Ruth Barrett is an American spiritual leader and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Ruth Bienenfeld was born on February 4, 1954 in Los Angeles to a family deeply involved in Reconstructionist Judaism. After marrying William Q. Barrett in 1977, Ruth Barrett had a child, Amanda Rebecca Barrett, born in 1978.
Barrett attended University of California, Santa Cruz to pursue an interest in spirituality and folklore, eventually joining a coven in 1977.
Barrett began performing women’s music as a teen and recorded five albums with fellow mountain dulcimer player Cyntia Smith beginning in 1981.
Barrett divorced after coming out as lesbian in 1984.
From 1991 until its closure, Barrett was heavily involved with the trans-exclusionary Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Barrett performed with Kay Gardner after they met there. Barrett began releasing solo works in 1990.
Barrett led Moon Birch Grove coven until 1988. That year, Barrett founded Circle of Aradia, which affiliated with Reformed Congregation of the Goddess in 1993. Barrett relocated with partner Falcon River to the Midwest in 2000, founded the nonprofit Temple of Diana, Inc. in 2001, and continues to teach and perform at music events and festivals.
Trans-exclusionary activism
In addition to involvement in Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, Barrett is an adherent to “Dianic Wicca,” an explicitly trans-exclusionary set of beliefs and practices.
Dianic tradition is celebrated in exclusively female-only circles.
Power is sourced through our wombs, and female embodied magic that is found in every cell of her body.
A woman is a person who is an adult human female (XX).
In the current climate where transgender activists seek to eliminate protections based on biological sex, we will not participate in our own oppression and erasure by pretending that our bodies are insignificant to what makes us female, as girls and women.
We encourage males who are trans identified to create their own rites of passage that address their significant life cycle events from birth into elderhood. We welcome females who have de-transitioned and wish to reclaim their female being free of patriarchal collusion.
Female Erasure (2016)
Barrett is editor of the anthology Female Erasure: What You Need To Know About Gender Politics’ War on Women, the Female Sex and Human Rights. The book puts forth a variety of anti-trans views centered on the conspiracy theory that trans people are “erasing” women and lesbians.
Milli Hill is a British author and anti-transgender activist. Hill was upset after reading the term “birthing person,” a value-neutral and inclusive term to describe all people who can give birth. After getting pushback about her views, Hill leaned even harder into anti-transgender activism.
Background
Milli Hill was born in January 1975 and attended Leweston school before earning a degree from Durham University in 1996. After working as an actor and dramatherapist, Hill began a writing career focusing on birth, breastfeeding, and motherhood.
Hill gave birth to three children. Hill has written three book about pregnancy and childcare and founded the Positive Birth Movement in-person support group network that was active until 2021. Hill incorporated Milli Hill, Ltd. in 2020.
On November 25, 2020, Hill was tagged in a social media post about obstetric violence that used the term “birthing people.” Hill replied:
“Thanks. Good to see this post. I would challenge the term ‘birthing person’ in this context though, especially on international day to end violence against women. It is women who are seen as the ‘fragile sex’ etc, and obstetric violence is violence against women. Let’s not forget who the oppressed are here, and why.”
The original poster replied, “Obstetric violence is violence against anyone on the receiving end of obstetric violence – women, trans men, non-binary people, anyone.”
Hill replied:
“Personally I think it’s part of violence against women but if you disagree then at least don’t leave them out and say ‘women and birthing people’.
Hill has gone on to become a leading anti-trans voice, frequently criticizing the civil rights movement in general and specific activists in particular in the press and on social media.
Julie Jaman is an American anti-transgender activist. Jaman became a celebrity among other anti-trans activists after being banned from a local swimming pool for asking a trans employee to leave the sex-segregated changing area.
Background
Julie Jaman was born in March 1942 and is a resident of Port Townsend, Washington. Mountain View Pool is a City of Port Townsend facility operated in partnership with the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.
According to reports, Jaman verbally abused 18-year old pool employee Clementine Adams, whose job was to help supervise a group of young swimmers:
Three weeks ago, that employee was doing her job of supervising a group of kids when a patron named Julie Jaman began to hurl increasingly aggressive transphobic remarks at her. Other employees told Jaman to leave, but she later returned to picket the facility. Conservative media picked up the story, people started threatening YMCA employees, and now the entire facility has had to temporarily close due to those threatening messages.
Showering after my swim at Mt. View Pool, I heard a man’s voice. Peeking out I saw a man in a woman’s bathing suit watching little girls pull down their swimsuits In order to use the bathroom. “Get out of here,” I said.
This is the incident that caused a Y staff person to condemn me as discriminatory and banned me forever from using the pool – the pool with binary changing areas that my family has supported and used for 35 years. I sense I have arrived at the center of this topsy turvy world.
Jaman quickly became part of the anti-trans outrage cycle, appearing in anti-trans publications Quillette, Feminist Current, New York Post, Daily Mail, Fox News, Rebel News, and Washington Times. The pool and YMCA soon received harassment and threats, and a right-wing militia staged a protest.
Adams, who is a college student majoring in elementary education, was supported by the facility and the city. A GoFundMe to help Adams with transition costs raised over $20,000.
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”
Leith, Sam (July 10, 2023). Trans activists don’t help themselves.The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/trans-activists-dont-help-themselves/
Megan Phelps-Roper is an American author and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Phelps-Roper was born January 31, 1986 to Shirley Phelps-Roper and Brent Roper and grew up in Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-LGBT hate group based in Topeka, Kansas. Starting at five years old, Phelps-Roper participated in many of the organization’s picketing events, attacking Jewish people, military servicemembers, and the LGBTQ community.
In 2011, Phelps-Roper appeared in Louis Theroux’s documentary America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis. Phelps-Roper left Westboro Baptist Church in 2012.
Phelps-Roper married lawyer Chad G. Fjelland (born 1972) and has two children.
In October 2019, Phelps-Roper released a memoir called Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope.
Anti-trans activism
Phelps-Roper was recruited by anti-trans activist Bari Weiss to host a podcast series that defended transphobic author J.K. Rowling. The series used nostalgia for Rowling’s stories to paint Rowling sympathetically, as a misunderstood person simply advocating for women.
Yoffe contributed to the anti-trans publication The Free Press in 2022 and joined the staff later that year.
Jamie Reed allegations
In 2023, Jamie Reed came forward to complain about treatment protocols at employer Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Republican Ernie Trakas joined Vernadette Broyles in representing Reed. Both are involved in the Child and Parental Rights Campaign, which claims “gender ideology” is a threat to children.
Yoffe interviewed Reed with Broyles and Bari Weiss.
“Caroline” allegations
Also in 2023, Yoffe followed up with a self-report from “Caroline,” an unsupportive parent of “Casey,” who attended the St. Louis Clinic. “Casey”disputed Yoffe’s reporting, feeling it was necessary to do so under the actual name Alex:
My name is Alex. Emily Yoffe and Bari Weiss worked in cooperation with my mom to write an article about our experience with Washington University. The article is filled with falsehoods and misconceptions. Now, my family is being threatened with legal action from big-time lawyers and we need help paying for legal defense. More at https://twitter.com/sleepyoktobur/status/1643347040250781706?s=46
The leading transgender health organization promotes life-altering interventions on minors — some that leave young people sterile. @LisaSelinDavis has the story. https://t.co/1iQc8RG6eQ
Staff report (September 18, 1994). Weddings – Emily J. Yoffe, John D. Mintz. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/18/style/weddings-emily-j-yoffe-john-d-mintz.html
Yoffe, Emily (June 27, 2022). Biden’s Sex Police. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/bidens-sex-police
Martina Navratilova is a Czech-American tennis player and anti-transgender activist.
Navratilova is a sex segregationist whose primary concern is maintaining segregationism that keeps women and girls in inferior roles in society. Of particular interest is maintaining women’s subordinate place via sex-segregated competitive sport, primarily by attacking transgender athletes.
Background
Martina Šubertová was born October 18, 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to an athletic family. Martina’s stepparent Miroslav Navrátil coached Martina in tennis. Martina took that surname and went pro in 1975. Navratilova dominated professional tennis for the next three decades and is considered on of the greatest players of all time.
Navratilova was coached for a time by trans athlete Renée Richards.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2019, Navratilova made a number of comments about trans athletes that led to LGBT organizations cutting ties.
Navratilova is a member of the anti-trans organization Women’s Sports Policy Working Group and has published anti-trans views on social media and in anti-trans publications, including Quillette, The Times, and BBC.
Coleman, Doriane; Navratilova, Martina; Richards-Ross, Sanya (April 29, 2019). Opinion: Pass the Equality Act, but don’t abandon Title IX. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/pass-the-equality-act-but-dont-abandon-title-ix/2019/04/29/2dae7e58-65ed-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html
Dean Baquet is an American journalist who helped shape the New York Times newsroom’s anti-transgender crusade in the 21st century.
Background
Dean Paul Baquet was born on September 21, 1956 to a prominent Catholic family in New Orleans. Baquet attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue journalism. Baquet worked at the New Orleans States-Item and The Times-Picayune before joining the Chicago Tribune in 1984, followed by the New York Times in 1990 and the Los Angeles Times in 2000. After being fired by Los Angeles Times in 2006, Baquet returned to the New York Times. Baquet became executive editor there in 2014. Baquet moved back to Los Angeles during the pandemic. After running the New York Times from LA for a time, Baquet was replaced by Joe Kahn in 2022. The Times then tapped Baquet to run a fellowship program for local investigative journalism.
Baquet’s spouse Dylan F. Landis was born December 3, 1956 and graduated from Barnard in 1978 before pursuing a writing career. Landis and Baquet married in 1986. Their child Ari Theogene Landis Baquet was born in 1989.
Anti-transgender activism
Under Baquet’s watch, The Times‘ persistently anti-trans coverage continued to escalate, particularly in the Science, Books, Politics, and Opinion sections. During that time, the paper also ended the vital Public Editor role. Without that oversight or accountability, the transphobic coverage got even worse.
Baquet’s coverage crisis reached its tipping point in 2021, when Baquet let anti-trans activist Pamela Paul hire anti-trans activist Jesse Singal to review anti-trans activist Helen Joyce’s book Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality.
Employee affinity group Times Out reached out to NYT leaders. Via Imara Jones at Translash:
So, almost out of desperation, Times Out leaders decided that their best bet was to go to the very top of the news food chain: Managing Editor Dean Baquet. […] But their official request to talk to Dean was rebuffed.
Times Out leader Priya Arora emailed Baquet directly, and Baquet defended Pamela Paul.
Singal, Jesse (September 7, 2021). Trans Rights and Gender Identity. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/books/review/trans-helen-joyce.html
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/
Erik Wemple is an American writer and anti-transgender activist. As media critic for the Washington Post, Wemple defended the New York Times during its anti-trans coverage crisis of the 2020s.
Background
Erik Boris Wemple was born August 18, 1964 in Niskayuna, New York and grew up in the Schenectady area. Wemple’s parent Marilyn Helen Greve Wemple (1930–2000) had three children: Mark, Kirk, and Erik (the youngest). Parent Clark Cullings Wemple (1927–1993) was a prominent local Republican politician and lawyer.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College in 1986, Wemple earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University in 1989. After covering and consulting on US export control policy, Wemple began covering local Washington, DC news, including freelancing at Washington City Paper starting in 1994. Wemple served one term on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission in 1995, representing Dupont Circle.
From 1999 to 2000, Wemple was “Loose Lips” gossip columnist at Washington City Paper. Wemple left to work at inside.com for two years before returning to Washington City Paper as editor in 2002.
In 2006 Wemple worked for a few days as editor in chief of The Village Voice before backing out and returning to Washington City Paper until 2010. After working at TBD.com in 2010, Wemple joined the Washington Post in 2011.
Wemple’s spouse, Stephanie Mencimer (born September 1969), is also a writer. They live in Maryland and have two children, Sam (born ~2004) and Lucy (born ~2006).
New York Times anti-trans coverage crisis
Although Wemple claims the New York Times coverage of trans issues is unbiased, in 2022 Wemple at least acknowledged the controversy. Wemple confirmed that a Times employee had reportedly been accosted for their anti-trans coverage, as first reported by Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger. A Times spokesperson told Wemple: “Our employee was recognized in public. The person said something about ‘attempts to eliminate trans people’ and then spat on the employee.” The specific employee was not mentioned, and New York Times has too many anti-trans employees to make a guess.
In 2023, Jesse Singal, the anti-trans activist hired by Times anti-trans activist Pamela Paul to review a book by anti-trans activist Helen Joyce, naturally praised Wemple.
6/ The thoughtful responses carefully evaluating Eric Wemple's arguments and where they fall short began trickling in shortly after the piece went up:https://t.co/Rr8ND6Efk9
Staff report (June 15, 2006). Breaking: New ‘Voice’ EIC Erik Wemple Quits Before He Starts. Gawker https://www.gawker.com/news/village-voice/breaking-new-voice-eic-erik-wemple-quits-before-he-starts-181133.php [archive]
Wemple, Erik (August 9, 2010). Letter from the editor: TBD is a little less TBD.TBD https://web.archive.org/web/20100815213043/http://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/08/letter-from-the-editor-tbd-is-a-little-less-tbd-790.html
Calderone, Michael (February 23, 2010). Wemple to edit Allbritton local site.Politico https://www.politico.com/story/2010/02/wemple-to-edit-allbritton-local-site-033365
Staff rpeort (February 23, 2010). Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple is leaving the paper. AAN News https://aan.org/aan/washington-city-paper-editor-erik-wemple-is-leaving-the-paper/ [archive]