Cat Cattinson is the stage name of Cat Girton, an American ex-transgender activist. Girton gets money and attention by making it more difficult for others to get trans healthcare.
Background
Catherina R. “Cat” Girton was born in April 1991 to John Girton (born 1942) and Linda Girton (born 1956).
When Girton brought up gender issues at age 15, both parents expressed concern. Girton earned an associate’s degree from Sierra College in 2014, then took a job at Biotechnology Calendar in 2016.
John and Cat occasionally perform music together. In 2017, Cat Girton released the album Local Vocals & Bizarre Guitar.
Girton began a medical transition at the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020, taking hormones for four months at age 29 before stopping. Girton claims that in that short time “my health and professional singing voice were damaged by experimental gender medicine.”
Girton earned a bachelor’s degree from University of California Santa Cruz in 2022.
Transition Justice
Girton teamed up with anti-trans group Partners for Ethical Care on “The Transition Justice Project, which connects “detransitioners and others negatively affected by gender medicine with legal assistance.”
Laura Becker is an American artist and ex-transgender activist.
Background
Laura Becker was born around 1997 in Wisconsin and has two younger siblings. Around age 11, Becker was reportedly diagnosed with “what would be considered autism now” and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Becker has reportedly been a mental hospital inpatient four times. Through Tumblr, Becker learned about gender identity and expression. Becker graduated from Wauwatosa East High School.
In 2016, at age 19, Becker began a medical transition with hormones, followed by top surgery at age 20 with Clifford King in Madison, Wisconsin.
Becker began the development of Funk God in 2017 after using it as a blog name.
Becker says identity and self-esteem issues led to “depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health concerns.” Around 2022, Becker made additional changes in gender identity and expression.
Becker earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee in 2022. Becker lives in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin metro area.
Ex-trans activism
Becker appears in No Way Back: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care, a 2023 anti-transgender film focusing on the ex-transgender movement. The film is controversial for including convicted sex offender David Arthur Kendall as one of the original ex-trans activists featured alongside Becker. Becker also provided artwork for the film.
Billy Burleigh is an American engineer and ex-transgender activist. Burleigh gets money and attention by making it more difficult for others to get trans healthcare.
Background
Clifton Francis “Billy” Burleigh, Jr. was born in November of 1966. Burleigh claims to have had several childhood issues, “including a speech impediment, a learning disability, and childhood sexual abuse.”
Burleigh attended Louisiana State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1991 and a master’s degree in 1993. After college, Burleigh had therapy for five to six years until “I told my therapist that I wanted to transition.”
Burleigh has worked as a hydraulic engineer at Motion Industries and transitioned on the job there. Around 1999, Burleigh started taking hormones, and about three years later had bottom surgery and facial surgery. During this time, Burleigh used the name Billie Frances Burleigh and worked at Belcan and Parker Hannifin.
Burleigh claims to have lived as a woman from ages 31 to 38. Around 2004, “After presenting myself as a woman for seven years, I detransitioned.” The process took about three years.
After making additional gender changes, Burleigh worked at Fluid Power Systems Consultants, Kemper Engineering Services, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Geocent, SpaceX, and ManTech.
Anti-trans activism
In 2017, Burleigh legally changed name and gender in Santa Barbara County Superior Courts.
Burleigh has gone on to be a key figure in testifying against trans healthcare at the state and federal levels:
Amicus Clifton Francis (“Billy”) Burleigh Jr.’s biography is brief, however, his personal background still brings a valuable perspective to this case. Mr. Burleigh was one of the many who contacted Mr. Heyer, regretting the decision to transition. Initially, when Mr. Burleigh first transitioned to identifying as a female, he was excited. Unfortunately, soon after the transition he felt discomfort identifying as a female, and states that, “I was better off as I was before the surgery, before the hormone treatment.” After six years of identifying as a woman, Mr. Burleigh started maturing in his relationship with Jesus and, as a result, learned the truth – that he was not female — and a desire grew in his heart to transition back to identifying as male. After seven years of identifying as a female, Mr. Burleigh underwent surgery to revert back to identifying as male.
Burleigh has been active in Lompoc Foursquare Church.
Michelle Forcier is an American pediatrician who specializes in sexual health and gender identity for adolescents.
Background
Michelle Marie Forcier earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in 1987, followed by a medical degree from University of Connecticut School of Medicine in 1992. In 1997 Forcier earned a master’s degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. Forcier did a pediatric residency at University of Utah, followed by fellowships at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Planned Parenthood Central North Carolina, and Department of Family Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine.
Forcier is or has been licensed in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Illinois, South Carolina, Alabama, and Utah. Forcier has taught at Duke University, University of North Carolina, and Northwestern University. Since 2009 Forcier has taught at Brown University.
Forcier married pediatrician Geoffrey Abbott “Geoff” Allen (born 1961). They have one child.
Forcier is known to many from an appearance in the 2022 anti-trans propaganda piece What Is a Woman? In it, Forcier earnestly explains why affirming models of care for minors are the American medical consensus. Many people who enjoy anti-trans extremist Matt Walsh’s bad-faith interview tactics found the exchange entertaining.
Forcier was named in lawsuits filed by ex-trans activists Layton Ulery and Isabelle Ayala.
Knox, Liam (September 25, 2022). Attack on Vanderbilt Clinic Has Ripple Effects.Inside Higher Ed https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/09/26/trans-health-clinic-weathers-political-firestorm
Samuel E, Forcier M (2015). Acute medical care for the transgender patient. In Sex and Gender in Acute Care Medicine, Ed: McGregor AJ, Choo EK, Becker BM. NY Cambridge University Press, 2015: 216-229, ISBN 9781107668164
Lecture, Pediatric and Adolescent Gender Care, Web Seminar, Fenway Health Center, 2015. Taped lecture, pending pub on line at http://fenwayhealth.org/the-fenwayinstitute/education/transgender-health-conference/
Transgender is a Pediatric Opportunity: Pediatric Endocrine Nursing Society, Orlando FL 2012.
Services for Transgender Youth in Primary Care Settings. Society for Teachers in Family Medicine, US 2014.
Puberty Blockers for Use in Transgender Children, Medical Advisory Meeting, Chicago 2014.
Transgender Health Panel, Gender Spectrum East, Baltimore 2014
Patrick Grzanka is an American academic and applied social issues researcher. Grzanka’s work often focuses on sex and gender minorities.
Background
Patrick Ryan Grzanka was born in November 1983. Grzanka attended University of Maryland, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2004 and working as a lecturer there while earning a doctorate in American studies in 2010. From 2010 to 2014 Grzanka taught at the Honors College at Arizona State University. In 2014 Grzanka took an appointment at University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Grzanka is founder and director of Social Action Research Team (SART), a group conducting applied social research with a commitment to social justice-informed scholarship and praxis.
Grzanka became known to many from a confrontational interview conducted by anti-trans extremist Matt Walsh in the transphobic film What Is a Woman? The appearance led to significant backlash.
References
Grzanka PR, DeVore EN, Gonzalez KA, Pulice-Farrow L, Tierney D (2018). The biopolitics of passing and the possibility of radically inclusive transgender health care. The American Journal of Bioethics, 18(12), 17-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2018.1531167
Fishman JR, Mamo L, Grzanka PR (2017). Sex, gender, & sexuality in biomedicine. In U Felt, R Fouché, C Miller, & L Smith-Doerr (Eds.), The handbook of science and technology studies (4th ed., pp. 379-405). MIT Press. ISBN 9780262035682
Grzanka PR (2017). Undoing the psychology of gender: Intersectional feminism and social science pedagogy. In KA Case (Ed.), Intersectional pedagogy: A model for complicating identity and social justice (pp. 61-79). Routledge. ISBN 9781138942974
DeVore EN. Frantell KA, Grzanka PR, Miles JR, Spengler ES (2019, August). Conscience clauses and sexual and gender minority mental health care: A case study. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Convention, Chicago, IL https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000396
Gert Comfrey is an American therapist who identifies as nonbinary and queer. Comfrey specializes in marriage and family therapy issues that affect sex and gender minorities.
Background
Comfrey was born in November 1985, grew up in Central Pennsylvania, and was known by another name prior to adulthood.
Comfrey earned a bachelor’s degree from Elizabethtown College in 2008, then earned two master’s degrees; one from Vanderbilt Divinity School in 2010, and one from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2015.
In 2019 Comfrey was a panelist at the LGBT+ College Conference held at Middle Tennessee State University.
Comfrey opened a marriage and family therapy practice in Nashville, Tennessee in 2019:
I have extensive experience working with transgender clients and clients wanting to explore gender identity, along with letter-writing for gender affirming surgeries. I am also a trained Circle facilitator and have offered trainings to healthcare professionals, counseling interns, and students regarding best practices when working with queer clients.
Comfrey is known to many from an appearance in the 2022 anti-trans propaganda piece What Is a Woman? In it, Comfrey earnestly explains that sex and gender are more complicated than binaries, prompting interviewer Matt Walsh to ask about personal gender identity, “So how do I know?” Comfrey responds, “That question, when it’s asked with a lot of curiosity, that’s the beginning of a lot of people’s gender identity development journey.” Many people who enjoy Walsh’s incurious bad-faith tactics found the exchange entertaining.
References
2019 LGBT+ College Conference Schedule https://www.mtsu.edu/mtlambda/2019LGBTplusCCSchedule.php]
Media
Community Changers (May 27, 2022). DDC S3 Gert Comfrey: The LGBTQ+ Community https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd4vlZCbAeM
Wortham, Jenna (November 16, 2018). On Instagram, Seeing Between the (Gender) Lines. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/16/magazine/tech-design-instagram-gender.html
Carmel, Julia (December 4, 2021). Alok Vaid-Menon Finds Beauty Beyond Gender. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/04/style/alok-vaid-menon-artist-nonbinary-poet-activist.html
Jeffrey Marsh is an American author and media personality. Marsh identifies as nonbinary and is known for positive and affirming videos about self-acceptance.
Background
Jeffrey Earl Marsh was born on July 7, 1977 in York, Pennsylvania. Marsh earned a bachelor’s degree from University of the Arts in 1999. Marsh was then a member of Le Cabaret Mélange in Philadelphia. In 2003 Marsh premiered An Evening with Jeffrey Marsh in Philadelphia.
In 2007, Marsh moved to New York and continued performing at cabarets. Works included a 2010 tribute to performer Julian Eltinge and a 2012 tribute to self-help guru Richard Simmons.
Marsh began a relationship with American art historian Jeffrey “Jeff” Fraiman and shared a website.
Activism
Marsh is well-known for affirming short-form videos on social media, particularly Vine, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Marsh is the author of two books:
How to Be You: Stop Trying to Be Someone Else and Start Living Your Life (2016)
Take Your Own Advice: Learn to Trust Your Inner Voice and Start Helping Yourself (2023)
Marsh has worked with youth organization Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network and has contributed to TIME, Oprah.com, and Huffington Post.
Marsh is frequently criticized by social and religious conservatives, some of whom accuse Marsh of encouraging minors to reach out directly if they are in unaccepting homes. Marsh has also advised that in some cases it may be necessary to go “no contact” with unaccepting family members. In 2023 TikToker Shamirun Nessa made videos mocking Marsh, which Nessa says led to harassment. Nessa quickly became a cause célèbre among anti-trans activists, with Julie Bindel, Meghan Murphy, and others writing about the controversy.
Marsh says two things bring peace when faced with hatred. The first is Marsh’s mission in life to “bring forth what needs to be healed” in everyone. The second is a belief that people hate “so they don’t have to face their own pain,” something Marsh knows of from personal experience.
References
Whittington, Lewis (June 5, 2003). Taking the Stage. mycitypaper.com. [archive] https://mycitypaper.com/articles/2003-06-05/art.shtml
Hunka, George (February 11, 2010). Julian at Dixon Place. Culturebot. [archive] http://www.culturebot.org/2010/02/5530/julian-at-dixon-place/
Staff report (August 8, 2016). Jeffrey Marsh, Viner of the Year, says stop trying to be someone else and start living your life. cbslocal.com [archive] http://jackseattle.cbslocal.com/2016/08/08/jeffrey-marsh-viner-of-the-year-says-stop-trying-to-be-someone-else-and-start-living-your-life/
Jazz Jennings is an American media personality and transgender activist. Jennings is one of the most notable transgender youth to make a gender transition as a minor.
Background
Jennings was born October 6, 2000 in Florida. Parents Jeanette and Greg have four children in total. The surname Jennings is a pseudonym they chose to help protect their family’s privacy.
In 2007, Jennings was interviewed on 20/20 by Barbara Walters, leading to national recognition and additional appearances. In 2015, Jennings was the subject of the reality show I Am Jazz.
Jennings graduated from Broward Virtual School in 2019. Jennings was accepted to Harvard University, but deferred enrollment until 2023 to deal with “mental health setbacks.”
Jennings is involved in TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, an organization the family founded to support trans youth.
References
Reischel, Julia (May 30, 2006). See Tom Be Jane.Village Voice https://www.villagevoice.com/see-tom-be-jane/
David Paisley is a Scottish actor and trans-inclusive LGBTQ+ rights activist.
Background
Paisley was born February 2, 1979 is originally from Falkirk. Paisley is one of seven children; Paisley’s parent Janet Paisley is a noted author.
David Paisley began acting as a teen and came out as gay at age 18. Paisley studied at University of Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian University before committing to acting full-time.
Paisley is known for roles in Tinsel Town, River City, Holby City, Casualty, and Eastenders.
Transgender activism
Paisley has been critical of trans-exclusionary queers like the LGB Alliance.
In 2021, Paisley had a dispute with Joanna Cherry, a Scottish politician and gender critical activist. Paisley called out Cherry for making a donation to a crowdfunder backed by anti-trans pressure group Fair Cop. Cherry sent a letter demanding Paisley retract the message, apologize, pay £500 to a charity of Cherry’s choice, and pay £2,000 in legal costs.
Following significant online abuse, Paisley considered deleting all social media accounts and leaving Scotland.