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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.

Contributors:

  • Lane Anderson
  • Temple Ardinger
  • Ruth Barrett
  • Cathy Brennan
  • Dominique Christina
  • “Crash” [Ky Schevers]
  • Alix Dobkin
  • Maya Dillard Smith
  • “Gallusmag” [Linda Shanko]
  • Elizabeth Hungerford
  • Sheila Jeffreys
  • Nedra Johnson
  • Nuriddeen Knight
  • “Mara Lake”
  • Julia Long
  • Vajra Ma
  • Patricia McFadden
  • Patricia Monaghan (1946-2012)
  • Ava Park
  • Falcon River
  • “Joan F. Archive”
  • Monica Asencio
  • Jennifer Bilek
  • Mary Ceallaigh
  • “Double XX Howl”
  • Kathy Crocco
  • Carol Downer
  • Ila Suzanne Gray
  • Elsa Gidlow (1898 – 1986)
  • “Hypotaxis”
  • Rachel Ivey
  • Lierre Keith
  • Dr. Kathleen “Kelly” Levinstein
  • Sara St. Martin Lynne
  • Kathy Mandigo, M.D.
  • Jackie Mearns
  • Barbara Mor (1936 – 2015)
  • “Phonaesthica”
  • Max Robinson
  • Kathy Scarbrough
  • Sally Tatnall
  • Sharon Thrace
  • “Marie Verite” [Denise Caignon]
  • Mary Lou Singleton
  • Monica Sjöö (1938 – 2005)
  • Yeye Luisah Teish
  • Devorah Zahav
  • Additional acknowledgements: Karen Cayer, Mary Daly, Therese Hill, and Shiela Jeffreys

References

Malkmus, Doris (November 28, 2004). Oral History Interview: Ruth Barrett. (PDF) LGBTQ Religious Archives Network https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/media/oral-history/ruth-barrett/RBarrett.pdf

Malkmus, Doris (August 5, 2020). Ruth Barrett | Profile. LGBTQ Religious Archives Network https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/ruth-barrett

Cowanl, Zagria (November 9, 2010). Ruth Rhiannan Barrett (1954–) priestess, folksinger. https://zagria.blogspot.com/2010/11/ruth-rhiannan-barrett-1954-priestess.html

Resources

Female Erasure (femaleerasure.com)

Dancing Tree (dancingtree.org)

Temple of Diana (templeofdiana.org)

Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries (womensriteswomensmysteries.com) [archive]

Guardians of the Grove (guardiansofthegrove.org) [archive]

  • The Spiral Door Women’s Mystery School of Magick and Ritual Arts

Aeolus Music (aeolusmusic.com) [archive]

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.

References

Smith, Julia Llewellyn (July 21, 2021) Milli Hill: the campaigner cancelled for questioning the term ‘birthing people.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/milli-hill-the-campaigner-cancelled-for-questioning-the-term-birthing-people-dkqplw0b7

Hill, Milli (May 17, 2022). When even midwives are being taught that men can give birth, I despair for motherhood, says childbirth expert MILLI HILL. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10826897/Trans-debate-midwives-taught-men-birth-despair-MILLI-HILL-says.html

Resources

Milli Hill (millihill.co.uk)

Positive Birth Movement (positivebirthmovement.org)

Milli Hill Ltd.

  • Company number 12523381

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

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.

Baume (2022)

According to Jaman:

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 (2022)

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.

References

Farberov, Snejana (August 16, 2022). 80-year-old who was banned by YMCA for confronting trans worker gets heckled at rally. New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/08/16/woman-heckled-at-rally-after-confronting-trans-ymca-worker/

Wood, Jeremy (September 21, 2022 ). Mountain View Pool did the right thing, Julie Jaman has the chance to do the same | Guest Viewpoint. Port Towsend Leader https://www.ptleader.com/stories/mountain-view-pool-did-the-right-thing-julie-jaman-has-the-chance-to-do-the-same-guest-viewpoint,86822

Segall, Peter (September 8, 2022). Port Townsend City Council continues to hear about trans issues. Peninsula Daily News https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/port-townsend-city-council-continues-to-hear-about-trans-issues/

Anti-trans coverage

Jaman, Julie (July 28, 2022). Censored: Men’s Eyes in Women’s Shower Room. https://www.porttownsendfreepress.com/2022/08/04/censored-mens-eyes-in-womens-shower-room/

Murphy, Meghan (August 28, 2022). Julie Jaman asked a man to leave the women’s change room and was banned from her community pool. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2022/08/28/julie-jaman-asked-a-man-to-leave-the-womens-change-room-and-was-banned-from-her-community-pool/

Kay, Jonathan (August 12, 2022). Podcast # 195: Meet the 80-Year-Old Feminist Who Got Banned From the YMCA for Protesting Male Bodies in the Women’s Locker Room. Quillette https://quillette.com/2022/08/12/podcast-195-meet-the-80-year-old-feminist-who-got-banned-from-the-ymca-for-protesting-male-bodies-in-the-womens-locker-room/

Resources

GoFundMe (gofundme.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

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/

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

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/

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)

Twitter (twitter.com)

The Spectator (spectator.co.uk)

UnHerd (unherd.com)

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.

Media

Wynn, Natalie (April 17, 2023). The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. Contrapoints https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmT0i0xG6zg

Shepard, Dax (June 15, 2023). Megan Phelps-Roper Armchair Expert nwith Dax Shepard

-https://www.ted.com/talks/megan_phelps_roper_i_grew_up_in_the_westboro_baptist_church_here_s_why_i_left

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

TED (ted.com)

Emily Yoffe is an American author and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Emily Joy Yoffe was born October 15, 1955. Yoffe graduated from Wellesley College in 1977.

In 1994 Yoffe married reporter John Douglas Mintz (born 1952). Their child Eliora Rose Mintz (born 1995) is a lawyer.

Yoffe wrote the “Dear Prudence” advice column for Slate from 2006 to 2015.

Anti-transgender activism

In 2020, Yoffe signed the “Harper’s Letter,” which featured many other anti-trans activists in Yoffe’s circle.

Yoffe was a frequent guest on anti-transgender podcast The Femsplainers hosted by Danielle Crittenden and Christina Hoff Sommers

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

(GoFundMe)

Yoffe has since uplifted other anti-trans activists, including Jesse Singal, Leor Sapir, J. Michael Bailey, and Lisa Selin Davis.

References

Yoffe, Emily (February 14, 2023). Jamie Reed Blows the Whistle on Pediatric Gender CareThe Free Press. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6sPG7gleOs&t=631s

Munz, Michele (Febriary 19, 2023). Choice of lawyers for whistleblower at St. Louis transgender clinic taints her motive, critics say. St. Louis Post-Dispatch https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/choice-of-lawyers-for-whistleblower-at-st-louis-transgender-clinic-taints-her-motive-critics-say/article_7b36198a-af0d-57cf-a06c-f45952b3b307.html

Bassett, Laura (April 4, 2023). Gender Fluid Teen Pushes Back Against ‘False’ Viral Story Their Mom Gave to Conservative Outlet. Jezebel https://jezebel.com/gender-fluid-teen-pushes-back-against-false-viral-story-1850301057

Hansford, Amelia (April 6, 2023). Teen hits back after mum shares fake news about puberty blockers: ‘This is my story, not hers.’ https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/04/06/puberty-blockers-transition-story-the-free-press/

Wiggins, Christopher (April 5, 2023). Mom’s Interview With Anti-Trans Media Draws Criticism After Teen Responds. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/media/transgender-teen-mother-interview

Schrappen, Colleen. Parents push back on allegations against St. Louis transgender center. ‘I’m baffled..’ STLtoday.com https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/parents-push-back-on-allegations-against-st-louis-transgender-center-i-m-baffled/article_a94bc4d2-e68b-535f-b0c7-9fefb9e8e9f4.html

Hanshaw, Annelise (March 1, 2023). Families dispute whistleblower’s allegations against St. Louis transgender centerMissouri Independent https://missouriindependent.com/2023/03/01/transgender-st-louis-whistleblower/

Hail Flory, Julie (2023-02-09). Statement on Transgender Center – The Source – Washington University in St. LouisThe Source https://source.wustl.edu/2023/02/statement-on-transgender-center/

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey Confirms Launch of Multi-Agency Investigation into St. Louis Transgender Center for Harming Hundreds of Children. https://ago.mo.gov/home/news/2023/02/09/missouri-attorney-general-andrew-bailey-confirms-launch-of-multi-agency-investigation-into-st.-louis-transgender-center-for-harming-hundreds-of-children

Staff report (September 18, 1994). Weddings – Emily J. Yoffe, John D. MintzNew 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

Yoffe, Emily (April 3, 2023). ‘I Felt Bullied’: Mother of Child Treated at Transgender Center Speaks Out. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/i-felt-bullied-mother-of-child-treated

Yoffe, Emily (February 14, 2023). Jamie Reed Blows the Whistle on Pediatric Gender Care https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6sPG7gleOs

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

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 Ć ubertovĂĄ was born October 18, 1956 in Prague, Czechoslovakia to an athletic family. Martina’s stepparent Miroslav NavrĂĄtil 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 RenĂ©e 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.

References

Masters, James (February 18, 2019). Martina Navratilova criticized over ‘transphobic’ commentsCNN https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/18/tennis/martina-navratilova-trans-women-comments-spt-scli-intl/index.html

Padgett, Donald (July 12, 2023). Megan Rapinoe and Martina Navratilova Spar Over Trans Women in Sports. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/sports/megan-rapinoe-martina-navratilova-transgender

Navratilova, Martina (February 17, 2019). The rules on trans athletes reward cheats and punish the innocent. The Times [Archive] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-rules-on-trans-athletes-reward-cheats-and-punish-the-innocent-klsrq6h3x

Staff report (February 20, 2019). LGBT group severs links with Navratilova over transgender comments. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47301007

Hoffman, Joanna (February 19, 2019). Athlete Ally: Navratilova’s Statements Transphobic and Counter to our Work, Vision and Values. New York: Athlete Ally. Retrieved February 28, 2019.

Staff report (March 3, 2019). Martina Navratilova sorry for transgender ‘cheat’ language as she re-enters debate. BBC Sport https://www.bbc.com/sport/47433144

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

Coleman, Doriane; Navratilova, Martina (November 29, 2021). On the Issue of Female Athletics, the IOC Has Shirked Its Duty to Lead. Quillette https://quillette.com/2021/11/29/on-the-issue-of-female-athletics-the-ioc-has-shirked-its-duty-to-lead/

Navratilova, Martina (June 26, 2019). The Trans Women Athlete Dispute with Martina NavratilovaBBC One https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00069nr/the-trans-women-athlete-dispute-with-martina-navratilova

Assunção, Muri. Martina Navratilova signs letter supporting Idaho law that limits transgender student athletes. NY Daily News https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-martina-navratilova-supports-idaho-anti-transgender-sports-bill-20200804-5rbbp2kptfc27l7ybgwamzhhpu-story.html

Meet the Working GroupWomen’s Sports Policy Working Group https://womenssportspolicy.org/about-us/#working-group

Brennan, Christine (February 1, 2021). Sports leaders seek to protect women’s sports while accommodating transgender girls and womenUSA Today. Retrieved June 5, 2022. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2021/02/01/group-protect-womens-sports-accommodate-transgender-athletes/4345854001/

Resources

Martina Navratilova (martinanavratilova.com)

Women’s Sports Policy Working Group (womenssportspolicy.org)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Top Court (topcourt.com)

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.

References

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

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/

Staff report (September 7, 1986). Dean Paul Baquet Marries Miss Landis in Larchmont. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/07/style/dean-paul-baquet-marries-miss-landis-in-larchmont.html

Hays, Kali (July 26, 2021). Exclusive: New York Times Editor Dean Baquet Has Been Running the Gray Lady from L.A. Los Angeles Magazine https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/dean-baquet-los-angeles/

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Dylan Landis (dylanlandis.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

The Skimm (theskimm.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

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.

Wemple did not bother to mention that Singal’s review was the cause of an earlier newsroom revolt over anti-trans activism.

See also

Erik Wemple: Defense of New York Times’ transphobia (2023)

References

Urquhart, Evan (June 15, 2023). Erik Wemple Doesn’t Think the New York Times is Biased. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/erik-wemple-doesnt-think-the-new-york-times-is-biased

Sulzberger, A.G. (April 4, 2022). 2022 State of The Times Remarks. New York Times Company https://www.nytco.com/press/2022-state-of-the-times-remarks/

Wemple, Erik (June 15, 2023 ) Opinion: A second look at the attacks on the New York Times’s trans coverage. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/15/new-york-times-transgender-coverage-controversy/

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

Nycz-Conner, Jennifer (February 23, 2010). Erik Wemple leaves Washington City Paper, joins Allbritton Communications. Washington Business Journal https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/02/22/daily22.html

Farhi, Paul (February 24, 2010). City Paper’s Erik Wemple to edit local news Web site. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/23/AR2010022304711.html

Beaujon, Andrew (February 23, 2010). Erik Wemple to Leave City Paper, Will Edit Startup Local News Site. Washington City Paper https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/474505/erik-wemple-to-leave-city-paper-will-edit-startup-local-news-site/

Wilkin, Jeff (November 3, 2014). On Election Day ’74, winners savored victories. https://dailygazette.com/2014/11/03/1103_scrapbook/

McGuire, Mark (September 21, 2014). Niskayuna native Erik Wemple now a D.C. fixture. The Daily Gazette https://dailygazette.com/2014/09/21/niskayuna-native-dc-fixture/

Staff report (May 31, 2006). Erik Wemple Hired to Lead the Village Voice. AAN News https://aan.org/aan/erik-wemple-hired-to-lead-the-village-voice/

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]

Beaujon, Andrew (January 6, 2023) A Chat With Erik Wemple, One of the Washington Post’s New Editorial Writers for DC Matters. Washingtonian https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/01/06/erik-wemple-washington-post-editorial-writer-dc-md-va/

Resources

Washington Post (washingtonpost.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

TBD (tbd.com)

  • Erik Wemple [archive]
  • http://www.tbd.com/staff/erik-wemple

AAN (aan.org)

  • Erik Wemple [archive]
  • aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewPerson?oid=oid%3A7408

Twitter (twitter.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.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 exposĂ© 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 transphobic 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/

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

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

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

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

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/

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 themSlate https://slate.com/technology/2022/11/puberty-blockers-side-effects-controversy.html

Migdon, Brooke (February 15, 2023). NYT contributors blast paper’s coverage of transgender peopleThe 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 warThe Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/02/15/new-york-times-accused-writers-anti-trans-bigotry/

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 (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/

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

New York Times (nytimes.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

She Said (shesaidthebook.com)

  • About
  • https://www.shesaidthebook.com/about

Library of Congress (loc.gov)

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