Keira Bell is a British ex-transgender activist. Bell gets money and attention by making it harder for others to get trans healthcare.
Background
Bell was born in 1997. At 15, Bell was referred to the Gender Identity Development Service, at the Tavistock and Portman clinic in London. At 16, Bell was prescribed puberty blockers, and at 17, Bell began taking hormones. Bell chose the name Quincy.
As an adult, Bell chose to get top surgery. Bell later had regret and made additional changes in identity and expression.
Bell brought a lawsuit against the Tavistock which ultimately helped lead to its closure in favor of the decentralized approach used in other countries.
Anti-transgender activism
Bell is an advisor to anti-trans groups Genspect and Sex Matters.
References
Bell, Keira (April 7, 2021). My Story. Persuasion https://www.persuasion.community/p/keira-bell-my-story
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Sinéad Watson is an ex-transgender activist. Watson gets money and attention by making it harder for others to access trans healthcare. Watson is affiliated with anti-transgender organization Genspect.
Background
Watson was born in ~1991 and reports being repeatedly sexually assaulted as a teen.
made a gender transition as an adult. Watson socially transitioned at age 20 and began medical transition at age 24. Watson had top surgery at age 26. In October 2019, at age 28, Watson made additional changes in identity and expression.
Ex-trans activism
Rather than taking personal responsibility for medical decisions made as an adult, Watson blames “the trans lobby.” According to anti-trans activist Julie Bindel:
Watson self-referred to the Sandyford in 2014, having spent time in a psychiatric unit following a severe mental breakdown. “I burned my house down while trying to kill myself,” she says, “and made out to the doctor it was because I was really a trans man and needed to transition. That was bullshit.” Watson was suffering from depression, dependent on alcohol, and struggling to accept that she was a lesbian.
Bindel (2022)
References
Thomas, Kim (April 29, 2023). The troubling truth about ‘gender affirming’ mastectomies. The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-troubling-truth-about-gender-affirming-mastectomies/
Bindel, Julie (September 15, 2022). Scotland’s Tavistock must fall. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/09/scotlands-tavistock-must-fall/
Watson, Sinead (August 2, 2023). The trans lobby pushed me to have a double mastectomy and I bitterly regret it. That’s why Costa’s advert is so dangerous. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12366421/The-trans-lobby-pushed-double-masectomy-bitterly-regret-Thats-Costas-advert-dangerous-writes-SINEAD-WATSON-detransitioned-woman-double-mastectomy.html
Resources
Twitter (twitter.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Daisy Strongin is an American ex-transgender activist. Strongin gets money and attention by making it harder for other people to get trans healthcare.
Background
Daisy Marie Chadra was born in April 1998. Chadra came out as trans on May 29, 2015 at age 17, using the name Oliver “Ollie” Chadra. As an adult, Chadra obtained hormones at Planned Parenthood. At age 20, Chadra had top surgery.
After graduating York Community High School, Chadra earned an associate’s degree from College of DuPage in 2019. Chadra then attended North Central College.
Chadra made additional changes in identity and expression in October 2020, at age 22.
Jason Strongin and Daisy Strongin were married on December 12, 2021. They had a baby named Gabriel in 2022.
Daisy Strongin converted to Catholicism in 2023.
Ex-trans activism
Stongin appears in the 2023 anti-trans media piece DETRANS by PragerU and has also appeared on shows by anti-trans activists Benjamin Boyce and Preston Sprinkle.
References
Bolar, Kelsey (September 22, 2022). After ‘Top Surgery’ & Hormones, Female Detransitioner Decided She Wanted to Be A Mom. Independent Women’s Forum https://www.iwf.org/identity-crisis-daisy/
Media
Benjamin Boyce (December 6, 2020). DeTrans Stories: The Authenticity Quest | with Daisy Chadra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EtS0146uQk
Benjamin Boyce (January 3, 2022). Authenticity Quest 2 | with the Ever Evolving Daisy Chadra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAPMCmnTToA
Preston Sprinkle (July 13, 2021). From Trans to Detrans: Daisy Chadra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k2IXBvuoM4
Time Capsule Show (Jun 2, 2021). What is Detransitioning? | Being FTMTF | Daisy Chadra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr2dNbLIKJ8 |
PragerU (October 25, 2023). DETRANS: The Dangers of Gender-Affirming Care. https://www.prageru.com/video/detrans
Independent Women’s Forum (September 22, 2022) Identity Crisis: After Top Surgery & Hormones, Female Detransitioner Decided She Wanted to Be A Mom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkj05vi94RY
Resources
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Aaron Terrell is a conservative American transgender activist opposed to US medical consensus on care for gender diverse youth.
Terrell is affiliated with the website Gender Dysphoria Alliance and co-hosts the Transparency podcast.
Background
Terrell was born in ~1984 and grew up in a conservative Evangelical Christian environment.
Terrell self-identifies as having a controversial disease called “autoandrophilia”: “I found gay men most attractive, and fantasized about being one.” Terrell transitioned in ~2011 and lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Activism
In 2021 Terrell was reportedly radicalized by J.K. Rowling.
Terrell co-founded the Gender Dysphoria Alliance website in 2020.
References
Sahakian, Teny (August 10, 2023). A trans man asked this simple question about kids at a trans conference. He was kicked out. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/trans-man-asked-simple-question-kids-trans-conference-kicked
Media
Benjamin Boyce (October 27, 2021) Being A Woman Being A Man | A Transitioner’s Tale, with Aaron Terrell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS2rLY_jVQI
Benjamin Boyce (May 27, 2023). Fatal Flaws in “Gender Affirming” Care | with Eliza Mondegreen & Aaron Terrell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f2-a7fY9Zc
Resources
Gender Dysphoria Alliance (genderdysphoriaalliance.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Calvin Lunt aka Cal Fox aka Calvin Fox is a British ex-transgender activist.
Background
Calvin Lunt was born in 1990 and has lived in the Fairfield area of Liverpool.
Fox was a contestant on MTV’s Beauty School Cop Outs in 2013.
Lunt performed in drag as Cal Fox in Liverpool clubs. Fox began a gender transition as an adult at age 24, documenting the steps on Facebook.
After about a year of hormones, Lunt made additional changes in identity and expression.
Ex-trans activism
In a podcast description, Lunt said:
“It has been 6 years now since I de-transitoned (returned back to my birth gender) and during these past 5 years I have spent my time learning more about myself, the reasons why I wanted to take the journey of completely changing my body and also exploring the reasons why so many young people are feeling the same.
I am not sitting here writing this saying that everyones story will be like mine but I will be honest and transparent and say I do believe there are many more people out there like me who maybe making choices based on false thoughts and feelings.”
Fox has become a favored source for anti-trans activists like Stella O’Malley and Sasha Ayad of Genspect.
References
Staff (June 2, 2015). Cal Fox discovers she’s transgender by accident. news.com.au https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/cal-fox-discovers-shes-transgender-by-accident/news-story/65c4eea38c8e032981c627c1a43c49a2
Tweedy, Jo (June 1, 2015). Aspiring model realised she was transgender by ACCIDENT after dressing up in hot pants and blonde wig for night out. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3105504/Aspiring-model-realised-transgender-ACCIDENT-dressing-hot-pants-blonde-wig-night-out.html
Collinson, Dawn (January 22, 2016). I’m a transgender woman but I still want to have my own child. Liverpool Echo https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/real-lives/im-transgender-woman-still-want-10775477
Collinson, Dawn (January 22, 2016). 5 awkward questions every transgender woman gets asked. Liverpool Echo https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/real-lives/5-awkward-questions-every-transgender-10776171
Hoyle, Antonia (June 1, 2023). ‘Social media encouraged me to be a trans woman… the truth is I was gay’: Man reveals how he was lambasted for de-transitioning by siren voices online. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12150451/Man-reveals-lambasted-transitioning-siren-voices-online.html
Toureille, Claire (May 11, 2023). Man who lived as a trans woman for two years before detransitioning admits he was influenced by staying ‘current’ on social media. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12071685/Why-detransitioned-living-transgender-woman-two-years.html
(September 16, 2021). Three trans journeys: ‘I spent so long hiding.’ BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-58255156
Media
Stella O’Malley and Sasha Ayad (July 21, 2023). EP 123: Drag, Drinking and Taking Off the Mask with Calvin Lunt. Gender: A Wider Lens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5kz3cYMnOw
Will Reusch (July 26, 2023). Transgenderism, Homophobia and Self-Hatred with Calvin Lunt | Cylinder Radio #149 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvRPYVdRGfM
Resources
Calvin Lunt (calvinlunt.com) [archive]
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Sara Higdon is a conservative American transgender activist.
Higdon has been affiliated with extremist group Gays Against Groomers.
Background
Sara James Higdon was born in 1987 and grew up in Michigan. Higdon earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University in 2009. Higdon served in the United States Army from 2010 to 2017, then worked at Q² Solutions.
In 2018 Higdon founded apparel company Steubens Ltd. In 2021, Higdon launched the media platform TRANSform to Freedom.
Higdon has contributed to conservative publications The Post Millennial and Human Events.
Resources
Sara Higdon (sarahigdon.com)
Steubens Ltd. (steubensltd.com) [archive]
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Marcus Dib Jensen is a conservative Danish transgender activist.
Jensen uses the nickname “The Offensive Tranny” and has been affiliated with extremist group Gays Against Groomers.
Jensen lives in København, Denmark. Jensen identifies as “not a real man but a biological woman living life as a man.”
References
Wager, Kristjan (June 27, 2022). Dansk Regnbueråd is a front for Dansk Folkeparti. FreethoughtBlogs https://freethoughtblogs.com/kriswager/2022/06/26/dansk-regnbuerad-is-a-front-for-dansk-folkeparti/
Resources
Instagram (instagram.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Locals (locals.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Camille Paglia is a conservative American transgender academic who is considered part of the so-called intellectual dark web.
Paglia has made a number of statements critical of the transgender rights movement. Paglia has said, “No one deserves special rights, protections, or privileges on the basis of their eccentricity.”
Paglia has also called trans healthcare for youth “child abuse.”
Background
Camille Anna Paglia waas born on April 2, 1947 in Endicott, New York. As a child, Paglia occasionally used the names Anastasia, Stacy, and Stanley.
Paglia earned a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University in 1968, followed by a master’s degree and a doctorate from Yale in 1972. Paglia was menotred by Harold Bloom and inspired by Susan Sontag’s role as a celebrity public intellectual.
Paglia is best known the the 1990 book Sexual Personae (based on Paglia’s dissertation and originally titled The Androgynous Dream). Paglia is also known for criticism of feminist movements, thus winning praise from Christina Hoff Sommers, Germaine Greer, and other anti-trans activists.
Paglia and artist Alison Maddex were in a relationship, and Paglia adopted Maddex’s child before the two split up.
References
Last, Jonathan V. (June 15, 2017). Camille Paglia: On Trump, Democrats, Transgenderism, and Islamist Terror. The Weekly Standard https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/camille-paglia-on-trump-democrats-transgenderism-and-islamist-terror
Media
Battle of Ideas (November 4, 2016). Feminism: in conversation with Camille Paglia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8BRdwgPChQ
Friedersdorf, Conor (May 1, 2019). Camille Paglia Can’t Say That. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/camille-paglia-uarts-left-deplatform/587125/
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Dan Carlin is an American podcaster and author considered by some to be part of the intellectual dark web.
Carlin has been conspicuously silent on the historic civil rights struggle of trans and gender diverse people.
Background
Daniel “Dan” Carlin was born November 14, 1965 to parents involved in film and TV production. Carlin earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Colorado, Boulder in 1989. Carlin worked as a journalist in Los Angeles.
Carlin began podcasting in 2005, eventually hosting three shows: Hardcore History, Hardcore History: Addendum, and Common Sense.
Intellectual dark web
Analysis of the DanCarlin subreddit suggests that the connection to the intellectual dark web is weak.
Carlin has been a frequent guest on The Joe Rogan Experience. Nicholas Quah stated in Vulture that both “possess politics that can be fairly hard to describe, but typically run counter to the dominant strings of liberal politics.”
In addition to connections to Joe Rogan, Carlin has collaborated with Bill Maher, Sam Harris, and Tim Ferriss
References
Beres, Derek (March 5, 2018). These are the women behind the Intellectual Dark Web. Big Think https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/these-are-the-women-behind-the-intellectual-dark-web/
Quah, Nicholas (November 17, 2020). The Rise of Right-Wing Podcasts Is Upon Us. Vulture https://www.vulture.com/2020/11/rise-of-right-wing-podcasting.html
Mountjoy, Anthony (Jun 6, 2018). Crawling The Intellectual Dark Web. Verboten Publishing https://medium.com/verboten-publishing/deep-data-of-the-intellectual-dark-web-5c323ee782b4
Media
Lex Fridman (November 2, 2020) Dan Carlin: Hardcore History | Lex Fridman Podcast #136. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k-ztNsBM54
Resources
Dan Carlin (dancarlin.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Patreon (patreon.com)
Substack (substack.com)
reddit (reddit.com)
Tim Ferriss is an American podcaster and lifestyle influencer. Although Ferriss is sometimes considered part of the intellectual dark web for having a few guests who are part of that movement, Ferriss has not engaged in anti-transgender activism.
Selected podcast guests
- Dan Carlin JUL 29, 2014
- Peter Thiel SEP 9, 2014
- Bryan Callen DEC 1, 2014
- Sam Harris JUL 7, 2015
- Scott Adams SEP 22, 2015
- Eric Weinstein JAN 13, 2016
- Seth Godin FEB 10, 2016
- Seth Godin AUG 3, 2016
- Sam Harris OCT 29, 2018
- Sam Harris MAY 15, 2020
- Seth Godin OCT 26, 2020
- Martine Rothblatt DEC 16, 2020
- Niall Ferguson NOV 15, 2022
- Seth Godin NOV 28, 2022
- Jonathan Haidt DEC 21, 2022
- Seth Godin MAY 17, 2023
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Tim Ferriss (tim.blog)
Four Hour Workweek (fourhourworkweek.com)