Skip to content

media

Abigail Shrier is an American author and anti-transgender extremist. Shrier is a key historical figure in the oppression of trans and gender diverse youth.

Shrier is author of the 2020 book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters and testified against the Equality Act before Congress in 2021. Shrier has contributed to numerous anti-trans publications, including The Wall Street Journal and group blogs Quillette and The Free Press. Shrier was affiliated with PragerU and is a fellow of Manhattan Institute, an anti-trans think tank.

Background

Abigail Brett Krauser Shrier was born June 21, 1978 and grew up in College Park, Maryland. Shrier’s parents are Sherrie L. Krauser, a judge of the Circuit Court of Maryland, and Peter B. Krauser, a judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.

Shrier attended Sheridan School and Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 2000, Shrier earned a bachelor’s degree from Oxford in 2002. Shrier then earned a law degree from Yale University in 2005. After clerking for Judith W. Rogers and Chief Justice Aharon Barak of the Supreme Court of Israel, Shrier was admitted to the New York Bar in 2006 and the California Bar in 2007. Shrier was an associate attorney at Irell & Manella from 2006 to 2008 before becoming a full-time writer in 2009. Shrier’s California license became inactive in 2009.

Shrier is a registered Republican and married wealth manager Zachary Loren Shrier in 2007.

Anti-trans activism

Shrier’s anti-trans activism focuses on:

Wall Street Journal (2018–2021)

From 2018 through 2021, Shrier wrote opinion pieces for the Wall Street Journal. Topics included:

Selected articles by Shrier:

Irreversible Damage (2020)

In January 2019, Shrier published a opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal promoting “rapid onset gender dysphoria.” Titled “When Your Daughter Defies Biology: The burden of mothers whose children suffer from ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria,” that article claims that increase in trans visibility is part of a “social contagion.” The piece received so much response that Shrier turned it into a book for conservative publisher Regnery. The op-ed was first promoted by Shrier’s PragerU colleague Candace Owens, followed by Ben Shapiro at the Daily Wire and Benjamin A. Boyce at Calmversations.

The book’s cover depicts a young girl with a void where her reproductive organs would be. One historian linked it to Nazi propaganda. The book was blurbed by other key anti-trans extremists, including:

Following the book’s release on June 30, 2020, Shrier appeared on BlazeTV with Steve Deace and on the podcast Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy. Amazon declined to run ads for the book on their site, which led to claims of censorship.

Shrier and the book got an enormous boost on July 16 after Shrier appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience. Philip Ellis noted in Men’s Health:

“Shrier invalidated the lived experience of trans and nonbinary kids and teens, and made numerous dangerous, entirely unsound false equivalencies. She compared transitioning among teenagers to historic adolescent phenomena such as eating disorders, self-harm, and (bafflingly) the occult, calling this age group ‘the same population that gets involved in cutting, demonic possession, witchcraft, anorexia, bulimia.’ She even described wanting to transition as a ‘contagion’ with the potential to infect other children with the same ideas, drawing yet more scientifically baseless parallels with eating disorders.”

Target briefly pulled the book in response to concerns, which led to more claims of censorship. Several book launches were canceled, leading to more claims of censorship. Several local libraries faced backlash after including it. After lawyer Chase Strangio posted support for banning the book, conservatives claimed this was the view of Strangio’s employer, the ACLU. Some translators refused to translate the book into other languages. In July 2021, the American Booksellers Association apologized after including the book in a monthly mailing.

The book is notable for how a network of anti-trans academics and media figures worked together to present Shrier as a free speech martyr being “candeled” by the “trans mob,” similar to how the 2003 anti-trans book The Man Who Woould Be Queen was promoted.

Quillette (2020–present)

Around the time Irreversible Damage was released, Shrier began posting self-promotional pieces on anti-trans group blog Quillette, including:

The Free Press (2021–present)

Shrier’s friend Bari Weiss hired Shrier to write for anti-trans group blog The Free Press in 2021. On October 5 of that year, Shrier published a piece featuring Erica Anderson and Marci Bowers where they “sound off on puberty blockers, ‘affirmative’ care, the inhibition of sexual pleasure, and the suppression of dissent in their field.” Many of Bowers’ peers were stunned by the report, and both WPATH and USPATH released a statement in the wake of negative community response.

References

Gessen, M (November 22, 2024). What Democrats Are Getting Wrong About Transgender Rights. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/opinion/trans-rights-donald-trump.html alt title: The Secret Behind America’s Moral Panic

Cass Eris (April 26, 2024). Introduction to “Bad Therapy”, Abigail Shrier’s latest book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDR64_LVojI

Staff report (December 6, 2023). Japan firm nixes translation of U.S. Book questioning trans surgery. Kyodo News https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/45155

Jones, Imara (July 26, 2023). Episode 4: ‘A Voice for Anti-Trans, Mass Media’ | The Anti-Trans Hate Machine. Translash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0bTrNdBNo Transcript https://translash.org/articles/a-voice-for-anti-trans-mass-media-animated-short/

Harkov, Lahav (May 23, 2023). Trans activists shut down book launch, sparking free speech debate. The Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/culture/article-743968

Fox, Max (October 26, 2022). Learning From the “Bad Gays” of History. The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/bad-gays-podcast-interview/

Hsu, V. J. (2022). Irreducible Damage: The Affective Drift of Race, Gender, and Disability in Anti-Trans Rhetorics. Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 52(1), 62–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/02773945.2021.1990381

Bokat-Lindell, Spencer (April 8, 2021). How Trans Children Became a Political Football. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/opinion/transgender-children-sports-medical.html

Samantha Lux (April 1, 2021). Reacting To A Transphobic Prager U Video ft. Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uou_PDNmoCo

Cass Eris (January 1, 2021). “Irreversible Damage” – Introduction, from a cognitive psychologist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OLNEiECN24

  • (Jan 29, 2021). Rapid-onset gender dysphoria? | “Irreversible Damage” from a cognitive psychology perspective

Eckert AJ (July 18, 2021). Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (Part Two). Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-to-the-trans-community-a-critical-review-of-abigail-shriers-book-irreversible-damage-the-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters-part-two/

 Iati, Marisa (July 16, 2021). Booksellers association apologizes for ‘violent’ distribution of ‘anti-trans’ title. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/07/16/irreversible-damage-anti-trans-booksellers-association/

Italie, Hillel (July 15, 2021). Booksellers association apologizes for anti-trans mailing. AP News https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-entertainment-business-arts-and-entertainment-amazoncom-inc-26035c9ee8c2720d1bd2dc7983b035f3

Eckert AJ (July 4, 2021). Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage (Part One). Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-to-the-trans-community-a-critical-review-of-abigail-shriers-book-irreversible-damage-part-one/

Lovell, Rose (July 2, 2021). Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: A Wealth of Irreversible Misinformation. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/abigail-shriers-irreversible-damage-a-wealth-of-irreversible-misinformation/

Novella, Steven (June 30, 2021). The Science of Transgender Treatment. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-science-of-transgender-treatment/

Ryan, Haley (May 30, 2021). Pride breaks with Halifax libraries after controversial book kept on shelves. CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/pride-breaks-with-halifax-libraries-after-controversial-book-kept-on-shelves-1.6045823

Gill-Peterson, Jules (April 5, 2021). Transgender Childhood Is Not a ‘Trend.’ New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/opinion/transgender-children.html

Ferguson CJ (January 19, 2021). A Review of “Irreversible Damage” by Abigail Shrier. Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/checkpoints/202101/review-irreversible-damage-abigail-shrier

Fonseca, Sarah (January 17, 2021). The Constitutional Conflationists: On Abigail Shrier’s ‘Irreversible Damage’ and the Dangerous Absurdity of Anti-Trans Trolls. Los Angeles Review of Books https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-constitutional-conflationists-on-abigail-shriers-irreversible-damage-and-the-dangerous-absurdity-of-anti-trans-trolls/

Sarcasmnation (December 31, 2020). Abigail Shrier Is Yelling ‘Fire’ In A Crowded Theater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vDtohokRJY

Tracy, Matt (November 13, 2020). Bigots Swarm Twitter as Target Flip-Flops on Transphobic Book. Gay City News https://www.gaycitynews.com/bigots-swarm-twitter-as-target-flip-flops-on-transphobic-book/

Turban, Jack (December 6, 2020). New Book “Irreversible Damage” Is Full of Misinformation. Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/political-minds/202012/new-book-irreversible-damage-is-full-of-misinformation

Factora, James (November 17, 2020). Target Removed a Transphobic Book From Shelves — Then Replaced It a Day Later. them https://www.them.us/story/target-transphobic-book-removed-irreversable-damage-abigail-shrier

Valens, Ana (November 16, 2020). Target restocked a transphobic book because of money—not “censorship.” The Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/target-transphobia-book/

Valens, Ana (November 13, 2020). Bari Weiss Defends Transphobic Book Pulled From Target. The Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/bari-weiss-transphobic-book-target/

Quah, Nicholas (November 3, 2020). Should Spotify Be Responsible for What Joe Rogan Does? Vulture https://www.vulture.com/2020/11/spotify-responsible-joe-rogan.html

Cox, Joseph; Maiberg, Emanuel (September 16, 2020). Spotify CEO Defends Keeping Transphobic Joe Rogan Podcasts Online. VICE https://www.vice.com/en/article/spotify-joe-rogan-transphobic/

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/

Princess JelyFish (August 30, 2020). I Read Abigail Shrier’s Book So You Didn’t Have To. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W54nEWcoWvk

Jella Joie (July 29, 2020). Joe Rogan X Abigail Shrier Transgender Podcast Reaction/Commentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPJ-EZhig1Q

Parsons, Vic (June 23, 2020). Amazon refuses to advertise renowned anti-trans journalist’s book suggesting trans teens are a ‘contagion’. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/23/amazon-abigail-shrier-book-refuse-adverts-regnery-publishing/

Boylan, Jennifer Finney (January 8, 2019). Coming Out as Trans Isn’t a Teenage Fad. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/opinion/trans-teen-transition.html

Staff report (June 10, 2007). Achievement and Reasonable Pride. PrawfsBlawg https://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2007/06/achievement_and.html

Coverage in anti-trans press

Editors (December 17, 2024). Abigail Shrier Was Vilified. Now She’s Been Vindicated. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/abigail-shrier-was-vilified-youth-gender-care

Williamson, Elizabeth (February 3, 2024). ‘My Heart Sank’: In Maine, a Challenge to a Book, and to a Town’s Self-Image. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/03/us/libraries-book-bans.html

Bazelon, Emily (March 17, 2023). The Battle Over Gender Therapy. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/magazine/gender-therapy.html

Gil, Vincent E. (January 2023). Review: Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. On Knowing Humanity Journal 7(1), January 2023  https://doi.org/10.18251/okh.v7i1.182

Paul, Pamela (July 24, 2022). There’s More Than One Way to Ban a Book. New York Times https://nytimes.com/2022/07/24/opinion/book-banning-censorship.html

Hall, Harriet (July 2021). Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents. https://www.skepdoc.info/gender-dysphoria-in-adolescents/

O’Donovan, Caroline (June 1, 2022). Amazon employees protest the sale of books they say are anti-trans. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/01/amazon-trans-pride-month-books-protest/

Long, Katherine Anne (May 3, 2021). Amazon overrules employees’ calls to stop selling book questioning mainstream treatment for transgender youth. The Seattle Times https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-overrules-employees-calls-to-stop-selling-book-questioning-controversial-treatment-for-transgender-youth/

Strimpel, Zoe (April 30, 2022). Abigail Shrier: Taking on the trans lobby has made me Public Enemy No 1. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/abigail-shrier-taking-trans-lobby-has-made-public-enemy-no-1/

Hall, Harriet (June 17, 2021). Trans Science: A review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Skeptic https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/trans-science-review-of-abigail-shier-irreversible-damage-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters/

Kirchick, James (March 31, 2021). The Disintegration of the ACLU. Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-disintegration-of-the-aclu-james-kirchick

Beattie, Tina (March 10, 2021). No Turning Back. The Tablet https://www.thetablet.co.uk/books/10/19579/no-turning-back-polemicist-abigail-shrier-on-transgenderism

Hourican, Emily (January 17, 2021). Girls who would be boys: The rise in teen gender dysphoria. The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/girls-who-would-be-boys-the-rise-in-teen-gender-dysphoria-39975855.html

Cater, Nick (January 30, 2021). Queer Teen Craze. The Spectator Australia https://www.spectator.com.au/2021/01/queer-teen-craze/

Patterson, Christina (January 3, 2021). Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier review — the risks of transgender activism. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/article/irreversible-damage-by-abigail-shrier-review-the-risks-of-transgender-activism-tmlwhpdm9

Turner, Janice (December 30, 2020). Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier review — resisting the ‘transgender craze.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.com/article/irreversible-damage-by-abigail-shrier-review-resisting-the-transgender-craze-8mzrt3gk9

Staff report (December 3, 2020). Cold comforts – Our books of the year. The Economist https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/12/03/our-books-of-the-year

Staff (November 26, 2020). Miss gender – A book on transitioning girls is denounced as transphobic. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/26/a-book-on-transitioning-girls-is-denounced-as-transphobic

Pavia, Will (November 21, 2020). Author Abigail Shrier faces threats after warning of trans epidemic. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/author-abigail-shrier-faces-threats-after-warning-of-trans-epidemic-sd6qjt8ww

Halon, Yael (November 16, 2020). Author accuses Target of caving to ‘woke activists’ by briefly pulling book deemed ‘transphobic’ on Twitter. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/abigail-shrier-book-deemed-transphobic-target-pulls

Steele, Anne (October 31, 2020). Joe Rogan’s Podcast Sparks Tensions Inside Spotify. The Wall Street Journal https://archive.today/20201031153328/https://www.wsj.com/articles/joe-rogans-podcast-sparks-tensions-inside-spotify-11604156400

Kearns, Madeleine (October 19, 2020). The Beginning of Gender. National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/10/19/transgender-craze-harms-young-women-especially/

Riley, Naomi Schaefer (June 16, 2020). The Trans Cult. Commentary https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/naomi-schaefer-riley/transgender-children-craze/

Golden, Sheri (2020). Review of Abigail Shrier’s (2020) Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Journal of Human Sexuality Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity Volume 11, p. 122ff https://www.journalofhumansexuality.com/_files/ugd/ec16e9_0946e401cbb54e20a6f78207667dc190.pdf

Selected anti-trans material by Shrier

Shrier, Abigail (2024). Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up. Sentinel, ISBN 978-0593542927

Shrier, Abigail (August 9, 2021). A Pediatric Association Stifles Debate on Gender Dysphoria: Doctors who question the orthodoxy won’t be allowed to set up a booth at its annual conference. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/pediatric-association-gender-dysphoria-children-transgender-cancel-culture-11628540553

Shrier, Abigail (June 2021). Gender ideology run amok. Imprimis June/July 2021 | Volume 50, Issue 6/7 https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/gender-ideology-run-amok/ reprint: https://endeavourforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2022-12-01_EFN_No180_Dec2022.pdf

Shrier, Abigail (May 31, 2021). Male Inmates in Women’s Prisons: If Congress passes the Equality Act, California’s dangerous policy would go nationwide. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/male-inmates-in-womens-prisons-11622474215

Shrier, Abigail (May 14, 2021). To Be Young and Pessimistic in America: Generation Z is lonelier than millennials and more reluctant to embrace the responsibilities and joys of adulthood. Life online seems to be a reason. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/to-be-young-and-pessimistic-in-america-11621019488

Shrier, Abigail (March 15, 2021). Equality Act testimony. (video) https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Shrier%20EQUALITY%20ACT%20TESTIMONY%20-%20%203-15-21.pdf

Shrier, Abigail (January 22, 2021). Joe Biden’s First Day Began the End of Girls’ Sports. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/joe-bidens-first-day-began-the-end-of-girls-sports-11611341066

Shrier, Abigail (November 15, 2020). Does the ACLU Want to Ban My Book?: Target stopped selling it in response to two Twitter complaints. A professor even wants to burn it. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/does-the-aclu-want-to-ban-my-book-11605475898

Shrier, Abigail (November 7, 2020). Gender Activists Are Trying to Cancel My Book. Why is Silicon Valley Helping Them? Quillette https://quillette.com/2020/11/07/gender-activists-are-trying-to-cancel-my-book-why-is-silicon-valley-helping-them/

Shrier, Abigail (July 8, 2020). Discovering the Link Between Gender Identity and Peer Contagion. Quillette https://quillette.com/2020/07/08/discovering-the-link-between-gender-identity-and-peer-contagion/

Shrier, Abigail (June 22, 2020). Amazon Enforces ‘Trans’ Orthodoxy: The company won’t allow a publisher’s ads for my skeptical book. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-enforces-trans-orthodoxy-11592865818

Shrier, Abigail (June 2020). Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Regnery, ISBN 978-1684510313

Shrier, Abigail (May 3, 2019). Standing Against Psychiatry’s Crazes: In 1979 Dr. Paul McHugh closed the sex-change clinic at Johns Hopkins. In the ’80s he testified against phony ‘recovered memories.’ He hasn’t given up the fight. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/standing-against-psychiatrys-crazes-11556920766

Shrier, Abigail (March 26, 2019). The Transgender War on Women: The Equality Act sacrifices female safety in restrooms, locker rooms and even domestic-violence shelters. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-transgender-war-on-women-11553640683

Shrier, Abigail (January 6, 2019). When Your Daughter Defies Biology: The burden of mothers whose children suffer from ‘rapid onset gender dysphoria.’ Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-your-daughter-defies-biology-11546804848

Shrier, Abigail (August 29, 2018). The Transgender Language War: California threatens to jail health workers who refuse to use ‘preferred’ pronouns. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-transgender-language-war-1535582272

Media supporting Shrier

The Spectator with Freddy Gray and Abigail Shrier (March 11, 2025). The truth about child therapy – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVvkO8CsYPA

Macdonald-Laurier Institute with Coleman Hughes, Mia Hughes, and Abigail Shrier (January 17, 2025). Coleman Hughes and Abigail Shrier on Identity, Speech, and Policy / MLI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Vt3EkSjvs

PragerU with Marissa Streit and Abilgail Shrier (Aug 7, 2024). Have America’s Classrooms Become Profit Centers for the Mental Health Industry? | Real Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGXDZXpNHvI

PowerfulJRE with Joe Rogan and Abigail Shrier (June 27, 2024). Joe Rogan Experience #2109 – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNjc8HyOaE

Gad Saad (April 2, 2024). My Chat with Abigail Shrier, Bestselling Author of “Bad Therapy” (THE SAAD TRUTH_1665). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzMNVGluc0E

Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and Abigail Shrier (June 14, 2024). Bad Therapy and Irreversible Damage with Abigail Shrier | Episode 168. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xxrs1VrE38

Real Time with Bill Maher, Matt Welch, and Abigail Shrier (June 7, 2024). Overtime: Matt Welch, Abigail Shrier | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW9_J76MQRE

Ben Shapiro (May 5, 2024). Resisting Indoctrination | Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qNK7jN9vdo

Chris Williamson (April 20, 2024). Debating Therapy Culture & Gen Z – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5YuHvB2eso

Reason TV with Nick Gillespie and Abigail Shrier (April 10, 2024). Stop obsessing over our children’s happiness | Abigail Shrier | The Reason Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfIKOrWXCk

Real Alex Clark (April 4, 2024). “Therapy Is Preventing Kids From Growing Up.” – Author Abigail Shrier | The Spillover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_7Me9clH4g

Praxis Circle (March 29, 2024). Warning to Parents: The Value Vacuum Is Hurting Your Kids | Abigail Shrier Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjfWAW3sqjg

Andrew Klavan (March 27, 2024). Why Gen Z Struggles So Much With Mental Health | With Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYXLeFU8ocs

UnHerd with Flo Read and Abigail Shrier.(March 19, 2024). Abigail Shrier: How therapy culture creates victims. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJMhyG50N-Y

Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry (March 17, 2024). The Mental Health Industrial Complex – Abigail Shrier | Maiden Mother Matriarch 61. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaIWsR0Qlac

Glenn Beck (March 16, 2024). Is Too Much Therapy Hurting Our Kids? | Abigail Shrier | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 213. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubnyW3kkhE0

Manhattan Insights with Yael Hungerford and Abigail Shrier (March 7, 2024). Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up | A Conversation with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBILSnloCc

Spiked with Brendan O’Neill and Abigail Shrier (March 7, 2024). Abigail Shrier: Bad therapy is hurting our kids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYy28tK5z_0

Allie Beth Stuckey (March 6, 2024). How Gentle Parenting Hurts Kids | Guest: Abigail Shrier | Ep 963. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s0PO57rs00

Coleman Hughes (March 1, 2024). Is Therapy Bad for You? with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvBk5huq8w0

Jordan B Peterson (February 29, 2024). Bad Therapy, Weak Parenting, Broken Children | Abigail Shrier | EP 427. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4roLI_Gb12I

Bridget Phetasy (February 29, 2024). Bad Therapy: Why The Kids Aren’t Growing Up – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIAlYi22b08

“YOUR WELCOME” with Michael Malice (February 28, 2024). “YOUR WELCOME” with Michael Malice #300: Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sw87u86i2E

Sitch & Adam Show with “Adam Friended” and “PSA Sitch” (October 30, 2022). John Oliver GASLIGHTS Trans Children – Debunking “Last Week Tonight” LIES LIES LIES : Show 215. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLFlZ4XnpbI

Misha Petrov (September 9, 2022). The “Transgender Epidemic” – Why So Many Young Girls Are Transitioning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ0x5xJL_X8

Turning Point USA with Alex Clark and Abigail Shrier (April 1, 2022). Abigail Shrier exposes the TRUTH to Parents about the Trans Movement in Schools Across America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Rj5SIbfvw

FAIR with Bion Bartning, Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Zander Keig, Carrie Mendoza, Candice Jackson, & Miriam Grossman (Dec 17, 2021). FAIR’s Gender Webinar with Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Zander Keig, and more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XYzCE1ph5s

John Anderson Media (August 6, 2021). Abigail Shrier | Social Contagion and Gender Identity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlekg5imwjQ

Glenn Beck (July 16, 2021). Trans Activism Will End Your Parental Rights | Abigail Shrier | The Glenn Beck Podcast | Ep 110. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlGxrN7SLeU

ReasonTV with Nick Gillespie and Abigail Shrier (July 13, 2021). Abigail Shrier Worries Teenage Gender Transitions Lead to ‘Irreversible Damage.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk-1iqa1jbY

Matt Walsh (July 6, 2021). The Transgender Craze Seducing America: An Interview With Author Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ2I_pzOvJU

Gad Saad (June 24, 2021). Tomorrow’s Guest, Abigail Shrier, Has Sent Me Into Hiding (THE SAAD TRUTH_1263). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69vd_uB8vPM

Hillsdale College (May 12, 2021). Science, the Transgender Phenomenon, and the Young | Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWbxIFC0Q2o

PragerU with Georgia Howe and Abigail Shrier (May 7, 2021). Transgenderism: The Unintended Victims | Interviews. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGfYOPFrvXU

PragerU with Abigail Shrier (March 29, 2021). Are Schools Telling Girls to Become Boys? | 5 Minute Video | PragerU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7bMJd_QAXs

Jordan B Peterson (March 22, 2021). Irreversible Damage? | Abigail Shrier | EP 159. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSKQfATa-1I

PBS NewsHour (March 17, 2021). WATCH LIVE: Senate Judiciary committee holds hearing on Equality Act for LGBTQ rights. https://youtu.be/iK7eOudkkZg?t=4486

Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University (February 15, 2021). C-SPAN Book TV: Irreversible Damage. https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/irreversible-damage/589785

TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, and Abigail Shrier (January 24, 2021). Abigail Shrier: “The Trans Issue Shouldn’t Be Political.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uqht5dcJAI

Skeptic with Michael Shermer and Abigail Shrier (Feb 27, 2021). Michael Shermer w/ Abigail Shrier—Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFQKFYPL0tc

The Babylon Bee with Kyle Mann, Ethan Nicolle, and Abigail Shrier (January 12, 2021). Abigail Shrier Interview: The Truth Behind Trans Children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C6YTHGg0fA

The Rubin Report with Dave Rubin and Abigail Shrier (December 20, 2020). Exposing the Reality of the Transgender Craze in Teen Girls | Abigail Shrier | WOMEN | Rubin Report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIFdWhRwfFg

Quillette with Jonathan Kay and Abigail Shrier (December 6, 2020). PODCAST 126: Abigail Shrier on Her New Book About Peer Contagion and Gender Dysphoria. https://quillette.com/2020/12/06/podcast-126-abigail-shrier-on-her-new-book-about-peer-contagion-and-gender-dysphoria/

Mellen Baker (November 25, 2020). Book review: Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rafnOvvkRNc

Ben Shapiro (November 22, 2020). Abigail Shrier | The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 108. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uSlmfp7euo

Family Research Council with Tony Perkins and Abigail Shrier (October 30, 2020). Abigail Shrier details the heartbreaking dangers of the transgender movement on young girls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl3WyPtnFTU

The Same Drugs with Meghan Murphy and Abigail Shrier (October 16, 2020). The Same Drugs: Abigail Shrier on girls and the trans trend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c7G4dGBGFI

Benjamin Boyce with Debra Soh and Abigail Shrier (October 1, 2020). The Gender Trap | with Dr. Debra Soh & Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNhn2ufmSVg

“Waffling Willow” (September 5, 2020). “Irreversible Damage” by Abigail Shrier || Intro (Book Review by FtM Detransitioner). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PllbYA56Uzg

Isaac Butterfield (September 3, 2020). The Transgender Craze – Abigail Shrier – The Butterfield Effect Podcast 041. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD4jyEBjmKQ

Graham Linehan (August 26, 2020). A chat with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH5wKHxF-bA

Wild at Heart with Morgan Snyder and Abigail Shrier (August 11, 2020). Become Good Soil Interview – Abigail Shrier on Dignity Restored to Masculinity and Feminity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrNRypyrRyc

The Federalist with Emily Jashinsky and Abigail Shrier (July 31, 2020). Why Transgenderism Is Exploding Among Teenage Girls: Abigail Shrier Explains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH_-p0oPtXA

Patrick Coffin (July 21, 2020). 190: The Trans Attack On Our Daughters with guest Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91-uj-6CezM

Andrew Klavan (July 19, 2020). Abigail Shrier On The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-6JoXKvaVg

PowerfulJRE with Joe Rogan and Abigail Shrier (July 16, 2020). Joe Rogan Experience #1509 – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtftWcgXjdg

Bridget Phetasy (July 15, 2020). Walk-Ins Welcome Podcast #86 – Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GikPmEv6_UE

BlazeTV with Steve Deace and Abigail Shrier (July 7, 2020). The Second Wave Scam | Guest: Abigail Shrier | 7/7/20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bHFvHA8iHc

Benjamin A. Boyce (July 4, 2020). What’s the Matter with Girls Today? | with Abigail Shrier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdtxUcvkJWA

Ben Shapiro (June 28, 2020). How the Supreme Court Transgender Ruling is Harming Women, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86t46InP3qw

Save Women’s Sports Fox Nation with Bill McGurn, Rachel McKinnon, Jaycee Cooper, and Abigail Shrier (March 5, 2021). Abigail Shrier on Fox Nation with Rachel McKinnon and Jaycee Cooper (2019). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PIkN1uH3Jo

PragerU with Candace Owens and Abigail Shrier (June 2, 2019). The Candace Owens Show: Abigail Shrier. https://soundcloud.com/user-579946570/the-candace-owens-show-abigail-shrier

PragerU with Abigail Shrier (April 15, 2019). Preferred Pronouns or Prison | 5 Minute Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5opUFNs-I

Resources

Trans Data Library (transdatalibrary.org)

GLAAD Accountability Project (glaad.org/gap)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Abigail Shrier (abigailshrier.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Quillette (quillette.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

IMDb (imdb.com)

C-SPAN (c-span.org/person)

Manhattan Institute (manhattan.institute)

Irell & Manell (irell.com)

  • Abigail Shrier
  • irell.com/professionals-240.html [archive]

Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.

Jesse Singal is an American podcaster, cultural critic, and anti-transgender activist. Singal launders anti-transgender extremism into mainstream media and is a prominent figure in America’s transphobic moral panic.

See this biography for background. After initially working at progressive publications, Singal found success criticizing progressive public policy, media, and medicine. Singal then began getting even more money and attention by attacking transgender people, especially gender diverse youth.

Singal’s activism against the trans rights movement centers on several anti-transgender tactics:

Singal seeks to influence healthcare decisions about our minors with the same rhetoric and tactics used by activists who seek to restrict reproductive healthcare options like contraception and abortion. Singal attempts to disrupt conversations between healthcare providers and the families they serve by demanding more gatekeeping.

Singal focuses on childhood “desistance” and adult “detransition,” two disputed conceptualizations of people whose gender identity or expression shifts over time. These cure narratives and regret narratives are collectively known as the ex-trans movement. These narratives are vastly over-represented in media coverage of trans issues, but Singal’s coverage often suggests to credulous audiences that these narratives don’t get represented enough.

Singal frequently gets money and attention by exploiting anxiety about trans and gender diverse minors, which gets framed as “concern.” Singal then gets more money and attention by implying that opponents and critics are incompetent, dishonest, or even dangerous. Biologist Julia Serano has described this as the “Dregerian narrative,” named after Singal’s role model, anti-transgender historian Alice Dreger.

Singal has gained a reputation for “sealioning,” or persistent and aggressive challenges to criticism. Singal typically focuses on a critic’s minor error, omission, or word choice and uses that detail to derail the larger points made about Singal’s work. Singal uncritically promotes any supporters, defending these ideological allies by challenging their critics with the same persistent and aggressive tactics.

Singal’s tactics have been especially harmful to trans journalists, writers, cultural critics, and experts. Through immense privilege and nepotistic connections, Singal has access to opportunities and backchannel conversations where trans people are often excluded. Singal holds forth in these trans-exclusionary spaces as an expert on “tricky science stuff,” while implying that trans people cannot competenetly discuss trans issues. Singal claims to be an edgy iconoclast willing to speak up against “activists,” which Singal uses as a thought-terminating pejorative against any trans critic.

Bad-faith cultural critics often become part of the story they attempt to cover. In The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, journalist Imara Jones outlined Singal’s historically significant role in attacks on hundreds of thousands of trans and gender diverse children. Singal is the inspiration for this site’s decade-long Transphobia Project. That project seeks to show that there are many ethical journalists, public intellectuals, cultural critics, and other creators of knowledge and culture who are capable of addressing controversial gender issues in fair and value-neutral ways.

Singal is a compulsive X/Twitter user who self-published over 125,000 posts, an average of about 35 posts a day for ten years. Singal’s reputation for online histrionics and causing harm to the trans community grew, and Singal soon began exploring other self-publishing options. In November 2017, Singal started a Medium account that mostly addressed topics related to trans people and to Twitter. In January 2019, Singal started a Substack newsletter titled Singal-Minded. In March 2020 Singal began a lucrative “drama” podcast called Blocked and Reported with anti-transgender troll Katie Herzog. These platforms generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue each year and allow Singal to continue this pattern of behavior without any editorial oversight or accountability.

In 2024, Singal joined Bluesky and quickly became the most blocked user in this history of the platform due to anti-trans trolling. Users made several efforts to get Singal banned from the platform.

Anti-trans activists like Jesse Singal are an enormous resource drain for a persecuted minority like the trans community. Singal is a once-in-a-generation problem for our children. We owe it to them to focus our limited resources on minimizing the profound harm Singal is causing. It is literally Singal’s business to derail the trans rights movement, and business is booming.

This information will be significantly expanded over the next decade. In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.

In this section

Julian Vigo is an author and sex segregationist involved in gender critical activism.

Podcast

Vigo’s Savage Minds podcast often features activists in the gender critical movement. Guests include:

Resources

Savage Minds (savageminds.substack.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Lubellule / disfasia (lubellule.com)

Forbes (forbes.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

FundRazr (fundrazr.com)

Quillette (quillette.com)

Public Discourse (thepublicdiscourse.com)

Feminist Current is a blog and podcast by anti-transgender activist Meghan Murphy. Over time, it has moved from general topics related to feminism to a strong focus on key figures from the anti-transgender movement, including:

Podcast episodes

The woman punched by a counter protester at the 1millionmarch4kids speaks out

  • “Tara” OCT 31, 2023

Kajsa Ekis Ekman is a Marxist feminist who is speaking out against gender identity in Sweden

  • Kajsa Ekis Ekman  SEP 12, 2023

Helen Joyce on how the Labour Party changed its stance on gender identity

Jennifer Bilek on the true roots of the transgender movement

Jill Ovens resigned from New Zealand’s Labour Party to start the Women’s Rights Party

  • Jill Ovens JUN 14, 2023

Why are dangerous men still being housed in women’s prisons?

  • Amanda Stulman and Jennifer Thomas MAY 9, 2023

Pornhub was hosting videos of minors and trafficking victims — what’s next?

  • Haley McNamara APR 20, 2023

Beyond a woman’s choice: the real story of prostitution in Canada

  • Andrea Heinz and Kathy King MAR 22, 2023

The truth about OnlyFans, with Alix Aharon

Are trans rights really human rights? Robert Wintemute on the trans rights debate and how we got here

Scottish women face a bigger fight as gender self-ID bill passes

  • director of For Women Scotland, Susan Smith JAN 2, 2023

Marissa Darlingh was fired as a school counselor for speaking out against gender identity ideology

  • Marissa Darlingh  DEC 20, 2022

Maryam Namazie on the women’s revolution in Iran

  • Maryam Namazie  NOV 27, 2022

Sall Grover wanted to create a female-only app — she didn’t know that would make her a target

Beyond Fantasy — Benjamin Nolot exposes the truth about porn, and it is dark

  • Beyond Fantasy — Benjamin Nolot OCT 24, 2022

Do feminists need to pick a side? Katy Worley on political purity and Standing for Women

  • Katy Worley, also known as DJ Lippy OCT 4, 2022

The Business of Birth Control

  • filmmaker, Abby Epstein, and Holly Grigg-Spall, author of Sweetening the Pill: Or How We Got Hooked On Hormonal Birth Control and a producer of The Business of Birth Control SEP 26, 2022

Are gun rights women’s rights? Antonia Okafor Cover offers a feminist argument for gun ownership

  • Antonia Okafor Cover, the founder and president of EMPOWERED, sees things differently. Antonia is the National Director of Women’s Outreach and a national spokesperson for Gun Owners of America. SEP 14, 2022

Julie Jaman was banned from a pool for telling a male to leave the change room, but she’s not backing down

Louise Perry thinks sexual liberation didn’t liberate women at all

Christina Ellingsen is facing prison time for saying that men aren’t women

  • Christina Ellingsen JUL 21, 2022

Katherine Deves on Australian politics, modern feminism, and why she stood up for girls’ and women’s sport

  • Katherine Deves  JUL 14, 2022

Mary Lou Singleton on Roe v Wade, the abortion debate, and how we got here

  • Mary Lou Singleton JUN 27, 2022

Maya Forstater on her Employment Tribunal win, #respectmysex, and JK Rowling

Does Twitter hate women? Holly Lawford-Smith on ‘Gender Critical Feminism,’ hate speech, and the future of Twitter

Feminists in Quebec are fighting to curb surrogacy

  • Clémence Trilling, a member of Pour Des Femmes Québec and WDI Quebec APR 12, 2022

Andrea Heinz worked as an escort, a dominatrix, and a brothel owner in Edmonton — now she educates people about the harms of ‘sex work ideology’

  • Andrea Heinz  FEB 23, 2022

Child marriage in Mexico persists, despite legislative changes

  • Elvira Pablo, regional Policy and Member Engagement Officer for Girls Not Brides  JAN 31, 2022

Milli Hill on the Positive Birth Movement and how she was banished from her own community

Natasha Chart on her new book, ‘Practical Politics for Bold Women’

  • Natasha Chart  NOV 14, 2021

The Famous Artist Birdy Rose

  • The Famous Artist Birdy Rose OCT 10, 2021

Feminist Current: Carol Dansereau on gender identity in schools

  • Carol Dansereau SEP 9, 2021

Feminist Current: Men are being transferred to women’s prisons and the Liberals don’t care

  • Heather Mason of CaWsbar and Alia Pierini of Strength in Sisterhood (SIS) AUG 24, 2021

Jess de Wahls can’t be cancelled

Trans Mission — an interview with Jennifer Lahl

Beth Stelzer is on a mission to save women’s sports

  • Beth Stelzer MAY 2, 2021

PODCAST: Donna Hughes was denounced by her university for questioning gender identity

  • Donna Hughes APR 8, 2021

Feminist Current: The Limitations of Social Media Feminism

  • Jessica Megarry  MAR 15, 2021

Feminist Current: Women Picket DC

  • Courtney Piper, Women Picket DC FEB 18, 2021

Will President Joe Biden’s Executive Order erase women’s rights?

  • Lauren Adams, legal director of Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) FEB 4, 2021

Phyllis Chesler on Aileen Wuornos, America’s ‘first female serial killer’

  • Phyllis Chesler  JAN 3, 2021

PODCAST: The Transsexual Empire revisited — Janice Raymond on transgenderism, yesterday and today

PODCAST: The Women’s Human Rights Campaign launches in the US, fighting to save women’s sex-based rights

  • Katherine Acosta and Lauren Levey WHRC USA  SEP 18, 2020

PODCAST: Daphna Morell and Luba Fein on the feminist movement in Israel

  • Daphna Morell and Luba Fein SEP 5, 2020

PODCAST: Susan Hawthorne — In defense of separatism

  • Susan Hawthorne JUL 4, 2020

PODCAST: Prof Kathleen Lowrey didn’t hide her views on gender identity ideology, and was punished for it

  • Kathleen Lowrey  JUN 15, 2020

PODCAST: Stella Perrett on why free speech and satire should matter to feminists

  • Stella Perrett  MAY 20, 2020

PODCAST: Women as ‘breeders’ — Renate Klein on the harms of surrogacy

  • Renate Klein  MAY 11, 2020

PODCAST: A global feminist perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic is needed

  • Anna Zobnina APR 30, 2020

PODCAST: Michelle Mara on the truth about the decriminalized sex trade in New Zealand

  • Michelle Mara  APR 13, 2020

PODCAST: Indian filmmaker Vaishnavi Sundar made a film about sexual harassment, then got cancelled by liberal feminists

PODCAST: Authorities ignored the girls being exploited by grooming gangs in Northern England; Julie Bindel didn’t

PODCAST: Carol Downer revolutionized the women’s health movement, and refuses to quit, decades later

  • Carol Downer JAN 24, 2020

PODCAST: Toxic Beauty — an interview with Phyllis Ellis

  • Phyllis Ellis, director of Toxic Beauty DEC 17, 2019

PODCAST: We Can’t Consent To This — Fiona Mackenzie’s campaign to challenge the ‘sex gone wrong’ defence

  • Fiona Mackenzie OCT 24, 2019

PODCAST: Dr. Jen Gunter is busting myths about women’s bodies and health

  • Jen Gunter OCT 2, 2019

PODCAST: Coercive control is a key aspect of abusive relationships, but still misunderstood

  • Elle Kamihira, and executive producer, Laura Richards SEP 21, 2019

PODCAST: Mary Kate Fain has found a woman-centered solution to Twitter censorship in Spinster

PODCAST: Caroline Criado Perez on how living in a world made for men hurts women

  • Caroline Criado Perez  JUL 4, 2019

PODCAST: Deborah Cameron on feminism — the idea, the theory, and the political movement

  • Deborah Cameron  JUN 12, 2019

PODCAST: What is ’emotional labour’ and why are women sick of doing it all themselves?

  • Gemma Hartley MAY 3, 2019

PODCAST: Lesbians at ground zero — Angela C. Wild on gender identity ideology and lesbian autonomy

  • Angela C. Wild APR 11, 2019

PODCAST: Dagny of The Pique Resilience Project on detransitioning

PODCAST: Why sex-segregated sport matters

PODCAST: On International Women’s Day, Indigenous and Women of Colour Rise

  • Suzanne Jay and Saba Malik MAR 4, 2019

PODCAST: Kathleen Stock and Natasha Chart discuss the issue of feminists ‘allying with the right’

PODCAST: Why are we still pretending porn is harmless?

  • Rebecca Whisnant  FEB 7, 2019

PODCAST: Posie Parker — Standing for Women

PODCAST: Phyllis Chesler remains steadfast in being ‘politically incorrect’

  • Phyllis Chesler  DEC 14, 2018

PODCAST: Nicole Jardim on hormone health and how to understand your cycle

  • Nicole Jardim NOV 12, 2018

PODCAST: Dawn Wilcox is counting women murdered by men in the United States, and the results are grim

  • Dawn Wilcox OCT 12, 2018

PODCAST: The Pussy Church of Modern Witchcraft is coming soon to a town near you

  • Sister Dandelion AUG 29, 2018

PODCAST: What does the Trump administration’s refugee policy mean for women and how can Canada help?

  • Jaymie Heilman and Maria Walker JUN 27, 2018

PODCAST: Canada’s Divorce Act may be changing — how will women be impacted?

  • Susan Boyd JUN 4, 2018

PODCAST: Why sex matters in law

  • Andrea Orwoll  APR 11, 2018

PODCAST: Heather Brunskell-Evans wants to talk about the idea of ‘trans kids’

PODCAST: What can humans learn from female-centric animal societies?

  • Caitlin Starowicz  FEB 26, 2018

PODCAST: ‘Good, giving, and game’ — how sex advice and sex therapy perpetuate rape culture

  • Meagan Tyler JAN 20, 2018

PODCAST: What happens when your husband decides he’s a woman?

PODCAST: Hillary McBride on body image, eating disorders, and feminist therapy

  • Hillary McBride NOV 27, 2017

PODCAST: Daisy Kler on the way racism and misogyny play out in Canada to doubly harm women

  • Daisy Kler NOV 9, 2017

PODCAST: Eleanor Pam remembers the late, great, Kate Millett

  • Eleanor Pam SEP 19, 2017

PODCAST: Ninotchka Rosca on intersectionality, the Philippine women’s movement, and the future of feminism

  • Ninotchka Rosca AUG 24, 2017

PODCAST: Toward reproductive sovereignty, not reproductive rights

  • Mary Lou Singleton AUG 3, 2017

PODCAST: ‘Birthright: A War Story’

  • Civia Tamarkin JUL 14, 2017

PODCAST: Finn Mackay on the revolutionary past and future of radical feminist activism

  • Finn Mackay JUN 21, 2017

PODCAST: The Women’s March was a powerful feminist uprising — what comes next?

  • JAN 25, 2017

PODCAST: Blair Braverman talks dog-sledding and navigating male dominance on a glacier

  • Blair Braverman JUL 5, 2016

PODCAST: Orlando mass shooting fueled by anti-gay bigotry, unbridled masculinity, and misogyny

  • JUN 14, 2016

PODCAST: Max Dashu reveals the suppressed truth behind the witch hunts (and the implications for women today)

  • Max Dashu  JUN 2, 2016

PODCAST: Dietland author Sarai Walker talks fat, fuckability, and liberation

  • Sarai Walker MAY 18, 2016

PODCAST: Doctors still won’t let women choose sterilization as a permanent birth control method

  • Brie Ripley APR 27, 2016

PODCAST: Economic & sexual violence as barriers to sustainable development

  • MAR 25, 2016

PODCAST: Empowerment and body positivity in the selfie age

  • MAR 17, 2016

PODCAST: Why must Maryam Namazie take on the left in her critiques of Islamic extremism?

  • FEB 16, 2016

PODCAST: The Guerrilla Feminist Collective vs. Roosh V.

  • FEB 6, 2016

PODCAST: Women’s solidarity, the Montreal Massacre, & fighting violence against women today

  • DEC 2, 2015

PODCAST: Milk — A documentary about birth & breastfeeding

  • [no guest] NOV 9, 2015

PODCAST: What could a Liberal majority mean for Indigenous communities?

  • [no guest] OCT 29, 2015

PODCAST: Chris Hedges on the death of journalism & critical thought in the internet age

  • [no guest] SEP 25, 2015

PODCAST: Aftermath by Andrea Dworkin

  • [no guest] SEP 22, 2015

.

Laura VanZee Taylor is an American anti-transgender activist who directed the 2023 anti-trans project No Way Back as “L. E. Dawes.” After Taylor’s child came out as trans, Taylor created a propaganda piece about the ex-transgender movement. Taylor and producer Penka Kouneva are responsible for including convicted sex offender David Arthur Kendall as one of the ex-trans activists they featured.

Background

Laura Elinor Van Zee was born August 26, 1970, grew up in Medford, Oregon, then earned a bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1992 and a master’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994.

VanZee Taylor’s husband Jason Daniel Taylor (born 1970) is an executive at Facebook/Meta. They met in college, married in 1992, and have two children: Occidental College student Elinor “Ellie” Taylor and a teen who came out as trans, which sparked VanZee Taylor’s anti-trans activism.

VanZee Taylor was a creative director for Hallmark Cards in Missouri before becoming a stay-at-home parent. In 2010, after a “a mini-midlife crisis” at age 40, VanZee Taylor began making videos.

Previous media

  • I Am Maris (ROCO Films 2017) profiles Maris Degener, a yoga instructor who experienced significant body image issues as a teen
  • Walk Through This (2018) profiles Sara Schulting Kranz, whose spouse came out as bisexual 17 years into their marriage
  • “If Siri Was a Mom” (2016) showcases Whitney Cicero / The New Stepford
  • “Somewhere” (2014) features VanZee Taylor’s family

VanZee-Taylor styles both fake and real names in numerous ways:

  • L. E. Dawes
  • L.E. Dawes
  • L E Dawes
  • LE Dawes
  • Laura VanZee
  • Laura Van Zee
  • Laura V. Taylor
  • Laura VanZee-Taylor
  • Laura VanZee Taylor
  • Laura Van Zee Taylor

Anti-transgender activism

VanZee Taylor became involved in anti-transgender activism because their younger child identified as gender diverse. VanZee Taylor then connected with other unsupportive parents from the anti-trans “parental rights” movement:

COVID-19 had been hard on my youngest. Previously an extroverted, active and affectionate boy, over the lockdown he became quiet, easily agitated and withdrawn. He spent most of his time online. Then he told us he was transgender.

He said he wanted puberty blockers and then he would go on estrogen. He matter-of-factly stated that he didn’t plan on getting “bottom surgery,” but would probably want electrolysis, voice training and facial feminizing surgery such as a tracheal shave. He knew our insurance would cover it all.

My husband and I were shocked at his pronouncement. Not because we are transphobic, but because our son had never exhibited any discomfort with his body or identity. […]

I joined a local support group with more than 100 members for parents of kids with rapid-onset gender dysphoria. Hearing their stories, with so many similarities to ours, I couldn’t help but think that something other than kids finding their authentic selves was going on here. […]

And that is why I made this film. Even if my community disapproves. Even if I have to use a pseudonym to protect my son.

In the course of attacking 300,000 American children, VanZee Taylor outed their own child in the Dallas Morning News in 2023, even though their child was not out at school.

VanZee Taylor claims “I have to use a pseudonym to protect my son,” apparently feeling the best way to protect this teen was to divulge deeply personal family information in a major newspaper to promote anti-transgender propaganda.

In June 2023, this site revealed the identities of VanZee Taylor and producer Penka Kouneva and helped get theatrical screenings at AMC canceled.

As of 2024, their trans child Ruby Taylor is out, transitioned, and in college. Kouneva’s child has also transitioned. Despite this, Kouneva and Taylor continue to post anti-trans propaganda online, primarily on the 2022affirmation account.

References

Dawes, L. E. (February 17, 2023). OPINION Filmmaker: I believed in gender affirming care. Then I saw what happened to my son. Dallas Morning News https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2023/02/18/i-made-a-film-about-transgender-kids-that-doesnt-align-with-my-politics/

KOBI-TV (April 18, 2018). Five on 5 – Laura VanZee Taylor – Film Maker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzgUen2rQq0

Osborne, Matt (February 19, 2023). Affirmation Generation: The Lies Of Transgender Medicine. The Distance https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/affirmation-generation-the-lies-of

PITT (February 21, 2023). AFFIRMATION GENERATION, an original documentary. Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT). https://pitt.substack.com/p/affirmation-generation-an-original

Resources

Peanut Monkey Films (peanutmonkeyfilms.com)

Laura VanZee (lauravanzee.com)

No Way Back (nowaybackfilm.com)

Affirmation Generation (affirmationgenerationmovie.com) [archive]

Vimeo (vimeo.com)

IMDb (imdb.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

TikTok (tiktok.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

ROCO Films (rocofilms.com)

Walk Through This (walkthroughthis.com) [archive starts in 2018]

Open Corporates (opencorporates.com)

.

“Shannon Thrace” is the pen name of Shae Ramsey, an American author, IT professional, and anti-transgender activist. Ramsey is part of the “trans widow” movement of people upset that their spouses and romantic partners made a gender transition. Ramsey is affiliated with anti-trans hate group Genspect.

Ramsey has used a number of aliases, including:

  • “Shannon Thrace”
  • “Sharon Thrace”
  • “Tracy Shannon”
  • Sharon Ramsey
  • Shannon Ramsey
  • Shae Ramsey
  • transwidow

Background

Sharon G. “Shae” Ramsey was reportedly born on July 4, 1968 (some sources report July 3). Ramsey attended Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2007 and a master’s degree in 2019. Ramsey worked at Key-Art Publishing from 1998 to 2003, managing websites. From 2003 to 2006, Ramsey worked at University Information Technology Services for Indiana University. Ramsey was SharePoint administrator for Hill-Rom from 2008 to 2011. From 2012 to 2013, Ransey was a consultant at PCMS Datafit (now Flooid), then from 2013 to 2014 was a SharePoint administrator at Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions. from 2014 to 2015, Ramsey was a systems administrator at RoundTower Technologies, and from 2015 to 2016 was a SharePoint administrator at Cigna Healthcare. In 2016, Ramsey joiined Eli Lilly and Company as an IT specialist.

Anti-transgender activism

Thrace was reportedly married for about 14 years to someone who came out as trans around age 40. Their relationship fell apart over the following 18 months. Thrace originally published under the pseudonym “Sharon Thrace.”

In 2016, Ramsey contributed a chapter titled “Destruction of a Marriage: My Husband’s Descent into Transgenderism” to the book Female Erasure, edited by Ruth Barrett.

In 2017, Ramsey spoke at TEDxMaastricht about being married to and ultimately divorcing “Jamie,” who made a gender transition.

In 2022, Ramsey released the book 18 Months: A Memoir of a Marriage Lost to Gender Identity. The book was blurbed by Ben Appel, Lisa Selin Davis, Heather Heying, Helen Joyce, Jonathan Kay, Eva Kurilova, Meghan Murphy, Stella O’Malley, and Nina Paley.

In 2024, Ramsey was named as an advisor to anti-trans hate group Genspect.

References

Kay, Jonathan (October 16, 2022). Once a Man, Never a Woman. Quillette https://quillette.com/blog/2022/10/16/not-a-woman/

Lisa Selin Davis (October 16, 2022). The Other Woman Was Himself. Broadview https://lisaselindavis.substack.com/p/the-other-woman-was-himself

Books

“Thrace, Sharon” (2016). Destruction Of A Marriage: My Husband’s Descent Into Transgenderism. In Barrett, Ruth [editor] Female Erasure: What You Need To Know About Gender Politics’ War On Women, the Female Sex and Human Rights. Tidal Time Publishing, ISBN 978-0997146707

“Thrace, Shannon” (2022). 18 Months: A Memoir of a Marriage Lost to Gender Identity. Firebush Books, ISBN 979-8986693804

Media

Genspect with “Shannon Thrace,” Judith Hunter, and Emma Thomas (February 5, 2025). The Dark Side of Gender Affirmation: Families Share Their Pain – Panel Discussion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBrBFzaKAuY

The Distance with Eva Kurilova, Matt Osborne, and “Shannon Thrace” (December 17, 2024). Shannon Thrace Could Not Make It Work: A Transwidow Tells All. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuolcNpjS3k

Lime Soda Films (August 30, 2024). Behind The Looking Glass – FIRST EVER Documentary about the Wives & Children of Trans-Identified Men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frffv2sB8zE

The Federalist Radio Hour with Emily Jashinsky and “Shannon Thrace” (May 1, 2024). When Gender Ideology Hits Home: How One Woman’s Marriage Fell Apart. https://www.spreaker.com/episode/when-gender-ideology-hits-home-how-one-woman-s-marriage-fell-apart–58211070

The Umbrella Hour with An Goldbauer, Zander Keig, and “Shannon Thrace” (February 8, 2024). [Interview with “Shannon Thrace”]. https://ukhealthradio.com/blog/episode/shannon-thrace-is-a-writer-cultural-critic-and-it-professional-and-the-author-of-18-months-a-memoir-of-a-marriage-lost-to-gender-identity/

Genspect with “Shannon Thrace” (January 29, 2024). Transition Was NOT Appropriate for My Ex-Husband – Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ0YKZztTak

Calmversations with Benjamin Boyce and “Shannon Thrace” (December 30, 2023). Widowed by Transition | with Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcectihIg5c

the radical center with Leslie Elliott Boyce, Jennifer Friend, Deborah Knox, and “Shannon Thrace” (December 11, 2023). A Marriage Lost to Gender Identity: Solid Ground #47 with Guest Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbkEeiSDqQg

Feminists in Struggle with Ann Menasche and “Shannon Thrace” (December 4, 2023). Feminist Book Talk: A Marriage Lost to Gender Identity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtu3758Iu4k

Heterodorx with Nina Paley, Corinna Cohn, and “Shannon Thrace” (November 14, 2023). Episode 117: Ladies’ Autogynephilia Chat with Shannon Thrace. https://heterodorx.com/podcast/117-shannon-thrace/

the radical center with Leslie Elliott Boyce, “Phil Illy,” and “Shannon Thrace” (November 12, 2023). A Civil Dialogue about Autogynephilia, with Phil Illy & Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM6lWJ6cJsk

Pete A Turner with “Shannon Thrace” (July 12, 2023). Shannon Thrace – 18 Months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F1jljnJhFo

Cut The Bull with Wilfred Reilly, Charles Love, Shemeka Michelle, and “Shannon Thrace” (June 9, 2023). Cut The Bull – S3-Ep. 22 – Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opcqpJMtyfI

BROADview with Lisa Selin Davis and “Shannon Thrace” (March 21, 2023). Live Chat with Shannon Thrace. https://www.broadview.news/p/live-chat-with-shannon-thrace

Women’s Declaration International with “Shannon Thrace” (February 14, 2023). Shannon Thrace, A Trans Widow Speaks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYGd0O8d9W4

Trans Widow Ute Heggen (January 8, 2023). Trans Widow Interview~Shannon Thrace on Meghan Murphy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOqCH3PeZTs

The Same Drugs wirh Meghan Murphy and “Shannon Thrace” (January 4, 2023). Shannon Thrace was married to a man who decided he wanted to be a woman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D46OW0zvO4

Quillette with Jonathan Kay and “Shannon Thrace” (December 6, 2022). How I Became a Transwidow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZw_QGUbvTc

Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and “Shannon Thrace” (August 19, 2022). EPISODE 83 – Trans Widow – Off the Grid: Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCgH94MyxOA

OurVoices with Kristen Kalbli and “Shannon Thrace” (February 2022). S5 Ep 2: The Impact of Gender Transition on Sex. https://ourpath.org/ourpath_podcast/s5-ep-2-the-impact-of-gender-transition-on-sex/

TEDxMaastricht with “Shannon Thrace” (November 30, 2017). Getting real – a transgender experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3mnUMmUAHQ

Resources

Shannon Thrace (shannonthrace.com) [not secure – archive]

Shae Ramsey (shaeramsey.com) [not secure – archive]

Shae’s Place (shaesplace.com) [2002–2007 – archive]

Genspect (genspect.org)

Feminists in Struggle (feministstruggle.org)

Female Erasure (femaleerasure.com)

  • Authors (as “Sharon Thrace”)
  • femaleerasure.com/authors

Trans Widows Voices (transwidowsvoices.org)

WordPress (wordpress.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Queer Majority (queermajority.com)

Substack (substack.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Key-Art Publishing (keyartpublishing.com) [archive]

  • Employment Source (employmentsource.org) [archive]
  • CitiQuest (citiquest.net) [archive]

Gravatar (gravatar.com)

Mia Hughes, aka “Mia Ashton” and “Mia Sedley,” is a Canada-based British writer and anti-transgender extremist.

Hughes is associated with anti-trans group Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights (caWsbar) and is closely associated with American anti-trans extremist Michael Shellenberger. Hughes is key author of The WPATH Files, a 2024 propaganda piece funded by Environmental Progress featuring Hughes’ distorted explanations of non-public communication by WPATH members. Hughes is associated with anti-trans hate group Genspect as Director of Genspect Canada and is a Senior Fellow at Canada’s conservative Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Hughes co-hosts anti-trans podcast Beyond Gender with Genspect founder Stella O’Malley.

Background

Hughes is from Cheshire, a rural county south of Liverpool and Manchester.

Hughes taught in Taiwan for almost ten years after college. Hughes met a Canadian citizen there, and they married there and had their first child there. Hughes and spouse moved to Ottawa in around 2011 and now have three children. Hughes was a stay-at-home parent who began homeschooling their children: “I got to spend a precious decade with my children while they were young.”

Hughes has published under several names, including:

  • “Mia Sedley”
  • “Mia Ashton”
  • “Mia Hughes”

Hughes has written for anti-trans publications The Post Millennial, The Critic, Lesbian and Gay News, Environmental Progress, and Gender Dissent.

Anti-transgender activism

Hughes was radicalized by a tweet by J.K. Rowling on December 19, 2019 that supported anti-trans activist Maya Forstater:

Hughes stated in 2022:

There were signs that I wasn’t truly woke, and then it was a very rapid change from the tweet, JK’s tweet. I read it and I just couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. And I even asked woke friends, I went into it on Facebook: “I don’t see what the fuss is about.” And that was the first time that I experienced something of a pile-on, where they were all calling her a TERF and trying to show me why it was hateful, and I just couldn’t see why it was hateful at all. And so I plunged down a rabbit hole that possibly I wish I’d never gone down. Then I emerged as a fully fledged TERF. I was outraged about what I had learned and just started tweeting about it.

“Ashton” (2022)

Hughes was soon suspended by Twitter for anti-transgender posts, then created a new ban evasion account.

Hughes writes for anti-trans extremist Michael Shellenberger. A profile at the non-profit Environmental Progress stated Hughes focused on “the controversy of pediatric medical transition and how trans rights collide with the rights of women and the LGB community.” Shellenberger retained Hughes to write at the for-profit Substack and podcast called Public. Hughes has contributed the majority of anti-trans content there. Hughes continues to do anti-trans work under the aegis of Environmental Progress, including The WPATH Files, a 2024 propaganda piece featuring Hughes’ distorted explanations of non-public communication by WPATH members.

Maëlys McArdle profiled Hughes in 2023:

Mia is a founding member of caWsbar, an advocacy group focused on one issue: denying trans people rights. It was part of a wave of anti-trans organizations using the sex-based rights dog whistle. She along with a local group of bigots are linked to multiple transphobic incidents in Ottawa, which I’ve previously covered here, here, here, and here.

Mia Ashton participated in the mob along with National Post columnist Rupa Subramanya and another active member of that local group, @MrsDrBee on Twitter.

McArdle (2023)

Beyond Gender

In 2025, Hughes launched the anti-trans podcast Beyond Gender with Stella O’Malley and Bret Alderman.

References

Lourenco, Denio (August 13, 2025). This Canadian think tank is claiming ‘victory’ over anti-trans legislation: The Macdonald-Laurier Institute routinely publishes material targeting trans rights. Xtra* https://xtramagazine.com/power/politics/macdonald-laurier-institute-think-tank-policy-trans-275781

Gingerich, Mia (April 3, 2024). San Fransicko author Michael Shellenberger laid out a plan to attack the scientific consensus behind gender-affirming care. Some mainstream outlets took the bait. Media Matters https://www.mediamatters.org/sinclair-broadcast-group/san-fransicko-author-michael-shellenberger-laid-out-plan-attack-scientific

Urquhart, Evan (March 5, 2024). Actually Nothing: The Non-Starter Non-Story of the WPATH Files. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/wpath-nothingburger-waste-of-time

McArdle, Maëlys (June 11, 2023). Anti-trans mob in Ottawa. https://www.maelys.bio/2023/06/anti-trans-mob-in-ottawa/

Kelleher, Patrick (Mar 28 2022). Gender-critical outlet Lesbian and Gay News shuts down due to lack of support and advertising. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/03/28/lesbian-gay-news-shut-down-david-bridle/

Coverage in anti-trans press

Levy, Sue-Ann (April 25, 2022). Women’s rights activist warns gender dysphoria has become an epidemic. True North https://tnc.news/2022/04/25/levy-womens-rights-activist-warns-gender-dysphoria-has-become-an-epidemic/

Linehan, Graham (April 24, 2022). One woman’s guide to peaking the wokest of the woke. https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/one-womans-guide-to-peaking-the-wokest

Selected anti-trans writing by Hughes

Hughes, Mia (July 7, 2025). Mia Hughes: Alberta judge relies on myth that gender drugs are lifesaving. National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mia-hughes-alberta-judge-relies-on-myth-that-gender-drugs-are-lifesaving

Hughes, Mia (June 6, 2025). Mia Hughes: Canadian Medical Association wants to force Alberta to ignore science on gender care. National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mia-hughes-canadian-medical-association-wants-to-force-alberta-to-ignore-science-on-gender-care

Hughes, Mia (May 19, 2025). Mia Hughes: Nova Scotia ignores growing evidence against youth gender affirming care. National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mia-hughes-nova-scotia-ignores-growing-evidence-against-youth-gender-affirming-care

Hughes, Mia (April 24, 2025). Mia Hughes: Canada must launch review of paediatric gender clinic practices. National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mia-hughes-canada-must-launch-review-of-paediatric-gender-clinic-practices

Hughes, Mia (April 24, 2025). Mia Hughes: Canada’s courts must protect women’s sex-based rights, like the U.K. National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/mia-hughes-canadas-courts-must-protect-womens-sex-based-rights-like-the-u-k

Hughes, Mia (April 18, 2025). HUGHES: Canadian Paediatric Society’s journal follows gender ideology and ignores the science. Toronto Sun https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/hughes-canadian-paediatric-societys-journal-follows-gender-ideology-and-ignores-the-science

Hughes, Mia (March 18, 2025). How gender activists stole the media, distorted medicine, and hurt Canadian kids. Inside Policy https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/how-gender-activists-stole-the-media-distorted-medicine-and-hurt-canadian-kids-mia-hughes-for-inside-policy/

Hughes, Mia (February 17, 2025). Mia Hughes: Kids deserve more than slogans when it comes to gender medicine. National Post https://nationalpost.com/opinion/kids-deserve-more-than-slogans-when-it-comes-to-gender-medicine

Hughes, Mia; Copeland, Peter (January 27, 2025). Canada must follow the Brits—and the science—and ban puberty blockers. The Hub https://thehub.ca/2025/01/27/mia-hughes-and-peter-copeland-canada-must-follow-the-brits-and-the-science-and-ban-puberty-blockers/

Hughes, Mia; Copeland, Peter (December 10, 2024). Prison-onset gender dysphoria – a new low for women’s dignity: Mia Hughes and Peter Copeland for Inside Policy. Inside Policy https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/prison-onset-dysphoria-a-new-low-for-womens-dignity-mia-hughes-and-peter-copeland-for-inside-policy/

Hughes, Mia (March 4, 2024). The WPATH Files. Environmental Progress https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/wpath-files

Media

Genspect (January 29, 2025). There is no such thing as a transgender child. – Mia Hughes. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VCg-VKwoZRs

The Epoch Times (November 4, 2024). Leaked Files Reveal Trans Medicine Harms: Mia Hughes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IZLTTtO1EU

Genspect (November 2, 2024). How Misguided Diagnoses Fuel Irreversible Harm – Mia Hughes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBLFvzDZAU8

Stanford Classical Liberalism Initiative (October 24, 2024) Classical Liberalism Seminar – Mia Hughes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_JZXzocqd8

Andrew Gold (May 19, 2024). 410. Is Transgender A Mental Illness? – Mia Hughes. On the Edge with Andrew Gold https://www.patreon.com/posts/is-transgender-104543977

Stephanie Winn (Some Kind of Therapist) (April 29, 2024). 107. Exposing Gender Malpractice: Mia Hughes on the WPATH Files, Medical Ethics, & Informed Consent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HebkVt5GDIU

Macdonald-Laurier Institute with Aaron Wudrick and Mia Hughes (April 25, 2024). How a trans activist group undermined medical science / Aaron Wudrick and Mia Hughes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7CjBc3102g

Gender: A Wider Lens (March 23, 2024). Premium: How Has WPATH Responded to the Leaked Files?

Gender: A Wider Lens (March 21, 2024). “WPATH Has No Respect for Medical Ethics” with Mia Hughes | Episode 156. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikM6ziYLb4c

Meghan Daum and Sarah Haider (March 10, 2024). Activists in Charge: Major Disregard for Ethics at Transgender Health Authority Revealed. A Special Place in Hell https://aspecialplace.substack.com/p/activists-in-charge-major-disregard

Resources

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Lesbian and Gay News (lesbianandgaynews.com) [archive]

Human Events (humanevents.com)

National Post (nationalpost.com)

  • Mia Hughes
  • nationalpost.com/search/?search_text=%22mia+hughes%22

The Post Millennial (thepostmillennial.com)

  • Mia Ashton
  • thepostmillennial.com/author/mia-ashton

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

The Critic (thecritic.co.uk)

  • Mia Ashton [Mia Sedley]
  • thecritic.co.uk/author/mia-sedley

Macdonald-Laurier Institute (macdonaldlaurier.ca)

  • Mia Hughes
  • macdonaldlaurier.ca/cm-expert/mia-hughes

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

People

The Counterweight website listed the following people:

Media

Counterweight events and media included many key conservative and anti-trans figures, including:

2023 Closure

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

Important Announcement

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

References

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

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

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

Resources

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

Facebook (facebook.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Institute for Liberal Values (ilvalues.org)

Hold my Drink Podcast / Counterweight Podcast

Jennifer Block is an American writer and anti-transgender activist. Block is a key historical figure in 21st-century media attacks on trans healthcare.

Block is an embedded reporter with anti-trans hate groups like Genspect, attending their events and laundering their extremist views into mainstream media, most notably into The BMJ before the journal’s owner, the British Medical Association, shut Block down.

Overview

Block believes that US medical consensus about care for trans and gender diverse youth is a scandal in the making. As similar bigots in media did in the late 1970s, Block keeps rewriting the same FUD propaganda piece and selling it to different outlets. The 1979 backlash eliminated healthcare options for many trans people that took four decades to reverse, and Block is at the forefront of this new backlash against our children.

Block’s work focuses on several anti-transgender positions:

  • disease models of gender diversity, especially “gender dysphoria”
  • psychological gatekeeping as a model of care
  • supporting strict gatekeeping of trans healthcare via centralized government control, developed under nationalized heath systems (so-called “gender clinics”) in the 20th century
  • the “rapid onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD) disease model: “More adolescents with no history of gender dysphoria—predominantly birth registered females—are presenting at gender clinics.”
  • disproportionately amplifying outliers and bad outcomes: Andrew Martinez (suicide) and Chloe Cole (ex-trans movement)
  • not describing a single positive outcome
  • the ex-trans movement, especially “detransitioners“

Background

Jennifer Lori “Jen” Block was born on November 22, 1976 to surgeon Leonard Block (born 1948) and Roberta Block (born 1947). Block has two siblings. Block’s parents divorced, which may explain Block’s animosity toward the medical establishment.

Block earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston University in 1998. Block held editorial roles at Ms. magazine, Plenty, Our Bodies, Ourselves, and The OpEd Project.

Block’s articles and commentary have appeared in The BMJ, The Washington Post Magazine, Newsweek, The Cut, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Pacific Standard, The Baffler, and Type Investigations (formerly The Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute).

Block is author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care (2007) and Everything Below the Waist: Why Health Care Needs a Feminist Revolution (2019).

“Mommy bloggers” and their fans are especially susceptible to anti-transgender radicalization and social contagion. Block thanks fellow anti-trans extremist Lisa Selin Davis in the acknowledgements for Pushed.

BMJ article series, 2023–

In 2023, Block was commissioned to write an investigative piece for The BMJ. The resulting piece was deeply slanted toward the views of conservative clinicians and anti-transgender activists.

An accompanying video featured conservative therapists Laura Edwards-Leeper and Erica Anderson, and gender-affirming endocrinologist Joshua Safer.

In 2025, Block revealed that The BMJ had commissioned more work, but the British Medical Association killed it following negative response to Block’s 2023 article and video.

Supporters

Anti-trans activist Helen Joyce said of Block’s article: “Fantastic article, and so important that it appears in BMJ.” Anti-trans organization Rethink Identity Medicine Ethics also liked the piece.

It was also liked and shared by several of Block’s peers, including Sean CW Korsgaard, Liz Highleyman, Mark Tighe, Sonia Gallego, Michael Marshall (@m_c_marshall), Kevin Bass, Vinay Prassad, Dr. Dina McMillan, Milli Hill, Julia Mason, Moti Gorin, Charlotte Schubert, and Benjamin Ryan.

The staff at The BMJ issued a statement:

The BMJ believes in investigative journalism as a force for change. Over the past decade, our investigative journalism has unearthed research fraud and misconduct, prompted improvements in the transparency of clinical research, led to changes in guidelines and clinical practice, and triggered parliamentary inquiries.

High quality investigative journalism requires time to research, gather evidence, and ask questions. Developing in-depth stories is expensive, and we actively seek external funding to help expand our efforts. Current no-strings funding comes from Arnold Ventures and William McGuire. Past supporters include the European Commission and Open Society Foundations. In 2022, we hope to expand our impact through crowdfunding. If you would like to support us, please contact Head of Journalism Rebecca Coombes.

We retain editorial independence—the freedom of editors to make decisions without interference from any funders—for all content that is produced and published; all decisions are taken strictly within the editorial structures of the journal.

If you have a story for us, please contact [email protected].

Rebecca Coombes, Head of Journalism
Peter Doshi, Senior editor
Madlen Davies, Investigations editor
Jennifer Block, Investigations reporter
Hristio Boytchev, Freelance investigations reporter

Critics

The Association of LGBTQ+ Doctors & Dentists (GLADD), Pride in Surgery Forum, and the British Medical Association all published criticisms of the piece.

British Medical Association deputy council chair Emma Runswick said:

We have recently written to the BMJ, which is editorially independent, to challenge its article “Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement” and express our concern, that alongside criticisms made by LGTBQ+ organisations such as GLADD and neurodivergent doctors, in our view, it lacks equality, diversity and inclusion awareness and patient voice. That the article has been used by transphobic lobby groups around the world is of particular concern to us.

2023 Twitter responses

Block was very unhappy about being called out for bias, posting a number of times on Twitter about this alleged mistreatment, suggesting any criticism is an attack on journalism as an institution.

February 27

  • Since my @bmj_latest piece on care for gender dysphoria in minors, some are curious about my background. I’ve been reporting on contested areas of medicine for 20 years. I wrote a book about the gap between evidence and routine practice in maternity care (still quite large!).
  • Politicization gets people no closer to evidence-based maternity care either, and I’d argue it hampered work toward expanding rights and reducing maternal mortality. In states that have advanced birth justice, it’s the result of red/blue folks accepting they have a common goal.
  • I see dismissing any clinician or researcher who has concerns about the best treatment for kids/adolescents in the face of inconclusive evidence as “anti-trans” as an attempt to silence important conversation and debate. I hope my piece is contributing.
  • FWIW, the organizer of the AAP rally I spoke with, who directed me to video footage, is a lifelong coastal democrat. You can’t just smear every person with concerns RE treatments, or the concerns themselves, as “anti-trans.” At least I’m not going to be baited into that tautology

March 3

  • https://twitter.com/writingblock/status/1631768413378084864
  • TLDR: Dear reporters, don’t report on transgender medicine. Don’t be curious about detransition or medical disagreement. Label the above anti-trans. Quote children of all ages rather than research. Cover “trans joy rather than the ‘difficult’ questions.”

March 5 [referring to anti-trans media figure Michael Knowles saying transgenderism must be eliminated.

  • https://twitter.com/writingblock/status/1632464903046066177
  • THIS is anti-trans–and violent and inhumane. Reporting on disagreement and unknowns in medical practice for children with gender dysphoria is not. Both the trans community and journos can condemn such rhetoric and support open exchange of info & dialogue to support Rx decisions

This is in response to an opinion piece by trans journalist Katelyn Burns.

  • [referring to https://nbcuacademy.com/trans-kids-journalism/#.ZAIfHq868m8.twitter]
  • OK, this was a snarky tweet. But it’s a serious issue. A certain corner of journalism is conflating necessary, important reporting on the issue of medical treatment for kids with transphobia. I read this piece as saying “look over here, don’t look over there.” That’s advocacy.
  • Maybe @transscribe is not familiar with my recent piece looking into the evidence base for treatments like puberty blockers and hormones in minors. She can correct me if I’m wrong, but I read her how-to as discouraging such reporting.
  • “A story about trans health care should make clear all the facts… They should include that nearly every major medical association supports the current protocol of gender-affirming care for minors.” Well, as I report, consensus does not equal evidence-based practice.
  • Reviews in Sweden, Finland, and now UK have made clear the uncertainties and potential for harm, and those countries are pulling back on medicalization and focusing instead on mental health and social support. They are not denying anyone’s existence. It’s not political there.
  • For years, these labels of “anti-trans” “transphobe” and accusations of genocide have scared journalists who are obviously not those things from pursuing reasonable questions about benefit v. harm of medical treatment. This is regressive and I hope we’re moving past it.

Author Katelyn Burns replied “but you obscured the biases of the sources your piece depended upon. that’s advocacy.”

Block said:

  • https://twitter.com/writingblock/status/1632446552668266496
  • You haven’t pointed to any such thing. Everyone is ID’d with their relationship to professional orgs. The research methodologists who evaluated the guidelines/evidence base have no history with this issue whatsoever. Just hurling the label of “anti-trans” doesn’t make it so.

2024 Free Press piece attacking Planned Parenthood

Free Press founder Bari Weiss is known for sustained attacks on trans rights. Weiss paid Block to continue these attacks by attacking Planned Parenthood.

In 2024, Block employed the same rhetoric used in anti-abortion regret propaganda in a profile of Cristina Hineman, an ex-trans activist who reports regret about making a gender transition as a consenting adult. Block then approvingly describes the legal assault on Planned Parenthood initiated by Hineman. Block then tells a similar story about “Anna,” likely the plaintiff in a similar Jane Doe lawsuit. Throughout the piece, Block denigrates trans-supportive physicians and promotes anti-trans gatekeepers like Riittakerttu Kaltiala.

2025 short film

In July 2025, Block started a Substack titled Unpopular Science. Its first post was a short propaganda piece produced with Eric S. Vaughan titled “The Liberal Case for Rethinking Gender Medicine.” Block notes:

“The genesis for this film was the investigative feature I wrote for The BMJ, which came out in February 2023. My editors committed serious resources toward producing a high-quality video component. But my print piece drew the ire of the British Medical Association, which owns the journal, and ultimately the video and follow-up reporting were killed.”

The piece features anti-trans activists Jamie Reed and Lauren Leggieri from LGB Courage Coalition, as well as Hilary Cass, Hannah Barnes, Zhenya Abbruzzese, Laura Edwards-Leeper, and Moti Gorin. It continues Block’s attacks on WPATH, Rachel Levine, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

References

Urquhart, Evan (November 8, 2023). If Gender Affirming Care Doesn’t Have Enough Evidence, Should We Prefer a Treatment With None? Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/if-gender-affirming-care-doesnt-have-enough-evidence-should-we-prefer-a-treatment-with-none

Runswick, Emma (June 19, 2023). Take Pride in progress. The Doctor https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/take-pride-in-progress

Selected anti-trans writing by Block

Block, Jennifer (July 8, 2025). The most heated and divisive issue of our time — in 18 minutes. Unpopular Science https://jenniferblockauthor.substack.com/p/the-most-heated-and-divisive-issue

Block J (October 2024). Dispute arises over World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s involvement in WHO’s trans health guideline. BMJ, q2227. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2227

Block, Jennifer (August 7, 2024). How Did Planned Parenthood Become One of the Country’s Largest Suppliers of Testosterone? The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/how-did-planned-parenthood-become

Block J (May 2024). Gender medicine in the US: how the Cass review failed to land. BMJ, q1141. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q1141

Block, Jennifer (November 7, 2023). Youth gender medicine has become a hall of mirrors. Boston Globe http://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/11/07/opinion/gender-affirming-care-trans-kids

Block J (August 2023). US paediatric leaders back gender affirming approach while also ordering evidence review. BMJ, p1877. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p1877

Block, Jennifer (March 6, 2023). Raft of US state laws restrict access to treatments for gender dysphoria. BMJ 2023; 380 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p533

Block, Jennifer (February 23, 2023). Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement. BMJ 2023; 380 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p382

  • “her article contains several misleading statements and, crucially, fails to include the perspective of individuals from the trans and gender diverse (TGD) community”
  • Zoe Kristensen and David B Menkes [Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, New Zealand] (06 March 2023). Professional responses to gender dysphoria: reality checks needed. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382/rr-3
  • “the mention of neurodivergence when speaking about transgender people is to imply that there is less capacity for making good choices about our bodies, evaluating risks and benefits.”
  • “Samira Khan,” Matthew Sellen, and Bethan Carey Jones [neurodivergent health professionals] (16 March 2023). Diversity in gender identity and neurotypes. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p382/rr-8

Resources

Jennifer Block (jenniferblock.com)

Substack (substack.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

The Free Press (thefp.com)

The Economist is a British media organization that publishes consistently anti-transgender articles. Although most articles are unsigned, anti-trans writer Jesse Singal is the author of many of the pieces listed below after January 2024.

Contributors

The only notable exception to its anti-trans content are essays by transgender Labour Party candidate Emily Brothers, published as part of a two-week series on trans topics.

In 2019, the Economist deleted a tweet that said, “Should transgender people be sterilised before they are recognised?”

References

John, Tara (October 9, 2021). Anti-trans rhetoric is rife in the British media. Little is being done to extinguish the flames. CNN https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/09/uk/uk-trans-rights-gender-critical-media-intl-gbr-cmd/index.html

Ring, Trudy (July 29, 2021). Respected News Magazine The Economist Publishes Anti-Trans Screed. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/media/2021/7/29/respected-news-magazine-economist-publishes-anti-trans-screed

Lang, Nico (May 20, 2021). Editor’s history of calling trans people ‘frauds’ shines light on Economist’s transphobic tweet. Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/helen-joyce-economist-transphobia/

Kelleher, Patrick (March 20, 2019). The Economist under fire for asking if transgender people should be sterilised. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2019/03/20/economist-transgender-sterilised-japan/

Levine, Jon (March 20, 2019). The Economist Apologizes for Tweet Asking Whether Transgender People Should Be ‘Sterilized.’ The Wrap https://www.thewrap.com/the-economist-apologizes-for-tweet-asking-whether-transgender-people-should-be-sterilized/

Selected anti-trans articles

note: most Economist articles do not have bylines. In cases where the author is confimed, the name appears in [brackets].

[Singal, Jesse] (September 18, 2025). How stable are the gender identities of younger children? A study finds that one in five who switch gender change their mind. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/09/18/how-stable-are-the-gender-identities-of-younger-children

Uncredited (April 16, 2025). What is a woman? Britain’s Supreme Court gives its answer. The terms “woman” and “sex” refer to “a biological woman and biological sex.” The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/04/16/what-is-a-woman-britains-supreme-court-gives-its-answer

Uncredited (April 30, 2025). A landmark study of gender medicine is caught in an ethics row. The Economist https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/04/30/a-landmark-study-of-gender-medicine-is-caught-in-an-ethics-row

[Singal, Jesse] (January 27, 2025). The White House has been fluid on gender for a decade. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/01/27/the-white-house-has-been-fluid-on-gender-for-a-decade

[Singal, Jesse] (December 6, 2024). America’s best-known practitioner of youth gender medicine is being sued. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/12/06/americas-best-known-practitioner-of-youth-gender-medicine-is-being-sued

Uncredited (December 5, 2024). The US Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a medical ban affecting trans youth. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/12/05/the-us-supreme-court-appears-likely-to-uphold-a-medical-ban-affecting-trans-youth

Uncredited (December 2, 2024). A big transgender-rights case heads to America’s Supreme Court. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/12/02/a-big-transgender-rights-case-heads-to-americas-supreme-court

[Singal, Jesse] (June 27, 2024). Research into trans medicine has been manipulated: Court documents offer a window into how this happens. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/06/27/research-into-trans-medicine-has-been-manipulated

Uncredited (November 28, 2024). Britain’s Supreme Court considers what a woman is. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/11/28/britains-supreme-court-considers-what-a-woman-is

Uncredited (January 18, 2024). Britain tries to correct the treatment of gender-dysphoric kids. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/01/18/britain-tries-to-correct-the-treatment-of-gender-dysphoric-kids

[Singal, Jesse] (January 10, 2024). Simine Vazire hopes to fix psychology’s credibility crisis. Her new job editing the field’s most prestigious journal should help. The Economist https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/01/10/simine-vazire-hopes-to-fix-psychologys-credibility-crisis

Uncredited (April 5, 2023). The evidence to support medicalised gender transitions in adolescents is worryingly weak. The Economist https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/04/05/the-evidence-to-support-medicalised-gender-transitions-in-adolescents-is-worryingly-weak

Uncredited (April 5, 2023). What America has got wrong about gender medicine. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/04/05/what-america-has-got-wrong-about-gender-medicine

Uncredited (March 7, 2023). Legal action may change transgender care in America. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/03/07/legal-action-may-change-transgender-care-in-america

Uncredited (January 5, 2023). Scotland’s new gender-reform law presents Rishi Sunak with a dilemma: He must decide whether to refer the law to the Supreme Court in London. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/01/05/scotlands-new-gender-reform-law-presents-rishi-sunak-with-a-dilemma

Uncredited (November 17, 2022). Britain changes tack in its treatment of trans-identifying children. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2022/11/17/britain-changes-tack-in-its-treatment-of-trans-identifying-children

Uncredited (July 28, 2022). Questioning America’s approach to transgender health care. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/07/28/questioning-americas-approach-to-transgender-health-care

Uncredited (June 23, 2022). The Biden administration’s confused embrace of trans rights. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/06/23/the-biden-administrations-confused-embrace-of-trans-rights

Uncredited (June 22, 2022). Swimming’s ruling on transgender women continues a trend. The Economist https://www.economist.com/international/2022/06/22/swimmings-ruling-on-transgender-women-continues-a-trend

Uncredited (March 30, 2022). Why Florida is banning lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Economist https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/03/30/why-florida-is-banning-lessons-on-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity

Uncredited (February 19, 2022). Activist doctors are urging GPs to prescribe cross-sex hormones. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2022/02/19/activist-doctors-are-urging-gps-to-prescribe-cross-sex-hormones

Uncredited (January 8, 2022). Trans ideology is distorting the training of America’s doctors. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/01/08/trans-ideology-is-distorting-the-training-of-americas-doctors

Uncredited (December 4, 2021). Britain’s proposal to ban “conversion therapy” is not what it seems: The government conflates sexual orientation and “gender identity”. It should think again. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/12/04/britains-proposal-to-ban-conversion-therapy-is-not-what-it-seems

Uncredited (November 6, 2021). Portrait of a detransitioner as a young woman. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/11/06/portrait-of-a-detransitioner-as-a-young-woman

Uncredited (October 16, 2021). Opinion on the use of puberty blockers in America is turning. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/10/16/opinion-on-the-use-of-puberty-blockers-in-america-is-turning

Uncredited (September 23, 2021). An influential ruling about puberty blockers has been overturned. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2021/09/23/an-influential-ruling-about-puberty-blockers-has-been-overturned

Uncredited (June 12, 2021). Continental Europe enters the gender wars: Germany and Spain reject laws on gender self-identification. The Economist https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/06/12/continental-europe-enters-the-gender-wars

Uncredited (May 13, 2021). Doubts are growing about therapy for gender-dysphoric children. The Economist https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/05/13/doubts-are-growing-about-therapy-for-gender-dysphoric-children

Uncredited (April 22, 2021). Trans medicine gets entangled in America’s culture wars. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/04/22/trans-medicine-gets-entangled-in-americas-culture-wars

Uncredited (February 18, 2021). Little is known about the effects of puberty blockers. The Economist https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/02/18/little-is-known-about-the-effects-of-puberty-blockers

Uncredited (December 12, 2020). An English ruling on transgender teens could have global repercussions. The Economist https://www.economist.com/international/2020/12/12/an-english-ruling-on-transgender-teens-could-have-global-repercussions

Uncredited (December 12, 2020). Other countries should learn from a transgender verdict in England. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/12/12/other-countries-should-learn-from-a-transgender-verdict-in-england

Uncredited (December 12, 2020). New standards of transgender health care raise eyebrows. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/09/22/new-standards-of-transgender-health-care-raise-eyebrows

Uncredited (December 12, 2020 ). An English ruling on transgender teens could have global repercussions. The Economist https://www.economist.com/international/2020/12/12/an-english-ruling-on-transgender-teens-could-have-global-repercussions

Uncredited (December 12, 2020). Other countries should learn from a transgender verdict in England. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/12/12/other-countries-should-learn-from-a-transgender-verdict-in-england

Uncredited (December 2, 2020). “The issue is making sure children who really need treatment get it”—Britain’s landmark trans ruling. The Economist https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2020/12/02/the-issue-is-making-sure-children-who-really-need-treatment-get-it-britains-landmark-trans-ruling

Uncredited (December 1, 2020). The judgment in Keira Bell’s case upsets trans groups. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/12/01/the-judgment-in-keira-bells-case-upsets-trans-groups

Uncredited (November 26, 2020). A book on transitioning girls is denounced as transphobic. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/11/26/a-book-on-transitioning-girls-is-denounced-as-transphobic

Uncredited (September 24, 2020). Britain’s Gender Recognition Act won’t change: The government goes back on a plan to allow self-ID. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/09/24/britains-gender-recognition-act-wont-change

Uncredited (Febreuary 1, 2020). A pushback against trans activism in Britain: Three groups of people have applied for judicial reviews. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2020/02/01/a-pushback-against-trans-activism-in-britain

Uncredited (January 30, 2020). A new push to ban medical treatments for transgender children. The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/01/30/a-new-push-to-ban-medical-treatments-for-transgender-children

Uncredited (January 30, 2020). What to do about puberty blockers: Drugs offered to transgender children need to be used more cautiously. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/01/30/what-to-do-about-puberty-blockers

Callahan, Carey (December 3, 2019). Gender identity is hard but jumping to medical solutions is worse. The Economist https://www.economist.com/open-future/2019/12/03/gender-identity-is-hard-but-jumping-to-medical-solutions-is-worse

Uncredited (October 3, 2019). Transgender rules for English schools face a backlash from women. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/10/03/transgender-rules-for-english-schools-face-a-backlash-from-women

Uncredited (April 4, 2019). Why Iran is a hub for sex-reassignment surgery: It is not because the regime is liberal. The Economist https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/04/04/why-iran-is-a-hub-for-sex-reassignment-surgery

Hayton, Debbie (July 3, 2018). Gender identity needs to be based on objective evidence rather than feelings. The Economist https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/03/gender-identity-needs-to-be-based-on-objective-evidence-rather-than-feelings

Uncredited (September 1, 2018). Why are so many teenage girls appearing in gender clinics? The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/09/01/why-are-so-many-teenage-girls-appearing-in-gender-clinics

Uncredited (October 27, 2018). Who decides your gender? Gender self-identification is often cited as a matter of civil rights. It is more problematic than many advocates realise. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/10/27/who-decides-your-gender

Uncredited (October 27, 2018). Transgender politics focuses on who determines someone’s gender. The Economist https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/10/27/transgender-politics-focuses-on-who-determines-someones-gender

Stock, Kathleen (July 6, 2018). Changing the concept of “woman” will cause unintended harms. The Economist https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/06/changing-the-concept-of-woman-will-cause-unintended-harms

Uncredited (July 5, 2018). A culture war comes to Westminster: Both the Conservatives and Labour agree on trans rights. Now they just have to convince the voters. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/07/05/a-culture-war-comes-to-westminster

Uncredited (December 2, 2017). Are women born or made? Plans to blur gender boundaries spark opposition from feminists. The Economist https://www.economist.com/britain/2017/12/02/are-women-born-or-made

Uncredited (November 16, 2017). Making sense of the culture war over transgender identity. The Economist https://www.economist.com/international/2017/11/16/making-sense-of-the-culture-war-over-transgender-identity

Uncredited (November 16, 2017). Children are victims in the latest identity-driven culture war. The Economist https://www.economist.com/leaders/2017/11/16/children-are-victims-in-the-latest-identity-driven-culture-war

McCann, Charlie (September 28, 2017). When girls won’t be girls. The Economist https://www.economist.com/1843/2017/09/28/when-girls-wont-be-girls

“S.M.” (November 1, 2016). What is at stake in the first Supreme Court case on transgender rights: A bathroom brawl will be one of the most-watched cases of the Supreme Court term. The Economist https://www.economist.com/democracy-in-america/2016/11/01/what-is-at-stake-in-the-first-supreme-court-case-on-transgender-rights

Resources

The Economist (economist.com)

  • Transgender identities: a series of viewpoints (2018)
  • economist.com/transgender [archive]

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)