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India Willoughby is an English journalist and media personality. Willoughby is Britain’s first transgender national television newsreader and the first transgender co-host of an all-women talk show, Loose Women.

Background

Willoughby was born September 2, 1965 in Carlisle, Cumbria and attended Trinity School in Shaw, Newbury.

Willoughby began working in journalism in 1986. Willoughby trained as a journalist (NCTJ) in newspapers before moving into radio and then television. 

After presenting the news for ITV from 1999 to 2010, Willoughby then transitioned, going public in 2015 before returning to ITV in 2016.

In 2017, Willoughby was a guest on BBC’s Woman’s Hour. Host Jenni Murray asked several pointed questions, then wrote an op-ed telling trans women to stop calling themselves real women.

Willoughby then presented on Channel 5 from 2017 to 2018 before returning to ITV in 2018. Willoughby appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 2018.

Willoughby has made a number of controversial statements and often gets into arguments on social media. At one point the death threats against Willoughby got so bad that the UK’s counter-terrorism unit got involved.

References

Akinwumi, Stella (21 February 2023). Loose Women star India Willoughby receives vile ‘hand delivered’ death threat: ‘It’s like a letter from a horror film’. Metro https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/21/loose-women-india-willoughby-receives-hand-delivered-death-threat-18323258/

Rufo, Yasmin; Sandford, Daniel (21 February 2023). Neo-Nazi threats probed by anti-terrorism police. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64720973

Bedigan, Mike (February 3, 2023). India Willoughby: Toxic transgender debate is driven by media misinformation. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/india-scotland-bbc-stirling-catholics-b2274994.html

Gayle, LaToya (January 23, 2023). ‘I’m more of a woman than JK Rowling’: India Willoughby goes viral amid dispute with Harry Potter author. Glasgow World https://www.glasgowworld.com/news/people/jk-rowling-india-willoughby-rally-3997628

Duke, Simon (7 August 2018). Who is India Willoughby? A guide to the Celebrity Big Brother contestant. ChronicleLive http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/who-india-willoughby-guide-celebrity-14105564

Beresford, Meka (9 January 2018). Viewers slam India Willoughby after she compares drag to blackface. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/01/09/viewers-slam-india-willoughby-after-she-compares-drag-to-blackface/

Butterworth, Benjamin (3 January 2018). India Willoughby’s emotional transgender coming out story. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/01/03/who-is-india-willoughby-transgender-loose-women-celebrity-big-brother-2018/

Dyke, Peter; Gleave, Ed (19 September 2017). Channel 5’s India Willoughby becomes victim of online abuse for being transgender. Daily Star https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tv/india-willoughby-channel-5-transgender-17024706

Murray, Jenni (March 5, 2017). Be trans, be proud — but don’t call yourself a “real woman.” The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/be-trans-be-proud-but-dont-call-yourself-a-real-woman-frtld7q5c

Staff report (March 5, 2017). Jenni Murray trans women article criticised. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39173398

Dene, Sarah (16 November 2016). Loose Women’s India Willougby is first transwoman to host all-female talk show. Metro https://metro.co.uk/2016/11/16/transgender-journalist-india-willougby-to-make-landmark-appearance-on-loose-women-as-co-host-6261562/

Wakefield, Lily (23 June 2021). India Willoughby accuses GB News of ‘opening the gates of hell’ for trans people. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/06/23/india-willoughby-quits-gb-news-trans-transphobia-dan-wootton/

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

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Sam Brinton is an American nuclear engineer and LGBTQ activist. In 2022 Brinton briefly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, the first openly genderfluid person in federal government leadership. The role ended after Brinton was accused of stealing luggage at airports.

Background

Samuel Otis Brinton was born in September 1987 and grew up in Perry, Iowa in a Baptist household. After coming out as bisexual, Brinton was reportedly sent to conversion therapy that practiced harsh aversion techniques. Much of Brinton’s subsequent activism focused on ending conversion therapy.

Brinton graduated from Perry High School in 2006, earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in 2011, and earned a dual master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013.

According to an official biography, prior to the DOE role, Brinton held energy policy roles at the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Breakthrough Institute, the Clean Air Task Force, Third Way, and Deep Isolation.

Brinton married Kevin Rieck in 2019.

Theft accusations

Shortly after taking office in 2022, Brinton was accused of theft of women’s luggage at airports. The investigation uncovered at least three cases:

  • Washington Reagan (2018): reportedly arrested in May 2023
  • Las Vegas (July 2022): pled no contest, paid restitution, 180-day suspended sentence
  • Minneapolis (September 2022): mental health evaluation ordered

The scandal received widespread media attention and cost Brinton the DOE job.

References

Maxwell, Jill (December 29, 2015). Meet the Nuclear Engineer Leading the Fight Against Gay Conversion Therapy. alum.mit.edu. https://alum.mit.edu/slice/meet-nuclear-engineer-leading-fight-against-gay-conversion-therapy

McDonald, John (July 7, 2022). Gender-Fluid ‘Nuclear Nerd’ Climbing the Ladder at Department of Energy. southfloridagaynews.com https://southfloridagaynews.com/National/gender-fluid-nuclear-nerd-climbing-the-ladder-at-department-of-energy.html

Has Sam Brinton’s story always been too good to be true?. LGBTQ Nation. December 7, 2022. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/sam-brintons-story-always-good-true/

Sands, Geneva; Vazquez, Maegan; Diamond, Jeremy (December 13, 2022). Top Energy Department official no longer employed after luggage theft accusations. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/politics/sam-brinton-department-of-energy/index.html

Graziosi, Graig (May 19, 2023). Former DOE official arrested for third time for allegedly stealing luggage at airport. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/sam-brinton-luggage-theft-arrest-doe-b2341647.html

Resources

Sam Brinton (samuelbrinton.com) [archive]

US Department of Energy (energy.gov)

  • Sam Brinton [archive]
  • https://www.energy.gov/ne/person/sam-brinton

Twitter (twitter.com)

Susie Green is a British gender rights activist who focuses on transgender youth. Green helped her child Jackie medically transition as a minor, including gender affirming surgery in 2010 at age 16. Green was involved in the British charity Mermaids as a trustee from 2011 to 2015, then as CEO from 2016 to 2022.

Background

Susie Marie Green was born in December 1957. She was an IT manager for Citizens Advice from 2002 to 2015. Green lives in Yorkshire, and is married to Tim Green. They have four adult children, including twins.

Green gave a 2017 talk at TEDx Truro that was criticized by anti-trans activists. Green later removed the video.

Green was a consultant on the 2o18 ITV drama Butterfly and helped shape the WPATH chapter on children and adolescents.

She got involved at Mermaids in 2000 because her daughter Jackie was trying to navigate gender transition as a minor. During her time as CEO, the debate about transgender youth intensified, particularly following a £500,000 grant from the National Lottery and corporate sponsorships.

Under Green, Mermaids launched the first legal challenge of its kind against the LGB Alliance, a trans-exclusionary charity which is critical of “gender ideology.” Mermaids sought to end its charitable status.

In late 2022, Mermaids was hit with several setbacks. New Mermaids trustee Jacob Breslow resigned after a 2011 presentation he gave at a conference for minor-attracted persons held by B4U-ACT came to light. Complaints from staff led to an outside audit conducted by DEI consultants the Social Justice Collective. Days after Green resigned, UK’s Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Mermaids after reports that they offered chest binders to teens whose parents opposed their transitions.

Green has been recognized for her contributions to the trans community on several occasions, including an event at Buckingham Palace. In 2016 she won the Diversity Champion Award. In 2023 Green joined GenderGP as project manager on the GenderGP Trans Youth Fund.

References

The Newsroom (October 25, 2018). Mum of Leeds transgender woman who inspired ITV’s Butterfly opens up about daughter’s suicide attempts after bullying. Yorkshire Evening Post https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/mum-of-leeds-transgender-woman-who-inspired-itvs-butterfly-opens-up-about-daughters-suicide-attempts-after-bullying-237976

Gentleman, Amelia (November 25, 2022). Head of trans children charity Mermaids resigns after six years. The Guardian  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/25/head-of-trans-children-charity-mermaids-resigns-after-six-years

Thomas, Rebecca (October 15, 2018). How ITV’s Butterfly hopes to be a ‘game-changer’ for trans people. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45672230

Gilligan, Andrew (December 16, 2018). Child sex-change charity Mermaids handed ÂŁ500,000 by national lottery. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/child-sex-change-charity-handed-500-000-by-national-lottery-dvbt7t2kb

SJC (2022). EDI Audit: Recommendations and Next Steps. https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/EDI-Audit_-Recommendations-and-Next-Steps.pdf

Staff report (October 11, 2017). Prince Harry calls transgender children’s charity Mermaids ‘amazing’ at Buckingham Palace event. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/10/11/prince-harry-calls-transgender-childrens-charity-mermaids-amazing-at-buckingham-palace-event/

Baska, Maggie (February 9, 2023). Ex-Mermaids CEO and GenderGP launch vital trans youth healthcare fund. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/09/gender-gp-fund-trans-youth-healthcare-mermaids-susie-green/

Resources

IMDb (imdb.com)

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Nicola Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023.

Sturgeon became a target of gender critical activists for her support of gender recognition reform.

Background

Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon was born on 19 July 1970 in Irvine. She joined the SNP in 1986. She earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Glasgow School of Law in 1992. She soon began working as a solicitor and holding leadership roles within SNP. She served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 under Alex Salmond, during which time she also served as Health Secretary. She was a key leader in SNP’s unsuccessful 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign. She was sworn in a First Minister later that year.

She and former SNP CEO Peter Murrell began a relationship in 2003 and married in 2010. Both were arrested and questioned about SNP finances several weeks after Sturgeon resigned in 2023.

Gender Recognition Reform

In 2016, the SNP vowed to review and reform the way that trans people change their legal gender via the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill . The bill passed in Parliament 86 to 39 in 2022. Weeks later, the UK Government prevented it from gaining Royal Assent under a section 35 order of the Scottish Act 1998. Sturgeon was attacked by critics for her response to the Isla Bryson case involving transgender prisoner housing.

References

Staff report (April 1, 2016). Nicola Sturgeon makes gender recognition pledge. BBC News [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2016-scotland-35945543

Sanderson, Daniel (February 1, 2021). SNP civil war deepens as leading Sturgeon critic Joanna Cherry purged from Westminster team. The Daily Telegraph [archive] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/01/snp-civil-war-deepens-leading-sturgeon-critic-purged-westminster/

Staff report (June 20, 2019). Scottish transgender reforms put on hold. BBC News [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48702946

Staff report (April 1, 2020). Transgender reforms shelved due to coronavirus pandemic. STV News [archive]

Merson, Adele (June 30, 2021). Trans rights: How gender recognition reform became one of Scotland’s most heated debates. The Press and Journal (Scotland) [archive] https://news.stv.tv/politics/transgender-reforms-shelved-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic

Johnson, Simon (August 23, 2021). Nicola Sturgeon facing backlash over proposed gender legislation. The Telegraph [archive] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/08/23/nicola-sturgeon-facing-backlash-proposed-gender-legislation/

Gordon, Tom (September10, 2021). Nicola Sturgeon dismisses concerns over gender reforms as ‘not valid’. The Herald [archive] https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19571909.nicola-sturgeon-dismisses-concerns-gender-reforms-not-valid/

Staff report (January 17, 2023). Nicola Sturgeon says gender reform row will go to court. BBC News [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64264063

Staff report (February 9, 2023).Nicola Sturgeon’s gender conundrum: Is Isla Bryson a man or a woman. BBC News [archive] https://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64590421

Camobell, Glenn (February 15, 2023). Nicola Sturgeon says time is right to resign as Scotland’s first minister. BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-64647907

Resources

Scottish Parliament (parliament.scot)

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Reverend Alexander Faludy is is a British Anglican priest who has written about trans issues in Hungary.

Background

Alexander “Alex” Faludy was born in 1983 and is grandchild of Hungarian poet György Faludy. Faludy is the youngest student admitted to Cambridge despite living with dyslexia. After earning a bachelor’s degree, Faludy did graduate studies at Oxford, then trained for the priesthood at Mirfield. Faludy served as parish priest in Newcastle from 2008 to 2018.

Trans coverage

Faludy has discussed the anti-LGBTQ policies enacted under Fidesz, Hungary’s right-wing populist party. They have rules prohibiting “promotion to minors” of subjects related to LGBTQ people. Faludi described in UnHerd how Hungary has also made legal change of gender impossible:

A global health emergency is an odd time to occupy a national legislature with votes on the definition of gender in domestic and international law. At the end of March, deputy PM Zsolt SemjĂ©n, leader of Fidesz’s Christian Democrat/KDNP satellite party, tabled a bill to parliament, a clause of which replaced the ‘gender’ category of the Civil Registry (and ID documents deriving from it) with one entitled ‘sex at birth’ — effectively making the legal dimension of gender transition impossible. This stirred up an international controversy — attracting extensive hostile coverage in the UK from media outlets like BuzzFeed and The Guardian.

The timing of the SemjĂ©n bill’s initial presentation, within a day of the Enabling Act’s passage, was strategic. It successfully diverted world media attention from the specifics of the Act and the structural damage inflicted by decrees made under it. It’s the reassigning of tax receipts more than gender identity that Fidesz really cares about.

References

Faludy, Alexander (May 21, 2020). How Viktor OrbĂĄn plays his enemies. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2020/05/how-viktor-orban-plays-his-enemies/

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

Miquel Missé Sånchez is a Spanish sociologist. Missé, who is transgender, has been published in anti-trans publication UnHerd.

Background

Miquel MissĂ© SĂĄnchez was born in 1986 in Barcelona. MissĂ© graduated from Universitat AutĂČnoma de Barcelona.

Missé has written several works about the intersection of gender and medicine:

  • El gĂ©nero desordenado: crĂ­ticas en torno al patologizaciĂłn de la transexualidad (Egales: 2010)
  • PolĂ­ticas trans. Una antologĂ­a de textos desde los estudios trans norteamericanos (Egales: 2015)
  • Transexualidades, otras miradas posibles (Egales: 2013)
  • A la conquista del cuerpo equivocado (Egales: 2018)

The Myth of the Wrong Body

In 2018 MissĂ© published The Myth of the Wrong Body (A la conquista del cuerpo equivocado). As philosopher Talia Mae Bettcher and author Janet Mock have explained, the “wrong body” metaphor has a number of versions:

  • born in the wrong body
  • trapped in the wrong body
  • soul of a [woman] in the body of a [man] (or vice versa)

Unfortunately, many cisgender people and some trans people take these metaphors literally. Critics will retort “no one is born in the wrong body.”

Most trans people reject all forms of the “wrong body” idea. That’s why this convenient and lazy description is mainly used by cisgender people, gender-diverse children, and low-information trans adults.

As I wrote in the academic journal Gender Medicine in 2006:

Gender identity and expression take on different meanings within different systems of thought. Because medical technologies are available to assist in the somatic expression of these identities, several medicalized disease models of the phenomena have developed. 

Both Missé and I are critical of these medicalized approaches to gender identity and expression. Being transgender is a trait, neither good nor bad. Disease models are a major historical source of our oppression.

The traditional focus on the so-called “triadic therapy” of hormones, genital surgery, and living “in role” has diminished in my lifetime. Trans and gender diverse people have many more choices for how to express themselves. Unfortunately, some people believe that medical transition will make them a new person or solve problems it can’t. As my therapist once said, “There’s never a happy ending to an unhappy journey.”

The reason anti-trans publication UnHerd excerpted MissĂ©’s book was because they had just published “You can’t be born in the wrong body” by Ellen Pasternack. They felt that MissĂ© backs this up. UnHerd also promotes the anti-transgender conspiracy theory that transgender healthcare is a money grab by Big Pharma and greedy surgeons who are luring people into expensive medical options.

Missé does have a point that under consumer capitalism, some medical professionals are guilty of profiting off trans insecurity. Unfortunately, many trans people are gender schematic, meaning they very much believe in a rigid gender binary and traditional gender roles. These are people most likely to believe medical interventions will make them happy. In many cases, they might. Missé is right to question these assumptions and criticize the unethical, inept, and predatory healthcare providers selling a bill of goods to anxious and insecure trans people.

If UnHerd editors grasped the more radical ideas underpinning what MissĂ© is saying, they would almost certainly not have published this excerpt. You do not need hormones or surgery to claim your identity as a man, woman, or any other identity. Trans people existed long before those technologies were available, and we are the vanguard of humanity’s future possibilities.

References

Halberstram, Jack; MissĂ©, Miquel (March 18, 2022). Jack Halberstam: «There are many different ways of being masculine, but do we know how to bring the structure that we call ‘masculinity’ down?» Idee No. 54: Rethinking Masculinity to Transform Society. https://revistaidees.cat/en/jack-halberstam-there-are-many-different-ways-of-being-masculine-but-do-we-know-how-to-bring-the-structure-that-we-call-masculinity-down/

Missé, Miquel (June 1, 2022). The doctors profiting from trans surgery. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/06/the-doctors-profiting-from-trans-surgery/

Bettcher TM (2014). Trapped in the Wrong Theory: Rethinking Trans Oppression and Resistance. Signs Vol. 39, No. 2 (Winter 2014), pp. 383-406 https://doi.org/10.1086/673088

Mock, Janet (2012). Unlearning the ‘Trapped’ Narrative & Taking Ownership of Our Bodies. https://janetmock.com/2012/07/09/josie-romero-dateline-transgender-trapped-body/

Resources

Miquel Missé (miguelmisse.com)

Wikipedia (es.wikipedia.org)

CCCB (cccb.org)

Imara Jones is an American journalist. Jones was named to the Time 100 list of most influential people of 2023.

Background

Jones was born on May 9, 1972 and grew up in the Atlanta area.

Jones earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1994 and a master’s degree from The London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jones held posts at Viacom, which included work on the campaign “Know HIV/AIDS and Fight for Your Rights: Protect Yourself” which garnered two EMMY Awards and a Peabody Award.

Jones was a Soros Equality Fellow and chaired the first-ever UN High-Level Meeting on Gender Diversity. 

Jones’ Translash podcast did a limited series titled “The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: A Plot Against Equality.” The series profiles a number of key anti-trans activists. Season 2 examines how through “the disinformation ecosystem constructed by the Christian Nationalist movement, anti-trans lies are laundered through some of the biggest and most respected news rooms in the country, and how this effort creates a  world where the existence of trans people is questioned.”

References

Jones, Imara (June 25, 2021). My life growing up Black and trans in 1980s Atlanta. CNN https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/25/opinions/growing-up-black-trans-1980s-jones/index.html

Jones, Imara (June 16, 2019). Trans, black and loved: what happened when I returned to the deep south after transitioning. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jun/26/trans-black-deep-south-return-translash

Coan, Jamie Shearn (April 25, 2019). Imara Jones. New York Trans Oral History Project https://nyctransoralhistory.org/content/uploads/2021/12/NYC-TOHP-Transcript-144-Imara-Jones_UPDATED.pdf

Tourmaline (April 13, 2023). Imara Jones. TIME 100 https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269470/imara-jones/

Taylor, Savannah (March 17, 2023). Translash Media’s Imara Jones talks about true liberation and uplifting the trans community. Ebony https://www.ebony.com/translash-media-imara-jones-uplifting-the-trans-community/

2003 Peabody Awards Know HIV/AIDS and Fight For Your Rights: Protect Yourself Campaigns https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/know-hiv-aids-and-fight-for-your-rights-protect-yourself-campaigns/ https://vimeo.com/160099072

Kaiser Family Foundation (October 1, 2004). HIV/AIDS Public Education Campaign Wins Emmy. https://www.kff.org/hivaids/event/hivaids-public-education-campaign-wins-emmy/

Resources

Imara Jones (imarajones.com)

Translash (translash.org)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Colorlines (colorlines.com)

The Last Sip (thelastsip.org)

Caffeineator (caffeineator.com) [archive]

Slavery Blog (slaveryblog.org) [archive]

Ralph Leonard is a British-Nigerian writer who writes on international politics, religion, culture, and humanism.

2020 UnHerd article

Using a question India Willoughby posed on Big Brother about dating transgender people, Leonard wrote for anti-transgender publication UnHerd about the so-called “cotton ceiling” debate about cisgender women who won’t date trans women.

Unfortunately, two years on, the ethics of refusing transsexual people as dating partners remains a fraught subject: questions such as “Is it transphobic for lesbians not to date trans women?” are being discussed online. Again, they tend to arouse strong reactions. Some lesbians, for instance, have expressed concerns that raising the question of whether they ‘should’ be attracted to trans women is a surreptitious attempt to pressure, manipulate and guilt trip them into shifting their sexual boundaries into unwanted sex in the name of being more ‘open’.

Of course, there are lesbians who are reluctant to date trans women because they believe they are not actually women (or at least not women in the same way biologically born women are) . But it’s worth remembering that lesbians have endured a long history of attempts to control their sexuality, whether through hideous practices such as religious indoctrination, conversion therapy or ‘corrective’ rape to “make them straight”. And why focus the attack on lesbians, when many straight men would also reject trans women as a potential mate?

This obviously provokes a wider question: when does a preference become a convenient cover for bigotry and prejudice? On some level, as this tweet declares, “dating is discrimination”. But the question provoked by that Big Brother episode was: when is discrimination acceptable, and when is it unacceptable?

References

Leonard, Ralph (October 7, 2020). Is dating discrimination? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2020/10/the-dangerous-politics-of-desire/

Resources

Twitter (twitter.com)

Medium (medium.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

Ritchie Herron is a British ex-transgender activist. Herron gets money and attention by making it more difficult for others to get trans healthcare. Herron uses the handle “TullipR” online and frequently appears in conservative or fascist media.

Background

Richard “Ritchie” Herron was born on May 25, 1987. Herron is a child of divorce who claims to have been bullied at school.

After spending time on UK-based The Angels forum, Herron purchased hormones as an adult from a private pharmacy. At age 25, Herron began transition and began using the name Abby. In 2018, at age 30, Herron got vaginoplasty. Five years later, at age 35, Herron made additional gender changes, largely due to dissatisfaction with vaginoplasty results.

Herron is a Newcastle-based civil servant.

In June 2022 Herron claimed lawyers in Liverpool were preparing a legal case against Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

Ex-transgender activism

Similar to the ex-gay activists of the 20th century, people like Herron get money and attention by claiming to be no longer trans.

Herron is heavily invested in metaphors of disease and impairment, identifying as disabled and mentally ill. This is a kind of attention-seeking behavior. Rather than take personal responsibility for life decisions made as a 30-year-old adult, Herron chooses to blame those who tried to help.

Herron’s alleged disorders, diseases, “comorbidities,” and maladies include:

  • “depression, OCD and latent homosexuality”
  • autism
  • “hated myself because I am gay”
  • “an ear infection that led to deafness”
  • a series of breakdowns
  • substance misuse issues
  • “no skill or co-ordination”

Here is how Herron describes the surgical results and complications:

  • “nearly bled to death”
  • “It literally looked like an animal had got on my crotch and it just went to town on it”
  • “like my arsecrack has been extended all the way to the front”
  • “under constant supervision for ongoing complications related to the deeply invasive surgery”
  • feel mostly nothing in “my flesh cavity” aside from “occasional stabs of pain”
  • crotch is numb, ‘shell-shocked’
  • scars “still sometimes weep” and “occasionally become inflamed and cause crippling pain”
  • “my body aches”
  • “lifelong pain”

Herron claims these long-term problems:

  • “killed my confidence”
  • cannot walk long distances
  • cannot ride a bike
  • infertile
  • incontinent
  • can’t use the toilet properly
  • “takes ten minutes to empty my bladder”
  • sex drive “is long gone”
  • “reliant on synthetic hormones”
  • “lifelong medical patient”

Herron has discussed ex-trans activism in conservative or fascist outlets that include National Review, Rebel News, Daily Mail, Daily Record, Spiked, The Lion, World News Group, The Times, The Critic, The Washington Examiner. The Telegraph, The Christian Institute, Christian Post, and Christian Broadcasting Network.

Herron also frequently appears on channels featuring anti-trans content:

Herron also does collaborations with other ex-trans activists and conservative trans people:

References

Schneider, Jillian (February 1, 2023). ‘It’s disgusting, I’m disgusting’: Male detransitioner explains why no one – not even adults – should have cross-sex surgery. The Lion https://readlion.com/its-disgusting-im-disgusting-male-detransitioner-explains-why-no-one-not-even-adults-should-have-cross-sex-surgery/

Herron, Ritchie (September 13, 2022). A Detransitioner’s Perspective: Awakening from the Dream of Gender Utopia. Human Events https://humanevents.com/2022/09/13/a-detransitioners-perspective-awakening-from-the-dream-of-gender-utopia

Griffiths, Sian (June 4, 2023). ‘NHS trans surgery damaged my body for ever — it’s not safe.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-trans-surgery-damaged-my-body-for-ever-its-not-safe-jt2hhbrgk

Dixon, Hayley (October 22, 2022). I’ve been betrayed by medics who left me in pain because I didn’t want to be gay, says detransitioner. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/10/22/betrayed-medics-who-left-pain-didnt-want-gay-says-detransitioner/

Staff report (October 22, 2022). Man who had sex change operation paid for by NHS says medics ‘betrayed’ him and left him in lifelong pain because he did not want to be gay. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11343887/Man-sex-change-operation-paid-NHS-says-medics-betrayed-him.html

Resources

Twitter (twitter.com)

Substack (substack.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Note: an earlier version had a typo in Herron’s birth year.

Naomi Salama is a Finnish civil engineer and “autogynephilia” activist.

Naomi Salama on suomalainen rakennusinsinööri ja “autogynefilia”-aktivisti.

Background

Salama was born on July 7, 1998 and grew up in Espoo.

Under the name Janus Syndrome, Salama released an electronic dance music album titled MMXIV in 2014.

Salama attended Aalto University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2020 before continuing on to a master’s degree. In May 2022, Salama began medical transition.

“Autogynephilia” activism

Like a few other neurodiverse trans people with poor social skills, Salama became fixated on an obscure disease model of gender identity and expression created in 1989 by Ray Blanchard. It classifies transgender women into two types: gay men (homosexual transsexuals) and paraphilic men (“autogynephilic” transsexuals). Salama claims to be the “autogynephilic” (AGP) type, which according to Blanchard means Naomi Salama is more likely to be sexually attracted to children, corpses, feces, animals, or have other “paraphilias.”

Most experts and trans people consider this fringe terminology to be scientifically biased and unfalsifiable, but a few isolated activists with personality problems embrace the idea.

“Autogynephilia” as a taxonomy appeals to a very specific type of person: neurodiverse, fixated on collecting and categorizing, socially isolated/eccentric, rigid thinking.

In June 2023 Salama sent me a message titled “add me to your stupid agp activist list you hack.”

hello!

I demand an explanation! why am I overlooked for your ridiculous agp activist list? after all, I seem to be an activist in this in the very literal word — very different to for example the researchers on the list.

I have repeatedly defended Blanchard, Bailey and Hsu and interact with all of them quite frequently. I am also friends with multiple other people on the list — such as Phil Illy or Naxela (why you would add him before me is beyond my comprehension, for example my twitter account @Naozymandias is way larger and I speak of agp way more and more publicly — even being retweetes by Blanchard occasionally)

as an academic myself, tho of different field of study, some of the researchers have urges me to do study into agp myself too, perhaps informally. I plan to do this after first finishing my thesis relating to urban economics.

I am also known to have created multiple “memes” relating to autogynephilia, folder of these has also been shared with multiple people on your list.

as you can clearly tell, I am invested in the subject and certainly should be considered an activist of sorts. this baffles me, why am I not on your list??? that feels rather insulting 

thus, I demand to be added immediately ?
regards
undoubtedly in some sense of the word your enemy,
autogynephilic transsexual,
and student of urban planning and economics
Naomi Salama

Salama spoke with romantic partner Alice Chizita about these bizarre beliefs, then sent a second message clarifying:

while *I* would be glad to be added, my girlfriend hopes I am not, as she would feel bad of that — because she is not in agreement with the typology and “Blanchardism” makes her feel bad and dysphoric. 

Hopefully Alice can explain why this ideology is an unhealthy fixation and get Salama professional help. Perhaps Alice can also guide this person toward a better understanding of science. If that is not possible, perhaps Alice can get far away from this toxic person.

References

Salama, [Naomi] (May 3, 2020). HÀmeenlinna Skylines: Cities Skylines osallistavan kaupunkisuunnittelun vÀlineenÀ. Aalto-yliopisto https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/47289

Resources

Facebook (facebook.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Bluesky (bsky.app)

ResearchGate (researchgate.net)

Soundcloud (soundcloud.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)