with Simpson.
Litigation and legal issues
Simpson has been described as a “prolific litigant” who often uses AI to write legal complaints, some of which refer to non-existent legal cases.
In 2016, Simpson sued Vancouver Playhouse for $24,000 after inhaling smoke from burned sage at an event. The case was settled for $500.
Beginning in 2018, Simpson filed human rights complaints against at least 15 businesses, alleging anti-trans discrimination. Most were waxing salons run by Asian immigrants who declined to wax Simpson’s scrotum and pubic area. At least two businesses later closed. Simpson acknowledged making racist remarks to some salon employees. In 2019, a human rights tribunal ruled against Simpson and demanded $6,000 in restitution, upheld on appeal. They found that Simpson had directed racist remarks at some salon operators and was motivated by money and revenge. Simpson’s appeal was rejected.
In 2019, Simpson was arrested after brandishing a prohibited taser during a YouTube debate with conservative troll Blaire White. RCMP seized two tasers during the arrest. Simpson was found guilty, then sentenced to probation and a firearms prohibition. Simpson sued Langley township and filed complaints against the RCMP, alleging mistreatment while in detention.
Anti-trans extremist Amy Hamm also got into a dispute with Simpson, who accused Hamm of assault. Hamm then sued for defamation.
In 2020, Simpson filed more complaints, but those were later dropped. During the media circus, Simpson attacked conservative troll Keean Bexte of Rebel News and was found guilty of the assault in 2022.
Simpson also filed a complaint against Canada Galaxy Pageant after they did not allow Simpson to compete. The case was dismissed in 2025.
In December 2020, the RCMP charged Simpson with mischief and uttering threats during a dispute with anti-transgender troll Chris Elston. Simpson also enrolled at Simon Fraser University that year.
In 2021 Simpson sued Fraser Health and the Provincial Health Services Authority for allegedly revealing personal health information.
In 2021, Simpson sued lBC Emergency Health Services for $2,100, claiming a paramedic had damaged Simpson’s stove when they put their bag on it. That year, the Langley fire department stated they would charge Simpson for any future calls for service. They said Simpson had engaged in “inappropriate and lewd conduct” during dozens of non-emergency calls for help getting out of the bathtub.
A suit Simpson brought against Rebel News was dismissed under anti-SLAPP statutes.
Simpson also lodged nine small claims cases against the Langley strata corporation where Simpson lives.
In 2022, Simpson sued a pharmacy for not allowing Simpson to enter with a “service dog.” Simpson lost the case.
In 2023, Simpson took action against BC Emergency Health Services for flagging Simpson as a âmental health concernâ who “can be unpredictable and abusive to responders, may also have weapons in apt.” In dismissing the case and ordering Simpson to pay $1,620, the decision noted that Simpson made 53 calls to BC ambulance in 20 months, over 30 of which involved police backup.
In 2023 Simpson was found guilty of public mischief for falsely setting off a fire alarm and sentenced to 18 months probation. Simpson set off the alarm at the retirement home where parent Miriam Yaniv lives. Simpson’s “service dog” Rexy was not behaving at the facility, which led to a confrontation that culminated in Simpson calling 911 and setting off the fire alarm. In 2024 Simpson’s request to have probation conditions lifted was denied. Following the ruling Simpson hurled racial slurs and verbal abuse at anti-trans reporter Drea Humphrey of Rebel News.
In 2024, Simpson was added to a class action suit against Quaker Oats after the company removed products from shleves during a recall. Simpson was later removed.
In 2025, Simpson’s mortgage company began foreclosure procedures. Court documents alleged Simpson was avoiding being served legal papers.
In 2025, Simpson filed a human rights complaint against gas station owners Hung Long Enterprises for refusing entry to Simpson and dog Rexy. Simppson claimed Rexy was a service dog. The case was dismissed.
Small, Reid (May 26, 2022). Transgender activist Yaniv found guilty of assaulting journalist. Western Standard https://www.westernstandard.news/bc/watch-transgender-activist-yaniv-found-guilty-of-assaulting-journalist/article_f6c746be-dd34-11ec-932e-4bf58217e946.html
The Canadian Press (August 10, 2008). Unzip and unwind, says National Sex Day organizer. CTV News https://www.ctvnews.ca/unzip-and-unwind-says-national-sex-day-organizer-1.315017 [archive]
The Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) campaigns against diversity and inclusion movements, with a focus on gender and race.
Its members and leadership include key figures in the modern global anti-transgender movement.
note: for the media watchdog founded in 1986, see FAIR.
Background
FAIR was founded in 2021 by Bion Bartning, who was upset that teachers had introduced Bartning’s children to concepts associated with postmodernism, critical race theory, and intersectionality.
FAIR later expanded its mission to attack the rights of sex and gender minorities, primarily through its division FAIR in Medicine.
FAIR’s anti-transgender positions
FAIR claims schools are teaching children “to reject biology and to accept and reinforce gender norms and stereotypes.” They claim this is confusing children into thinking they are trans or gender diverse and “can lead some to consider serious and irreversible medical interventions.”
They also support the “parental rights” faction of anti-trans activists, saying “educators should inform families when a child is experiencing confusion or dysphoria around gender at school,” even if the educators know this may have negative consequences for the child.
While they claim to support “all sides of a clinical debate” about gender affirming care, their main goal is to support an activist minority within pediatrics and psychology who want to restrict or ban care for trans people under age 26. They do this through promoting the ex-transgender movement.
In 2023, the Archives of Sexual Behavior (ASB) published the latest in its 50 years of academic attacks on trans and gender diverse youth. The first author is “Suzanna Diaz,” a fake name used by someone with Parents of ROGD Kids, an anti-transgender front group for unsupportive parents of trans and gender-diverse children. The second author is transphobic psychologist J. Michael Bailey. The paper was retracted by the publisher, and an open letter called for the removal of ASB’s editor, sexologist Kenneth Zucker.
Zucker was defended by FAIR in an open letter after International Academy of Sex Research opened an investigation into how the “Diaz”/Bailey paper was published.
Isabella Malbin is an American anti-transgender activist and former birth worker.
Malbin is also an artist, hypnotist, podcaster, and snake charmer.
Background
Isabella A. Malbin was born on August 14, 1991 and graduated from LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. While attending Rhode Island School of Design, Malbin claims to have been “groomed into transgender ideology.”
The Isabella A. Malbin Trust fund was a shareholder in the Texas-based Simon C. Cornelius Partnership Ltd.
Malbin reportedly became concerned about value-neutral language after hearing a Caesarean section referred to as a belly birth. In March of 2020, a fertility education program dismissed Malbin for refusing to use gender-inclusive language such as people who menstruate or people with uteruses. Malbin claims the dismissal was for using the terms mother and woman.
Malbin frequently collaborates with other gender critical activists and maintains lists of “TERF approved” resources. Malbin and Mary Lou Singleton sell a $149.00 membership that includes a program called “Inoculating Our Children Against Transgender Ideology.”
Podcast
Malbin began the Whose Body Is It podcast in 2020. It contains “interviews with radical women raising consciousness on the harms of transgender ideology, pornography, prostitution, the medical industrial complex.”
2023
85. Escaping Sex Trafficking in the Age of “Sex Work is Work” â Olivia Ballard
84. Children Can’t Consent â Charlie’s Story
83. A Holistic & Spiritual Approach to Infertility â Kristin Hauser
82. False Promises & Exploitation: The Truth about IVF & Surrogacy â Marche’s Story
81. Standing for Women’s Sex Based Rights at NYC Pride 2023 â K. Yang
80. What has porn done to us? â Serendipiti Day
79. Navigating Betrayal & Belonging Post Mastectomy & Breast Implant Illness â Dr. Amanda Savage Brown
78. Detransition and Grow with Leigh Janet Marshall
77. âThe Second Colonizationâ: The Impact of Gender Identity on MÄori People with Michelle Uriarau
76. (Preview) What You Need to Know about the Medicated Shooters Headed to Our Schools with Robbie Rose
75. A New Look at Reproductive Sovereignty, Raising Boys and Recovering Our Instincts with Amy Ebert
74. The Ethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology with Jennifer Lahl
73. âIndigenous Feminism Redefined’ with Cherry Smiley
Shannon Hayes on choosing happiness over ‘success’
An ex-john opens up about buying sex and why he became an advocate against the sex trade
Mike Nayna on bullshit PhDs, viral racism, and The Reformers
Blindsight is 2020: Gabrielle Bauer on the Covid dissenters
Siddharth Kara on sex trafficking and the horrors of modern slavery in cobalt mines
April Hutchinson is a Canadian powerlifter who refuses to lose her sport to men
Live from Canada! With Canada’s preeminent lesbian, Eva Kurilova
‘These are not morally equivalent things’ â Batya Ungar-Sargon on Hamas’ attack on Israel
FULL INTERVIEW: Don’t turn your humanity over to the machine
‘This is punishment for dissent’ â C.J. Hopkins: tried for satire in Germany
Philip Slayton on free speech in Canada, antisemitism, and what it means to be a Jew
Climate change isn’t everything
In 2018, Benjamin A. Boyce began a series of interviews with other anti-transender, conservative, and ex-trans figures. The show is alternately called “Calmversations” or “The Boyce of Reason.” Despite the show’s relaxed tone, Boyce’s guests are often strident critics of progressive aspects of the trans rights movement.
Jennifer Finney Boylan is an American author, professor, and activist. Boylan has written several memoirs and novels and has frequently appeared in the media to discuss trans issues.
Notable work involving gender and media includes:
The memoir She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders (2003)
Giving the thumbs up to an anti-trans article by Lisa Selin Davis (2017)
Signing the Harper’s letter with J.K. Rowling and dozens of other anti-trans activists, later withdrawn (2020)
Writing opinion pieces for the Washington Post
Background
Jennifer Finney “Jenny” Boylan was born June 22, 1958 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Boylan earned a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in 1980, then earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1986. Boylan was a professor at Colby College from 1988 to 2014, then took an appointment at Barnard College. Several of Boylan’s early books were published prior to beginning transition in 2000. Boylan wrote an opinion column for the New York Times from 2007 to 2022 among other writing. Boylan has published opinion pieces in the Washington Post since 2014, increasing the frequency after leaving the New York Times.
In 1988 Boylan married Deirdre Finney Boylan (born 1960). They have two children, Sean (born 1996), and Zaira (born 1994), who is also trans.
Boylan served on the board of GLAAD and has held other roles at organizations benefiting sex and gender minorities. Boylan has appeared on Oprah and the Caitlyn Jenner reality show I Am Cait.
In 2023, Boylan was named President of PEN America.
Anti-drag factionalism
Boylan was a key figure with Christina Kahrl in the 2014 transbian attacks led by Parker Molloy that were critical of drag artists and the offensive language some of them use. This strain of respectability politics reached a boiling point when the three of them combined their ongoing anti-drag and anti-slur crusades to extract an apology from RuPaul and RuPaul’s Drag Race for a transphobic segment that was ultimately pulled. They bragged about taking over GLAAD, an organization built by the entire community that had previously helped settle intra-community disputes out of the public eye. In a mutually beneficial piece of logrolling, Boylan told Molloy:
“This is, to coin a phrase, not your father’s GLAAD, and this is not the work that was being done a decade ago. One reason why I think we’ve been able to make a little progress is that GLAAD is now largely run by trans people. We occupy positions from staff to volunteers to the board of directors, including its national co-chair, which is me. These are our lives we are talking about; the people demeaned by incidents like this one are the men and women who work here. And other cis staff members have been working for trans rights for years and years now. I am proud of the board and staff for their passion.”
Even after being presented with extensive evidence of Parker Molloy’s abuse and slurs toward other trans people, Boylan remained one of Molloy’s staunchest supporters. In exchange, Molloy would write publicity pieces for Boylan and launder them through Advocate.com until being suspended and ultimately resigning.
2020 Harper’s Letter
Boylan was a signatory on the 2020 “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate” in Harper’s Magazine. That open letter was criticized for the high percentage of “gender critical” people in the media, most notably anti-trans extremist J.K. Rowling. Boylan had been in awe of Rowling to the point that in 2010 Boylan created a children’s fantasy series called Falcon Quinn that shared remarkable similarities with Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise.
Boylan asked to be taken off the Harper’s Letter, claiming ignorance of the other signatories, while trans economist Deirdre McCloskey remained a signatory.
Books
Remind Me to Murder You Later (1988)
The Planets (1991)
The Constellations: A Novel (1994)
Getting In (1998)
She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders (2003)
I’m Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir (2008)
Falcon Quinn and the Black Mirror (2010)
Falcon Quinn and the Crimson Vapor (2011)
Stuck in the Middle with You: A Memoir of Parenting in Three Genders (2013)
Foreword fo Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community (2014)
You Are You (2015)
Falcon Quinn and the Bullies of Greenblud (2016)
Long Black Veil (2017)
Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs (2020)
Mad Honey: A Novel (2022) [with Jodi Picoult]
Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us (2025)
James, Andrea (July 24, 2014). The GLAAD Boardâs âTrannyâ Trouble: How Its Trans Takeover Is Reshaping LGBT Politics. Queerty https://www.queerty.com/the-glaad-boards-tranny-trouble-how-its-trans-takeover-is-reshaping-lgbt-politics-20140724 [archive]
Molloy, Parker Marie (March 29, 2014). Logo, RuPaul’s Drag Race Respond to Antitrans Slurs. Advocate.com https://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/03/29/logo-rupauls-drag-race-respond-antitrans-slurs
Boylan, Jennifer Finney (February 5, 2025). On cleavage: Mind the gap.The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/05/cleavage-men-women-transgender-marriage-love/
Originally billed as a podcast about “dumb internet garbage” or “internet nonsense,” in 2024 it was rebranded as about “internet controversies.”
Background
Blocked and Reported was founded in 2020 under the auspices of Permabanned Media LLC.
Their original logo was by a follower.They later got a less amateurish logo by Shannon Loys.
Orbiters and employees
In 2022 they engaged the services of two sociopathic trolls from another “drama” site called rdrama.net, a group banned from reddit for trolling who started a rival drama forum. They create hoaxes and memes to ratchet up online drama, which Blocked and Reported can then cover. Singal and Herzog seem unconcerned about the ethics of this practice.
One troll named Jack Despain Zhou uses the online handles Jackal, TraceWoodgrains, and Tracingwoodgrains. This person’s involvement is explained on their site using a homophobic and antisemitic meme:
Original homophobic and antisemitic cartoon by “A. Wyatt Mann” (left), repurposed and published by Singal and Herzog (right) on Blocked and Reported (2022) [enlarge]
The other troll uses the handle LexerLux and interacts with commenters.
As another example of how these Blocked and Reported employees reflect the low-empathy personalities of Singal and Herzog, within hours of the incident, “LexerLux” was posting hoaxes about the murders of six people at a Christian school in Tennessee.
“LexerLux” hoax posted the day of the Nashville school shooting
The podcast’s “one of the good ones” branding was perfected by Herzog’s former employer Dan Savage in the 1990s. They like to pretend they are edgy “lefty” iconoclasts who aren’t bothered by slurs and hoaxes, but these kinds of “pickme” people are invariably thin-skinned and histrionic about progressive neologisms as well as how others describe them.
Episodes have included a number of conservative, ex-trans, and anti-trans guests and guest hosts. Others have not publicly discussed their views on trans people.
On reddit, the r/BlockedAndReported subreddit is one of the few remaining anti-trans hate subreddits. They feature a tag specifically for Trans Issues and frequently disparage and mock trans people in the news.
Because so many of the members were involved in other anti-trans subreddits that have already been banned, moderators have had to set strict rules about how transphobic users contribute: “Any trans-related threads that are not DIRECTLY related to a topic discussed on the pod will be removed. However, feel free to post any other trans topics in the Weekly Discussion Thread.” This rule was later amended:
Trans Topics
Threads around trans topics are subject to removal at the arbitrary discretion of the mods. This sub is not meant to be a replacement for r/GenderCritical! Because of the overzealous reddit policies around this subject, discussions around this topic can put the sub at risk (even when there is nothing genuinely objectionable) and so any such threads will be monitored carefully, and possibly removed or locked if the mods deem it necessary.
Moderators include:
“SoftandChewy” (subreddit creator)
“ShaykItOff”
“Blanderama”
Related subreddits
In addition to r/IntellectualDarkWeb, the reddit algorithm for related communities showed that users frequently monitored the three top trans-supportive subreddits:
r/transgender
r/asktransgender
r/trans
The data visualization below shows the ideological overlap with other subreddits:
workmanswhistle (April 30, 2022). BAR getting some heat for LOTT hoax. reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/BlockedAndReported/comments/ufi6hi/bar_getting_some_heat_for_lott_hoax/ [archive]
blahblahblahblah8 (September 13, 2022). Finally, an accurate and fair-minded assessment of the pod and its sociopathic researcher. reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/BlockedAndReported/comments/xdo0vc/finally_an_accurate_and_fairminded_assessment_of/ [archive] [repost]
Andrew Sullivan is a conservative gay cultural critic and anti-transgender extremist. The Advocatenoted that Sullivan “represents everything wrong with the gay rights movement.”
Sullivan is an LGB separatist who subscribes to the “gay erasure” conspiracy theory that healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth is a plan to eliminate gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.
Sullivan says Catholic upbringing and values inform this conservatism. Sullivan’s gender critical views include:
Criticizing legal protections based on gender identity
Criticizing affirmative care for gender diverse youth
Sullivan believes that âStonewall was the downfall of the gay movementâ and that âthe gay movement was hijacked in the seventiesâ by activists.
Background
In 1986, Sullivan took a role at The New Republic, rising to editor in 1991 before leaving in 1996.
Sullivan wrote for The New York Times Magazine from 1998 until getting fired in 2002. During that time Sullivan started a blog called The Dish that ran until 2015. From 2016 to 2020 Sullivan wrote for New York magazine, then moved to Substack.
Anti-trans activism
Sullivan frequently appears in the media to attack trans people, especially gender diverse children.
Brantley, Will [editor] (2024). Conversations with Sarah Schulman. University Press of Mississippi, ISBN 978-1-4968-4836-9 https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.10782311.10
Sullivan, Andrew (September 20, 2019). When the Ideologues Come for the Kids. Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/andrew-sullivan-when-the-ideologues-come-for-the-kids.html
Sullivan, Andrew (February 1, 2019). The Nature of Sex.Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/andrew-sullivan-the-nature-of-sex.html
Sullivan, Andrew (June 2, 2014). Engaging The T.The Dish https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/threads/engaging-the-t/
Media
The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan and Brianna Wu (December 27, 2024). Brianna Wu On Trans Life. https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/brianna-wu-on-trans-life
Andrew Sullivan with Mara Kiesling (February 26, 2021). Mara Keisling On The Trans Debate. https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/mara-keisling-on-the-trans-debate
