David Frum is a conservative Canadian-American political commentator and anti-transgender activist. Frum was a major figure in anti-LGBT activism in the 1990s, though Frum has since acknowledged some of those views were wrong.
Background
David Jeffrey Frum was born June 30, 1960 in Toronto. Frum is a nepo baby whose family was also involved in writing and publishing. Frum earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Yale University in 1982 and a law degree from Harvard in 1987.
A major figure in the neoconservative movement that led America into the Iraq War, Frum wrote for the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Manhattan Institute, the Weekly Standard, and the National Post.
Frum was tapped to write speeches for George W. Bush, leaving in 2002. Frum joined neocon think tank American Enterprise Institute and continued litigating support for the Iraq invasion. Frum became a US citizen in 2007. Frum was a blogger for National Review and worked on Rudy Giuliani’s presidential run. Frum was asked to leave American Enterprise Institute in 2010.
Frum married “mommy blogger” and anti-transgender activist Danielle Crittenden Frum in 1988. They have three children, Miranda Ann Frum (1991–2024), Nathaniel Saul Frum (born 1993) and Beatrice Sarah Worthy Frum (born 2001).
Anti-LGBT activism
Frum was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Frum later acknowledged this was wrong.
Frum joined The Atlantic as a senior editor in March 2014. During that time, under editor and anti-trans activist Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine ramped up its attacks on the transgender rights movement.
In 2020, Frum analyzed the transgender political positions of Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren, name dropping Joe Rogan’s views on transgender athletes: “After the transgender mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox began—literally—smashing opponents’ heads…”
Frum, David (2020). Bernie Can’t Win.The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/bernie-sanderss-biggest-challenges/605500/
Frum, David (March 21, 2024) Miranda’s Last Gift.The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/05/david-frum-miranda-daughter-grief/677815/
Obituary (February 21, 2024). Miranda Frum.The Globe and Mail https://www.legacy.com/ca/obituaries/theglobeandmail/name/miranda-frum-obituary?id=54427346
Michael Shellenberger is an American author, environmental policy analyst, politician, and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Michael D. “Mike” Shellenberger was born in 1971 in Colorado and grew up in Greeley. Shellenberger has three siblings born to parent Nancy and two step-siblings via stepparent, Don (1942–2021). Shellenberger graduated from Greeley Central High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Earlham College in 1993. In 1996 Shellenberger earned a master’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Shellenberger is married to sociologist and policy analyst Helen J. Lee Shellenberger (born July 31, 1975). They have two children, Joaquin B. Rosman Shellenberger (born 1999) and Kestrel Shellenberger (born November 2, 2005). They live in Berkeley, California.
Environmental policy work
In 2003 Shellenberger co-founded the Apollo Alliance, an umbrella organization now called BlueGreen Alliance.
Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus founded market research firm American Environics. They wanted to look at “mistaken assumptions in progressive political movements.”
After working in public relations, Shellenberger co-founded the Breakthrough Institute with Ted Nordhaus in 2003. In 2016, Shellenberger left Breakthrough to found Environmental Progress, focused on keeping American nuclear power plants online.
Shellenberger is a cofounder of anti-drug organization California Peace Coalition and in 2022 founded Shellenberger LLC.
Anti-progressivism
Like many anti-trans people, Shellenberger began as a progressive, then by being critical of progressive political positions, primarily around the environment. Twenty years later, Shellenberger is among many self-described “centrists” whose anti-progressivism has curdled into conservatism.
Shellenberger is author of the 2021 book San Fransicko: How Progressives Ruin Cities.
Political career
Shellenberger ran for California Governor in 2018 as an independent, coming in 9th in the primary with 31,692 votes, or 0.5%.
In 2022 Shellenberger came in third in the primary with 290,286 votes, or 4.1%.
Anti-trans activism
Shellenberger is a heavy Twitter user and was hand-picked by Elon Musk in 2022 to review non-public discussions by former Twitter employees and current users. Anti-trans activist Bari Weiss brought Shellenberger on to write for The Free Press in 2022.
In 2023, Shellenberger started being more open and militant about anti-transgender views. Shellenberger has a Substack called Public which frequently platforms anti-transgender views and guests, notably Leighton Woodhouse, Mia Hughes, and Alex Gutentag. Most of the regular contributors were associated with Shellenberger’s previous project Environmental Progress.
References
Ashton, Mia; Shellenberger, Michael (May 25, 2023). Why The Media Attacks Detransitioners. Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-the-media-attacks-detransitioners
Shellenberger, Michael (May 4, 2023). Join The Pro-Freedom Resistance.Public https://public.substack.com/p/join-the-pro-freedom-resistance
Shellenberger, Michael; Woodhouse, Leighton (February 13, 2023). Normies Of The World, Unite! Public https://public.substack.com/p/normies-of-the-world-unite
Woodhouse, Leighton (February 13, 2023). What Happened to the Left?Public https://public.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-the-left
Shellenberger, Michael (December 10, 2022). The Twitter Files, Part 4 https://twitter.com/shellenberger/status/1601720455005511680
Shellenberger, Michael (November 11, 2021). Why Wokeism Is A Religion.Public https://public.substack.com/p/why-wokeism-is-a-religion
Shellenberger, Michael (March 20, 2013). The Ecology of Obesity. The Breakthrough Institute https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/the-ecology-of-obesity
Christina Hoff Sommers is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Sommers is critic of “gender feminism” or “victim feminism” and has supported many anti-trans activists over the years.
Background
Christina Marie Hoff Sommers was born on September 28, 1950 in Petaluma, California. Sommers earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1971 and a doctorate in philosophy from Brandeis University in 1975.
After writing several works on ethics, Sommers began a career questioning “gender feminism,” a set of tenets central to third-wave feminism. Sommers went on to write several books on the subject:
Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women (1994)
The War Against Boys (2000)
Freedom Feminism: Its Surprising History and Why It Matters Today (2013)
Sommers married philosopher Frederic Tamler “Fred” Sommers (1923 – 2014). Sommers’ stepchild is philosopher Saul Tamler Sommers (born 1970).
TERFWars: Men identifying as women are challenging women’s sports, women’s groups, women’s spaces, and even the very definition of womanhood. Disagree — and they may threaten to beat the crap out of you. New episode w #MeghanMurphy. L
Nicholas John “Nick” Gillespie was born August 7, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Middletown, New Jersey. Gillespie was raised Catholic and graduated from Mater Dei High School. Gillespie earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 1985, a master’s degree from Temple University in 1990, and a doctorate from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1996. Gillespie married author and academic Katharine Marie Walke Gillespie (born 1960). They have two children, Jack and Nick. The Gillespies have since divorced. In 2023 Gillespie became engaged to Sarah Rose Siskind.
Gillespie has been associated with Reason magazine. Gillespie edited the 2004 book Choice: The Best of Reason and co-authored the 2011 book The Declaration of Independents.
Anti-trans promotion
With the exception of conservative trans libertarian Deirdre McCloskey, Gillespie has never platformed any trans journalists, scientists, lawyers, politicians, or activists who could address anti-trans guests’ statements or Gillespie’s own misconceptions.
Dave Chappelle is an American comedian. Considered one of the greatest standups of all time, his late career has been marked by a series of transphobic incidents.
Background
David Khari Webber Chappelle was born August 24, 1973 in Washington, DC. His parents were politically active academics. He graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 1991. He moved to New York City and began honing his act, quickly becoming a regular at comedy clubs and in late night guest spots. He began appearing on televisions shows and t=developing pilots. His first starring role was in the 1998 film Half Baked. He recorded his first comedy special in 2000. In 2003 he starred in the sketch comedy program Chappelle’s Show, then left abruptly in 2005 at the height of the show’s popularity. He made sporadic appearances until 2013, when he started touring full-time again. In 2017, Netflix released the first of five comedy specials starring Chappelle. In 2019 he won the Mark Twain Prize.
Chappelle and his wife have three children.
Anti-transgender statements
Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special The Closer included transphobic jokes and a defense of transphobic author JK Rowling, during which he declared “I’m team TERF.” In his defense, Chappelle said some of his best friends were trans, citing trans comedian Daphne Dorman.
Netflix employees organized a walkout and demanded that The Closer be taken off of Netflix. CEO Ted Sarandos refused to take down the special, stating that he “does not believe it falls into hate speech.” Chappelle’s alma mater Duke Ellington School decided not to name its theater after him.
Chappelle continued to troll the trans community with jokes and play the victim. In 2022, Chappelle brought transphobe Elon Musk onstage at a San Francisco show, and Musk was booed off stage.
Matt Walsh is an American conservative commentator and anti-transgender extremist.
Background
Walsh was born June 18, 1986 and grew up in a conservative Catholic household near Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from high school, Walsh began working in radio in Delaware and later Kentucky. After Walsh’s show was cancelled in 2013, Walsh put more energy into a conservative blog started in 2012. In 2014 Walsh began contributing to The Blaze in 2014, then The Daily Wire in October 2017.
In April 2018, Walsh began hosting a weekday show on YouTube called The Matt Walsh Show. In April 2023 YouTube demonetized Walsh’s channel for repeated attacks on trans people, particularly Dylan Mulvaney.
Anti-trans activism
Walsh has accused “the media, Hollywood, and the school system” of recruiting children into the LGBT community.
Walsh is one of several media figures who gets money and attention by attacking trans and gender diverse children. In 2022, Walsh published an anti-trans children’s book titled Johnny the Walrus and released the anti-trans propaganda piece What Is a Woman? Walsh also helped organize a “rally to end child mutilation” protest in Nashville, part of Walsh’s campaigns against hospitals and clinics that provide trans health services.
Books
The Unholy Trinity: Blocking the Left’s Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender (2017)
Church of Cowards: A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians (2020)
Johnny the Walrus (2022)
What Is a Woman?: One Man’s Journey to Answer the Question of a Generation (2022)
Carrie D. Mendoza is an American physician and anti-transgender activist. Mendoza leads FAIR in Medicine, the healthcare arm of anti-trans organization Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism.
Background
Carrie D. Edelstein was born June 29, 1966. After earning a bachelor’s degree in from Tufts University in 1988, Edelstein then attended University of Chicago, earning a master’s degree and a medical degree, followed by a residency and a fellowship at Denver General Hospital.
Much of Mendoza’s career has been in emergency medicine. Mendoza has practiced at Parker and Castle Rock Adventist in Colorado and as part of the Advocate system in Illinois.
Mendoza married education reform activist Myles X. Mendoza (born 1972). They have three children: Jesse, Noah and Max.
Carrie D. Mendoza has contributed to Republican causes and was elected to the Douglas County school board in 2013. Mendoza was one of several parents who complained that New Trier High School library held the gay teen novel Two Boys Kissing.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2021, Mendoza appeared on a FAIR panel. Panelists included several prominent conservative and anti-trans activists:
After working as the Illinois coordinator for FAIR, Mendoza was tapped to lead FAIR in Medicine.
In an introductory video, Mendoza likened the “orthodoxy” of gender affirming care to forced sterilizations in Nazi Germany and Iran.
There is also the orthodoxy that only one treatment for youth gender dysphoria – affirmation, hormones, surgery – is the correct one, regardless of the individual conditions that might have led them to their discomfort with their body. Mastectomies are being performed on children as young as 15 as part of routine transgender healthcare. So-called gender-affirming hysterectomies have been performed on minors as well.
Asking if there are other better ways for certain patients reporting gender dysphoria is often treated as transphobic, as advocating conversion therapy, or pushing dysphoric children into suicide. Never mind the rate of regret and detransition increasing to amounts that have not yet been properly studied. Multiple studies have shown that medical transition has no effect on reducing suicide rates. And two studies show postoperative transgender people have considerably higher risk for suicidal behavior.
Some states are passing misinformation bills that would ban medical professionals from speaking in ways that contradict contemporary scientific consensus. Unaware of how wrong previous medical consensus was that sought to cure homosexuality or treat hysteria with oophorectomies and how wrong we might discover we are in the present.
FAIR (December 17, 2021). FAIR’s Gender Webinar with Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Zander Keig, and more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XYzCE1ph5s
FAIR in Medicine (March 9, 2023). Dr. Carrie Mendoza: Pro-Human Medicine Means Ending Unquestionable Orthodoxies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXkUU3cLRzsMedia
FAIR (May 18, 2023). https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrzvXNozKX Understanding Gender Dysphoria with Dr. Michael Bailey
Sara Stockton is an American therapist whose views on controlling trans healthcare have gotten more conservative and extreme.
Do not go to Stockton for any kind of therapy, trans or otherwise. If you are a trans or gender diverse minor forced to see Stockton, do everything in your power to end the sessions and find supportive local resources instead.
Stockton is known for appearances in conservative media. Stockton expresses concerns about trans healthcare to anti-trans extremists like Jordan Peterson, Sasha Ayad, and Stella O’Malley.
Sara E. Burke was born in June 1986 and was married to Daniel J. Farmer (born 1984), having a child together in 2012.
Stockton is currently married to Quincy J. Stockton (born 1979).
Stockton earned a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a master’s degree from Medaille College in 2018.
In 2012, Stockton co-authored a mental health assessment for gatekeeping trans healthcare. Stockton initially treated, advocated for, and taught about youth and families regarding gender identity and expression. Stockton worked with over one hundred families, often clearing youth for medical transition. Stockton later shifted focus, citing concerns about outcomes.
Since then Stockton has become a favored source for other anti-transgender activists.
References
Farmer S (2016). Considerations in Mentoring From a Transgender Ally, All About Mentoring, SUNY Empire State College Publication, Winter 2016.
Coolhart D, Baker A, Farmer S, Malaney M, Shipman D. (2012). Therapy with transsexual youth and their families: A clinical tool for assessing youth’s readiness for gender transition. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 39, 223–243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00283.x
Media
Peterson, Jordan B. (March 23, 2023). Regrets of a Trans-Care Specialist. Daily Wire https://www.dailywire.com/episode/k-k-k-k-k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCH-bUFR3WM
Jordan B. Peterson is a Canadian psychologist and anti-transgender activist. Peterson is one of the foremost figures in the global anti-transgender movement.
Background
Jordan Bernt Peterson was born June 12, 1962 in Alberta. Peterson earned two bachelor’s degrees from University of Alberta and a doctorate from McGill University, then took a teaching position at University of Toronto. Peterson’s 1999 book Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, formed the basis of subsequent teaching.
Anti-transgender activism
Peterson is a central alt-right figure and part of the so-called intellectual dark web, a group of academics and media figures described as a gateway to the far right.
Peterson is also the key figure in the Jungian psychology faction of anti-transgender activism. It’s not clear why followers of Carl Jung are especially susceptible to anti-trans beliefs.
In 2016, Peterson criticized Canada’s Bill C-16, which introduced gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination. Much of Peterson’s argument focused on pronouns and misgendering. Peterson believed the law constituted “compelled speech.”
Peterson’s 2019 book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos became an international hit due to claims that there is a “crisis of masculinity” in the West.
Peterson is married and has two children. In 2019 Peterson underwent treatment in Russia for a benzodiazepine habit.
Cathy “Bug” Brennan is an American lawyer and anti-transgender extremist. Brennan is a prominent and strident member of the movement’s gender critical faction.
In a 2011 letter to the United Nations, Brennan argued against certain legal protections based on gender identity and expression, claiming that “the proliferation of legislation designed to protect ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ undermines legal protections for females vis-à-vis sex segregated spaces.”
Brennan claims that eschewing the term lesbian for more inclusive alternatives is “catering” to trans people that will lead to “lesbian annihilation.”
Background
Catherine Margaret “Cathy” Brennan was born in The Bronx, New York on December 30, 1970 and lived there until 1976. Brennan graduated from Pine Bush High School in Pine Bush, New York in 1988. Brennan then earned a bachelor’s degree in 1992 from Fordham University, followed by a law degree from University at Buffalo in 1995. Brennan is admitted to practice law in Maryland (1996), New York (1996), Pennsylvania (2006), and Oregon (2017).
After briefly working as a reporter at Baltimore’s The Daily Record, Brennan then held advocacy and enforcement roles at Bar Association of Baltimore, The Women’s Law Center of Maryland, Advocates for Children and Youth, and the City of Baltimore. Since 2004 Brennan has worked at Hudson Cook LLP, becoming a partner in 2008.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2011, Brennan and Elizabeth Hungerford sent a letter to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women with their concerns about legal protections based on gender identity and expression, claiming such protections undermine legal protections based on sex.
Brennan became infamous in the mid-2010s for anti-trans trolling and verbal abuse on social media, particularly on Tumblr and Twitter. Brennan ran a site called Gender Identity Watch that documented trans people and their supporters, usually in disparaging terms. The anti-trans site was eventually suspended by WordPress for violations of their terms of use.
Brennan also allegedly contacted the Canadian caregivers of Emily Horsman (suspended user derpemily on Twitter) to complain about Horsman’s online activity.
The tone and tactics used, which included contacting people’s employers and doctors, made Brennan the most notorious trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) of the time:
The chief TERF figurehead is a Maryland attorney named Catherine Brennan who once served as a liaison on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. In July of 2012, a petition circulated to have Brennan removed from that position because, to put it mildly, she flatly rejected the “Gender Identity” half of her job description.
Apart from a sordid internet history of harassing, misgendering, and mocking trans* people, Brennan co-authored a letter with Elizabeth Hungerford to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to argue against — yes, against — legal protections based on “gender identity or expression.” In so doing, Brennan has effectively allied herself with those on the Right who viciously deter trans* folks’ attempts to secure employment, housing and safe public spaces.
Since vacating the American Bar Association liaison position, Brennan has continued to spread her anti-trans* viewpoints at the annual Radfem conference.
Brennan was also involved in Radfem Hub, a group blog and forum with a substantial anti-trans focus. In 2011, a Radfem Hub contributor named “Agent Orange” was revealed to be a men’s rights activist named James Huff. Huff then released a data dump from their forum that had a significant impact on members.
Brennan was involved in organizing the annual Radfem Conference. As the group began to have a harder time operating, including last-minute cancellation of their 2013 conference venue, Brennan made a legal claim to the Radfem Hub site. The content was then archived at other domains.
As of 2018, Brennan was no longer interested in running the Gender Identity Watch website. Anti-trans group Women’s Liberation Front then volunteered to maintain it. WordPress suspended Gender Identity Watch, GenderTrender, and a number of other virulently anti-trans sites in November 2018. Gender Identity Watch went offline in 2023.
References
Note: This site regrets previously misstating Brennan’s early childhood place of residence.
[Shanko, Linda] (January 29, 2015). Cathy Brennan files legal copyright claim over ownership of RadFem Hub. GenderTrender https://gendertrender.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/cathy-brennan-files-legal-copyright-claim-over-ownership-of-radfem-hub/ [archive]
Reilly, Peter J. (June 20, 2013). Cathy Brennan On Radfem 2013.Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2013/06/15/cathy-brennan-on-radfem-2013/
Brown, Elizabeth Nolan (October 21, 2013). Cathy Brennan Speaks on Trans Women.Bustle https://www.bustle.com/articles/7277-cathy-brennan-speaks-to-bustle-about-her-stance-on-transgender-people
Taylor, Dana Lane (February 25, 2014). Cathy Brennan Contacted My Doctor. http://danalanetaylor.com/2014/02/25/cathy-brennan-contacted-my-doctor
Taylor, Dana Lane (February 14, 2014). My “Harassment” of Cathy Brennan – The Real Truth. http://danalanetaylor.com/2014/02/14/my-harassment-of-cathy-brennan-the-real-truth/
Taylor, Dana Lane (October 19, 2013). Jancie Raymond [sic] and Cathy Brennan contacted my employer. http://dana.stopabuseonline.org/2013/10/19/jancie-raymond-and-cathy-brennan-contacted-my-employer/ [archive]
Sandeen, Autumn (May 24, 2012). The Bittersweet “Change Of Gender” Court Ruling: It Came With Cyberbulling [sic]. Pam’s House Blend http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/05/24/the-bittersweet-change-of-gender-court-ruling-it-came-with-cyberbulling/ [archive]
Brennan, Cathy (June 2013). Ladybug’s Political Smackdown: Pride in the Name of Lesbians. Baltimore OUTloud https://www.baltimoreoutloud.com/thinking-outloud/equality/ladybugs-political-smackdown/item/1358-pride-in-the-name-of-lesbians [archive]
Ramseyer, Laurel (August 10, 2011). Cathy Brennan & Elizabeth Hungerford take their anti-trans activism to the UN. Pam’s House Blend http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2011/08/10/cathy-brennan-elizabeth-hungerford-take-their-anti-trans-activism-to-the-un/ [archive]
Allen, Mercedes (August 4, 2011). Less Than Woman, Less Than Human. The Billerico Project http://www.bilerico.com/2011/08/less_than_woman_less_than_human.php [archive]
Brennan, Cathy; Hungerford, Elizabeth (August 1, 2011). [Response to United Nations] via Sex Matters https://sexnotgender.com/gender-identity-legislation-and-the-erosion-of-sex-based-legal-protections-for-females/ PDF available at https://radicalhubarchives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/communication_csw_un_brennanhungerford_08012011_.pdf