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Kara Dansky is an American lawyer, sex segregationist, and anti-transgender activist. She is president of WDI USA, the American chapter of Women’s Declaration International.

Background

Kara Patrice Dansky was born March 17, 1972.

Dansky earned a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1994 and a juris doctor degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School.

  • Founder and Managing Director of One Thousand Arms.
  • Special Advisor to the Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice
  • Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
  • Executive Director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center.
  • Public defender and federal law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
  • Staff attorney at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • Senior Counsel with the ACLU Center for Justice

Dansky is a member of the bar for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

2021 book

In November 2021, she published The Abolition of Sex: How the ‘Transgender’ Agenda Harms Women and Girls.

She served on the board of the Women’s Liberation Front from 2016 to 2020.

Resources

Kara Dansky (karadansky.com)

Substack (substack.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

WDI USA (womensdeclarationusa.com)

One Thousand Arms (onethousandarms.net) [archive]

Maya Forstater is a British anti-transgender activist and sex segregationist. Forstater brought the case Forstater v Centre for Global Development Europe that established that gender critical views are protected as a belief under the UK’s Equality Act 2010.

Background

Maya Forstater was born on July 3, 1973 in London. Forstater’s parent is film producer Mark Forstater. Forstater earned a degree from Newcastle University. Forstater has published work for the United Nations on corporate social responsibility and economic development.

Anti-transgender activism

Forstater made a number of anti-transgender statements on social media that resulted in a UN contract not being renewed in 2019. Forstater filed a lawsuit claiming these gender critical views are protected under the Equality Act 2010. Forstater lost her initial case, which was then appealed to a tribunal. Forstater won the appeal in 2021, and the tribunal found in 2022 Forstater had suffered direct discrimination for holding anti-transgender views.

In 2020, Forstater co-founded anti-trans group Sex Matters and serves as Executive Director.

References

Cases

Forstater v CGD Europe & Ors [2021] UKEAT 0105_20_1006 IRLR 706, [2022] ICR 1 https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2021/0105_20_1006.html

Maya Forstater v CGD Europe and others: Appeal No. UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ (PDF). GOV.UK. [archive] (PDF)

Forstater v CGD Europe & Anor (Religion or Belief Discrimination, Sex Discrimination l) [2019] UKET 2200909/2019 (18 December 2019) https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKET/2019/2200909_2019.html

The Maya Forstater case and so-called ‘gender critical’ feminism: what was actually decided and what does it reveal about UK discrimination law?OHRH.

Coverage

Forstater, Maya (May 5, 2019). I lost my job for talking about women’s rightsCrowd Justice https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/lost-job-speaking-out/

Forstater, Maya (March 27, 2019). Has Penny Mordaunt got away with the worst Mumsnet performance ever?The Independent. [archive] https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/penny-mourdant-mumsnet-gender-recognition-act-a8835621.html

Pedersen, Sarah (2020). The Politicization of Mumsnet. Bingley: Emerald Publishing. ISBN 978-1-83909-471-2.

Gordon, Jane (April 23, 2021). ‘I am fighting for the right to say men can never be women.’ The Daily Telegraph. [archive] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/amfightingfor-therightto-saymen-cannever-bewomen//

Smith, Helen-Ann (April 24, 2021). Maya Forstater: Woman who lost job over transgender views warns of ‘scary’ precedent if her tribunal appeal failsSky News. [archive] https://news.sky.com/story/maya-forstater-woman-who-lost-job-over-transgender-views-warns-of-scary-precedent-if-her-tribunal-appeal-fails-12285218

Hancock, Sam (April 27, 2021). Maya Forstater: Who is woman in employment tribunal over transgender comments?The Independent. [archive] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/maya-forstater-transgender-twitter-jk-rowling-b1838151.html

Wright, Oliver (May 15, 2021). Women must be heard on transgender identity, says new equalities chiefThe Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/women-must-be-heard-on-transgender-identity-says-new-equalities-chief-kqttljxmd

Gordon, Tom (June 10, 2021). Maya Forstater wins landmark employment case on gender critical beliefsThe Herald (Glasgow). Glasgow. [archive] https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19362788.maya-forstater-wins-landmark-employment-case-gender-critical-beliefs/

Faulkner, Doug (June 10,2021). Maya Forstater: Woman wins tribunal appeal over transgender tweetsBBC News Online. [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57426579

Siddique, Haroon (June 10, 2021). Gender-critical views are a protected belief, appeal tribunal rulesThe Guardian. [archive] https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jun/10/gender-critical-views-protected-belief-appeal-tribunal-rules-maya-forstater

Suissa, Judith; Sullivan, Alice (2021). The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education. Journal of Philosophy of Education55 (1): 55–82. https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-9752.12549

Forstater, Maya; Joyce, Helen (April 20, 2022). Why gender identity should be left out of the ‘conversion therapy’ banThe Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/20/why-gender-identity-should-be-left-out-of-the-conversion-therapy-ban

Moss, Lauren (July 6, 2022). Maya Forstater: Woman discriminated against over trans tweets, tribunal rules. BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62061929

Resources

Maya Forstater (forstater.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Medium (medium.com)

Lierre Keith is an American environmentalist and author. Keith is a founder of environmental organization Deep Green Resistance, a radical feminist group that has been criticized for anti-transgender views.

Background

Keith was born in 1964 and went to high school in Brookline, Massachusetts. In the 1980s Keith was involved in a number of feminist projects, including Vanessa and Iris: A Journal for Young Feminists, the journal Rain and Thunder, the groups Women Against Violence Against Women, Minor Disturbance, Feminists Against Pornography.

Keith’s environmental activism includes the 2009 book The Vegetarian Myth and the 2011 book Deep Green Resistance, co-authored with Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay. McBay left in 2012, citing increasing anti-trans views of the other co-founders.

Anti-trans activism

Keith helped found the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF). WoLF was founded in 2013, incorporated in 2016, and earned non-profit status in 2018. They have held meetings called WoLF Fest since 2016 that largely consist of anti-transgender networking and presentations.

In a sympathetic 2014 piece by Michelle Goldberg titled “What Is a Woman?” Keith explained:

Trans women say that they are women because they feel female—that, as some put it, they have women’s brains in men’s bodies. Radical feminists reject the notion of a “female brain.” They believe that if women think and act differently from men it’s because society forces them to, requiring them to be sexually attractive, nurturing, and deferential. In the words of Lierre Keith, a speaker at Radfems Respond, femininity is “ritualized submission.”

[…]

Three years ago, she co-founded the ecofeminist group Deep Green Resistance, which has some two hundred members and links the oppression of women to the pillaging of the planet.D.G.R. is defiantly militant, refusing to condemn the use of violence in the service of goals it considers just. In radical circles, though, what makes the group truly controversial is its stance on gender. As members see it, a person born with male privilege can no more shed it through surgery than a white person can claim an African-American identity simply by darkening his or her skin. Before D.G.R. held its first conference, in 2011, in Wisconsin, the group informed a person in the process of a male-to-female transition that she couldn’t stay in the women’s quarters. “We said, That’s fine if you want to come, but, no, you’re not going to have access to the women’s sleeping spaces and the women’s bathrooms,” Keith told me.

References

McBay, Aric (May 14, 2013). DGR and Transphobia. http://www.aricmcbay.org/2013/05/14/dgr-and-transphobia/

Staff (May 16, 2013). Response to Aric McBay’s “Deep Green Resistance and Transphobia.” Deep Green Resistance https://deepgreenresistance.blogspot.com/2013/05/response-to-aric-mcbay-deep-green-resistance-transphobia.html

Goldberg, Michelle (August 4, 2014). What Is a Woman? The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/woman-2

Keith, Lierre (May 28, 2014). Liberals, Radical, and Why It Matters. RadFems Respond https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcRZqGpTU9A

Ring, Trudy (January 30, 2019). Anti-Trans Feminists Appear at Panel of Right-Wing Heritage Foundation. The Advocate. https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2019/1/30/anti-trans-feminists-appear-panel-right-wing-heritage-foundation

Fitzsimons, Tim (January 29, 2019). Conservative group hosts anti-transgender panel of feminists “from the left.” NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/conservative-group-hosts-anti-transgender-panel-feminists-left-n964246

Schmidt, Samantha (February 7, 2020). Conservatives find unlikely ally in fighting transgender rights: Radical feministsThe Washington Post.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/02/07/radical-feminists-conservatives-transgender-rights/

Langas, Amelia (November 14, 2017). ‘Radical’ feminist organization criticizes ETHS transgender locker room policy. The Daily Northwestern

Lee, Mia (February 24, 2021). Inclusion of anti-trans group in UW employment fair sparks controversy. The Badger Herald.  https://badgerherald.com/news/2021/02/24/print-2-23-inclusion-of-anti-trans-group-in-uw-employment-fair-sparks-controversy

Burns, Katelyn (September 9, 2019). The rise of anti-trans “radical” feminists, explained. Vox https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/9/5/20840101/terfs-radical-feminists-gender-critical

Hachey, Isabelle (June 12, 2019). La femme qui dĂ©range. La Presse. https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/2019-06-12/la-femme-qui-derange

Bauer, Sydney (February 11, 2020). The New Anti-Trans Culture War Hiding in Plain Sight. The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/156539/new-anti-trans-culture-war-hiding-plain-sight

Staff report (December 11, 2o19). Event at Seattle Public Library causes firestorm, group accused of being ‘hate group'”KIRO 7 News Seattle. https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/controversial-hate-group-event-seattle-public-library-causes-firestorm/SHZT7665XZAYRNCV3FT5OM5IWA/

Staff report (April 26, 2021). Far-Right Groups Flood State Legislatures With Anti-Trans Bills Targeting ChildrenSouthern Poverty Law Center.https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/04/26/far-right-groups-flood-state-legislatures-anti-trans-bills-targeting-children

Kolowrat, Hayden (February 1, 2021). UPDATED: QLaw opposes Women’s Liberation Front’s involvement in UW Law interview program. The Badger Herald. https://badgerherald.com/news/2021/02/01/qlaw-opposes-womens-liberation-fronts-involvement-in-uw-law-interview-program

Anita Noelle Green v. Miss United States of America, LLCNo. 21-35228 (9th Cir October 29, 2021).

Gevisser, Mark (June 27, 2020). The front line of the new gender wars. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/003c71d6-b55c-11ea-8ecb-0994e384dffe

Haywood, Phaedra (August 12, 2016). Radical feminists sue Obama administration in New Mexico court over bathroom directive. The Santa Fe New Mexican. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local%20news/radical-feminists-sue-obama-administration-in-new-mexico-court-over/article/53f86667-80aa-58dd-8d8c-299ca8b533d1.html

Joseph-Charles, Saeeda; Walz, Mackenzie (August 11, 2016). Case: Women’s Liberation Front v. U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. https://clearinghouse.net/case/15477/

Paul, Crystal (December 9, 2019). Amid outcry, Seattle Public Library weighs decision to provide venue for ‘radical feminist’ event criticized as anti-trans. Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/amid-outcry-seattle-public-library-weighs-decision-to-provide-venue-for-radical-feminist-event-criticized-as-anti-trans/

Martinez, Christian (November 25, 2021). Suit takes aim at law that lets transgender inmates choose housing based on gender identity. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-24/lawsuit-takes-aim-at-law-that-allows-transgender-inmates-to-choose-housing-location-based-on-gender-identity

Norris, Sian (September 30, 2021). The Far-Right Co-Option of the Transgender Rights Issue. Byline Times.  https://bylinetimes.com/2021/09/30/the-far-right-co-option-of-the-transgender-rights-issue/

Petition for Rulemaking to Protect the Safety and Privacy of Women in Need of Shelter Due to Homelessness or Violence (PDF). May 1, 2017. 

Quinlan, Casey (June 27, 2022). Experts on white nationalism say anti-trans rally in DC part of larger threat to democracy”The American Independent https://americanindependent.com/white-nationalism-lgbtq-our-bodies-our-sports-anti-tran-rally-washington/

Media

Amy Sousa (March 9, 2022). Conversation with Lierre Keith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0nPeVlZmiw

Resources

Lierre Keith (lierrekeith.com)

Women’s Liberation Front (womensliberationfront.org)

Vegetarian Myth (vegetarianmyth.com)

Deep Green Resistance (deepgreenresistance.org)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Derrick Jensen is an American environmentalist and author. Jensen is a founder of environmental organization Deep Green Resistance, a radical feminist group that has been criticized for anti-transgender views.

Background

Jensen was born on December 19, 1960. Jensen earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado School of Mines in 1983 and a master’s degree from Eastern Washington University in 1991.

In 2011, Jensen, Lierre Keith, and Aric McBay founded Deep Green Resistance. McBay left due to the organization’s positions on transgender people.

Anti-transgender views

Jensen’s concerns center around postmodernism and queer theory. Jensen believes these theories are attempts to justify nonconsensual sex with minors. Jensen also claims any dissent from acceptable views will lead to cancelation:

This is the cult-like behavior of the postmodern left: if you disagree with any of the Holy Commandments of postmodernism/queer theory/transgender ideology, you must be silenced on not only that but on every other subject. Welcome to the death of discourse, brought to you by the postmodern left.

Jensen has laid out these anti-trans views in a number of essays and posts:

  • The Emperor’s New Penis
  • Liberals and the New McCarthyism
  • Letter to a Publisher: On the Destruction of Discourse and the Cult of the Postmodern Left

Derrick Jensen Resistance Radio

Jensen is host of a show that has included many environmentalists, some trans-inclusive feminists, and anti-transgender activists:

References

Mortensen, Camilla (March 8, 2018). Controversial Speaker Sparks OutcryEugene Weekly https://eugeneweekly.com/2018/03/08/controversial-speaker-sparks-outcry/

Houlberg, Laura (2017). “The End of Gender or Deep Green Transmisogyny?”. Routledge Handbook of Gender and Environment. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-88657-2.

Borden, Mitch (29 March 2016). Transphobes Still Welcome at Public Interest Environmental Law ConferenceIt’s Going Down https://itsgoingdown.org/transphobes-still-welcome-public-interest-environmental-law-conference/

Taft, Molly (9 February 2022). The Environmental Movement Isn’t Ready for TransphobiaGizmodo

Borden, Mitch (15 January 2018). Environmental group protested for being transphobic. Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com/the-environmental-movement-isn-t-ready-for-transphobia-1848505309

Pellow, David Naguib (2019). Eco-Defence, Radical Environmentalism and Environmental Justice. Routledge Handbook of Radical Politics. Routledge. p. 112. ISBN 9781315619880.

Holzman, Jael (6 February 2022). How a fight over transgender rights derailed environmentalists in NevadaPolitico https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/06/nevada-transgender-rights-environmentalists-lithium-00001658

Hill, Jessica (4 March 2022). News reports to the contrary, opposition to proposed Northern Nevada lithium mine continuesLas Vegas Sun https://lasvegassun.com/news/2022/mar/04/news-reports-to-the-contrary-opposition-to-propose/

Staff report (June 16, 2022). We can’t ignore Big Pharma’s interests in Australia’s transgender industry. Women’s Forum Australia https://www.womensforumaustralia.org/we_can_t_ignore_big_pharma_s_interests_in_australia_s_transgender_industry

Rothblatt, Martine (2011). From Transgender to Transhuman. A manifestationtransreads.org

Bernstein, David (June 23, 2022). Is Jennifer Bilek’s article in Tablet antisemitic and transphobic? Times of Israel https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/is-jennifer-bileks-article-in-tablet-antisemitic-and-transphobic/

Moore, Mallory (20 March 2021). ALERT: Transphobic feminism and far-right activism rapidly converging. Trans Safety Network https://transsafety.network/posts/gcs-and-the-right/

Media

Loughrey, Helen (July 14, 2022). An Interview with Derrick Jensen about Queer Theory [Bright Green Lies]. https://criticaltherapyantidote.org/2022/07/14/an-interview-with-derrick-jensen-about-queer-theory/

Graham Linehan (Jan 21, 2021). Interview with Lierre Keith of WOLF and Derrick Jensen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALeWZWs66RU

Jensen, Derrick (Sep 17, 2020). Queer Theory Jeopardy!!! with Professor Derrick Jensen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-NseFg2kno

Jensen, Derrick (Jun 6, 2021). Graham Linehan—Trans grooming of children & society. Resistance Radio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82d2ov0EY4o

Resources

Derrick Jensen (derrickjensen.org)

Deep Green Resistance (deepgreenresistance.org)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Stephanie Davies-Arai is a British anti-transgender activist. Davies-Arai is director of Transgender Trend, a clinical advisor to anti-trans hate group Genspect, and has been involved in numerous anti-trans campaigns in the UK and beyond.

Background

According to Lily Maynard:

Stephanie & her twin sister Helen were born in Chester in the late 50s, hot on the heels of their older sister Gill. Their father was a bank manager and their mother a housewife and librarian, who managed and reorganised information systems for the Leicester police after their move to a small market town when the twins were seven.

Davies-Arai wrote: “I am a heterosexual woman who lived most of my childhood wanting to be a boy; for a few years my sister and I would answer to nothing except our ‘real’ names: Bill and Mike. I entered puberty kicking and screaming.” The twins dressed as schoolboys and engaged in “tomboy” activities until age 12. At puberty Davies-Arai reportedly became bulimic.

Davies-Arai trained as a sculptor after attending Wyggeston Grammar School for Girls in Leicester. Davies-Arai earned a bachelor’s degree from Gwent College of Higher Education in 1979, took courses at St. Martins College, and earned a master’s degree from Bidai University of Art & Design in 1990. While there, Davies-Arai gave birth to the first of four children. Davies-Arai’s sculptures began to be primarily about pregnancy and motherhood.

Davies-Arai and spouse moved back to England. Davies-Arai’s oldest child had behavioral problems. In 2000, Davies-Arai was a founder of Lewes New School, a small private school in East Sussex where that child might get specialized attention. Davies-Arai became a certified educational trainer in 2003.

Materials on how to deal with troubled children led to Davies-Arai’s “parental rights” activism:

“It was too child-centred. It kind of treated children as victims in a way, as if they always had a problem. It didn’t seem to give permission for parental authority.”

In 2008 Davies-Arai and spouse divorced. Davies-Arai began the training course Communicating with Kids, which was later developed into a 2014 book.

Anti-trans activism

As the four children reached adulthood, Davies-Arai was writing a weekly parenting blog. 

Davies-Arai founded Transgender Trend in 2015 after being outraged by an article titled “Parenting a Transgender Child” by Sarah Virginia White. Davies said:

You’re validating a child’s false belief. You wouldn’t get that in any other area, in any parenting book. It’s not healthy when listening to your child becomes so key that it becomes ‘you must agree with your child’. If you believe that your child knows best, you’re then supposed to follow the child. The child becomes the adult and the adult becomes the child.”

After getting more and more into the transphobic “parental rights” movement, Davies-Arai produced an anti-trans schools guide “Supporting gender diverse and trans-identified students in schools” in 2018.

After Liz Truss announced plans to change the UK’s Gender Recognition Act in 2020, an open letter signed by about 8,000 cisgender women said “we are incredibly concerned that the language you have used is very similar to the anti-trans rhetoric used by transphobic hate groups and organisations such as Woman’s Place UK, Transgender Trend and the LGB Alliance.”

In 2022, Davies-Arai was awarded the British Empire Medal by Queen Elizabeth II.

References

Maynard, Lily (February 28, 2021). Stephanie Davies-Arai & the story of Transgender Trend. https://lilymaynard.com/stephanie-davies-arai-transgender-trend/

Davis, Lisa Selin (June 13, 2022). From Tomboy to Transgender Trend. https://lisaselindavis.substack.com/p/from-tomboy-to-transgender-trend

White, Sarah Virginia (February 20, 2015). Parenting a Transgender Child. HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/parenting-a-transgender-child_b_6709858

Davies-Arai, Stephanie (2015). Is My Child Transgender? https://stephaniedaviesarai.com/is-my-child-transgender/

Resources

Stephanie Davies-Arai (stephaniedaviesarai.com)

Transgender Trend (transgendertrend.com)

Communicating with Kids (communicatingwithkids.co.uk) [archive]

HuffPost UK (huffingtonpost.co.uk)

X/Twitter (x.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Kat Rosenfield is an American writer and “dissident feminist” whose work frequently appears in conservative outlets.

Background

Rosenfield earned a bachelor’s degree from Drew University in 2003. Rosenfield worked in marketing and publicity before becoming a reporter at MTV in 2010. Rosenfield has done freelance work in pop culture.

Rosenfield is an advice columnist at anti-trans publication UnHerd and co-host of the Feminine Chaos podcast with Phoebe Maltz Bovy.

Cultural criticism

In 2020, Rosenfield signed the so-called Harper’s letter with many prominent gender critical voices, including Meghan Daum, Caitlin Flanagan, Michelle Goldberg, Sarah Haider, Jonathan Haidt, Katie Herzog, Phoebe Maltz Bovy, Steven Pinker, Katha Pollitt, J. K. Rowling, Jesse Singal, Bari Weiss, Matthew Yglesias, and Cathy Young.

Like many trans-suspicious writers, Rosenfield claims to be part of a left-wing but “heterodox” movement standing up against cancel culture to speak the truth.

There’s a loose but growing coalition of lefties out there, artists and writers and academics and professionals, who’ve drawn sympathetic attention from conservatives after being publicly shamed out of the progressive clubhouse (that is, by the type of progressive who thinks there is a clubhouse, which is of course part of the problem). It’s remarkably easy these days to be named an apostate on the left. Maybe you were critical of the looting and rioting that devastated cities in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police in 2020. Maybe you were skeptical of this or that viral outrage: Covington Catholic, or Jussie Smollett, or the alleged racial abuse at a BYU volleyball game that neither eyewitness testimony nor video evidence could corroborate. Maybe you were too loud about the continued need for due process in the middle of #MeToo. Maybe you wouldn’t stop asking uncomfortable questions about the proven value of certain divisive brands of diversity training, or transgender surgeries for kids, or — come the pandemic — masking. Maybe you kept defending the right to free speech and creative expression after these things had been deemed “right-wing values” by your fellow liberals.

When Bari Weiss and team went after a Missouri children’s hospital and its gender clinic with some questionably obtained medical records of children and adolescents, Rosenfield sided with the unsupportive parents:

In a piece on author and anti-trans activist JK Rowling, Rosenfield makes the oft-used false equivalence of Christians protesting Rowling’s occult themes and trans people and their supporters protesting Rowling’s vocal support of anti-transgender activists:

In the 15 years since Harry Potter made his final stand against Voldemort, the angst directed at Rowling has evolved from nebulous fears of neo-paganism into a far more sustained and focused rage over her perceived transphobia. But when it comes to the shape the anger takes, very little has changed. Rowling’s haters can’t stop her from writing, and they can’t stop people from reading her writing — but by god, they’ll do what they can to make sure those people don’t enjoy it. 

This framing was later used by Megan Phelps-Roper in “The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling,” a podcast apologia produced by Bari Weiss.

References

Rosenfield, Kat (August 9, 2021). How cancel culture hurts the Left. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/08/how-the-left-will-lose-the-culture-wars/

Rosenfield, Kat (October 27, 2022). Why I keep getting mistaken for a conservative. National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2022/11/07/why-i-keep-getting-mistaken-for-a-conservative/

Rosenfield, Kat (September 2, 2022). JK Rowling sees through her enemies. unHerd https://unherd.com/2022/09/j-k-rowling-sees-through-her-enemies/

Rosenfield, Kat (September 10, 2020). How Do I Stop Being a TERF? Persuasion https://www.persuasion.community/p/how-do-i-stop-being-a-terf

Rosenfield, Kat (November 6, 2023). Women’s sport should be a ghetto. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/11/womens-sport-should-be-a-ghetto/

Resources

Kat Rosenfield (katrosenfield.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Christopher Rufo is an American professional anti-transgender activist. Attacking trans rights is part of Rufo’s conservative activism at the Manhattan Institute and elsewhere.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has described Rufo as a “far-right propagandist.”

Background

Christopher Ferguson “Chris” Rufo was born August 26, 1984 and grew up in Sacramento, California. Both parents are attorneys.

Rufo earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University in 2006 and a master’s degree from Harvard Extension School in 2022. Rufo has worked at The Heritage Foundation, Claremont Institute, and Discovery Institute.

Rufo has produced documentaries and has run for public office in Seattle.

Rufo is best known for conservative activism around critical race theory, intersectionality, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and homelessness.

Rufo and spouse Suphatra “Kip” Paravichai live in Gig Harbor, Washington with their three children.

Anti-transgender activism

As part of a push to end public libraries and public education, Rufo has heavily promoted the idea that LGBTQ people are “groomers,” echoing similar efforts in the 1970s. As part of these “save the children” initiatives, Rufo seeks to stop schools from discussing LGBTQ people and their role in American history and culture (so-called “Don’t Say Gay” activism). Rufo is a major force behind threats and protests at Drag Queen Story Hour events.

In 2023, Florida’s anti-trans governor Ron DeSantis named Rufo to the board of trustees of New College of Florida, part of an attempt to turn the school conservative.

References

Bond-Theriault, Candace (April 19, 2022). The Right Targets Queer Theory. The Nation https://www.thenation.com/article/society/christopher-rufo-queer-theory/

Dreher, Rod (October 25, 2022). Chris Rufo Vs Drag Queen Story Hour Groomers. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/chris-rufo-vs-drag-queen-story-hour-groomers/

Kugle, Andrew (May 18, 2022 ) Chris Rufo uncovers jarring details of trans conference that Philadelphia teachers were encouraged to attend. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/chris-rufo-trans-conference-philadelphia-teachers

Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (June 18, 2021). How a conservative activist invented conflict over critical race theory. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/how-a-conservative-activist-invented-the-conflict-over-critical-race-theory

Drennen, Ari (June 30, 2022). Outlets like The New Yorker keep giving Chris Rufo a platform to spread dangerous propaganda about LGBTQ people. Media Matters https://www.mediamatters.org/accuracy-media/outlets-new-yorker-keep-giving-chris-rufo-platform-spread-dangerous-propaganda-about

Media

“Trans Kids” Are the New Totem of the American Left (Mar 16, 2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39IiYHDp3KI

New Hampshire Schools Push Biological Males in Girls’ Locker Rooms (Feb 7, 2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHei5pLCWNY

Church of England Announces First “Non-Binary” Priest (Jan 20, 2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAGs-ayVUHo

UConn Professor: “Everyone Is A Little Trans” (Jan 3, 2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7B0moIpnaE

Animated Film Teaches Kids that “Mama Has a Mustache” (Dec 5, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5n1m2eXUDw

Resources

Substack (substack.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Manhattan Institute (manhattan.institute)

Gad Saad is a Lebanese-Canadian marketing professor and anti-transgender activist involved in the intellectual dark web, a gateway to the far right.

Background

Gad Saad was born October 13, 1964 in Lebanon. Saad’s Jewish family fled during the civil war in 1975 and moved to Montreal.

Saad attended McGill University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1988 and a master’s degree in 1990. Saad then attended Cornell University, earning another master’s degree in 1993 and a doctorate in 1994.

Saad teaches marketing at Concordia University and is known for promoting evolutionary psychology. Saad has authored several books and articles and writes a blog on Psychology Today. Saad’s YouTube channel and podcast are titled The Saad Truth.

Anti-transgender activism

When psychologist Jordan Peterson refused to use gender-neutral pronouns for transgender people, Saad invited Peterson on The Saad Truth. The episode was extremely popular and started Saad on an anti-trans crusade.

Saad has appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience many times, often discussing Saad’s trolling and provocations about gender identity and expression.

References

Factora, James (November 2, 2021). Area Cis Man Makes Up a Trans Person to Get Mad About. them https://www.them.us/story/gad-saad-barista-pronouns-twitter

Klein, Joshia (28 Jan 2023). Prof. Gad Saad Mocks Woke Ideology by Humorously Coming Out as ‘Proud’ Gay Man of Wife Now Identifying as Man. Breitbart https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/01/28/prof-gad-saad-mocks-woke-ideology-by-humorously-coming-out-as-proud-gay-man-of-wife-now-identifying-as-man/

Laroche, Michel; Saad, Gad; Cleveland, Mark; Browne, Elizabeth (2000). “Gender Differences in Information Search Strategies for a Christmas Gift”. Journal of Consumer Marketing17 (6): 500–522. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760010349920.

Media

Piers Morgan (May 15, 2023). “Men Can Have A 9-Inch Penis And Be A Woman!” Gad Saad On Gender Identity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzij1LDo2x0

Joe Rogan Experience (December 19, 2018). #1218: Joe Rogan & Gad Saad on Gender Dysphoria. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nU6ckg2a1c

The Saad Truth (February 11, 2018). #587: Dr. Gad Saad and Sarina Singh Tackle the Transgender Issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F6Xhn3YAVE

Resources

Gad Saad (gadsaad.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Raquel Rosario SĂĄnchez is an anti-transgender activist involved in anti-trans group Woman’s Place UK.

Background

Raquel M. Rosario Sanchez is from the Dominican Republic. Rosario Sanchez has published work in Meghan Murphy’s Feminist Current, The Critic, and Quillette.

2018 University of Bristol incident

Rosario Sanchez began a PhD course at the University of Bristol in January 2018 with a focus on online communities for men who pay for sex. Itb is part of Rosario Sanchez’s work ending violence against girls and women. 

In November 2017 Woman’s Place UK asked Rosario Sanchez to chair its upcoming meeting in Bristol, scheduled for 8 February 2018. During protests, Rosario Sanchez claimed that the university had failed to protect them from a “hate campaign” over the event.

Rosario Sanchez unsuccessfully sued the school.

References

Staff report (21 April 2022). Raquel Rosario Sanchez loses legal case over trans rights protests. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-61179937

Staff report (11 February 2022). University of Bristol not ‘uncomfortable’ disciplining trans activist. BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-60352546

Resources

Raquel Rosario SĂĄnchez (raquelrosariosanchez.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Uwe Steinhoff is an academic and anti-transgender activist.

Background

Steinhoff earned a degree in philosophy at Goethe University Frankfurt. After graduation Steinhoff travelled for nine months in Central America. Steinhoff earned a doctorate in WĂŒrzburg. Steinhoff has held roles at Humboldt-University Berlin and Oxford University.

Steinhoff teaches in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong.

References

Steinhoff, Uwe (June 11, 2022). The Transgender Craze and the Babble about “Self-Identifying as a Woman”: Why Men Who Think They’re Women Are Psychotic and the Politicians Humoring Them Are Opportunistic https://uwesteinhoff.com/2022/06/11/the-transgender-craze-and-the-babble-about-self-identifying-as-a-woman-why-men-who-think-theyre-women-are-psychotic-and-the-politicians-humoring-them-are-opportunistic/

Steinhoff, Uwe (20 Jul 2022) Gender Ideology Comes to Germany. Quillette https://quillette.com/2022/07/20/gender-ideology-comes-to-germany/

Resources

Uwe Steinhoff (uwesteinhoff.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

University of Hong Kong Department of Politics and Public Administration (ppaweb.hku.hk)