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Candice Horbacz is an American adult entertainer who performed as Eva Lovia. Horbacz frequently platforms conservative and anti-transgender guests.

Podcast

Horbacz has hosted Chatting with Candice since 2020. Conservative and anti-transgender guests include:

Resources

Eva Lovia (evasthings.com)

Chatting with Candice (chattingwithcandice.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

OnlyFans (onlyfans.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Laurence Fox is an English actor and conservative activist. Fox has made a number of provocative statements attacking sex and gender minorities.

Background

Laurence Paul Fox was born May 26, 1978.

Fox graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Fox appeared in several film and television roles, including The Hole, Gosford Park, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Lewis, and W.E.

Fox was married to Billie Piper from 2007 to 2016. They have two children.

Activism

Fox has disparaged the Progress Pride flag, sharing an image of it distorted into a swastika. Fox also set one on fire.

Fox has appeared on many conservative and anti-trans platforms, including Debra Soh’s podcast.

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Jonathan Chait is an American writer and anti-transgender activist. Chait defended the New York Times and their decades of anti-trans coverage. Chait frequently promotes and logrolls for other anti-trans activists, including Jamie Reed, Hannah Barnes, and Jesse Singal.

Background

Jonathan Benjamin “Jon” Chait was born on May 1, 1972 to Illene Seidman Chait and David Chait.

Chait is a writer for New York since 2011, including their newsletter titled “&c.”

Chait’s spouse Robin Joy Bouckris Chait (born 1972) is a “school choice” activist.

Anti-transgender activism

Chait credulously repeats the claims of anti-trans friends, most notably former coworker Jesse Singal.

After anti-trans activist Jamie Reed began the process of getting trans healthcare criminalized in Missouri, Chait approvingly cited fawning articles about Reed.

Reed’s article went viral on social media, and was cited by numerous conservatives and transphobes as conclusive proof that too many kids are getting transition care. A couple of prominent liberals joined in as well. Matthew Yglesias cited it as credible on Twitter and Substack. “The picture she paints of the clinic’s treatment of children is ghastly. The affidavit she signed is even worse,” wrote Jonathan Chait at New York magazine. (It’s of a piece with an ongoing trend in liberal and centrist publications of writing anxious articles raising questions about youth transition care.)

Cooper (2023)

In Splice, Noah Berlatsky noted:

Chait has embraced the idea that trans children are able to access health care too easily. In a recent New York article, he told his readers of reports that young people were coming into trans health care clinics claiming to be rocks or mushrooms, and immediately being given hormones.

This raises questions. What hormones would you give a rock? Why would you use your platform to spew unconfirmed and nonsensical rumors? Chait’s claims were quickly debunked by local reporting in St. Louis. At which point Chait wandered onto Twitter to say he was updating his “Bayesian priors” and whine because people were mocking him for being a credulous and bigoted fool. […]

Reactionary centrists like Chait want to have it both ways. They want to oppose fascism without having to stand with marginalized people, who make them uncomfortable, or just seem less respectable than middle-aged white male pundits with sinecures at major magazines. Why can’t you fight fascism and deny trans people health care? “Both sides!” Chait bellows, as he bashes out a column warning of the dangers of the powerful governor of Florida and then turns around and bashes out a column about the dangers of human rights for a despised, marginalized minority.

Berlasky (2023)

Hanna Phifer noted in The Nation:

Jonathan Chait of New York’s The Intelligencer published a piece saying that the suggestion that the Times, or any publication for that matter, has any systemic influence, is “unhinged” and that the blame “lies first with politicians and the party that pass them.” But as the open letter pointed out, that is demonstratively untrue “As recently as February 8th, 2023, attorney David Begley’s invited testimony to the Nebraska state legislature in support of a similar bill approvingly cited the Times’ reporting and relied on its reputation as the ‘paper of record’ to justify criminalizing gender-affirming care.”

Phifer (2023)

References

Phifer, Hanna (February 23, 2023). I Signed the New York Times Open Letter. I Have More to Say. The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/society/new-york-times-open-letter-more-to-say/

Berlatsky, Noah (March 3, 2023). Jonathan Chait Tries to Be Both Anti-DeSantis and Anti-Trans. Splice Today https://www.splicetoday.com/politics-and-media/jonathan-chait-tries-to-be-both-anti-desantis-and-anti-trans

Cooper, Ryan (March 2, 2023). The Useful Idiots Fueling the Right-Wing Transphobia Panic. The American Prospect https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-03-02-right-wing-transphobia-panic/

Urquhart, Evan (February 17, 2023) Jonathan Chait, Tavistock, and the Truth. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/jonathan-chait-tavistock-and-the-truth

Chait, Jonathan (February 17, 2023). Fight the Anti-Trans Backlash With Accountability, Not Silence. Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/nytimes-letter-trans-gender-youth-accountability.html

Jonathan, Chait; Singal, Jesse (November 16, 2016). How Alarmed Should American Jews Be Right Now? Two Jews Kibitz. New York Magazine https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/11/is-there-a-new-american-antisemitism.html

Media

Chait, Jonathan (2007). The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics. ISBN 978-0618685400

Chait, Jonathan (2017). Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy that Will Prevail. ISBN 978-0062426970

Resources

New York Magazine (nymag.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Facebook (facebook.com)

James Esses is a British anti-transgender activist who was expelled from a university course for creating an anti-trans petition.

Esses is a founder of anti-trans trande group Thoughtful Therapists.

Background

Esses was a criminal defence barrister, later moving to civil service focused on criminal justice.

Esses was in a master’s program at Metanoia Institute. In 2021, Esses published an anti-trans petition to the UK government titled “Safeguard evidence-based therapy for children struggling with gender dysphoria.” This was in response to UK proposals to ban conversion therapies, including anti-transgender therapies.

Esses sued Metanoia after being expelled. Esses was represented by barrister Akua Reindorf and solicitor Peter Daly. Daly also represented anti-trans activists Maya Forstater, Allison Bailey, Raquel Rosario Sanchez, and Katie Alcock.

Declaration for Biological Reality

Esses promotes the anti-trans manifesto “Declaration for Biological Reality.” It is supported by numerous anti-trans organizations, including:

  • Bad Law Project
  • Critical Therapy Antidote
  • Don’t Divide Us
  • Evidence-Based Social Work Alliance (EBSWA)
  • Fair Cop
  • Family Education Trust
  • Genspect
  • HART
  • LGB Christians
  • Male Allies Challenging Sexism
  • New Culture Forum
  • Object!
  • Our Duty
  • Psychreg
  • Reclaim Party
  • Reduxx
  • Reform UK
  • ScotPAG
  • Scottish Feminist Network
  • Scottish Union For Education
  • Social Democratic Party
  • Thoughtful Therapists
  • UsForThem
  • Women’s Rights Network
  • WomenWon’tWheesht

Resources

Twitter (twitter.com)

Declaration for Biological Reality (declarationforbiologicalreality.org)

Thoughtful Therapists (thoughtfultherapists.org)

Joe Rogan is an American entertainer and one of the most influential figures in promoting and platforming conservative and anti-transgender views. Rogan is the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, which has disproportionately presented anti-trans beliefs and guests.

Background

Joseph James Rogan was born on August 11, 1967 in Newark, New Jersey. Rogan’s Catholic parents divorced when Rogan was five. Rogan lived in San Francisco and Gainesville, Florida before moving to Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. Rogan got involved in martial arts competitions as a teen and continued until age 21.

After graduating high school in 1985, Rogan briefly attended University of Massachusetts Boston. In 1988, Rogan began performing stand-up comedy, moving to New York City in 1990 to pursue it. In 1994 Rogan moved to Los Angeles and began acting while continuing stand-up, soon becoming a regular at The Comedy Store. Rogan starred in the sitcom NewsRadio from 1995 to 1999 and continued developing possible shows. In 1997, Rogan began a professional relationship with UFC as an interviewer and color commentator.

Rogan was an early online adopter among comedians, uploading blog posts and later video clips at joerogan.com starting in 1999. In 2000, Rogan released a comedy album. From 2001 to 2006 Rogan hosted reality show Fear Factor, and in 2003 Rogan co-hosted one season of The Man Show. In 2007 Rogan released a second stand-up special.

Rogan and Jessica Ditzel married in 2009 and have three children, one of whom is from Ditzel’s previous relationship. Rogan relocated to Austin, Texas in 2020 and opened the nightclub Comedy Mothership there in 2022.

The Joe Rogan Experience

In 2009, Rogan and Brian Redban began a podcast later titled The Joe Rogan Experience. In 2011, the podcast was picked up by SiriusXM. In 2020, Rogan made a deal with Spotify to move all but 42 episodes to their platform, with exclusive episodes starting in 2021. In 2022, about 70 additional episodes containing racially insensitive language were removed.

The podcast quickly became a key platform for laundering right-wing and anti-transgender extremism into mainstream media. A 2018 report by Data & Society found that the show was part of a network of YouTube channels logrolling alt-right and intellectual dark web extremism: “By connecting to and interacting with one another through YouTube videos, influencers with mainstream audiences lend their credibility to openly white nationalist and other extremist content creators.” Rogan dismissed the report as “guilt by association.”

See this list of selected conservative and anti-transgender guests. Themes of Rogan’s anti-trans guests include evolutionary psychology, biological essentialism, maintaining sex segregation (especially regarding transgender athletes), and attacks on policies and healthcare supporting trans and gender diverse youth. In contrast, the show has had far fewer guests with moderate or progressive views about trans people.

References

Lewis, Rebecca (September 18, 2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube. Data & Society https://datasociety.net/library/alternative-influence/ [PDF]

Ellis, Philip (July 22, 2020). Joe Rogan Is Spreading Transphobic Hate Speech and It’s Putting Lives in Danger. Men’s Health https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a33391944/joe-rogan-abigail-shrier-interview-transphobia/

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

Factora, James (January 31, 2022). Joe Rogan, Who Is Literally On Testosterone, Says Trans People Will Cause Societal Collapse. them. https://www.them.us/story/joe-rogan-trans-people-societal-collapse-testosterone-jordan-peterson

Factora, James (November 10, 2022). Nightmare Pairing Joe Rogan and Matt Walsh Compared Transness to Being in a Cult. them. https://www.them.us/story/joe-rogan-matt-walsh-transphobia

Resources

GLAAD (glaad.org)

Joe Rogan (joerogan.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Spotify (open.spotify.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

IMDb (imdb.com)

Greg Lukianoff is an American author, lawyer, and anti-transgender activist. Lukianoff leads the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a key resource for the “academic freedom” faction of anti-transgender activists.

Background

Gregory Christopher “Greg” Lukianoff was born in 1974 in New York City to Joanna Dalton Lukianoff and Basil Lukianoff. Lukianoff earned a bachelor’s degree from American University and a law degree from Stanford.

In 2012 Lukianoff married Michelle Aline LaBlanc (born 1977). Children Benjamin and Maxwell were born in ~2015 and ~2017.

Anti-transgender activism

In 2019 Lukianoff and Heterodox Academy founder Jonathan Haidt co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind.

They are key figures in promoting Alice Dreger’s cover-up of J. Michael Bailey’s fabricated “Danny Ryan” case report that got him tenure.

References

Lukianoff, Greg; Haidt, Jonathan (2019). The Coddling of the American Mind How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. Penguin, ISBN

Staff report (October 14, 2012). Weddings: Michelle LaBlanc, Gregory Lukianoff. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/fashion/weddings/michelle-lablanc-gregory-lukianoff-weddings.html

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Dave Rubin is a conservative media figure.

Background

David Joshua Rubin was born on June 26, 1976 in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Syosset High School in 1994, Rubin earned a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University in 1998. Rubin pursued stand-up comedy and intered on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Rubin hosted the podcasts Hot Gay Comics, The Ben and Dave Show, and The Six Pack. Rubin amassed a large following on Twitter.

In 2013, Rubin began hosting The Rubin Report on The Young Turks Network, which later moved to RYOT News, then Ora TV. In 2014 Rubin hosted The Golden Girls Ultimate Fan Club.

Rubin came out in 2006 and married producer David Janet in 2015.

Views on LGBTQ+ politics

Rubin is part of the anti-progressive faction of anti-trans media figures.

In 2022, Rubin spoke out against rainbow logos for gay pride month.

Rubin’s Twitter account was suspended after retweeting Jordan Peterson’s misgendered actor Elliot Page.

Rubin said “If I found out a teacher talked to my 6-year-old about gender or sexuality, I might kill that person.”

References

Staff report (September 15, 2022). Dave Rubin: If I found out a teacher talked to my 6-year-old about gender or sexuality, “I might kill that person.” Media Matters for America https://www.mediamatters.org/google/dave-rubin-if-i-found-out-teacher-talked-my-6-year-old-about-gender-or-sexuality-i-might

Ortiz, Candice (September 16, 2022). Dave Rubin Declares if a Teacher Talked to His Kids About Gender and Sexuality He ‘Might Kill That Person'”. Mediaite https://www.mediaite.com/podcasts/dave-rubin-declares-if-a-teacher-talked-to-his-kids-about-gender-and-sexuality-he-might-kill-that-person/

Resources

Rubin Report (rubinreport.com)

Rubinville (rubinville.com) [archive: 2001–2009]

  • dailydave.rubinville.com [archive: 2008–2011]

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Locals (locals.com)

Rumble (rumble.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

IMDb (imdb.com)

Greg Gutfeld is a conservative media figure and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Gregory John Gutfeld was born September 12, 1964 in San Mateo, California. Gutfeld grew up Catholic and earned a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Berkeley 1987.

Gutfeld worked for Rodale Press titles Prevention and Men’s Health. In 2003, Gutfeld was fired as editor of Stuff, then was editor of Maxim for two years. From 2005 to 2008, Gutfeld wa s a contributor to The Huffington Post.

Gutfeld joined Fox News in 2007, hosting Red Eye. In 2011, Gutfeld joined panel show The Five. In 2015 Gufeld began hosting The Greg Gutfeld Show.

References

HRC (October 30, 2011). HRC to FOX News: Stop Employing Anti-LGBT Bigots. HRC https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/hrc-to-fox-news-stop-employing-anti-lgbt-bigots

Staff report (January 7, 2009). GLAAD lists worst anti-gay defamers of 2008. OUTvoices https://outvoices.us/amp/glaad-lists-worst-anti-gay-defamers-of-2008-2655385476

Gutfeld, Greg (June 14, 2023) Greg Gutfeld: Trans Is Everywhere. Gutfeld! / Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/video/6329380875112

Vaillancourt, William (March 23, 2023). Greg Gutfeld Wonders About Transgender Athlete’s ‘Junk’. The Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/greg-gutfeld-wonders-about-transgender-athletes-junk

Resources

Greg Gutfeld (ggutfeld.com)

Greg Gutfeld (ggutter.com) [archive]

(ontheroadwithgutfeld.com)

(http://gutfeld.unisonevents.com/)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Locals (locals.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Mark Steyn is a conservative media figure and anti-transgender activist.

Anti-transgender activism

According to GLAAD:

  • Referred to transgender activists as “Big Tr*nny”: “So, when Big Tr*nny came for [the Boy Scouts], they caved instantly, and admitted transgender cubs.”
  • Called a Canadian non-discrimination law protecting trans people an “Orwellian assault on the most fundamental language, the language which defines the two sexes.”
  • A critic of transgender youth in sports, insisting that trans competitors “wreck a statewide sport for all the other participants.”
  • Suggested transgender activism is “biological man’s” attempt to replace women: “But where else can a biological man’s natural genetic strength find an outlet in today’s world? All the physical jobs are being lost to automation, and all the non-physical ones—from hotshot lawyering to the paper-shuffling cubicle jobs in health-care administration—are better done by women. When it comes to being the breadwinner and the provider, women are better at being men. When it comes to the fashion catwalk and the beauty pageant and the female athletics track, men are better at being women. Sooner than you think, the swap will be complete.”
  • Demeaned presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren for saying she would include the voices of transgender youth: “[Voters] wanted actual, serious policy, and they are not interested in letting the 9-year-old transgender fly the plane. They understand all that rubbish for the gesture politics that it is.”

Resources

GLAAD (glaad.org)

Mark Steyn (steynonline.com)

-PrisonerOfWindsor.com
MarkSteynClub.com
MarkSteynCruise.com
MarkSteynShow.com

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Xenny Xu is a conservative American author, politician, and activist who opposes affirmative action policies and progressive transgender policies.

Background

Kenneth M. “Kenny” Xu was born on August 6, 1997 to Cheng Kenneth Xu and Weiguang Grace Zhang (both born 1967). Xu attended Princeton High School in Princeton, New Jersey. Xu applied to Princeton University for college but was rejected. Xu believes this was due to policies that penalize applicants of Asian descent.

Xu earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College in 2019. While there, Xu interened at Young America Foundation and Heritage Foundation.

Xu is involved in activism opposing affirmative action, founding Color Us United and serving on the board of Students for Fair Admissions, the group that prevailed in a landmark 2023 Supreme Court ruling against Harvard over race-based admission policies.

Xu has authored books, including:

  • Trisk (2013)
  • An Inconvenient Minority: The Harvard Admissions Case and the Attack on Asian American Excellence (2021)=
  • School of Woke: How Critical Race Theory Infiltrated American Schools and Why We Must Reclaim Them (2023)

Anti-trans activism

Xu has stated opposition to healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth, as well as opposition for sex education until after many students have reached puberty. Xu stated:

Most Americans and I are supportive of topics around sexuality to be out of the classroom until at least middle school. But transgender care outfits like UNC Health and ECU Health claim to “work with schools” to identity kids who are eligible for their transitioning clinics.

Xu has appeared on several shows with anti-trans hosts, including Tim Pool, Megyn Kelly, Robby Soave, Lauren Chen, Debra Soh, Peter Boghossian, Allie Beth Stuckey, Christopher Rufo, Benjamin Boyce, Vivek Ramaswamy, James Lindsay, Charles Murray, Tucker Carlson, Jonathan Kay, and Sebastian Gorka.

Xu is an advisor to anti-trans group Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism.

References

Xu, Kenny (December 16, 2021 ) Elite Winsor Girls School In Boston Moving Away From Calling Girls “Girls.” Legal Insurrection https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/12/elite-winsor-girls-school-in-boston-moving-away-from-calling-girls-girls/

Resources

Kenny Xu for Congress (kennyxuforcongress.com)

Color Us United (colorusunited.org)

Students for Fair Admissions (studentsforfairadmissions.org)

Inconvenient Minority (inconvenientminority.com) [unsecure]

Twitter (twitter.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)