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The previous version of this site had occasional essays and news posts between 2003 and 2014. This is an archive of those notes, shown in reverse chronological order.

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Transcendence

I wrote a few essays in 2003, outlining philosophical and theoretical issues that have an effect on our community and beyond. They were intended to correct misunderstandings which arise in the course of debates.

Index of Transcendence [archive]

1: Under the spell of science [archive]

  • This addresses accusations that I am “anti-science” and gives an overview of some ethical issues raised by first-wave sexologists like Bailey-Blanchard-Lawrence.

2: Gender terrorists [archive]

  • A short commentary on a Department of Homeland Security press release warning that “male bombers may dress as females.”

3: Thresholds {archive]

  • A reply to a post from Kendra Blewitt regarding my comments about those who identify as “autogynephiles.”

Scott Leibowitz is an American pediatric psychiatrist best known for working with gender diverse youth and with anti-trans journalists.

Like many psychologists and psychiatrists who get paid to do them, Leibowitz promotes “comprehensive psychological assessments,” a form of gatekeeping used for over a century to delay or deny medical transition options for trans and gender diverse people.

Leibowitz is a key source for journalists who feel it has become too easy for adolescents and young adults to get hormones and surgery, covering trans healthcare like an unfolding medical scandal. Leibowitz participated in numerous articles about the ex-transgender movement, most notably pieces by anti-trans activists Jesse Singal in The Atlantic and Emily Bazelon in the New York Times. Those pieces have been cited in proposed legislation banning trans healthcare.

Leibowitz was a signatory on the 2023 Statement Regarding Laws Restricting Gender Affirming Medical Care, signed by a number of other healthcare professionals who litigate their views in the press.

Leibowitz believes that science, medicine, and journalism can somehow be separated from politics. In 2024, despite Leibowitz’s objections, Ohio passed HB 68 banning the care that Leibowitz offers in that state.

Background

Scott Farrell Leibowitz was born on May 20, 1978 in Smithtown, New York. Leibowitz earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a medical degree from the Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine New York State/American Program. Leibowitz completed residencies at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Long Island Jewish Health System. Leibowitz then did a Fellowship at the children’s gender clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital with colleague Laura Edwards-Leeper. In 2013 Leibowitz took a similar position at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. In 2015 Leibowitz was recruited to Nationwide Children’s in Columbus, Ohio.

2018 Atlantic article

Leibowitz was quoted throughout a 2018 Atlantic article by Jesse Singal on the ex-transgender movement. Similar to the ex-gay movement, the people who promote the medicalized concepts of “desistance” and “detransition” believe that interest in gender transition is a disease that can resolve on its own or through medical intervention. Proponents of these loaded terms make several assumptions that are not value-neutral and therefore not scientific.

[Laura] Edwards-Leeper is hoping to promote a concept of affirming care that takes into account the developmental nuances that so often come up in her clinical work. In this effort, she is joined by Scott Leibowitz, a psychiatrist who treats children and adolescents. He is the medical director of behavioral health for the THRIVE program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in Columbus. Leibowitz has a long history of working with and supporting TGNC youth—he served as an expert witness for the Department of Justice in 2016, when President Barack Obama’s administration challenged state-level “bathroom bills” that sought to prevent trans people from using the public bathroom associated with their gender identity. Edwards-Leeper and Leibowitz met at Boston Children’s, where Leibowitz did his psychiatry fellowship, and the two have been close friends and collaborators ever since.

While it’s understandable, for historical reasons, why some people associate comprehensive psychological assessments with denial of access to care, that isn’t how Leibowitz and Edwards-Leeper view their approach. Yes, they want to discern whether a patient actually has gender dysphoria. But comprehensive assessments and ongoing mental-health work are also means of ensuring that transitioning—which can be a physically and emotionally taxing process for adolescents even under the best of circumstances—goes smoothly.

[…]

Scott’s assessment process centered mostly on the basic readiness questions Edwards-Leeper and Leibowitz are convinced should be asked of any young person considering hormones. 

[…]

But progressive-minded parents can sometimes be a problem for their kids as well. Several of the clinicians I spoke with, including Nate Sharon, Laura Edwards-Leeper, and Scott Leibowitz, recounted new patients’ arriving at their clinics, their parents having already developed detailed plans for them to transition. “I’ve actually had patients with parents pressuring me to recommend their kids start hormones,” Sharon said.

[…]

Leibowitz noted that a relationship with a caring therapist may itself be an important prophylactic against suicidal ideation for TGNC youth: “Often for the first time having a medical or mental-health professional tell them that they are going to take them seriously and really listen to them and hear their story often helps them feel better than they’ve ever felt.”

[…]

“Would you rather have a live daughter or a dead son?” is a common response to such questions. “This type of narrative takes an already fearful parent and makes them even more afraid, which is hardly the type of mind-set one would want a parent to be in when making a complex lifelong decision for their adolescent,” Leibowitz said.

Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a physician who specializes in pediatric and adolescent medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and who is the medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development, is one of the most sought-out voices on these issues, and has significant differences with Edwards-Leeper and Leibowitz. In “Mental Health Disparities Among Transgender Youth: Rethinking the Role of Professionals,” a 2016 JAMA Pediatrics article, she wrote that “establishing a therapeutic relationship entails honesty and a sense of safety that can be compromised if young people believe that what they need and deserve (potentially blockers, hormones, or surgery) can be denied them according to the information they provide to the therapist.”

[…]

Perhaps a first step is to recognize detransitioners and desisters as being on the same “side” as happily transitioned trans people. Members of each of these groups have experienced gender dysphoria at some point, and all have a right to compassionate, comprehensive care, whether or not that includes hormones or surgery. “The detransitioner is probably just as scarred by the system as the transitioner who didn’t have access to transition,” Leibowitz told me. The best way to build a system that fails fewer people is to acknowledge the staggering complexity of gender dysphoria—and to acknowledge just how early we are in the process of understanding it.

2022 New York Times article

In 2022, Leibowitz was the central figure and framing device in an article by Emily Bazelon. Like many journalists, Bazelon was clearly more empathetic to primary source Leibowitz. Bazelon also presents Leibowitz as a “scientist under seige,” a cliché common in journalism about conservative cisgender people involved in transgender research.

The story is about the editing of the WPATH Standards of Care 8 chapter on youth.

Leibowitz, [Annelou] de Vries and their co-authors held their ground on assessments. The final version of their chapter said that because of the limited long-term research, treatment without a comprehensive diagnostic assessment “has no empirical support and therefore carries the risk that the decision to start gender-affirming medical interventions may not be in the long-term best interest of the young person at that time.”

References

Korry, Elaine (August 19, 2016). Transgender Youth Using Puberty Blockers. KQED https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/226462/transgender-youth-using-puberty-blockers https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/puberty-blockers-may-improve-mental-health-transgender-adolescents

Moroney, Murphy (February 8, 2021). A Pediatric Psychiatrist Explains the Best Way to Talk to Kids About Gender and Pronouns. Popsugar. https://www.popsugar.com/family/how-to-discuss-gender-preferred-pronouns-with-kids-48135634

Borchardt, Jackie (February 11, 2020). Ohio bill would punish doctors who help transgender kids transition. Opponents decry ‘fear-mongering.’ Cincinnati Enquirer. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/02/11/ohio-bill-would-punish-doctors-who-provide-gender-affirming-treatment-transgender-kids/4715761002/

Savage, Rachel (November 25, 2019). U.S. lawmakers weigh bans on trans youth treatments. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-health-trfn-idUSKBN1XZ26C

Gurvis, Sandra (November 21, 2018). Dr. Scott Leibowitz is Caring for Transgender Youth. Columbus Monthly https://www.columbusmonthly.com/lifestyle/20181119/caring-for-transgender-youth

Ford, Zack (July 5, 2018). Scholars dismantle the myth policing trans kids’ genders. ThinkProgress https://archive.thinkprogress.org/scholars-dismantle-the-myth-policing-trans-kids-genders-55f78df59c50/

[from original version] In his Atlantic story, Singal also justified his skepticism of letting kids transition by relying heavily on two care providers, Scott Leibowitz and Laura Edwards-Leeper, who believe in the desistance myth, and whom Singal has cited in the past. Despite the fact that their views are shared by few other experts, Singal has suggested in the past that their theory is mainstream.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referenced child and adolescent psychiatrist Scott Leibowitz and his colleague Laura Edwards-Leeper in a context that misrepresented their work. It has been updated to remove reference to them.

Singal, Jesse (July 2018). When a child says she’s trans. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/

Perry, Kimball (November 5, 2017). Love and acceptance help transgender teen’s journey. The Columbus Dispatch https://www.dispatch.com/news/20171105/love-and-acceptance-help-transgender-teens-journey

Association of American Medical Colleges (October 2015). Teaching Gender Identity and Transgender Health with Scott Leibowitz. AAMC  https://www.aamc.org/what-we-do/diversity-inclusion/lgbt-health-resources/videos/teaching-gender-equity-leibowitz

Shute, Nancy (November 12, 2014). Training The Next Generation Of Doctors To Get LGBT Health Right. NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/11/12/363319642/training-the-next-generation-of-doctors-to-get-lgbt-health-right

Pappas, Stephanie (February 20, 2012). Mental Health Problems Plague Transgender Kids. LiveScience https://www.livescience.com/16110-transgender-teen-mental-health.html

Media

Association of American Medical Colleges (October 2015, uploaded March 20, 2019). Teaching Gender Identity and Transgender Health with Scott Leibowitz. https://vimeo.com/325520415

Publications

Simons LK, Leibowitz SF, Hidalgo MA (2014). Understanding gender variance in children and adolescents. Pediatr Ann. 2014 Jun;43(6):e126-31. https://doi.org/10.3928/00904481-20140522-07

Edwards-Leeper L, Leibowitz SF, Sangganjanavanich VF (2016). Affirmative practice with transgender and gender nonconforming youth: Expanding the model. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity 3(2):165-172 https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000167

Calzo JP, Melchiono M, Richmond TK, Leibowitz SF, Argenal RL, Goncalves A, Pitts S, Gooding HC, Burke P (2017). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescent Health: An Interprofessional Case Discussion. MedEdPORTAL. 2017 Aug 9;13:10615. https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10615

Janssen A, Scott Leibowitz SF, eds. (2018). Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: A Clinical Guide. ISBN 9783319783079

The research term for this is desistance. This has become a rather controversial discussion because the studies themselves vary in the populations they included and how they handled the children that were lost to follow up. 

Strang JF, Powers MD, Knauss M, Sibarium E, Leibowitz SF, Kenworthy L, Sadikova E, Wyss S, Willing L, Caplan R, Pervez N, Nowak J, Gohari D, Gomez-Lobo V, Call D, Anthony LG (2018). “They Thought It Was an Obsession”: Trajectories and Perspectives of Autistic Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents. J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Dec;48(12):4039-4055. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3723-6

Strang JF, Janssen A, Tishelman A, Leibowitz SF, Kenworthy L, McGuire JK, Edwards-Leeper L, Mazefsky CA, Rofey D, Bascom J, Caplan R, Gomez-Lobo V, Berg D, Zaks Z, Wallace GL, Wimms H, Pine-Twaddell E, Shumer D, Register-Brown K, Sadikova E, Anthony LG (2018). Revisiting the Link: Evidence of the Rates of Autism in Studies of Gender Diverse Individuals. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018 Nov;57(11):885-887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.023

Leibowitz SF,  Lantos JD (2019). Affirming, Balanced, and Comprehensive Care for Transgender Teenagers. Pediatrics. June 2019, 143 (6) e20190995 https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0995

Leibowitz, Scott (June 14, 2020). OPINION: J. K. Rowling and her inaccuracies about trans youth. Thomson Reuters Foundation News https://news.trust.org/item/20200614160303-acghe/

Leibowitz, Scott (June 16, 2023). Gender-Affirming Care for Adolescents: Separating Political Polarization From Medicine. Psychiatric Times https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/gender-affirming-care-for-adolescents-separating-political-polarization-from-medicine

Exhibit 37: Expert Declaration of Scott F. Leibowitz, MD. United States of America v. State of North Carolina, et al. (2017). No. 1:16-cv-00425 [PDF] https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/de_076-37_-_leibowitz_decl_iso_mot_for_pi_us_07-06-2016.pdf

Leibowitz SF, Telingator C (2012). Assessing gender identity concerns in children and adolescents: evaluation, treatments, and outcomes. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2012 Apr;14(2):111-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-012-0259-x

Leibowitz SF, Norman Spack (2011). The development of a gender identity psychosocial clinic: treatment issues, logistical considerations, interdisciplinary cooperation, and future initiatives. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2011 Oct;20(4):701-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2011.07.004

Stoddard J, Leibowitz SF, Ton H, Snowdon S (2011). Improving medical education about gender-variant youth and transgender adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2011 Oct;20(4):779-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2011.07.008

Resources

Twitter (twitter.com)

Nationwide Children’s (nationwidechildrens.org)

Association of American Medical Colleges (aamc.org)

Teaching Gender Identity and Transgender Health with Scott Leibowitz

Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.

Laura Edwards-Leeper is a conservative American psychologist best known for working with gender diverse youth. Edwards-Leeper has become a favored source for journalists promoting the ex-transgender movement and a leading voice in a faction of therapists who have “concerns” that affirmative models of care for trans youth do not have enough gatekeeping. Edwards-Leeper believes trans people and their families should pay someone like her before getting access to medical transition options.

Background

Laura Ann Edwards-Leeper was born on January 18, 1975. Edwards-Leeper earned a bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark College in 1997, then attended Bowling Green State University, earning a graduate certificate in 2003 and a doctorate in 2004. Edwards-Leeper did internships through Montana State University, Bozeman at Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital and through Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School.

Edwards-Leeper is married to Todd Steven Edwards-Leeper (born 1973).

Transgender youth

Edwards-Leeper worked closely with endocrinologist Norman Spack at Boston Children’s Hospital. Spack is an innovator in offering medical options to gender diverse youth, founding the Gender Management Service (GeMS) there in 2007. Edwards-Leeper and Spack co-authored several articles through 2012, when Edwards-Leeper left GeMs for a similar role at Seattle Children’s Hospital. After a year, Edwards-Leeper went into private practice.

After 2012, Edwards-Leeper began publishing on the correlation between neurodiversity and gender diversity.

2018 Atlantic article

Edwards-Leeper was quoted throughout a 2018 Atlantic article by Jesse Singal on the ex-transgender movement. Similar to the ex-gay movement, the people who promote the medicalized concepts of “desistance” and “detransition” believe that being trans is a disease that can resolve on it own or through medical intervention. Proponents of these loaded terms make several assumptions that are not value-neutral and therefore not scientific.

Singal presents Edwards-Leeper and fellow clinicians Erica Anderson and Dianne Berg as therapists who have “concerns” that more affirming care for minors may lead to negative transition outcomes. Edwards-Leeper’s assessment methods had led to a controversial reputation, Critics reportedly “nearly threw things” at Edwards-Leeper at conferences:

Those conference troubles signaled to Edwards-Leeper that her field had shifted in ways she found discomfiting. At one conference a few years ago, she recalled, a co-panelist who was a well-respected clinician in her field said that Edwards-Leeper’s comprehensive assessments required kids to “jump through more fiery hoops” and were “retraumatizing.” This prompted a standing ovation from the audience, mostly families of TGNC young people. During another panel discussion, at the same conference with the same clinician, but this time geared toward fellow clinicians, the same thing happened: more claims that assessments were traumatizing, more raucous applause.

Edwards-Leeper isn’t alone in worrying that the field is straying from its own established best practices. “Under the motivation to be supportive and to be affirming and to be nonstigmatizing, I think the pendulum has swung so far that now we’re maybe not looking as critically at the issues as we should be,” the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health’s Dianne Berg told me. Erica Anderson, the UCSF clinician, expressed similar concerns: “Some of the stories we’ve heard about detransitioning, I fear, are related to people who hastily embarked on medical interventions and decided that they weren’t for them, and didn’t thoroughly vet their decision either by themselves or with professional people who could help them.”

Singal (2018)

Via Jenny Cyphers, an activist in the ex-trans movement:

Two of the most important aspects of my family’s experience that are not adequately addressed in the Atlantic article, are: 1) my daughter was given a clinical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, so she was just as “truly trans” as the next kid, and 2) it was my insistence that my child wait to medically transition, not her therapist’s. My teen’s therapist, Laura Edwards-Leeper, listened to me and agreed. We were lucky. While there are some cautious, thoughtful providers, the current situation in the US is that there is also no oversight. The most vocal professionals are firmly in the affirmation camp which believes, without any long-term data to validate, that withholding hormonal interventions is tantamount to abuse.

2021 60 Minutes segment

Edwards-Leeper appeared on a 60 Minutes segment about the ex-transgender movement and was presented as a practitioner of “comprehensive assessment” in a way that suggested some colleagues were not doing this. When CBS’s Lesley Stahl asked about “this whole area of accepting what young people are saying too readily,” Edwards-Leeper said:

Yes, everyone is very scared to speak up because we’re afraid of not being seen as affirming or supportive of these young people or doing something to hurt the trans community. But even some of the providers are trans themselves and share these concerns.

This is a reference to conservative trans therapist Erica Anderson, who also appeared in the segment.

2021 Washington Post op-ed

Edwards-Leeper again joined fellow conservative clinician Erica Anderson to denounce what they consider insufficient gatekeeping in healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth.

In response, DC-area parents Rachel Cornwell and Liz Matthews wrote:

As parents of transgender youths, we are deeply concerned by Laura Edwards-Leeper and Erica Anderson’s Nov. 28 Outlook essay, “The mental health establishment is failing trans kids.” Though we agree with their conclusion that improvements in care for gender-diverse youths are needed, their alarmist concerns about insufficient psychological evaluations for gender-affirming care are unfounded and sensationalized.

The writers based their opinion on anecdotal experiences and even admitted that “providers and their behavior haven’t been closely studied.” They pointed to a single study of an extremely small number of people who have detransitioned to support their argument in favor of delaying or even denying gender-affirming medical care to gender-diverse youths. They recklessly conflate safe, reversible medical interventions such as hormone blockers with more permanent gender-confirmation treatments such as surgeries, which are typically not performed on minors in the United States. And they dangerously play down the risk of suicide that can result from denying gender-affirming care.

Thousands of trans youths are now thriving because of gender-affirming care. Thankfully, our children are among that number because of the intervention of mental health providers and physicians, as well as the support of our communities. Trans kids need all the support they can get because they live in a world that too often denies and degrades them. That is why it’s such a shame that the authors would increase barriers to accessing gender-affirming care, rather than expand access for all who need it.

Clinician AJ Eckert, who was identified in the piece, wrote:

The essay misrepresented gender-affirming care, which is nuanced, complex and comprehensive. The writers mischaracterized transgender youths and pushed a damaging pseudoscientific narrative that serves to further limit health care for an already underserved, marginalized and vulnerable population. The writers leaned on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s standards of care but failed to note that the standards acknowledge the damaging and irreversible consequences of an incongruent puberty, reject the stereotype of trans psychopathology and include harm-reduction strategies.

Contrary to the anti-trans arguments spread throughout mass media and repeated by the writers, research shows that detransition and regret are rare, trans youth suicide rates are alarmingly high, and trans children supported in their identities have better mental health outcomes. One of their most egregious lies was that those opposed to gender-affirming care are being silenced. This article was proof that isn’t true.

Trans children deserve love, support and thoughtful medical care as much as cisgender children do. Pieces such as this are responsible for the closure of gender clinics, anti-trans sentiment and the spate of laws and regulations targeting trans youths.

References

Paul, Pamela (February 2, 2024). As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/opinion/transgender-children-gender-dysphoria.html

Sibarium, Aaron (October 4, 2023). Planned Parenthood is Helping Teenagers Transition After a 30 Minute Consult. Parents and Doctors are Sounding the Alarm. Washington Beacon https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/planned-parenthood-is-helping-teenagers-transition-after-a-30-minute-consult-parents-and-doctors-are-sounding-the-alarm/

Bazelon, Emily (June 15, 2022). The Battle Over Gender Therapy. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/magazine/gender-therapy.html

Beard, McKenzie (May 16, 2022). Some clinicians stress mental health care for kids questioning their gender. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/16/some-clinicians-stress-mental-health-care-kids-questioning-their-gender/

Ghorayshi, Azeen (January 13, 2022). Doctors Debate Whether Trans Teens Need Therapy Before Hormones. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/health/transgender-teens-hormones.html

Respaut, Robin; Terhune, Chad; Conline, Michelle (December 22, 2022). Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-outcomes/

Stahl, Lesley (May 23, 2021). State bills would curtail health care for transgender youth. 60 Minutes / CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-health-care-60-minutes-2021-05-23/

Francis, Mike (March 11, 2021). Psychology Professor Laura Edwards-Leeper Tapped as Expert on Youth Gender Dysphoria and Related Issues. Pacific University Oregon https://www.pacificu.edu/about/media/psychology-professor-laura-edwards-leeper-tapped-expert-youth-gender-dysphoria-and-related-issues

Edwards-Leeper, Laura; Anderson, Erica (November 28, 2021). Opinion: The mental health establishment is failing trans kids. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/11/24/trans-kids-therapy-psychologist/

Cyphers, Jenny (June 25, 2018). What I wish the Atlantic article hadn’t censored. 4thWaveNow https://4thwavenow.com/2018/06/25/what-i-wish-the-atlantic-article-hadnt-censored/

Singal, Jesse (July 2018). When a child says she’s trans. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/

Mapes, Diane (February 20, 2012). More transgender kids seeking help, getting treatment. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/more-transgender-kids-seeking-help-getting-treatment-flna1c6435989

Selected publications

Strang JF, McClellan LS, Raaijmakers D, Caplan R, Klomp SE, Reutter M, Lai MC, Song M, Gratton FV, Dale LK, Schutte A, de Vries ALC, Gardiner F, Edwards-Leeper L, Minnaard AL, Eleveld NL, Corbin E, Purkis Y, Lawson W, Kim DY, van Wieringen IM, Rodríguez-Roldán VM, Harris MC, Wilks MF, Abraham G, Balleur-van Rijn A, Brown LXZ, Forshaw A, Wilks GB, Griffin AD, Graham EK, Krause S, Pervez N, Bok IA, Song A, Fischbach AL, van der Miesen AIR (2023). The Gender-Diversity and Autism Questionnaire: A Community-Developed Clinical, Research, and Self-Advocacy Tool for Autistic Transgender and Gender-Diverse Young Adults. Autism Adulthood. 2023 Jun 1;5(2):175-190. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0002

Coleman E, Radix AE, Bouman WP, Brown GR, de Vries ALC, Deutsch MB, Ettner R, Fraser L, Goodman M, Green J, Hancock AB, Johnson TW, Karasic DH, Knudson GA, Leibowitz SF, Meyer-Bahlburg HFL, Monstrey SJ, Motmans J, Nahata L, Nieder TO, Reisner SL, Richards C, Schechter LS, Tangpricha V, Tishelman AC, Van Trotsenburg MAA, Winter S, Ducheny K, Adams NJ, Adrián TM, Allen LR, Azul D, Bagga H, Başar K, Bathory DS, Belinky JJ, Berg DR, Berli JU, Bluebond-Langner RO, Bouman MB, Bowers ML, Brassard PJ, Byrne J, Capitán L, Cargill CJ, Carswell JM, Chang SC, Chelvakumar G, Corneil T, Dalke KB, De Cuypere G, de Vries E, Den Heijer M, Devor AH, Dhejne C, D’Marco A, Edmiston EK, Edwards-Leeper L, Ehrbar R, Ehrensaft D, Eisfeld J, Elaut E, Erickson-Schroth L, Feldman JL, Fisher AD, Garcia MM, Gijs L, Green SE, Hall BP, Hardy TLD, Irwig MS, Jacobs LA, Janssen AC, Johnson K, Klink DT, Kreukels BPC, Kuper LE, Kvach EJ, Malouf MA, Massey R, Mazur T, McLachlan C, Morrison SD, Mosser SW, Neira PM, Nygren U, Oates JM, Obedin-Maliver J, Pagkalos G, Patton J, Phanuphak N, Rachlin K, Reed T, Rider GN, Ristori J, Robbins-Cherry S, Roberts SA, Rodriguez-Wallberg KA, Rosenthal SM, Sabir K, Safer JD, Scheim A… (2022). Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8. Int J Transgend Health. 2022 Sep 6;23(Suppl 1):S1-S259. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644

Spivey LA, Edwards-Leeper L (2019). Future Directions in Affirmative Psychological Interventions with Transgender Children and Adolescents. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2019 Mar-Apr;48(2):343-356. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1534207

Strang JF, Janssen A, Tishelman A, Leibowitz SF, Kenworthy L, McGuire JK, Edwards-Leeper L, Mazefsky CA, Rofey D, Bascom J, Caplan R, Gomez-Lobo V, Berg D, Zaks Z, Wallace GL, Wimms H, Pine-Twaddell E, Shumer D, Register-Brown K, Sadikova E, Anthony LG (2018). Revisiting the Link: Evidence of the Rates of Autism in Studies of Gender Diverse Individuals. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018 Nov;57(11):885-887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.023

Chen D, Edwards-Leeper L, Stancin T, Tishelman A. Advancing the Practice of Pediatric Psychology with Transgender Youth: State of the Science (2018), Ongoing Controversies, and Future Directions. Clin Pract Pediatr Psychol. 2018 Mar;6(1):73-83. https://doi.org/10.1037/cpp0000229

Strang JF, Meagher H, Kenworthy L, de Vries ALC, Menvielle E, Leibowitz S, Janssen A, Cohen-Kettenis P, Shumer DE, Edwards-Leeper L, Pleak RR, Spack N, Karasic DH, Schreier H, Balleur A, Tishelman A, Ehrensaft D, Rodnan L, Kuschner ES, Mandel F, Caretto A, Lewis HC, Anthony LG (2018). Initial Clinical Guidelines for Co-Occurring Autism Spectrum Disorder and Gender Dysphoria or Incongruence in Adolescents. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2018 Jan-Feb;47(1):105-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2016.1228462

Shumer DE, Reisner SL, Edwards-Leeper L, Tishelman A (2016). Evaluation of Asperger Syndrome in Youth Presenting to a Gender Dysphoria Clinic. LGBT Health. 2016 Oct;3(5):387-90. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2015.0070

Tishelman AC, Kaufman R, Edwards-Leeper L, Mandel FH, Shumer DE, Spack NP (2015). Serving Transgender Youth: Challenges, Dilemmas and Clinical Examples. Prof Psychol Res Pr. 2015;46(1):37-45. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037490

  • Tishelman AC, Kaufman R, Edwards-Leeper L, Mandel FH, Shumer DE, Spack NP (2015). Reply to comment on “Serving Transgender Youth: Challenges, Dilemmas, and Clinical Examples” by Tishelman et al. (2015). Prof Psychol Res Pr. 2015 Aug;46(4):307. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000029

Children and adolescents with gender identity disorder referred to a pediatric medical center. Spack NP, Edwards-Leeper L, Feldman HA, Leibowitz S, Mandel F, Diamond DA, Vance SR. Pediatrics. 2012 Mar;129(3):418-25. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0907

Edwards-Leeper L, Spack NP (2012). Psychological evaluation and medical treatment of transgender youth in an interdisciplinary “Gender Management Service” (GeMS) in a major pediatric center. Journal of Homosexuality, 59 (3), 321-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.653302

Spack NP, Edwards-Leeper L, Feldman HA, Leibowitz S, Mandel F, Diamond DA, Vance SR (2012). Children and adolescents with gender identity disorder referred to a pediatric medical center. Pediatrics, 129 (3), 418-425. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0907

Edwards-Leeper L, Spack NP (2012). Psychological Evaluation and Medical Treatment of Transgender Youth in an Interdisciplinary “Gender Management Service” (GeMS) in a Major Pediatric Center. Journal of Homosexuality 59(3):321-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.653302

Spack NP, Edwards-Leeper L (2011). Medical treatment of the transgender adolescent. In Fisher M, Alderman E, Kreipe R, Rosenfeld W (Eds). Textbook of Adolescent Health Care. American Academy of Pediatrics, ISBN 9781581102697

Edwards-Leeper L, Spack NP (2011). Gender identity disorder. In Augustyn M, Zuckerman B, Caronna EB (Eds.), The Zuckerman Parker Handbook of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics for Primary Care (3rd ed., pp. 229-233). Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 978-1608319145

Resources

Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper, PhD (drlauraedwardsleeper.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Pacific University (pacificu.edu)

Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.

Rya Jones is an American former publishing executive who has espoused conservative transgender views. Jones posted many videos expressing conservative or religious views about gender, many of which were later deleted.

Background

Rya Jones was born on June 24, 1974. Jones graduated from high school in 1992, then earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996. Jones served as CEO of Jones Publishing, Inc. It was founded by Jones’ parents in 1986 and has produced a number of specialty periodicals:

  • Religious (via Crosslife LLC): Today’s Christian Living, Today’s Pastor
  • Aircraft: Pipers Magazine, Cessna Owner Organization
  • Small business: Smart Retailer, Handmade Business
  • Arts and crafts: Sunshine Artist, Dolls, Doll Costuming, Doll Crafter, Dollmaking, Popular Ceramics, Ceramics Arts and Craft, Teddy Bear Review

Jones transitioned in around 2015. Jones’ time as CEO ended in 2016. In 2017, JP Media LLC purchased Jones Publishing, Inc. in a planned transfer of the company from Joe and Maggie Jones to Diana Jones, Rya Jones’ former spouse. Rya and Diana Jones had seven children who were home-schooled. Jones has served as an ordained pastor in Cornerstone Churches in Wisconsin and studied part-time for a Master’s in Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Jones now identifies as a “former pastor.” Jones has been involved with Madison Community Cooperative and has been licensed as a health insurance agent with Humana.

Online activity

Jones uses several online handles, including:

  • Rya N.T. Jones
  • HeyThisIsRya

In around 2017, Jones published a number of videos on YouTube about various gender-critical topics including a possible “detransition” before removing all of the videos. One video, titled “I am an autogynephile,” led to Jones being listed on this site as an autogynephilia activist. Jones claimed in the 2025 statement below that the provocative title was to generate engagement and was not a statement of identity.

Starting in September 2022, Rya Jones and parent Joe Jones produced dozens of episodes of a podcast titled TranDescendant.

Statement from Rya Jones

In June 2025. Jones sent the following statement for publication on this profile:

I am not, nor have I have I ever been, an “Autogynephilia activist.” On November 3, 2017, I published a video arguing that gatekeeping in the transgender community needed to stop. I told the story of my interaction with a straight trans woman who told me I was not really trans because I am attracted to women instead of men. I then made the point that some people that call my condition autogynephilia in order to marginalize us. The point I intended to make was that, no matter what you choose to call me, it does not make me less authentically-trans. The thumbnail had a picture of me with the phrase, “Not Trans Enough.”

But then almost as an afterthought, I titled it “I am an autogynephile.” I knew that YouTube likes controversy, and that using such a title would almost certainly get more views. Once people saw the video, I reasoned, they would hear my argument and stop belittling women like me. That was almost certainly the wrong decision, because nearly everyone, from transphobes to trans people, took the title at face value. Ironically, some people used it as an admission that I was not really trans after all.

It didn’t help that I posted some similarly provocative videos, including one where I talked about challenging gender norms by “detransitioning” but continuing to present female. I regretted the idea almost instantly after I published the video. I used my very next video to explain why I was wrong. Some commenters accused me of broadcasting internalized transphobia on that channel. I did my best not to do so. Looking back, they were probably right. I don’t think I ever described myself as Gender Critical, but I was certainly trying to engage a Gender Critical audience in order to change their minds. When I realized that approach was never going to work, I quit the channel.

To those I hurt with my words, I am sincerely sorry. I cannot change that I said those things. But I did unpublish the channel years ago. I reject Ray Blanchard’s widely-rejected hypothesis of autogynephelia. And I most certainly would NEVER describe myself as a “man trapped in a man’s body.” If there’s anything more I can do to right the wrongs I may have caused, please email me at rya dot nt dot jones at gmail.

References

MacGregor, Ilsa (August 20, 2018). ‘I am not a Woman’ – Transsexuals and Transgender Women Speak Out. Tasmanian Times https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/08/i-am-not-a-woman-transsexuals-and-transgender-women-speak-out-d1/#google_vignette

Media

Miranda Yardley and Rya Jones (July 12, 2017). ‘TERF’ and ‘Cis’: Misogyny and Homophobia in Transgender Culture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUP2csDBG-E [deleted]

Female Erasure Anthology with Rya Jones and Ruth Barrett (Oct 2, 2017). A trans-identified male interviews Ruth Barrett, editor of ‘Female Erasure.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulemepEkohg

Resources

Jones Publishing (jonespublishing.com) [archive]

JP Media LLC (jpmediallc.com)

TranDescendant (transdescendant.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

  • heythisisrya7702
  • most videos from previous channel deleted, including
    • I HATE BEING TRANSGENDER
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wxt0XfplPM
    • Why I Didn’t Realize I was Transgender for Most of My Life
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oyc_Aq4llI
    • A Transgender Woman Talks About the Pressures of Gender Conformity
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn_Wo5NzRo4
    • WHAT I’M TRYING TO DO WITH THIS CHANNEL | A chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MakFBxmD7aY
    • DO OUR OPPRESSORS DESERVE TO HAVE US LISTEN TO THEM? | A Thougtful Response to Riley J. Dennis
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gDgEz6BAOc
    • ARE TRANSGENDER PEOPLE POSSESSED? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMzsv8ab4W8
    • WHEN YOUR DAD GOES FROM FUNDAMENTALIST TO TRANSGENDER | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L96esw36h8Q
    • HOW TO OVERCOME THE COTTON CEILING | A Transgender Response to Arielle Scarcella
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_VXfZE0Hg8
    • Are Trans Women Biologically Male?
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXHeifREMbA
    • THE TRUTH ABOUT TERFS | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrOudAt-yUs
    • WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A WOMAN? | A Chat With Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaXbqvYU5iQ
    • STOP CALLING PEOPLE TERFS! | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGUBfoTAJ5Y
    • IS IT OKAY TO HAVE WOMEN-ONLY SPACES THAT EXCLUDE TRANS WOMEN? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB-R3o5fQ0w
    • WHY AREN’T TRANS FOLKS LISTENING?! | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDM92WgrmI0
    • FIRST KISS AT THE ALTAR | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnU6DdxjwKo
    • GENDER IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giAOLuibmNg
    • I’M A TRANSGENDER TERF? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY_8SWBUvoc
    • ARE TRANSWOMEN WOMEN? | A Chat with Miranda Yardley
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyUNuD8WUSY
    • CAN A TRANS PERSON HIT PEAK TRANS? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ggX-lvgErc
    • People are FREAKING OUT about Miranda Yardley’s Attack on Transgenderism
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPi021G9lls
    • WHY I ADORE RILEY J. DENNIS, YOUTUBE’S MOST HATED TRANS PERSON | A Chat With Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNs8A4pAIoY
    • WELL THIS WAS A HUGE LET DOWN | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioJsfXLbDs4
    • DOES THE BIBLE CONDEMN HOMOSEXUALITY? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h9d8OC7KZQ
    • ‘TERFS’ DON’T HATE TRANS PEOPLE! | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtOKFUe7JBg
    • I DEBATE MY FUNDAMENTALIST SELF FROM 17 YEARS AGO | A Chat With Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcMSZEIekW8
    • DO RADICAL FEMINISTS HATE TRANSPEOPLE? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf-jVhZdJEg
    • I AM AN AUTOGYNEPHILE | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ferdf6iRTOg
    • WARNING: TRANS LEGISLATION IS DANGEROUS (But Not for the Reason You Think) | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0WLFOLO7vE
    • A FEMINIST RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT STATE OF THE TRANS MOVEMENT | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_oKPUZxEBA
    • ARE TRANSWOMEN WOMEN? | A Battle to the Death Between Rya Jones and Miranda Yardley
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmwlQLBfknE
    • TERFS | A response to ContraPoints
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh0E_gM_Sf4
    • HAS THERYN MEYER LOST IT? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVrm96aX4NE
    • RESPONDING TO TROLLS | A Chat With Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWgsWCNaG40
    • I’m Sick of Being a TERF | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0evnXBNjqVI
    • I MIGHT DE-TRANSITION (Not Clickbait) | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRpxHA7p9wQ
    • MY DECISION ABOUT DE-TRANSITIONING | A Chat With Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcqpJY-W7p0
    • YOUR GENITAL PREFERENCES MAKE JESUS CRY | A Response to Ash Hardell and Arielle Scarcella
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0xkAG4bOA
    • I’M SO SICK OF THIS!!! | A Rant from Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rtkPYyHyzI
    • 10 BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFwDYRzir6Q
    • WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SKYLAR BAKER-JORDAN
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvUe7cUVk0Y
    • WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT MY MELTDOWN LAST WEEK | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dZcsIhWQ5Y
    • DO TRANS WOMEN HAVE FEMALE BRAINS? | A Chat with Rya
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciAFCe6V0sU
    • AESTHETICS ARE OVERRATED | A Response to Contrapoints
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTbjiWA-Gz4

Howard Wilbur Jones, Jr. (December 30, 1910 – July 31, 2015) was an American gynecologist and surgeon. He performed sex reassignment surgeries at Johns Hopkins University.

Background

Jones earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1931 and a medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1935, then completed his surgery residency there. He led a U.S. Army Auxiliary Surgical Group during World War II, after which he completed a gynecology residency. Jones was a colleague of surgeon Milton Edgerton.

Jones made many important innovations in cancer and fertility research, first at Johns Hopkins and later at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Genital surgeries

Jones performed “normalizing” surgeries on infants with differences of sex development on the recommendation of John Money, including vaginoplasty for David Reimer at age 22 months in 1967. Money fabricated the outcome of Reimer’s social adjustment, and Reimer eventually killed himself at age 38.

Jones also performed surgeries on adults. Confirmed patients include:

  • Phyllis Avon Wilson (~1965)
  • Dawn Langley Hall (1968)

Transgender hoaxer Kiira Triea/Denise Magner also claimed to have surgery from Jones at age 14, but there is no evidence that this is true.

Resources

Eastern Virginia Medical School (evms.edu)

  • Jones Institute For Reproductive Medicine
  • Historic URL: jonesinstitute.org

Johns Hopkins Medical Archives (medicalarchives.jhmi.edu)

  • Historic URL: http://www.medicalarchives.jhmi.edu/sgml/joneshw.html

Richard Byng is a British general practitioner of medicine and anti-transgender activist.

Byng is involved with anti-trans organization Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM).

Background

  • 2009 GP with Special Interest in Mental Health accreditation
  • 2004 PhD, University of London, Health Services Research
  • 1996 Masters in Public Health (MPH), University of Birmingham
  • 1992-1993 MRCGP, Oxford (Banbury) Vocational Training Scheme
  • 1985-1988 M.B. B.Ch. (Cambridge), The Royal London Hospital Medical College,
  • 1982-1985 B.A. (Hons) Medical Sciences Degree (2:1), Queens’ College, Cambridge University

2018 Guardian letter

Byng was a signatory on a letter in The Guardian critical of the Gender Recognition Act. The open letter included many other key anti-transgender extremists. 

2019 Standing For Women anti-transgender event

In 2019 Byng spoke at an anti-trans event organized by Standing for Women titled First Do No Harm – the ethics of transgender healthcare

Also present was James Caspian, David Davies, Julia Long, Heather Brunskell-Evans, Posie Parker, Maya Forstater, Sue Evans, and Sonia Poulton.

2022 US Health and Human Service meeting

On April 25, 2022, anti-trans organization Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) arranged a meeting with US government officials on healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth. Byng was listed as a participant.

2024 CAN-SG anti-transgender event

The Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG) is an anti-transgender front group that promotes restrictions on healthcare. According to program notes: “Richard will talk about how current care for 17-25 year olds could be changed to reflect evidence and professional standards of practice.”

References

Written evidence submitted by Professor Richard Byng [GRA1913] https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/18099/pdf/

Written submission from Dr Richard Byng, et al (HSC0091) -https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/103342/html/

  • Susan Bewley
  • Richard Byng
  • Damian Clifford
  • Katie Clyde
  • David Curtis
  • Lucy Griffin
  • Tessa Katz
  • Julie Maxwell
  • Margaret McCartney

Resources

University of Plymouth (plymouth.ac.uk)

“Shape Shifter” is the stage name of July R. Carlan, an American accountant and ex-transgender activist who gets money and attention by making it harder for others to get trans healthcare.

Background

July Roxella Carlan was born on July 11, 1990. Carlan had a “consensual” sexual experience at age 11 and came out as gay to unaccepting parents at 16.

At age 22 in graduate school, Carlan learned about nonbinary identities and booked an appointment at Fenway Health in Boston on November 15, 2012. At the initial consultation, Carlan described a pattern of high-risk sexual behavior as well as incidents of anti-LGBT discrimination and assault. Carlan also expressed a desire to become pregnant.

Affter signing an informed consent form on December 27, 2012, Carlan began hormones via Fenway Health. In a follow-up appointment in March 2013, a therapist noted Carlan’s “internalized transphobia,” because Carlan wanted to “be seen as more than a trans woman.”

By mid-December 2013, Carlan reported inconsistent use of hormones in order to regain sexual function and engage in high-risk sexual behavior. In December 2014, Carlan reported:

  • depression and anxiety
  • seeking validation through sex
  • struggles with sexual compulsivity and hopes that GRS will reduce sexual urges
  • did not want to take hormones in order to enjoy sex
  • could not find a job in finance and had “begun a career in strip dancing”

In the first half of 2015, Carlan had multiple therapy sessions and received clearance for bottom surgery.

After getting elective bottom surgery as an adult, Carlan “realized I was just a castrated man.” Carlan has sometimes identified as a “homosexual transsexual,” a term promoted by anti-transgender activists.

On or about May 10, 2022, at age 31, Carlan publicly announced plans to make additional gender changes. Carlan no longer identifies as a trans woman, “but as a gender-non-conforming man.” Carlan reportedly just liked feminine clothing and makeup.

Carlan is a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts. Carlan is in a relationship with a “sugar daddy” who is nearly 50 years older. Howard Carlan (born December 6, 1941) goes by “Cat Man” in their videos.

Anti-transgender activism

Carlan has regret about taking some medical gender transition steps and has found an anti-trans audience who wants to amplify these rare cases of regret.

In 2022, Carlan testified against healthcare for trans youth before the Florida Board of Medicine.

In addition to numerous media appearances about regret, Carlan has also been critical of trans athletes and supports misinformation and conspiracy theories about trans healthcare.

On October 12, 2023, Carlan filed a lawsuit against Fenway Community Health Center. On March 28, 2025 Judge Myong J. Joun entered a decision that “Fenway is dismissed from this action.”

On April 2, 2025, Carlan filed an appeal.

References

Justia (April 2, 2025). Carlan v. Fenway Community Health Center, Inc., et al. Case No. 25-1315. https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca1/25-1315

Staff report (November 13, 2023). MA Lawsuit Claims Trans Medical Care is Gay Conversion Therapy. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/ma-lawsuit-trans-care-gay-conversion

Mitra N. Forouhar. Shape Shifter v. Fenway Health. https://mnf-law.com/lawsuits/ pdf: https://mnf-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ShapeShifter-v-Fenway.pdf

Sapir, Leor; Figliolia, Joseph (November 8, 2023). Medicine with a “Transgender Bias.” City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/medicine-with-a-transgender-bias

Court Listener (Oct. 12, 2023). Carlan v. Fenway Community Health Center, Inc. 1:23-cv-12361, (D. Mass.) https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67878127/carlan-v-fenway-community-health-center-inc/

Carlan v. Fenway Community Health Center, Inc. US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Case 1:2023cv12361 https://rilawyersweekly.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2023/11/Carlan-v.-Fenway-Community-Health-Center.pdf

Gordon, James (August 27, 2022). ‘I was brainwashed by the trans community’: Detransitioner reveals he regrets having his penis removed and says woke doctors didn’t warn him of negative consequences because it would be ‘bad for business.’ Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11151433/Detransitioner-says-brainwashed-having-gender-reassignment-surgery-woke-doctors.html

“Shape Shifter” (June 22, 2022). The Boy Who Shifted Shapes: A Detransitioner’s Story. Reduxx https://reduxx.info/opinion-the-boy-who-shifted-shapes/

Sum News (November 2016). New Members. mscpa.org https://digitaleditions.sheridan.com/publication/?i=355533&p=20&view=issueViewer

Media

Daniel Moon (April 6, 2024). Shape Shifter: The DE-TRANS Truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnOL1Lx_jW4

Soft White Underbelly (March 23, 2023). Ex (Detransitioning) Trans Woman interview-Shape Shifter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsbtaXqfg1o

Cat Cattinson (December 6, 2022). “Being trans wasn’t my authentic self.” – Interview with Shape Shifter, detrans man. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB_m8f60tr4

Tomi Lahren – Outkick (November 21, 2022). Trans ‘Shape Shifter’ doxxed by LGBTQ community, Michael Farren performs & Trump’s return to Twitter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LGXnptuKYE

The Get Better Researcher (October 31, 2022). Detransitioner Shape Shifter Florida Board of Medicine Testimony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko_MJln6c_4

Transparency with Aaron Kimberly and Aaron Terrell (August 29, 2022). EP46 – Owning Male Femininity – with Shape Shifter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoUE23la-uo

Blaire White (July 3, 2022). Detransitioner: “My Penis Is Gone Forever & I Regret it” | Emotional Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRh80xSI8QQ

Arielle Scarcella (June 5, 2022). “I Miss My Penis” : Brave Detrans Men Speak Out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrRLpJ1uIzw

Benjamin Boyce (June 4, 2022). When Transition Goes Wrong | with Shape Shifter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MorvzXI2uw

Jubilee (April 2, 2023). Should Minors Transition? Detransition vs Trans | Middle Ground. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl0LZZFos-g

Resources

CPA Directory (cpadirectory.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

  • ShifterofShapes [deleted]

YouTube (youtube.com)

GoFundMe (gofundme.com)

reddit (reddit.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

TikTok (tiktok.com)

  • shifterofshape [deleted]

Frieda Klotz is an Irish-American writer and anti-transgender activist. Klotz launders anti-trans extremism about gender diverse youth into mainstream media outlets. Klotz has been cited by American anti-trans organizations supporting legislation harming our children.

Background

Frieda Marie Klotz was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1977 to Margaret Klotz and Frederick S. “Fred” Klotz, an American mathematician who died when Frieda was a child in an April 1988 Dublin cycle accident.

Klotz studied ancient Greek, earning a bachelor’s degree from Fred Klotz’s former employer Trinity College, Dublin, in 2000. Klotz then continued at University of Oxford, earning a master’s degree in 2001 and a doctorate in 2005. From 2005 to 2007 Klotz taught at King’s College London.

In 2007 Klotz began a long string of reviewing, editing, writing, fact-checking, and researching roles for Daily Telegraph, Euromoney, New York Times Syndicate, Irishcentral, journalism professor Susie Linfield, Salon, and New York Times Digital.

In 2011 Klotz co-edited The Philosopher’s Banquet with Katerina Oikonomopoulou. Klotz was then a contributor for The Chronicle Review, Forbes, Shimon Dotan at Roam Films, Irish Times, Prospect, The Guardian, Irish Echo, Irish Voice, the Irish Times, The Economist, MIT Sloan Management Review, Ireland’s Sunday Independent, and Diplomacy Dojo. Klotz has also written several white papers for the British government and the New York Times Company.

Klotz began attacking healthcare for transgender children while based in Brussels.

2022 Undark article

In 2022, Klotz began writing the first of many versions of the same article about gender diverse youth. These “cisgender person under siege” articles typically center a cisgender person as a hero facing assaults from “both sides.” For Klotz, the cis hero is Annelou de Vries and colleagues, and the two sides are:

  • Right-wing politicians, religious conservatives, and some health care associations are calling for medical treatment of teens to be banned or avoided if at all possible
  • Some activists and physicians say the protocol is too slow.

Klotz’s false equivalence between executing eliminationist policies and removing barriers to care is a hallmark of what biologist Julia Serano calls trans-suspicious reporting.

Klotz continues The Atlantic’s shameful leading role in “just asking questions.” This cognitive bias is called a framing effect. Here are Klotz’s questions:

But pediatric transgender medicine is a new field with a lot of questions yet to be answered by science. What is the long-term impact of blocking puberty on a young person’s health? Can practitioners correctly determine which youngsters will still identify as trans when they are adults? Do the psychological assessments contribute to children’s suffering by delaying access to puberty blockers and hormones? Why has the number of teens coming forward to receive transgender medical care, particularly those assigned female at birth, risen so dramatically in recent years?

Klotz then rattles off the litany of risks and complications recited by conservatives:

  • “desistance”
  • bone loss
  • brain development
  • genital atrophy (with an assumption of vaginoplasty)
  • medical consent
  • reproductive viability

For the “right-wing politicians, religious conservatives, and some health care associations” engaged in an assault on trans rights and autonomy we have a couple of sentences about:

  • The Heritage Foundation
  • Family Policy Alliance

All the usual suspects advocating “careful therapeutic assessments” and banning informed consent before age 26 are presented as the centrist position:

For the “some activists and physicians” side, we have:

  • Diane Ehrensaft
  • Diane Chen
  • VU Gender (Mis)Treatment
  • Jack Turban
  • Aidan Key
  • Florence Ashley

2023 Atlantic article

Klotz wrote the same article for The Atlantic the following year, but with Finland and Norway added as countries with concerns. This article tries to shore up an alleged clinical distinction between young children and “adolescent-onset gender dysphoria,” a euphemism for the fake disease “rapid-onset gender dysphoria.”

New clinicians

New journalists

  • Jan Kuitenbrouwer
  • Peter Vasterman
  • Kaya Bouma
  • Ellen de Visser

New activists and politicians

  • Michiel Verkoulen
  • Sam van den Berg

Response by Marieke Kuypers

A group of journalists have been hitting the same talking points as their English-speaking counterparts. As trans journalists and researchers work to stay on top of the flood of anti-transgender propaganda being being laundered into “centrist” publications, journalist Marieke Kuypers has given a first-blush overview of the Dutch political situation. Kuypers’ Twitter thread is below. More on this soon.

  • A quick thread for any English speakers about something I’ve been afraid of ever since the publication of a Dutch article about the Dutch Approach that was heavily biased. It’s been used as more evidence of this “increasing” concern in an Atlantic piece
  • Because I’ve been looking into anti-trans targeting of The Dutch Approach, I recognize the author. Frieda Klotz’s article on the same topic from last year was published on GLP, which is a Monsanto front – the article https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/06/27/transitioning-transgender-teenagers-are-not-new-this-dutch-clinic-has-been-doing-it-for-decades/……- GLP: https://sourcewatch.org/index.php/Genetic_Literacy_Project
  • The same article by Klotz on Undark, a website tied to GLP: https://undark.org/2022/04/06/the-evolution-of-pediatric-transgender-medicine/……About the link between Undark and GLP:
  • Kuitenbrouwer and Vasterman are not qualified to judge gender care. One is a media sociologist, the other a columnist. Kuitenbrouwer is rabidly transphobic, calling the “trans-movement bloodthirsty”. They were also on a Genspect sponsored podcast
  • For some of Kuitenbrouwer’s massively transphobic work, check out these articles:
  • Vasterman shared the Undark article by the same author as the Atlantic piece, Frieda Klotz in april last year
  • Uitstekend gedocumenteerd overzichtsverhaal over de oorsprong van the Dutch approach, wereldwijd overgenomen maar nu onder vuur: “A Dutch clinic pioneered transgender medical care for kids, shaping decades of research amid criticism from all sides.” https://undark.org/2022/04/06/the-evolution-of-pediatric-transgender-medicine/
  • To make the connection even more complete, Kuitenbrouwer apparently knew about the Volkskrant article before it was published, according to this tweet in which he says there’s an article coming about the Dutch approach. Did he influence the article? https://twitter.com/kuitenbrouwer/status/1627664286280519682?s=20
  • I also spoke to someone who was interviewed for the article and retracted their story once they read the article. The told me and I have evidence that the authors spoke to anti-trans activist Michael Biggs. How much influence did he have?
  • The influence of anti-trans groups does seem obvious, they even link to one in the Volkskrant article referencing SEGM as a “group of 120 doctors”. It does not have 120 members who are doctors, but about a dozen, amongst them Michael Biggs
  • “SEGM is an ideological organization without apparent ties to mainstream scientific organizations. Its 14 core members are a small group of repeat players in anti-trans activities – a fact that the SEGM website does not disclose” Volkskrant ook niet
  • The Volkskrant also talks to dr. Kaltiala who spread the debunked social contagion (ROGD) story and was a witness in Florida, and is linked to SEGM as well https://genderanalysis.net/entity/riittakerttu-kaltiala-heino/
  • Furthermore, the detransitioner in the story matches (same process, ages of treatment, same very specific story about a back surgery and the account proudly retweeted the article) the Twitter account of someone who was invited by anti-trans group Genspect to a detrans house
  • I’m rushing the analysis I was already writing about the Volkskrant article and how it was influenced by anti-trans groups and will try to publish a translated version as soon as possible and add it to this thread once it’s finished.
  • Want to know what dr. De Vries thinks? Here are her own words in the book about the Dutch Approach by Alex Bakker:
  • This is a critical response to the article by the Dutch Transgender Network. They link to a pdf with extensive references, you can throw that in Google translate as well using the documents tab …https://www-transgendernetwerk-nl.translate.goog/belangenorganisaties-trekken-aan-de-bel-over-onzorgvuldige-journalistiek/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp
  • Oh look Kuitenbrouwer seems to admit he “crossed paths” with the Dutch journalists. (I wasn’t sacked by the way, shows how reliable this guy’s info is)
  • Ahw I think he doesn’t like me so he blocked me. Here’s a screenshot
  • So apart from Vasterman &Kuitenbrouwer being unqualified & transphobic, Frieda Klotz fails to mention that contrary to the moral panic about the increase in “girls” (trans boys) in the most recent Dutch research (2022) the ratio has actually reversed to more trans women
  • You can find this recent research (in Dutch) here. Another interesting finding in light of the moral panic: years long waiting lists are causing mental distress (mostly in the form of depressive or suicidal feelings) for 70% of the group that was surveyed https://zorgvuldigadvies.nl/wp-content/upl

Klotz’s anti-trans writings

Klotz, Frieda (April 6, 2022). The fractious evolution of pediatric transgender medicine. Undark https://undark.org/2022/04/06/the-evolution-of-pediatric-transgender-medicine/

Klotz, Frieda (June 27, 2022). Transitioning transgender teenagers are not new. This Dutch clinic has been helping them for decades. Genetic Literacy Project https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/06/27/transitioning-transgender-teenagers-are-not-new-this-dutch-clinic-has-been-doing-it-for-decades/

Klotz, Frieda (March 24, 2023). Book review: Behind the demise of the Tavistock Gender Clinic. Undark https://undark.org/2023/03/24/book-review-time-to-think/

Klotz, Frieda (April 28, 2023). A teen gender-care debate is spreading across Europe. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/04/gender-affirming-care-debate-europe-dutch-protocol/673890/

References

Transgender Netwerk Nederland (March 10, 2023). Belangenorganisaties Trekken Aan De Bel Over Onzorgvuldige Journalistiek [Interest groups are sounding the alarm about careless journalism] https://www.transgendernetwerk.nl/belangenorganisaties-trekken-aan-de-bel-over-onzorgvuldige-journalistiek/

Irish Mathematical Society Bulletin 21 (December 1988), p. 6.

Resources

Frieda Klotz (friedaklotz.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Genetic Literacy Project (geneticliteracyproject.org)

WordPress (wordpress.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

Joseph Ladapo is a Nigerian-American physician who was a key figure in banning trans youth healthcare in Florida.

Background

Joseph Abiodun Ladapo was born on December 16, 1978 in Nigeria. At age 5, Ladapo and family moved to the Uniter States.

Ladapo earned a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University in 2000, then attended Harvard, earning a medical degree and a doctorate. After working in New York City, Ladapo was appointed a tenured professor at UCLA.

During the COVID pandemic, Ladapo became known among convervatives for views on vaccines and other protocols. In 2021, Ladapo was appointed Surgeon General of Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Anti-transgender activism

Ladapo has carried out anti-trans policies promoted by DeSantis, most notably SB 254, a law prohibiting gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and restricting access to care for trans adults.

Transgender Floridians brought Doe v. Ladapo to challenge this law.

Via Zinnia Jones:

We now know that the state was covertly assisted in this effort by the leadership of the anti-trans group Genspect, Child & Parental Rights Campaign lawyer Vernadette Broyles, and Riittakerttu Kaltiala of Finland’s Tampere University youth gender clinic; Hilary Cass of NHS England’s Cass Review also privately expressed an interest in the sham report against gender-affirming care commissioned by Florida’s AHCA. Several individuals worked behind the scenes with Patrick Hunter, a leading member of the anti-trans Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine (SEGM). After being appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the Board of Medicine, Hunter arranged for extensive anti-trans testimony from SEGM associates to be submitted to the Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy. 

Jones (2023)

Ladapo has also appeared on a number of anti-trans platforms, including Tim Pool, Megyn Kelly, Glenn Beck, Epoch Times, Newsmax, Dennis Prager, Charlie Kirk, and Debra Soh.

References

Doe v. Ladapo (4:23-cv-00114) District Court, N.D. Florida https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67082532/doe-v-ladapo/

Jones, Zinnia (November 29, 2023). New trial exhibits in Doe v. Ladapo: DOH worked with Genspect leaders Stella O’Malley and Joe Burgo in July 2022; Hilary Cass met SEGM’s Patrick Hunter to discuss Florida’s anti-trans report; Jamie Reed’s attorney Vernadette Broyles chose the lineup of detransitioners speaking at the Board of Medicine. Gender Analysis https://genderanalysis.net/2023/11/new-trial-exhibits-in-doe-v-ladapo-doh-worked-with-genspect-leaders-stella-omalley-and-joe-burgo-in-july-2022-hilary-cass-met-segms-patrick-hunter-to-discuss-floridas-ant/

 Migdon, Brooke (April 20, 2022). Florida health dept. says gender-affirming care should not be provided to minors. The Hill https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/3274150-florida-health-dept-says-gender-affirming-care-should-not-be-provided-to-minors/


Riley, John (December 27, 2023). DeSantis Spread Misinformation to Limit Trans Health Care, Judge Says. MetroWeekly https://www.metroweekly.com/2023/12/desantis-spread-misinformation-to-limit-trans-health-care-judge-says/

Izaguirre, Anthony (June 3, 2022). Transgender youth treatment under fire in Florida again. AP https://apnews.com/article/health-florida-cultures-medicaid-government-and-politics-68065d8560f7cb68ea4fd8e57e848295

Caputo, Marc (June 2, 2022). DeSantis moves to ban transition care for transgender youths, Medicaid recipients. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/desantis-moves-ban-transition-care-transgender-youth-medicaid-recipien-rcna31736

Alfonseca, Kiara (March 23, 2023). Florida parents file lawsuit against state transgender youth care ban. ABC News https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-parents-file-lawsuit-state-transgender-youth-care/story?id=98086864

Kendra Blewitt is an American writer, amateur tennis player, and “autogynephilia” activist.

Background

Kendra Susan Blewitt was born in August 1945. Blewitt lives in San Francisco and lists as occupation independent writing and editing professional. Blewitt got a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from UICC in 1974.

I corresponded with Kendra in 2003. Kendra talks about time living “as Kendra” as well as her time living “as Ken.”

I am thankful to Kendra for sharing this letter about why psychologist and “autogynephilia” activist J. Michael Bailey is not offensive– Blewitt agrees with Bailey’s model that “transsexuals” may have a form of deviancy. As Kendra notes, “If you turn out deviant, say, homosexual or paraphilic, that is a fact of your existence that you must learn to live with.”

Kendra’s letter (2003)

Dear Andrea,

I am writing with regards your words about Dr. Bailey’s book, The Man Who Would Be Queen.

Let me state a couple of things about myself at the onset: (1) I am post-op. I was approved for SRS in April, 2002 by a well-known and very experienced gender therapist, Dr. Barbara Anderson; and I had the surgery done by Dr. Preecha last August. (2) I am autogynephilic. I never claimed to be a woman trapped in a man’s body to Dr. Anderson. I told her I wanted SRS because I had a condition of the sex drive, namely autogynephilia.

Because I was completely inexperienced at dressing and did not know anyone in the TG community when I showed up in San Francisco to start my year of RLE under Dr. Anderson, she had me go to TG support groups in order to meet the people of the group. For a year I went to two support groups every week > one in SF and one in Berkeley.

The people in the SF group were “indigent” types — mostly girls on SSI for mental problems, and prostitutes. The people at the Berkeley group mostly had jobs. In the course of attending these two support groups for a year I came to know pretty much the whole spectrum of types of the TG group — everything from the “gender-fucked” bearded man who liked to go out in public in a short skirt and nylon stockings (he was a very nice man, by the way), to very passable TS women who mostly lived in stealth, to queens who worked the street.

I am sure I don’t know the group as well as you, Andrea, since I’ve only been Kendra for a couple of years. But I do have some experience in this regard.

Since I’ve been in SF I have also acquired some experience with the gay group. I have an apartment at Geary and Leavenworth. My neighborhood used to be very gay until the AIDS epidemic hit, and there still are a lot of gay men in this neighborhood.

There used to be several gay bars and also a queen bar named the Black Rose in my neighborhood. Now there is only one gay bar — the Hob Nob Lounge. It has been in existence for 27 years, I have been told. It is right across the street from my apartment. I go there all the time — I am a regular there.

The men at the Hob Nob are mostly older men who have lived in SF for many years. As older men are prone to do, especially when they’ve been drinking, the men in this bar reminisce about their lives a lot. I have learned a good deal about gay men from the many hours I’ve spent in this bar.

Now then, I have not encountered anything in Dr. Bailey’s book that contradicts the experiences I’ve had with either the TG group or the gay group.

Regarding the autogynephilia theory, I fail to understand your hostility toward it. You obviously feel that it invalidates TS women or sullies their reputation. I do not understand why you feel this way.

I have said that I became sex changed because I was afflicted with the autogynephilia condition. Let me explain how I have justified this action.

I think there is much more to a sex drive than the erotic desires and pleasures it gives rise to. I think it is a powerful force that is active within you at all times, not just when you are aroused. It is like a river that flows in your consciousness. And at every moment, and in every activity, you are either swimming, as it were, along with the current of this river within you, or you are swimming against the current of this river. Either the current of the river is propelling you forward or you are expending energy opposing it, that is.

Now there is nothing you can do to change the kind of sex drive that you have. The sex drive assumes its form during the teen years, or earlier, and once it has assumed its form there is no changing it. If you turn out deviant, say, homosexual or paraphilic that is a fact of your existence that you must learn to live with.

Thus, if you are autogynephilic that is how the river that flows within you is. And you are confronted with an existential decision. You must either live your life swimming against the current of the river that your autogynephilia is, i.e., you must oppress it. Or else you must go with it — you must swim with the current behind you.

To conclude, I did not choose to undergo sexual reassignment surgery because I sought sexual gratification — I did this because I sought a better life.

Finally, it would seem that my choice has worked out well for me. My Mom and sister have twice come out to SF (from the Chicago area) to see me, and they are of the opinion that I am much happier as Kendra than I was as Ken.

I believe that my therapist, Dr. Anderson, considers my transition to be a success story.

It is true that I am happy as Kendra. I do not think I was unhappy as Ken, but I like my life as Kendra very much and I am sure I shall never regret my decision.

Sincerely,
Kendra Susan Blewitt

P.S. I am sending a copy of this letter to Dr. Bailey.

Additional materials (8 May 2003)

Dear Andrea,
I would like to add something to my Kendra-Letter. I have sent two e-mails to Dr. Bailey that I would like to add, along with some general comments.
Very often I hesitate to call myself a transsexual to other transsexuals because I know they will deny that I am a transsexual. I am not one to barge into places where I feel unwelcome, and very often I do feel unwelcome in transsexual circles. Very often I am made to feel like an intruder by transsexuals when I refer to myself as a transsexual.
The general public treats me with much more respect than the transsexual group does. I don’t get called a man in a dress very often when I am interacting with ordinary people. I get called a man in a dress routinely when I am interacting with transsexuals. That is what I am to many, if not to most of them — a man in a dress.
Up the line we autogynephilic transsexuals are going to have to form a group of our own. The present situation is intolerable for us. We are made to feel like freaks or perverts by what should be our own people more than by anyone else. We need a group that we can belong to as equal, full-fledged members. We need to belong to a group where we can feel proud to be what we are. Belonging to a group where we are “false transsexuals” is beneath our dignity and is even unhealthy for us. We need a group of our own.
I know that unity is in our general interest as transsexuals. We are being discriminated against in the workplace. This is a big problem. There are other problems that we all have in common as transsexuals.
But what do we autogynephilic transsexuals have in common with anyone? What we need more than anything else right now is a sense of identity. We need that more than we need fair play in the workplace.

First Letter to Dr. Bailey:

Dear Dr. Bailey,

I think the cause of all the hostility directed toward you and your book by so many transsexuals is that they cannot bear the truth. They have not built their houses of the sense of self on the bedrock of knowledge but on the sandy soil of mere belief, and now the earth is shaking and their houses are falling down — their sense of self is breaking apart and they are experiencing the pain of deep insecurity.

I do not think Dr. Benjamin was acting completely as a scientist when he drew a sharp distinction between a cross-dresser (“transvestic fetishist”) and a transsexual. I think the man was a friend to transsexuals. I think he sympathized with them and wanted to give them some legitimacy in the medical field as well as in the general public’s opinion. And he was smart enough to realize that this could not be done if sex in the sense of erotic desires was a part of the meaning of transsexualism. So, to get what he wanted, he drew a line between those who cross-dressed for sexual reasons and those who cross-dressed for “gender” reasons.

I believe that Benjamin’s distinction between the “transvestic fetishist” and the “true transsexual” was more polemical than scientific. It was a smart thing to do to get what he wanted, i.e., to give transsexuals some social legitimacy.

This distinction was a necessary thing, given public opinion regarding sexual matters that existed at the time — i.e., thirty, forty or fifty years ago. But it was not the product of a search for truth. It was Rhetoric as opposed to Philosophy, as Plato would put it.

It was good. It worked. Transsexuals were treated less like criminals. A giant stride forward was taken in this respect. However, whenever mere rhetoric gets institutionalized and given the title of “established fact”there are certainly going to be problems up the line.

Sooner or later this theory that was “rhetoric that worked” is going to be examined by scientists, by men whose interest is the truth.

And this will cause problems. The “myth of gender” that Benjamin gave birth to and which has been institutionalized for a long time now, and given the title of “established fact,” has become deeply integrated in the sense of self that exists in many, if not almost all transsexuals. As this myth is being exposed as myth or discredited as scientific theory the poor transsexual women of the present day are getting their egos melted down, and they are experiencing the pain of deep insecurity.

I do not see that anyone is to blame for the pain that many transsexual women are presently going through. Benjamin meant well and he was very successful in a practical way. He bettered the lots of transsexuals, to be sure. But there was a price that would have to be paid in the future that came along with his good work.

There is Science and there is the Political. Rhetoric, the art of engendering belief, is what works in the Political. The scientist hates rhetoric and will destroy it. No one is to blame for the pain we observe in transsexuals today. There is Science and there is the Political. What is happening is just a natural event of the world we live in.

Sincerely,
Kendra Blewitt

Second Letter to Dr. Bailey:

Dear Dr. Bailey,

I read your response to the article that appeared in the Stanford paper. I also clicked on “from the beginning” and read the whole thing you wrote.

It was very good.

Lynn Conway’s actions constitute censorship. How can someone who calls herself an intellectual, a scientist, etc., justify this?

These transsexuals are complaining that if your opinions become accepted by society they will be adversely affected personally. People won’t see them as women anymore but as men who have a sexual condition.

That is the truth of what they are, in my opinion. They are men living as women who are doing this, in the final analysis, because they have a sexual condition.

They want to believe that they were born with a female gender identity. This way there is a sense in which they are true women – and they are dependent upon this belief.

I don’t think there is any such thing as an innate sense of self. 

Maybe I’m wrong. Sometimes it does seem that I was a girl all along. I think this is because I have been living as a woman for two years now, and my sense of self has been affected by this experience. But maybe I was born with a female gender identity.

I am willing to be reasonable and discuss the matter. Are they? No, there is something they are dependent upon. There is something that they need to believe. They cannot afford to be reasonable.

They will try to have it made “politically incorrect” to espouse the autogynephilia theory. 

One thing they have conveniently forgotten is the effect that the institutionalization of the gender identity theory has had on autogynephilics like me. We are not true transsexuals but mere transvestic fetishists, according to this theory. Isn’t that nice? We live as women too. We don’t like being made to feel like a man in a dress any more then these “true ones” do.

The “true ones” have been doing this to us for a long time — denying that we are real transsexuals and making us feel like a man in a dress. I guess they don’t remember.

Sincerely
Kendra Blewitt

Kendra’s note to me (sent 18 May 2003)

Hi Andrea,

The photo you asked for is included as an attachment.

At first I was going to send you a “nice girl” photo. It was a photo of me with my Mom. It was taken when she and my sister came from the Chicago area to visit me in San Francisco last November.

I decided instead to send you a sexy photo. This one was taken last September, a month after I’d had SRS.

Why a sexy one? Andrea, why did you call Anne Lawrence a “brick”? Would you have said such a hurtful thing if she were not promoting the autogynephilia theory? Do you think that those of us who identify as autogynephilic are doing so out of resentment because we are physically too man-like to pass and live in stealth? I chose the photo I did because I wanted to show you that I have a good body. (It is a terrible photo of my face. I was drunk at the time. Very drunk.)

Andrea, I have a body that has sex appeal to men. Andrea, I have not gotten breast implants, as you can see. Why is that? It is because I am confident of my sex appeal. I know I can turn men on even though I’m flat. Andrea, are you that confident? Do you think your body is good enough that you could afford to be flat? Well, I am that sure of myself. I haven’t bothered with breast implants for that reason.

It is the same with my voice as it is with my flat chest. If I had to I would do something about it. But I don’t have to. My sex appeal is good enough that I can get away with talking like a man.

Now then, the most passable TS woman I know is a plain jane who is fat. She is great at passing as a woman, yet her appeal to men is nil.

There is no correspondence between passability and the ability to have men want you as a lover. Passability does not imply attractiveness, and attractiveness does not imply passability.

By what authority has it been determined that the true woman of our kind is the one who can pass? Is this written in the Book of Moses, or what?

I say the criterion of who is a true woman of our type is how good you are at getting an attractive, masculine man to want you to be his lover.

I am good at that. Therefore, I am a true woman.

Sincerely,
Kendra