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Meredith Chivers is a Canadian psychologist whose research on women’s sexuality includes harmful beliefs about transgender people.

Over the years, Chivers has distanced herself from her dissertation advisor J. Michael Bailey and some of his anti-transgender views.

Background

Meredith L. Chivers was born December 1, 1972. She was a Northwestern University graduate student of J. Michael Bailey. Bailey is a eugenicist who wrote The Man Who Would Be Queen. Many consider this one of the most transphobic books ever written.

Chivers then took a position at Toronto’s notorious anti-transgender CAMH clinic in 2002. She joined the International Academy of Sex Research and the editorial board at the journal they control, the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Chivers runs the Sex and Gender Lab at Queens University, also styled SAGe Lab and Sagelab. Before he was banned from Wikipedia, anti-transgender troll James Cantor wrote her biography. Chivers is married to sexologist Michael Seto.

Research on trans people

In 2000, Chivers and Bailey published an anti-transgender article in Archives of Sexual Behavior titled “Sexual orientation of female-to-male transsexuals: a comparison of homosexual and nonhomosexual types.”

Homosexual and nonhomosexual (relative to genetic sex) female-to-male transsexuals (FTMs) were compared on a number of theoretically or empirically derived variables. Compared to nonhomosexual FTMs, homosexual FTMs reported greater childhood gender nonconformity, preferred more feminine partners, experienced greater sexual rather than emotional jealousy, were more sexually assertive, had more sexual partners, had a greater desire for phalloplasty, and had more interest in visual sexual stimuli. Homosexual and nonhomosexual FTMs did not differ in their overall desire for masculinizing body modifications, adult gender identity, or importance of partner social status, attractiveness, or youth. These findings indicate that FTMs are not a homogeneous group and vary in ways that may be useful in understanding the relation between sexual orientation and gender identity.

In 2004, Chivers, Bailey, Gerulf Rieger, and Elizabeth Latty published “A Sex Difference in the Specificity of Sexual Arousal” as evidence that trans women have “male” sexual arousal patterns.

We assessed genital and subjective sexual arousal to male and female sexual stimuli in women, men, and postoperative male-to-female transsexuals. […] Transsexuals showed a category-specific pattern, demonstrating that category specificity can be detected in the neovagina using a photoplethysmographic measure of female genital sexual arousal.

In 2005, Chivers, Bailey, and Anne Lawrence published “Measurement of sexual arousal in postoperative male-to-female transsexuals using vaginal photoplethysmography.” The cloncluded that trans women have “male-typical” sexual responses.

We used vaginal photoplethysmography to examine patterns of sexual arousal in 11 male-to-female (MtF) transsexuals following sex reassignment surgery (SRS) and in 72 natal women. […] All transsexual participants displayed category-specific sexual arousal. Five homosexual transsexual participants (attracted exclusively to males before sex reassignment) showed greater genital and subjective responses to male than to female stimuli, while six nonhomosexual transsexual participants showed the opposite pattern. […] We conclude that male-to-female transsexuals display male-typical category-specific sexual arousal following SRS.

International Academy of Sex Research

Chivers joined the International Academy of Sex Research (IASR) and was present at their 2003 conference when her dissertation advisor Bailey was criticize by Kinsey Institute Director John Bancroft. 

Chivers was named President of IASR in 2023. She opened an investigation into the publication of J. Michael Bailey’s questionable 2023 paper on “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD).

  • 1/Dear IASR members, In the interest of transparency, we want to communicate to the Membership about recent concerns regarding a publication in our official journal, the Archives of Sexual Behavior. On March 29th, the journal published an article authored by …
  • 2/…Suzanna Diaz & J. Michael Bailey entitled, “Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria: Parent Reports on 1655 Possible Cases.” Since its publication, significant concerns about the ethical conduct and integrity of the editorial process have been raised about this study, by both…
  • 3/…members and nonmembers of the Academy, including Editorial Board members. The IASR recognizes the sensitivity and controversy of the study topic, and we deeply value ethical and scientific integrity.  (…)
  • 4/ While the Archives of Sexual Behavior has editorial independence and IASR is not involved in determining what is published in the journal, Archives is our flagship journal. The IASR Executive is currently learning more about this matter, consulting with both …
  • 5/…the Archives of Sexual Behavior’s Editor and our publisher Springer Nature, and will update the membership appropriately. Kind regards, The IASR Executive Committee

Selected references

See Chivers’ notes and references page for complete list.

Chivers ML, Bailey JM (2000). Sexual orientation of female-to-male transsexuals: A comparison of homosexual and non-homosexual types Archives of Sexual Behavior 29 (3): 259–278. doi:10.1023/A:1001915530479

Chivers ML, Rieger G, Latty E, Bailey JM (2004). A sex difference in the specificity of sexual arousal. Psychol Sci. 2004 Nov;15(11):736-44. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00750.x

Lawrence AA, Latty, EM, Chivers, ML, Bailey JM (2005). Measurement of Sexual Arousal in Postoperative Male-to-Female Transsexuals Using Vaginal Photoplethysmography. Archives of Sexual Behavior 34, 135–145 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-005-1792-z

Smith YLS, Van Goozen S, Kupier AJ, Cohen-Kettenis PT (2005). Transsexual subtypes: Clinical and theoretical significance. Psychiatry Research 137 (3): 151–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2005.01.008

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Queen’s University (queensu.ca)

X/Twitter (x.com)

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, RodrĂ­guez-RoldĂĄn 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, AdriĂĄn TM, Allen LR, Azul D, Bagga H, BaƟar K, Bathory DS, Belinky JJ, Berg DR, Berli JU, Bluebond-Langner RO, Bouman MB, Bowers ML, Brassard PJ, Byrne J, CapitĂĄn 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.

Nathaniel Sharon is an American psychiatrist practicing in New Mexico. Sharon claims the ex-trans movement’s concept of “desistance” is “not a myth.”

Background

Nathaniel Grant “Nate” Sharon was born August 13, 1976. After being constantly bullied in school, Sharon was reportedly kicked out of the house after coming out as transgender. Sharon and family later reconciled.

Sharon earned a medical degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in 2009. Sharon completed a Psychiatry Residency at University of California, San Francisco in 2013. During that time, Sharon was affiliated with practices in Napa and San Jose, California.

Sharon then completed a Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University of New Mexico. Sharon has been licensed in California and New Mexico and has been a member of WPATH.

Media coverage

After being quoted in the 2018 Atlantic article “When a Child Say’s She’s Trans” by Jesse Singal, Sharon has been cited in gender critical and conservative outlets including Gender Health Query, The American Conservative, and Breitbart.

Below are some selected passages from the Atlantic that quote Sharon:

“Some kids don’t waver” in their gender identity, Nate Sharon, a psychiatrist who oversaw a gender clinic in New Mexico for two and a half years, and who is himself trans, told me when we spoke in 2016. “I’m seeing an 11 year old who at age 2 went up to his mom and said, “When am I going to start growing my penis? Where’s my penis? At 2.”

[…]

“You’ve got the onset of puberty right around the age where they develop the concept of abstract thinking,” said Nate Sharon, the New Mexico psychiatrist. “So they may start to conceptualize gender concepts in a much richer, broader manner than previously—and then maybe puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones aren’t for them.”

[…]

Within a subset of trans advocacy, however, desistance isn’t viewed as a phenomenon we’ve yet to fully understand and quantify but rather as a myth to be dispelled. Those who raise the subject of desistance are often believed to have nefarious motives—the liberal outlet ThinkProgress, for example, referred to desistance research as “the pernicious junk science stalking trans kids,” and a subgenre of articles and blog posts attempts to debunk “the desistance myth.” But the evidence that desistance occurs is overwhelming. The American Psychological Association, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Endocrine Society, and WPATH all recognize that desistance occurs. I didn’t speak with a single clinician who believes otherwise. “I’ve seen it clinically happen,” Nate Sharon said. “It’s not a myth.”

[…]

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.

In these cases, the child might be capably navigating a liminal period of gender exploration; it’s the parents who are having trouble not knowing whether their kid is a boy or a girl. As Sharon put it: “Everything’s going great, but Mom’s like, ‘My transgender kid is going to commit suicide as soon as he starts puberty, and we need to start the hormones now.’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, your kid’s just fine right now. And we want to leave it open to him, for him to decide that.’ Don’t put that in stone for this kid, you know?”

References

Munro, Neil (October 30, 2019). Left embraces ‘science denialism’ to bolster transgender claims, says science writer. Breitbart. https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/10/30/left-embraces-science-denialism-bolster-transgender-claims-says-science-editor/

Anonymous [~July 2019] 14) Problems with a politicized climate of harassment & censorship. Gender Health Query. https://www.genderhq.org/trans-activism-identity-politics-harassment-censorship

Peterson, Matt and Kitchener, Caroline (June 22, 2018). What Do the Parents of Trans Kids Have to Say? Parents of trans children respond to Jesse Singal. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/membership/archive/2018/06/what-do-the-parents-of-trans-kids-have-to-say/563507/

Dreher, Rod (June 20, 2018). What Trans Hysterics Reveal. The American Conservative. https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/what-trans-hysterics-reveal/

Cruz, Megan (July 16, 2015). Doctor calls birth certificate law discriminatory. KOAT https://www.koat.com/article/doctor-calls-birth-certificate-law-discriminatory/5065377

Chu, Louise (July 30, 2012). SF General Hospital Joins ‘It Gets Better’ Campaign Supporting LGBT Youth https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/07/12447/sf-general-hospital-joins-it-gets-better-campaign-supporting-lgbt-youth

Publications

Sharon N (2020). 33.1 Ethical considerations in working with transgender youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Clinical Perspectives 33 Vol 59, Issue 10, S50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.07.214

Sharon N (2019). 57.3 Medical Decision-Making for Transgender Youth: Ethical Challenges and Frontiers. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Clinical Perspectives Vol 58, Issue 10, S81-S82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.07.473

Bass M, Gonzalez LJ, Colip L, Sharon N, Conklin J (2018). Rethinking gender: The nonbinary approach. American Journal of Health-system Pharmacy. 2018 Nov 15 https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp180236

Hopkinson RA, Sharon N (2018). Gender Dysphoria and Multiple Co-occurring Psychiatric Issues: Compare and Contrast. In book: Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth (pp.189-207) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78307-9_13

Cohen JA, Mannarino A, Sharon N (2017). 1.0 Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Interpersonal Violence: Practical Strategies for Child Psychiatrists. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 56(10):S128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.07.497

Newsome C, Colip L, Sharon N, Conklin J (2017). Incorporating a pharmacist into an interprofessional team providing transgender care under a medical home model. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 74(3):135-139 https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp160322

Sharon N, Cullen C, Martinez K (2016). A Complex Presentation of Pediatric Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Related to Polypharmacy in a 12-Year-Old Male J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2016 Aug 1; 26(6): 571–573. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2014.0125

Sharon N (2016). Psychiatry’s Role in Supporting Healthy Development in Gender Diverse Children. Psychiatric Annals, Vol. 46, No. 6
https://doi.org/10.3928/00485713-20160418-02

Sharon N (September 22, 2015). Gender nonconforming and transgender youth: Understanding the basics when caring for your gender diverse children. University of New Mexico. https://hscmediasite.unm.edu/mediasite/Play/d0d76ce741e342eb819a2981d842b4d71d?catalog=251f90e48ed14118a3863d4b53dab16321

Sharon N (2014). Gender Nonconforming and Dysphoric Youth in Rural Settings: Clinical Perspectives on Current Disparities With Unique Solutions. Conference: 61st Meeting of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Media

Wilgus, Courtney (May 14, 2021). Interview with pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Nate Sharon. Presbyterian Healthcare Services https://www.facebook.com/preshealth/videos/interview-with-pediatric-psychiatrist-dr-nate-sharon/885223688999794/

Muir, Owen Scott (January 27, 2023). Self-Disclosure: Living as Your Authentic Self is Lifesaving Gift.
The Frontier Psychiatrists https://thefrontierpsychiatrists.substack.com/p/self-disclosure-living-as-your-authentic

Resources

Twitter (twitter.com)

Traditions Behavioral Health (tbhcare.com)

San Jose Behavioral Health (sanjosebh.com)

Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico (tgrcnm.org)

University of New Mexico Health (unmhealth.org)

VIVO (vivo.health.unm.edu)

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

Magdalen Berns was a British anti-transgender activist.

Background

Berns was born May 8, 1983 in London to parents who were involved in communist activism. They split up soon after Berns was born.

Berns attended Hampstead School in Camden, London. After working as a sound engineer and computer programmer as a young adult, Berns returned to college, making early forays into anti-drag and anti-trans activism. Berns earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Edinburgh in 2016.

Berns died from brain cancer on September 13, 2019 at age 36 in Edinburgh.

Anti-transgender activism

Berns was a sex segregationist and a trans-exclusionary lesbian. Berns was opposed to the idea that a lesbian can date a trans woman who had not had bottom surgery, saying “There is no such thing as a lesbian with a penis.” Berns also opposed gender self-identification and worked to change Scotland’s laws around it. Berns also opposed value neutral terms like sex assigned at birth:

“You don’t get ‘assigned’ reproductive organs … males are defined by their biological sex organs. Likewise, homosexuals are people who are attracted to the same biological sex.”

Berns compared trans women to “blackface actors.” Berns often said, “Trans women are men” and described trans activism as a “men’s rights movement.”

Berns attacked a number of trans inclusive organizations, including LGBT charity Stonewall.

Berns co-founded the non-profit organization For Women Scotland in 2018. Their goal was to advocate for sex-based rights, maintaining the remaining sex-segregated institutions like bathrooms, sports, children’s organizations, and prisons.

In 2019, British author and anti-trans activist J.K. Rowling helped raise Berns’ profile. After Berns died, Rowling revealed that they had spoken directly. Rowling called Berns “an immensely brave young feminist and lesbian” and “a great believer in the importance of biological sex [who] didn’t believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises.”

Media

Caelan Conrad and Amanda Hootman (30 July 2024). Magdalen Berns: Your Favorite TERF’s Favorite TERF. Respect The Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bc9jkJU96Q

Kathleen Stock and Julie Bindel (2 February 2024). Episode 12 FREE: being a young gender-critical feminist. The Lesbian Project Podcast https://www.thelesbianprojectpod.com/p/episode-12-free-being-a-young-gender

“E” and “M” (1 March 2021). Ep12: A Magdalen Berns Night Supper- Transphobia in Scotland. Blood and Terf Podcast

Graham Linehan (13 September 2020). Remembering Magdalen with Elizabeth Berns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrrsxbwyvdU

Nicole Jones, Kathleen Stock, Julie Bindel (10 September 2020). Gender Ideology. The State Media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zkc4P0rpI4

(25 September 2020). 9. Well, what a week – Dedicated to Magdalen Berns The Speak Up For Women Podcast

Julia Long (21 September 2016) Thinking Differently – 09 Magdalen Berns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWSjAFYiF9U

References

Carr, Stewart (21 January 2023). The lesbian who launched 1,000 feminists: Story of same sex rights campaigner whose work inspired JK Rowling’s activism. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11568569/Tragic-story-feminist-campaigner-work-inspired-JK-Rowlings-activism.html

McGowan, Michael (14 April 2022). NSW Liberal candidate likens anti-trans activism to opposing the Holocaust. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/14/nsw-liberal-candidate-likens-anti-trans-activism-to-opposing-the-holocaust

Bindel, Julie (2021). Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation. Hachette UK. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4721-3260-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=py6cDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT177

Mos-Shogbamimu, Shola (2021). This is Why I Resist: Don’t Define My Black Identity. Headline Publishing Group. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-1-4722-8079-4.

Joaquina (2 January 2021). Transphobia and Antisemitism. The Social Review https://www.thesocialreview.co.uk/2021/01/02/transphobia-and-antisemitism/

Andrews, Penny (20 November 2020). Choose your fighter: Loyalty and fandom in the free speech culture wars. Manchester University Press. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-5261-5255-8 â€“

Hyland, Jennifer (6 September 2020). Women’s rights campaigners ‘living in fear of trans attack’ after vile abuse directed at group. Daily Record https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/womens-rights-campaigners-living-fear-22635235

Staff report (3 July 2020). Permanently suspended: How Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has become the ‘most hated man’ on the internet. Irish Independent. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/permanently-suspended-how-father-ted-co-creator-graham-linehan-has-become-the-most-hated-man-on-the-internet-39336272.html

Fordy, Tom (29 June 2020). How did Graham Linehan, the creator of Father Ted, become the most hated man on the internet? The Daily Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/did-father-ted-creator-graham-linehan-become-hated-man-internet/

Rowling, J.K. (10 June 2020). J.K. Rowling writes about her reasons for speaking out on sex and gender issues. JKRowling.com https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/

Jack, Malvern (11 June 2020). JK Rowling details ‘scars of abuse’ in heartfelt riposte to activists. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jk-rowling-details-scars-of-abuse-in-heartfelt-riposte-to-activists-lcrp96q6j

Yasharoff, Hannah (10 June 2020). J.K. Rowling reveals she’s a sexual assault survivor; Emma Watson reacts to trans comments. USA Today. [archive] https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/06/07/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-author-slammed-transphobic-comments/3169833001/

Licea, Melkorka (10 June 2020). J.K. Rowling defends controversial trans comments in lengthy essay. New York Post https://nypost.com/2020/06/10/j-k-rowling-defends-her-controversial-trans-comments-in-lengthy-essay/amp/

Ahsan, Sadaf (19 December 2019). J.K. Rowling sparks major backlash by supporting a researcher fired for transphobic tweets. The Guardian (Charlottetown). P.E.I. Canada. [archived] https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/lifestyles/entertainment/jk-rowling-sparks-major-backlash-by-supporting-a-researcher-fired-for-transphobic-tweets-390185/

Robertson, Julia Diana (13 October 2019). Mourning the loss of lesbian feminist leader Magdalen Berns. The Velvet Chronicle https://thevelvetchronicle.com/mourning-loss-of-lesbian-feminist-magdalen-berns/

McCarty, Meghan (13 September 2019). What’s Current: Lesbian feminist shero Magdalen Berns passes away at 36. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/09/13/whats-current-lesbian-feminist-shero-magdalen-berns-passes-away-at-36/

Linehan, Graham (13 September 2019). Magdalen Berns 1983–2019. Women Are Important. https://glinner.co.uk/stunning-and-brave-magdalen-berns-1983-2019/

Kearns, Madeleine (4 September 2019). Magdalen Berns, a ‘shero’ among women. National Review. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/magdalen-berns-a-shero-among-women/

Flaherty, Colleen (3 September 2019). College supports trans scholar under fire. Inside Higher Ed https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/03/college-supports-trans-scholar-under-fire

Davidson, Gina (1 September 2019). Mixed sex loos in Scottish schools break regulations, warn campaigners. The Scotsman. [archive] https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/mixed-sex-loos-in-scottish-schools-break-regulations-warn-campaigners-1-4995254

Staff report (1 September 2019). Transgender professor defends celebrating deaths of those deemed ‘transphobic’. The College Fix. [archive] https://www.thecollegefix.com/transgender-professor-defends-celebrating-the-death-of-those-deemed-transphobic/

Schiferl, Jenna (29 August 2019). The tweet heard ’round the world: Charleston professor sparks global Twitter debate. The Post and Courier https://www.postandcourier.com/news/the-tweet-heard-round-the-world-charleston-professor-sparks-global/article_4a462cda-c9c7-11e9-8134-d32dc721835d.html

Rhodes, Mandy (26 August 2019). The Scottish Government’s clumsy attempts to reform the Gender Recognition Act have inadvertently opened a hornet’s nest. Holyrood https://www.holyrood.com/editors-column/view,the-scottish-governments-clumsy-attempts-to-reform-the-gender-recognition-a_10717.htm

Smith-Engelhardt, Joe (28 June 2019). J.K. Rowling faces backlash for allegedly displaying transphobic behaviour. Alternative Press https://www.altpress.com/news/j-k-rowling-transphobic-behavior/

Maurice, Emma (25 June 2019). JK Rowling under fire for following a ‘proud transphobe’ on Twitter. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/25/jk-rowling-under-fire-following-transphobe-twitter/

Aberle, Connor (15 November 2018). YouTube loves to hate me. The Wesleyan Argus. http://wesleyanargus.com/2018/11/15/youtube-loves-to-hate-me/

Mitchell, Hilary (5 October 2018). “Hateful” anti-trans stickers have been spotted in toilets and in public spaces around Edinburgh. Edinburgh Live [archive] https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/hateful-anti-trans-stickers-been-15242299

Berns, Magdalen; et al. (15 April 2018). Allowing boys to be Guides is wrong. The Times. [archive] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/allowing-boys-to-be-guides-is-wrong-v0dngnvjp

Murphy, Meghan (27 September 2016). ‘We need to be braver’ — women challenge ‘gender identity’ and the silencing of feminist discourse. Feminist Current. https://www.feministcurrent.com/2016/09/27/need-braver-feminists-challenge-silencing/

Singleton, Mary Lou (25 July 2016). Thinking Differently conference. Women’s Liberation Front http://womensliberationfront.org/thinking-differently-conference/

Blunden, Mark (15 July 2016). ‘Medical threat’ to transgender children on puberty-blocking drugs. Evening Standard. [archive] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/medical-threat-to-transgender-children-on-pubertyblocking-drugs-a3296471.html

Berns, Magdalen (9 January 2016). Let them call me whorephobic. Butterflies and Wheels. [archive] http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2016/guest-post-let-them-call-me-whorephobic/

Benson, Ophelia (12 October 2015). How to know what is “whorephobic”. Butterflies and Wheels. [archive] http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2015/how-to-know-what-is-whorephobic/

Resources

For Women Scotland (forwomen.scot)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

YouTube (youtube.com)

X/Twitter] (x.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Patreon (patreon.com)

  • patreon.com/Magdalen [removed]

Paypal (paypal.com)

Minds (minds.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Patrick K. Hunter is an American pediatrician and anti-transgender activist.

Hunter is affiliated with anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine (SEGM).

Background

Patrick Kyran Hunter was born in May 1966. Hunter served in the US Army. Hunter earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami University, a master’s degree from the University of Mary, and a medical degree from University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Hunter has served as a general pediatrician with Pensacola Pediatrics and a Clinical Professor at Florida State University’s College of Medicine.

Anti-transgender activism

2022 HHS meeting

On April 25, 2022 Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine arranged a meeting with US government officials on healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth. Hunter was listed as an attendee.

AAP Resolution 27 (2022)

In 2022, Hunter was a signatory on American Academy of Pediatrics Resolution 27, that year’s attempt to protest consensus on care for gender diverse youth. Hunter and four other pediatricians drafted Resolution 27 critical of AAP’s consensus on best practices for gender diverse youth. The authors are:

  • Julia W. Mason (Gresham, Oregon)
  • Sarah B. Palmer (Carmel, Indiana)
  • Paula Brinkley (Berkeley, California – Stanford Children’s)
  • Debra Hendrickson (Reno, Nevada – Northern Nevada Pediatrics)
  • Patrick K. Hunter (Milton, Florida – Pensacola Pediatrics)

In 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Hunter, Amy Derick, David Diamond, and Nicole Justice to the Florida Board of Medicine.

Hunter’s anti-trans writings have appeared on the Our Duty website, among others.

References

Staff report (June 17, 2022). Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Four to the Board of Medicine. https://www.flgov.com/2022/06/17/governor-ron-desantis-appoints-four-to-the-board-of-medicine/

Hunter PK (2022). Political Issues Surrounding Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Mar 1;176(3):322-323. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5348

Jones, Zinnia (Jul 21, 2022). IDENTIFIED: The 5 redacted-signature pediatricians who signed the Genspect-promoted Resolution #27 to the American Academy of Pediatrics Julia W. Mason (SEGM) Sarah B. Palmer Paula Brinkley (Stanford Children’s Health) Debra Hendrickson Patrick Hunter (Florida Board of Medicine) https://x.com/ZJemptv/status/1550042000246067201

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) (April 25, 2022). EO 12866 Meeting 0945-AA17. Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities https://mobile.reginfo.gov/public/do/viewEO12866Meeting?viewRule=true&rin=0945-AA17&meetingId=131923&acronym=0945-HHS/OCR

Media

Our Duty (November 10, 2022). Patrick K Hunter on treatments for gender dysphoria in minors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS5GNP9ocHo

Resources

NPI DB (npidb.org)

  • Patrick K. Hunter NPI #1952384810
  • https://npidb.org/doctors/allopathic_osteopathic_physicians/pediatrics_208000000x/1952384810.aspx

Julia W. Mason is an American pediatrician active in the anti-transgender “gender critical” movement. Mason is affiliated with anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine

If you are the parent or guardian of a gender diverse young person, do not take your family member to Mason for care. If you are a minor being forced to see Mason by unsupportive adults, do what you can to end treatment with Mason and seek out supportive local resources instead.

Background

Julia Robin Winter was born on March 19, 1966. Mason married Eliot C. Mason (born 1967).

Mason attended University of Illinois, earning a master’s degree and a medical degree in 1994. Mason did residency training in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles from 1994 to 1997. Mason is licensed in Oregon, California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Mason is a board-certified pediatrician, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and currently practices at Calcagno Pediatrics in Gresham, Oregon.

Anti-transgender activism

Mason is involved with anti-trans organization Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM). According to Mason, most gender diverse youth seen at Mason’s practice have “neurodevelopmental challenges or psychiatric comorbidities.”

AAP Resolution 33 (2021)

Introduced at the AAP Annual Leadership Forum 2021, this resolution “registered concern about the low quality of evidence underpinning treatment of minors with hormones and surgeries.”

AAP booth cancellation (2021)

SEGM tried to register a booth at the AAP conference in 2021, but it was rejected. Mason wrote the letter protesting the decision.

AAP Resolution 27 (2022)

Mason and four other pediatricians drafted Resolution 27 critical of AAP’s consensus on best practices for gender diverse youth. The authors are:

  • Julia W. Mason (Gresham, Oregon)
  • Sarah B. Palmer (Carmel, Indiana)
  • Paula Brinkley (Berkeley, California – Stanford Children’s)
  • Debra Hendrickson (Reno, Nevada – Northern Nevada Pediatrics)
  • Patrick K. Hunter (Milton, Florida – Pensacola Pediatrics)

AAP Resolution 37 (2023)

Mason again attempted to draft a resolution in 2023, which Mason claims is sponsored by 23 FAAP coauthors.

Wall Street Journal opinion and AAP response

Mason joined fellow anti-trans activist Leor Sapir in attacking mainstream pediatric organization American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for supporting gender affirming care for youth. In response, AAP President Moira Szilagyi stated:

Gender-affirming care can be lifesaving. It doesn’t push medical treatments or surgery; for the vast majority of children, it recommends the opposite.

This isn’t the story that is being told by anti-transgender activists. No European country has categorically banned gender-affirming care when medically appropriate. Contrary to what Dr. Mason and Mr. Sapir claim, the U.K. isn’t moving away from gender-affirming care. It is moving toward a more regional, multidisciplinary approach, similar to what is practiced in the U.S.

Mason frequently appears with other conservative and anti-trans activists, including:

References

Szilagyi, Moira (Aug. 21, 2022 ). Academy of Pediatrics Responds on Trans Treatment for Kids. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/trans-gender-pediatric-aap-kids-children-care-surgery-affirm-treatment-11660942086

D’Ambrosio, Amanda (August 23, 2022). AAP Stands by Policy on Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth — Small group of pediatricians who called for evidence review charge they’re being sidelined. Medpage Today https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/100352

O’Malley, Stella (August 23, 2022). At the American Academy of Pediatrics, ‘Affirmation’-Based Gender Dogma Is Finally Being Challenged. Quillette https://quillette.com/2022/08/23/challenge-to-affirmation-based-gender-dogma-at-american-academy-pediatrics/

Reinl, James (August 11, 2022). Leaked files expose how U.S. pediatricians accuse their own professional body of pushing a ‘harmful’ drugs-first approach on trans teens — and of deliberately BLOCKING moves to change the rules. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11099561/Leaked-internal-files-pediatricians-angry-professional-bodys-transgender-policy.html

“Buttons, Christina” (July 9, 2023). The American Academy of Pediatrics sidelines formal proposal to revise Pediatric Medical Transition policy for the 4th consecutive year. buttonslives https://www.buttonslives.news/p/the-american-academy-of-pediatrics

Publications by Mason

Mason, JW (October 7, 2019). A physician is worried about gender transition in pediatrics. KevinMD https://www.kevinmd.com/2019/10/a-physician-is-worried-about-gender-transition-in-pediatrics.html

Pine, Elyse D.; Mason. Julia W. (April 28, 2021). Ban Hormones for Transgender Kids? Point-Counterpoint. Medscape https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/950019

Mason, JW (August 3, 2021). [Letter to AAP protesting cancellation of SEGM booth]. SEGM https://segm.org/sites/default/files/AAP%20NCE%202021.pdf

Mason JW + 4 anonymous authors (March 31, 2022). Resolution 27 (2022): In Support of a Rigorous Systematic Review of Evidence and Policy 3 Update for Management of Pediatric Gender Dysphoria. https://transgender.agency/files/r27.pdf

Mason, Julia; Sapir, Leor (August 17, 2022). Opinion: The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Dubious Transgender Science. Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-american-academy-of-pediatrics-dubious-transgender-science-jack-turban-research-social-contagion-gender-dysphoria-puberty-blockers-uk-11660732791

Abbruzzese E, Levine SB, Mason JW (2023). The Myth of “Reliable Research” in Pediatric Gender Medicine: A critical evaluation of the Dutch Studies-and research that has followed. J Sex Marital Ther. 2023 Jan 2:1-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2022.2150346

Levine SB, Abbruzzese E, Mason JW (2023). What Are We Doing to These Children? Response to Drescher, Clayton, and Balon Commentaries on Levine et al., 2022. J Sex Marital Ther. 2023;49(1):115-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2022.2136117

Levine SB, Abbruzzese E, Mason JW (2022). Reconsidering Informed Consent for Trans-Identified Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. J Sex Marital Ther. 2022;48(7):706-727. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2022.2046221

Malone WJ, Hruz PW, Mason JW, Beck S (2021). Letter to the Editor from William J. Malone et al: “Proper Care of Transgender and Gender-diverse Persons in the Setting of Proposed Discrimination: A Policy Perspective.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Volume 106, Issue 8, August 2021, Pages e3287–e3288 https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgab205

Media

Dumont, Joey (December 19, 2022). “Should we medicalize children?” with Dr. Julia Mason. True Thirty https://truethirty.substack.com/p/should-we-medicalize-children-with#details

Boyce, Benjamin (October 3, 2022). Saving Child Medicine from Gender Ideology with Julia Mason. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iAd6tSzSYE

Kelly, Megyn (Aug 4, 2022). The Truth About Puberty Blockers for Young Children, with Dr. Julia Mason and Dr. Erica Anderson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUjqO-u7X6c

Resources

Calcagno Pediatrics (calcagnopediatrics.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Note: this profile originally misstated Mason’s birthday.

.

Sarah Mittermaier aka “Eliza Mondegreen” and “elizaoltramare” is an American-Canadian anti-transgender activist. Mittermaier is affiliated with numerous anti-trans organizations and figures:

Mittermaier has a Substack titled gender:hacked and has appeared on numerous media platforms hosted by anti-trans activists, including Benjamin Boyce, Leslie Elliott Boyce, Meghan Daum, Wesley Yang, Louise Perry, Women’s Declaration International, and The Center for Bioethics Culture & Network.

Background

Sarah Beth Mittermaier was born in May 1987 to Paul Mittermaier, an Episcopal minister, and Beth (Wagel) Mittermaier, an artist. Both parents are from Ohio, but Sarah Mittemaier grew up in Wisconsin.

Mittermaier attended University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2009. Mittermaier was a copy editor at the Daily Cardinal and a contributor to the Badger Herald. Mittermaier worked at several organizations, including the Prevention Institute, before returning to school at McGill University in Montreal.

Mittermaier was a member of WPATH while residing in Washington, DC.

Anti-transgender activism

In 2021 Mittermaier and Kitty Robinson founded the “LGB erasure” conspiracy website Unspeakable for “finding a language for female experiences in the LGBTQ+ community.” It allowed people to post anonymous rants, mostly from anti-trans people who identify as lesbian.

Mittermaier earned a master’s degree from McGill University in 2024. Mittermaier’s thesis was on “detransition” in the context of reddit communities, especially r/detrans. Mittermaier’s advisors were Samuel VeissiĂšre and Cecile Rousseau. Mittermaier includes a disclosure about being involved with SEGM:

During my time as an M.Sc. student, I worked with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine to help organize three conferences for researchers and clinicians working in the area of youth gender dysphoria. The first conference took place at Tampere University in Finland in June 2023, drawing researchers and clinicians from 17 countries with the objective of facilitating dialogue across the divide between affirming and exploratory approaches to youth gender distress. The second conference took place in New York City in October 2023. The third—Questioning Gender: Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Youth Gender Dysphoria—will be hosted by the Medical School of Athens in October 2024.

Mittermaier’s profile for the 2024 SEGM conference states:

Researcher and writer exploring the online communities where young people adopt new attitudes and beliefs about gender and set expectations and intentions for transition. Her MSc. thesis, Questions and doubts in online trans communities, will be available this autumn through McGill University. She writes gender:hacked on Substack.

The group blog and podcast Informed Dissent was created in December 2024 and includes contributors Ben Appel, Cori Cohn, Lisa Selin Davis, “Eliza Mondegreen,” and Jamie Reed.

References

Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (October 2024). Questioning Gender: Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Youth Gender Dysphoria. https://trans.so/files/SEGM24_AgendaPrint_9-16-24.pdf

Mittermaier, Sarah (October 26, 2018). PI’s Weekly Media Digest: New report on reproductive coercion in abusive relationships, and how Trump admin has reframed media coverage of immigrants and asylum-seekers. Prevention Institute https://www.preventioninstitute.org/blog/pis-weekly-media-digest-new-report-reproductive-coercion-abusive-relationships-and-how-trump

Selected anti-trans writing by Mittermaier

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (November 22, 2024). Democrats refuse to change course on trans The party’s unpopular position is losing voters. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/democrats-refuse-to-change-course-on-trans/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (October 23, 2024). Why are gender clinicians withholding research? UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/why-are-gender-clinicians-withholding-research/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (August 14, 2024). NYT columnist refuses to accept Cass Review findings Lydia Polgreen insists on the importance of youth gender transitions. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/nyt-columnist-refuses-to-accept-cass-review-findings/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (August 5, 2024). Boxing chief questions eligibility of Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting at Olympics Chris Roberts criticised the IOC for not acting on the information he provided. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/boxing-chief-questions-eligibility-of-imane-khelif-and-lin-yu-ting-at-olympics/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (July 9, 2024). The Guardian is ignoring the risks of testosterone on trans people The paper is more concerned about its implications for menopausal women. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/why-is-the-guardian-ignoring-the-risks-of-testosterone-on-trans-people/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (June 12, 2024). Gender dysphoria cases soar after pandemic A new study warns about a rising social contagion. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/gender-dysphoria-cases-soar-after-pandemic/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (May 28, 2024). The hidden long-term risks of youth gender transition New research raises concerns about testosterone use among trans patients. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/the-hidden-long-term-risks-of-youth-gender-transition/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (May 23, 2024). Youth gender transition bans split red and blue states South Carolina is the latest state to restrict the practice. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/youth-gender-transition-bans-split-red-and-blue-states/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (April 30, 2024).The grim truth about egg-freezing A new report details just how risky the practice is. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/the-grim-truth-about-egg-freezing-is-coming-out/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (April 17, 2024). ‘Polycule’ relationships are a bureaucratic nightmare When 20 people are in the one relationship, someone’s bound to be a loser. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/polycule-relationships-are-a-bureaucratic-nightmare/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (April 2, 2024). Women’s group blames patriarchy for trans sport exclusion: The National Organization for Women has embraced intersectionality. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/national-organization-for-women-blames-patriarchy-for-trans-exclusion-in-sport/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (March 27, 2024). Judith Butler faces difficult questions on book tour Even in liberal California, public opinion is turning on the theorist. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/judith-butler-faces-difficult-questions-on-book-tour/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (March 13, 2024). Andrea Long Chu’s gender advice is a danger to children The writer’s rationale for trans surgery is ill-informed. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/andrea-long-chus-gender-advice-is-a-danger-to-children/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (March 7, 2024). WPATH files fallout is just the beginning The public finally has a window into what goes on behind closed doors. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/the-wpath-files-fallout-is-just-the-beginning/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (February 26, 2024). ‘Instagram moms’ are facilitating paedophiles — report A New York Times article lays bare the disturbing rise of girl influencers. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/investigation-instagram-moms-are-facilitating-paedophiles/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (February 8, 2024). Major trans survey avoids mention of detransitioners A new report provides a skewed view of gender surgeries. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/major-trans-survey-avoids-mention-of-detransitioners/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (February 2, 2024). New York Times gets braver with gender coverage The paper is no longer shying away from difficult questions around transitioning. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/new-york-times-gets-braver-with-gender-coverage/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (January 25, 2024). Was Jon Stewart always this insufferable? The presenter’s late-night return is no cause for excitement. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/why-isnt-jon-stewart-funny-anymore/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (January 18, 2024). Trans activists have a new target: the Middle Ages A new paper explores the rich history of ‘transmisogyny’ during the Byzantine era. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/trans-activists-have-a-new-target-the-middle-ages/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (January 10, 2024). Activists are deceiving the public on gender reassignment surgery A misinformation war over trans issues is taking place in Ohio. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/activists-are-deceiving-the-public-on-gender-reassignment-surgery/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (January 3, 2024). 2024 could be the year America’s trans bubble bursts The public’s position on gender identity is hardening. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/2024-could-be-the-year-americas-trans-bubble-bursts/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (December 28, 2023). WHO quietly announces controversial gender guidance The organisation used the Christmas period to slip out the news. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/who-quietly-publishes-controversial-gender-guidance/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (December 17, 2023). Civil rights group condemns feminists as white supremacists The ‘Captain Report’ is an exercise in misinformation about the trans movement. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/southern-poverty-law-center-condemns-feminists-as-white-supremacists/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (December 14, 2023). The secret life of gender clinicians. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/12/the-secret-life-of-gender-clinicians/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (December 12, 2023). PEN America’s new president is no free speech champion: Jennifer Finney Boylan disowned a letter signed by J.K. Rowling. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/pen-americas-new-president-is-no-free-speech-champion/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (December 3, 2023). New York Times publishes bizarre case for youth gender transition: The paper’s latest op-ed is littered with half-truths and misdirections. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/new-york-times-publishes-bizarre-case-for-youth-gender-transition/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (November 28, 2023). Puberty blocker use on the rise in the UK: The NHS’s clampdown on the controversial treatment is failing. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/puberty-blocker-use-on-the-rise-in-the-uk/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (November 23, 2023). The American Academy of Pediatrics is doubling down: Evidence of medical harm among minors is still being ignored. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-american-academy-of-pediatrics-is-doubling-down/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (November 13, 2023). Netflix’s ‘Escaping Twin Flames’ is wrong about trans: A new show ignores the community’s own cultish streak. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/netflixs-escaping-twin-flames-is-wrong-about-trans/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (November 9, 2023). Disciplinary ordeal continues for nurse who backed J.K. Rowling: Canadian Amy Hamm is being investigated for her gender-critical beliefs. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/legal-ordeal-continues-for-nurse-who-backed-j-k-rowling/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (October 31, 2023). America’s trans surgeons could learn from European whistleblowers: A pioneer of ‘gender-affirming care’ has spoken out against the practice. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/americas-trans-surgeons-could-learn-from-european-whistleblowers/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (October 23, 2023). Detransitioner files lawsuit against ‘gender-affirming’ clinicians: Layton Ulery’s case has shone a light on highly experimental practices. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/detransitioner-files-lawsuit-against-gender-affirming-clinicians/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (October 16, 2023). New play features ‘interview’ with JK Rowling over her trans views: One playwright has resorted to putting words in the author’s mouth. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/trans-activist-to-interview-jk-rowling-in-new-play/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (October 4, 2023). US states hit the brakes on ‘gender-affirming care’: Nebraska is the latest to follow the Scandivanian model on trans treatment UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/us-states-hit-the-brakes-on-gender-affirming-care/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (September 25, 2023). Gavin Newsom is changing his tune on trans issues: Is the California Governor laying the groundwork for a presidential run?. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/gavin-newsom-is-changing-his-tune-on-trans-issues/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (September 21, 2023). In Canada, the gender wars are now a national issue: Thousands of Canadians protested against trans ideology this week. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/in-canada-the-gender-wars-are-now-a-national-issue/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (September 12, 2023). The pullback from youth gender transition has begun: States are pressuring hospitals to stop prescribing puberty blockers. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-pushback-against-youth-gender-transition-has-begun/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (September 11, 2023). Trans Journalists Association rolls out ‘refreshed’ style guide: Reporters are now advised against referring to biological sex. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/trans-journalists-association-rolls-out-refreshed-style-guide/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (September 2, 2023). In defence of RĂłisĂ­n Murphy: The singer does not deserve to lose her career over gender-critical views. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/in-defence-of-roisin-murphy/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (August 28, 2023). The dark truth about gender surgeries: Medical complications are being reframed as opportunities. UnHerd /https://unherd.com/thepost/the-dark-truth-about-gender-surgeries/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (August 4, 2023). Medical groups are memory-holing their trans guidance: The American Academy of Pediatrics wants to review youth gender treatments. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/medical-groups-are-memory-holing-their-trans-guidance/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (July 11, 2023). Gender surgeon promotes bizarre range of ‘nonbinary surgeries’: Blair Peters’s field has strayed from the core tenets of medical care UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/gender-surgeon-promotes-bizarre-range-of-nonbinary-surgeries/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (June 29, 2023). GLAAD pushes Big Tech to censor trans ‘disinformation’: The organisation called for a clampdown on discussing gender-affirming care UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/glaad-pushes-big-tech-to-censor-trans-disinformation/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (June 12, 2023). Publisher doubles down on retracted gender paper: Springer Nature has once again bowed to trans activist pressure. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/publisher-doubles-down-on-retracted-gender-paper/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (June 1, 2023). Glamour magazine celebrates Pride with a pregnant man: Logan Brown shows that miracles do happen. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/glamour-magazine-celebrates-pride-with-a-pregnant-man/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (May 26, 2023). The New York Times is caving to trans activist pressure: The paper’s latest piece on gender issues is dangerously misguided. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-new-york-times-is-caving-to-trans-activist-pressure/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (May 18, 2023). What the New York Times gets wrong about detransitioning: The newspaper is painting a one-sided picture. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/what-the-new-york-times-doesnt-understand-about-destransitioning/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (March 29, 2023). The violent rhetoric of trans activists has to stop: The shooting in Nashville is a wake-up call. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-violent-rhetoric-of-trans-activists-has-to-stop/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (August 26, 2022). The American Academy of Pediatrics is denying reality: Frustrated doctors are beginning to go public. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-american-academy-of-pediatrics-is-denying-reality/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (July 5, 2022). The dangers of gender-affirmative care. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/07/the-dangers-of-gender-affirmative-care/

“Mondegreen, Eliza” (June 14, 2022). Why should lesbians have sex with men? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/06/why-should-lesbians-have-sex-with-men/

Mittermaier, Sarah (10 Jun 2021). Written Comment: Title IX Public Hearing (don’t equate sex with gender identity) https://ocrcas.ed.gov/sites/default/files/storage/correspondence/202106-titleix-publichearing-comments/smittermaier.pdf

Somji, Alisha’ Mittermaier, Sarah (December 7, 2017). How we all together can build a future free from sexual harassment. San Francisco Chronicle https://web.archive.org/web/20171208115210/https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/How-we-all-together-can-build-a-future-from-12414346.php

Mittermaier, Sarah; Fields-Johnson, Dana (March 15, 2019). Civil suits will transform the way we understand the problem of opioids. The Hill https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/434095-civil-suits-will-transform-the-way-we-understand-the-problem-of-opioids/

Selected academic writing

Mittermaier, Sarah (August 2024). Questions and doubts in online trans communities. [master’s thesis] McGill University https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/m326m754q?locale=en

Rousseau C, Johnson-Lafleur J, Ngov C, Miconi D, Mittermaier S, Bonnel A, Savard C, VeissiĂšre S. (2023). Social and individual grievances and attraction to extremist ideologies in individuals with autism: Insights from a clinical sample. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (Vol. 105, p. 102171) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102171

Sims J, Baird R, Aboelata MJ, Mittermaier S (2022). Cultivating a Healthier Policy Landscape: The Building Healthy Communities Initiative. Health Promotion Practice (Vol. 24, Issue 2, pp. 300–309). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221114341

Rousseau C et al. (May 2022). Living together in socially polarized contexts: vulnerability and resilience in the university community. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/668953bc9928de19ab00ca30/t/668c485eae44874a0f854c51/1720469603062/Final_RapportUniversite_EN_v0.01.pdf

Media

Ben Appel, Cori Cohn, Lisa Selin Davis, “Eliza Mondegreen,” Jamie Reed (Apr 05, 2025). Episode 18: “Be Kind and Rewind.” Informed Dissent https://informeddissentpodcast.substack.com/p/episode-18-be-kind-and-rewind

Genspect (Feb 26, 2025). Gender as a Body-Modification Youth Sub(cult)ure – Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqrdj4sVpd4

Benjamin Boyce (Nov 5, 2024). “The Right to Regret” and other Gender Insanity with Jamie Reed & Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3FnZAJ26z0

Benjamin Boyce (Jul 9, 2024). Lies, Darn Lies, and Journalism with Eliza Mondegreen & Lisa Selin Davis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH8NGP24dhc

Benjamin Boyce (Mar 9, 2024). California Foster Care’s Gender Meat Grinder with Laura Haynes & Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejIERSUPl3E

Transparency (Feb 4, 2024). 78: The New York Times “Opinion” Piece & USPATH’s “Medical” Conference – with Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz2xO8Ctc4w

Sandra RamĂ­rez (Feb 1, 2024). Eliza Mondegreen, USA/Canada, The secret life of gender clinicians #FQT #WDI. Women’s Declaration International https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrbxNvEc-bY

Sasha White (Jan 29, 2024). Why Young Women and Girls Struggle with Identity Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_djzA-x78M

Chloe Pacey and Keshia Tognazzini (Jan 22, 2024). Exploring Affirmative Care: Navigating Online Trans Communities with Eliza Mondegreen. The Road To Wisdom Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APK-0Cw3DV0

Benjamin Boyce (Dec 14, 2023). Coming of Age in the Internet Era with Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YutbI1e63rs

Benjamin Boyce (Oct 25, 2023). Fixing/Spaying “Gender Medicine” with Eliza Mondegreen & Jamie Reed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8hzatAUjAo

Meghan Daum (Oct 24, 2023). Down The Rabbit Hole: Gender and Online Communities with Eliozan Mondegreen and Sarah Haider. A Special Place in Hell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJew30KNxqk

Genspect (Oct 24, 2023). The Bigger Picture Conference: Shame, Resistance and Ethical Challenges – Q&A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv9jbEOE8Y4

Genspect (Oct 14, 2023). The Bigger Picture Conference: Preliminary Findings from Online Trans/Detrans Communities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42N1U0NP3Zo

Louise Perry (Oct 8, 2023). When girls think they’re boys – Eliza Mondegreen Maiden Mother Matriarch 34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SoRYl_e1tQ

Benjamin Boyce (Sep 23, 2023). Weirdos of the World, Unite with Eliza Mondegreen & Jessie Mannisto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ8mQSMsBgE

Benjamin Boyce (Jul 21, 2023). The Gauntlet of Modern Girlhood with Eliza Mondegreen & Lisa Marchiano. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUZubRe4bFM

Leslie Elliott Boyce (Jul 12, 2023). Eliza Mondegreen: Gender as an Idiom of Distress. The Radical Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YICE24MknGg

Wesley Yang (Jun 21, 2023). In the Belly of the Gender Beast [Eliza Mondegreen, Lisa Selin Davis, Corinna Cohn]. Year Zero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBChnNon0Ec

Benjamin Boyce (Jun 13, 2023). So Over The Rainbow with Alasdair Gunn & Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCpKJ9DXavk

Benjamin Boyce (May 27, 2023). Fatal Flaws in “Gender Affirming” Care with Eliza Mondegreen & Aaron Terrell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f2-a7fY9Zc

Gender: A Wider Lens (May 26, 2023). EP 115: How Online Communities Shape, Thought, Desire, & Doubt about Transition, w/ Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tAvRWq7wOA

Benjamin Boyce (Mar 28, 2023). The Dangerous Radicalization of Gender Rhetoric with Stella O’Malley & Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63-bfpx2yy0

Genspect (Mar 26, 2024). Webinar Four: Writers’ Roundtable- Eliza Mondegreen and Jonathan Kay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiJWHUu65Ac

Transparency (Feb 19, 2023). EP57 – The Eunuch Makers – With Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB069ziTUNc

Sarah Phillimore (Feb 14, 2023). Eliza Mondegreen on WPATH conference, research on gender affirming care and more. [Rona Duwe, Eliza Mondegreen, Shannon Thrace] Women’s Declaration International https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6NFf8e3Is8

Benjamin Boyce (Jan 28, 2023). Smells Like Social Contagion with Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGEezaAPp20

Benjamin Boyce (Nov 30, 2022). Medical Fads & Fanatics with Eliza Mondegreen & Mia Ashton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b2DxfTeSjw

The Center for Bioethics Culture & Network (Nov 30, 2022). A conversation with Eliza Mondegreen & Jennifer Lahl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Xs5FCRAJI

Benjamin Boyce (Nov 4, 2022). Gender Medicine Has Gone INSANE An Inside Investigation, with Eliza Mondegreen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk0-s9LEAxM

Julia Long (Jul 4, 2022). Language and the Values that Underlie Our Movement [Kara Dansky, Eliza Mondegreen, Jesika Gonzalez, and Amanda Stulman]. Women’s Declaration International https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6oKt-wLo5g

Resources

Unspeakable (unspeakablelgbtq.weebly.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

UnHerd (unherd.com)

World Professional Association for Transgender Health (wpath.org)

  • Sarah MIttermaier, BA, Washington, DC

Quora (quora.com)

Flickr (flickr.com)

Isthmus (https://isthmus.com/api/search.html?q=mittermaier)

Reddit (reddit.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Anne Lawrence is a disgraced American anesthesiologist and the most prominent “autogynephilia” activist in history. Lawrence is author of the 2013 book Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism.

Many people (including me) have come forward with observations and first-hand reports where Lawrence performed inappropriately sexual “medical” exams. Following a 1997 resignation for examining an unconscious patient for signs of ritualized genital modification, the bulk of Lawrence’s personal and professional life has been dedicated to promoting the “autogynephilia” diagnosis. Lawrence has since worked closely with Ray Blanchard, the Toronto psychologist who invented this disease in 1989.

Background

Anne Alexandra Lawrence was born on November 17, 1950. Lawrence earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Chicago in 1971, then a medical degree from University of Minnesota in 1974, with a specialty in anesthesia. Lawrence began taking hormones in medical school but stopped at some point. Lawrence took an anesthesiologist position at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

In 1987 Lawrence married speech therapist Marian Sheehan (born 1950), and they had two children, David (born 1988) and Katherine (born 1990). Lawrence began making a gender transition again in 1992, ending the marriage in 1995 and transitioning at work soon after.

In July 1996, Lawrence created Transsexual Women’s Resources, one of the most important early online resources for trans medical information, later housed at annelawrence.com. Much of it was first-hand reports, such as Lawrence’s 1996 essay about vaginoplasty with Toby Meltzer titled “Taking Portlandia’s Hand.” It also had the largest collection of vaginoplasty information and results from around the world, captioned with Lawrence’s personal opinions about the results. Many of the images of results were taken by Lawrence, often at community gatherings or at Lawrence’s home. Lawrence has since removed most of the material and excluded it from archival sites.

“Autogynephilia” activism

Lawrence discovered the disease “autogynephilia” in 1994 after reading Blanchard’s journal articles published between 1989 and 1993. Lawrence then began proselytizing for “autogynephilic transsexual” as an identity at gender conventions, finding few community supporters.

Via Ekins and King (2001):

It soon emerged from her papers, that Lawrence, after periods of personal confusion, ‘found herself’ with reference to Blanchard’s concept, in much the same way that so many transgendered people speak of ‘finding themselves’ when first becoming acquainted and adopting the medical terms ‘transvestite’ or ‘transsexual’.

Via Ekins and King (2012):

Lawrence says that on reading Blanchard’s journal articles that she experienced the ‘kind of epiphany that trans people often feel when first coming across words and formulations that fit and work for them’ (Lawrence 1999a). Not only do they feel empowered to make sense of their predicament, but the formulations are proof to them that they are not alone.

In 1996, Lawrence began promoting the disease online, which brought Lawrence to the attention of other “autogynephilia” activists promoting it. They began to shower Lawrence with attention and validation.

1997 hospital resignation

In 1997, Lawrence was administering anesthesia to an Ethiopian patient during a surgical procedure. When the gynecologist left the room, Lawrence moved from the anesthesia position to between the patient’s raised legs and examined the unconscious patient for signs of ritualized genital modification, despite being told several times by the surgeon that the patient had not had it. Co-worker reports triggered a state investigation, and Lawrence resigned prior to the full investigation.

The incident was not widely publicized until trans activist Roberta Angela Dee published a 2002 exposé that included excerpts from the case file from the State of Washington.

I later obtained the complete adverse action report from the state.

Reinvention as sexologist

Following these failures in marriage and in anesthesiology, Lawrence began focusing more on online resources. As Lawrence became more and more focused on “autogynephilia” activism, the trans community opinion began to turn as well.

Lawrence and I both ran prominent websites on gender transition, and we began discussing collaboration on a book, to the point that we met in person at Lawrence’s home in 1999. Lawrence’s website at the time contained photographic examples of vaginoplasty results, and I agreed to let Lawrence photograph my results provided they were not connected to my name. At the end of the photography session, Lawrence came on to me while I was still getting dressed, which I considered inappropriate. In a 2003 exposĂ©, Dallas Denny published a similar account of Lawrence doing the same thing to journalist Donna Cartwright.

Eventually, Lawrence’s primary source of attention and validation was from “experts” who promoted disease models of gender identity and expression. Soon Lawrence was invited to speak at their conventions and publish in journals supportive of disease models.

Lawrence returned to school to study sexology at the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, an unaccredited school in San Francisco. That school gave Lawrence a doctorate in 2001 shortly before closing permanently. Lawrence later studied clinical psychology at Argosy University, Seattle, which gave Lawrence a master’s degree in 2006. That school has also ceased operations.

In 2008, prominent “autogynephilia” activist Paul Vasey brought Lawrence on as an adjunct professor in the psychology department at the University of Lethbridge.

Lawrence on Bailey (2003)

Lawrence has also worked closely with another Blanchard supporter, psychologist J. Michael Bailey of Northwestern University. Bailey had self-published a 2000 article online called “Transsexualism: Women trapped in men’s bodies or men who would be women?” That work was incorporated into Bailey’s 2003 book The Man Who Would Be Queen. Lawrence is quoted on the cover, calling it “a wonderful book on an important subject,” despite the fact that nearly everyone else who read it found it to be one of the most defamatory and inaccurate books on gender diversity since 1979.

When readers started posting negative Amazon reviews, Bailey enlisted friends and colleagues to write shill reviews. Lawrence published the anonymous review below:

Outstanding scholarship, April 18, 2003
Reviewer: A reader from USA

Michael Bailey’s new book offers an entertaining, informative, and provocative discussion of gender variance in biologic males. The author is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Northwestern University, and is one of the world’s foremost authorities on gender and sexual orientation. Fortunately for readers, he is a superb writer as well as a gifted scholar.

The author’s detailed discussion of femininity and masculinity in gay men is outstanding, and his treatment of male-to-female transsexuality is remarkable for its insight and compassion. Bailey is not afraid to be politically incorrect, and some of his conclusions are bound to upset the handful of transsexuals who still cling to the “I was a woman trapped in a man’s body” fantasy. But many more transsexuals will be grateful for the author’s willingness to go beyond the stereotypes and clichĂ©s and reveal the complicated truths about their lives.

If you want comfortable homilies, read Mildred Brown or Randi Ettner. If you want the truth, read Bailey.

Below may be the most succinct expression of Lawrence’s position. It is a rigid medical model of “sex” combined with Lawrence’s fluid foray into identity politics by claiming to be “transsexual” that is the issue here (emphasis mine).

I should explain that I will be using the term “transsexual” in its most literal sense, to mean one who desires to approximate as closely as possible the anatomic characteristics of the opposite sex. Note that the word “gender” does not appear in my definition. This reflects my belief that transsexuality is fundamentally about changing one’s anatomy, or sex; and that sometimes it may have little to do with gender identity, or with gender role.

My message today is that some biologic males who pursue sex reassignment do so, not primarily because they have a gender problem, but because they have a sex problem, and indeed a sexual problem. I will explain why I have come to believe that male-to-female transsexualism is sometimes the expression of a paraphilia — an unusual or variant pattern of sexual arousal.

http://www.annelawrence. com/1999hbigda1.html

References

Ekins R, King D (2001). Transgendering, Migrating and Love of Oneself as a Woman: A Contribution to a Sociology of Autogynephilia. International Journal of Transgenderism 5;3, http://www.symposion.com/ijt/ijtvo05no03_01.htm [archive]

Zagria (17 March 2009). Anne Lawrence (1950 – ) anesthesiologist, gender therapist, activist. A Gender Variance Who’s Who. https://zagria.blogspot.com/2009/03/anne-lawrence-1950-anesthesiologist.html

State of Washington (1997). Anne Lawrence investigation (PDF)

State of Washington (1997). Anne Lawrence medical license record (PDF)

[Denny, Dallas] (2004). Concerns about Dr. Anne Lawrence. Transgender Tapestry; Spring 2004, Issue 105, p. 13.

See also

Anne Lawrence: 1997 state investigation

Anne Lawrence: Transgender Tapestry exposé

Anne Lawrence incident with Donna Cartwright

Anne Lawrence: publications

Archival commentary from this site

  • Anne Lawrence: The Anne Who Would Be Queen
  • Wannabes?
  • Anne Lawrence and Fundamentalism
  • Pink triangulation

Resources

Anne Lawrence (annelawrence.com)

  • members.aol.com/tssource [archive]
  • mindspring.com/~alawrence [archive]

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Twitter (twitter.com)

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

Steve Sailer is an American far-right activist, white nationalist, and anti-transgender extremist. Sailer created the Human Biodiversity Institute, an organization dedicated to eugenic ideology.

Background

Ernest Steven “Steve” Sailer was born on December 20, 1958 and was adopted soon after by Ernest Rudolph Sailer (1917–2012) . Sailer grew up in Los Angeles and earned a bachelor’s degree from Rice University in 1980, followed by an MBA at UCLA in 1982.

From 1982 to 2000, Sailer worked at Chicago-based SymphonyIRI Group (now IRI).

Sailer and spouse Carole Rita (Guse) Sailer (born 1959) have two children, Matthew Leonard Sailer (born 1985) and Peter Ernest Sailer (born 1992).

Connection to J. Michael Bailey

When psychologist J. Michael Bailey published anti-trans book The Man Who Would Be Queen in 2003. Steve Sailer’s “Roster of Human Biodiversity Discussion Group” linked many of Bailey’s reviewers back to before Bailey had published what became the book online in 2000.

Sailer’s iSteve site also has top page links to many members’ sites, and to others who share his ideology:

Sailer on Bailey

Michael Bailey: A psychologist at Northwestern, Bailey is a leading researcher into homosexuality, and one of the handful of realists on this subject where moralizing (whether of the religious or politically correct variety — “Gays: Sinners Against God or Victims of Society?”) is standard.

Here’s Sailer’s shill review for Amazon

Wonderfully readable book on gay males and transsexuals, August 16, 2003 

Reviewer: Steve Sailer (see more about me) from Studio City, CA

United States Please note that this book has been the subject of an organized smear campaign among transsexuals, which accounts for most of unhinged reviews you’ll see below.

Professor Bailey is the chairman of the psychology department at Northwestern and probably the leading researcher into homosexuality in America.

The first two thirds of the book are about male homosexuals, who, as you’ll note, aren’t complaining. It briskly reviews most of the scientific evidence on male homosexuality, which shows that most of the stereotypes about gay men tend to be more or less true on average. I’ve studied this issue for years, and everything I’ve ever seen points to the validity of Bailey’s conclusions about male homosexuals.

Bailey has outraged transexuals by publishing in the last third of the book in highly readable form the evidence that has been mounting for a number of years in scientific journals that the standardized explanation of transsexualism — “I always felt like a girl on the inside, even when I was a linebacker, then a Navy SEAL, then the most feared corporate raider on Wall Street” — is not very persuasive. Bailey suggests that male to female transsexuals tend to fall into one of two categories — extremely effeminate homosexuals or masculine men who have an odd fetish called autogynephilia, which is a kind of heterosexual narcissism.

Is this true? Beats me. My main exposure to transsexualism is the wonderful travel writer James/Jan Morris’ memoir “Conundrum,” which repeats the “I always felt like a girl” party line. It struck me at the time that Morris’ descriptions of how he was a military officer, an adventurer, and fathered five children while feeling like a girl on the inside sure sounded bogus, but I hadn’t heard at the time the alternative explanation of autogynephilia. Anyway, it would be easy to see why nobody would want to be associated with autogynephilia.

In sum, a fascinating and informative book that a well-organized pressure group doesn’t want you to read. What better reason to read it?

Sailer says this about Ray Blanchard:

Of course, the article ignores the truth about male to female transsexuals, as discovered by leading Canadian sexologist Ray Blanchard. All that stuff about, “Even when I was captain of the football team, I always felt like a girl on the inside,” is in most cases a cover story. In reality, most cases fall into two categories. The first are extremely effeminate homosexuals who want to attract a Real (i.e., straight) Man, and figure their only chance is to become a quasi-Real Woman. The second are what Blanchard calls “autogynephiles.” These are, in effect, narcissists who become overwhelmingly attracted, quasi-heterosexually, to the idea of themselves as a beautiful woman. They classically start out dressing up in their mother’s lingerie and, uh, amorously admiring themselves in front of the mirror. That’s kind of embarrassing to explain, so they settled on this “I feel like a girl on the inside” party line. But don’t expect to read that in the NYT.

www.isteve.com/Web%20Exclusives%20Archive-Aug2002.htm
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20020823-120858-6977r

Interview: Are stereotypes of homosexuals true? by Steve Sailer — To paraphrase Mark Twain, everybody talks about sexual orientation, but Michael Bailey is one of the few scientists who rigorously researches it. The Northwestern University psychology professor is among the most respected figures in the field of objectively investigating homosexuality.

Sailer was quoted on the Joseph Henry Press site.

“Gay germ” theory

Gay gene or gay germ? (17 August 2003) http://www.vdare.com/sailer/gay_gene.htm

Pinker’s Progress logrolling for Steven Pinker

http://www.vdare.com/sailer/pinker_progress.htm

Steve was a fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute.

Since it was his shot at the big time, his presentation to Margaret Thatcher and some Hudson Institute people probably best sums up his worldview (see a synopsis below).

Sailer writes for UPI, the formerly objective press consortium now bankrolled by conservative Sun Myung Moon.

Ray Blanchard was one of the very first people to sign on with Steve’s Biodiversity group, no doubt because of Sailer’s prominent role in assisting Canada’s positive eugenics programs through psychology (following the groundbreaking eugenics work of psychologist Charles Kirk Clarke, as in Canada’s anti-trans Clarke Institute). The British/Canada connection is an interesting one.

The Catholic church (via Paul McHugh?) has been churning out a lot of position papers on this matter lately, though Sailer holds views antithetical to most Catholic doctrine. He suggests that the quaint notion that we are all equal in a spiritual sense or the US Constitution’s quaint claim that “all men are created equal” need to be done away with as we enter the “Age of Galton,” which he sees as the next big paradigm shift.

Francis Galton coined the term “eugenics,” was a sort of protopsychologist, and a criminologist who invented the concept of fingerprinting. Steve’s Human Biodiversity group seeks to gather the far-flung diaspora of thinkers and fields influenced by Galton’s undeniably brilliant but ideologically volatile contributions.

Sailer seems to see himself as an evangelist of Galton’s, though he has put a decidedly unusual ideological spin to eugenics. He has fused Marx and Darwin into an ideology in which he seems to advocate a sort of genetic division of labor, taking most examples from sports. He envisions a society of genetic classes each assigned to do what they do best, sort of an antithesis of Marx’s classless society. He also notes that traditional eugenics programs (i.e. genocide and sterilization) are in place in China, and that we are poised to lose the eugenics “arms race” if we don’t implement our own eugenics programs pronto.

He sees those advocating Galtonian principles of eugenics as suffering a sort of religious persecution, getting kicked out of universities and generally reviled. Sailer’s isn’t your Fuhrer’s eugenics, this is a kinder, gentler eugenics!

Presentation to Margaret Thatcher

Sailer presented to Margaret Thatcher at a Hudson Institute event.

http://www.isteve.com/thatcher-speech-web_files/frame.htm

“To Lady Thatcher and three dozen other distinguished guests at the Hudson Institutes’ Thatcher Weekend conference on “Will the 21st Century Be the American Century?” Today, I’ll discuss the long run impact of the biotechnology revolution.”

[Sailer starts of with an example of positive eugenics, in which a family screened embryos to avoid having a second child with cystic fibrosis.]

“Should we ban every genetic manipulation? Or just the ones that would be socially deleterious? But, how would we know which ones are which? Or should we let the free market rip? Or should we subsidize enhancements for the poor and, uh, genetically-challenged?”

[Sailer claims we’ve moved from Marx’s obsession with “accidents of birth” (i.e. Class into which you were born) to Darwin’s “accidents of conception.”]

“In the West, outspoken Darwinian scientists like Edward O. Wilson, Arthur Jensen, J.P. Rushton, and Chris Brand have been the victims of assault, threat, riot, firing, censorship, character assassination, and constant harassment. […] What, by the way, is “human biodiversity?” It’s primarily biological differences in sex, race, and — to some debatable extent — sexual orientation. Just as studying the biodiversity of animals is interesting, aesthetically pleasing, and important to society, so is studying the fascinating biodiversity of humans. I take seriously the multiculturalist slogan “Celebrate Diversity.” Unfortunately, multiculturalists don’t. In practice, the diversicrats try to cover up human biodiversity. […] Consider the French-inspired post-modernist rebellion against science, knowledge, nature, and objective reality. […] The new prestige of evolutionary biology encouraged egalitarians to discard that corny creed of spiritual equality – and to adopt the shiny new scientific hypotheses that humans are physically and mentally uniform. And that, paradoxically, put progressive egalitarians on a collision course with Darwinian science. […] The human race is strengthened by its diversity, as long as we are allowed to specialize in what we do best and trade with people with different strong suits. That’s Ricardian economics 101.”

[An economic model of international trade introduced by David Ricardo to explain the pattern and the gains from trade in terms of comparative advantage. It assumes “perfect competition” (i.e. No affirmative action or economic handicapping for poor countries) and a single factor of production: labor, with constant requirements of labor per unit of output that differ across countries.]

“Similarly, one easy way for America to improve its human resources through immigration reform. Like Canada, we should just admit those likely to most benefit and least burden our current citizenry. Instead, who gets in depends primarily on family reunification, a euphemism for nepotism. […] Eugenics has a terrible reputation, much of it deserved. Until recently, eugenics in action mostly consisted of governments murdering people they didn’t like, as in Nazi Germany, or sterilizing them, as in Socialist Sweden. […] In contrast, today’s eugenics consists of couples freely choosing to improve their own children.”

[Sailer fails to mention Asians screening for female fetuses and aborting them, etc.]

“Will voluntary eugenics bring about utopia, or a Brave New Nightmare? It all depends on what impact these changes in gene frequencies have on society. Fortunately, we have a huge storehouse of data available to base predictions upon: namely, the vast amounts of existing genetic diversity. Unfortunately, we now discourage and even persecute scholars who try to study it.”

[Sailer advocates breeding a subset for intelligence because “In 1997 some high-IQ cancer researchers saved me from a painful death.”]

“Canada discriminates more in favor of intelligent immigrants than the United States. Which country has benefited more?”

[Sailer then goes on a Galtonian reverie about sex difference, where men are “natural” leaders, and women are “nurturing.”]

“But IQ is just one aspect. Consider how free market Galtonism may widen the gap between the sexes. People who want to choose their child’s sex will likely want to choose their genes so that they get boyish boys and girlish girls. They’ll crank up their sons’ testosterone levels to get athletic, square-jawed, hard-charging, natural leaders of men. But what will be the impact on society if the new generation of men are manlier on average? We might get some insights from studying the African-American community, since, as shown by their sports domination, they tend toward greater masculinity. […] Conversely, those parents who choose daughters, will tend to prefer higher estrogen levels to produce lovely, nurturing young ladies who will give them grandchildren and take care of them in their old age. […] When this is understood, it will increase demands for banning genetic technologies. Already, professional activists for the disabled worry that embryo selection will put them out of business by creating healthier people. […] Likewise, feminist organizations will go through the roof once they figure out that reproductive liberty would mean even more little girls who’d much prefer to play house than softball. […] However, just as eugenics was favored in the past by leftist busybodies like Beatrice and Sidney Webb, progressive pressure groups may well someday give up on banning eugenics and flip back to demanding mandatory re-engineering of human nature. Pacificists and multiculturalists will want to chop out our penchant for violence and ethnocentrism. Feminists will demand that the government redesign men to better appreciate women like themselves. Environmentalists will want to delete our desire for the internal combustion engine. “Why can’t people just stay in one place, like a tree?” If socialism failed because it conflicts with human nature, why not change human nature to make Marxism possible?”

(slide 51 is a full screen of Hilary Clinton clones, clearly the greatest threat humanity faces)

“Whether eugenics is officially banned or socialized, people will still try to make their own choices about their own kids. And that’s why God created the Cayman Islands. But these black market babies will out-compete their government-controlled rivals so badly, that governments will have to strike back. […] Unencumbered by post-Christian ethics, the Chinese government recently passed a pre-1945-style eugenics law calling for the sterilization of ‘morons.’ If China uses genetic enhancements while the West either bans them or pursues a politically correct re-engineering of human nature, the inevitable result within a few generations would be Chinese economic, and thus military, global hegemony. The weapons scientist and evolutionary theorist Gregory Cochran points out that ‘We cannot opt out of this biological arms race any more than we could opt out of the nuclear arms race.’”

Bailey on Sailer (2018)

At a 2028 coference held by anti-trans group FIRE, J. Michael Bailey wrote:

I was, for example, investigated by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which accused me of being part of an intellectual cabal that “tries to turn back the clock on sex, gender and race using eugenics and controversial genetic theories” (Dreger, 2008). The investigation was another prompted by the transwomen trying to ruin my life. The evidence for these particular charges was my participation in a Listserv begun by journalist Steve Sailer to discuss aspects of “biodiversity,” including sex, gender, and race. Many fine, heterodox, minds were on that Listserv, and I am proud to have been among them. The idea that the SPLC should attempt to discourage membership on private email lists because it disapproves of topics discussed on them is representative of what the SPLC has become.

References

Sailer, Steve (May 30, 1994). Why Lesbians Aren’t Gay. National Review http://www.isteve.com/lesvsgay.htm archive

Sailer, Steve (Jun 02, 2024). How to buy my anthology “Noticing.” https://www.stevesailer.net/p/how-to-buy-my-anthology-noticing

Wilson, Jason (September 28, 2024). Florida university to host extremist after DeSantis-led lurch to right. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/28/new-college-of-florida-hosting-extremist-writer-steve-sailer

Starr, Paul (March 31, 2020). How the Right Went Far-Right. The media once quarantined neofascists. Not anymore. The American Prospect https://prospect.org/culture/books/how-the-right-went-far-right/

Burley, Shane (Winter 2020). The Autumn of the Alt Right. Commune https://communemag.com/the-autumn-of-the-alt-right/

Marantz, Andrew (2020). Antisocial: How Online Extremists Broke America. Picador, ISBN 978-1509882489

Books

Sailer, Steve (2024). Noticing: An Essential Reader (1973-2023). Passage Publishing, ISBN 978-1959403029

Sailer, Steve (2009). America’s Half-Blood Prince Barack Obama’s “Story of Race and Inheritance.” VDARE Foundation, ISBN 978-0578000374

Media

Ticker Carlson (Jun 25, 2024). Steve Sailer: BLM, Karens, Donald Trump, and What Democrats Don’t Want You to Know about DEI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6wjy53o3r8

Resources

RationalWiki (rationalwiki.org)

iSteve.com [archive]

  • http://www.isteve.com/lesvsgay.htm
  • [archive]

Taki’s Magazine (takimag.com)

Rogues Gallery (rogues.wiki)

Unz Reader (unz.com)

Substack (substack.com)

VDARE (vdare.com) [archive]

  • Steve Sailer
  • vdare.com/users/steve-sailer [archive]
  • VDARE was debanked in 2024, disbanded in 2024 following cyberattacks and investigations by New York State

X/Twitter (x.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Steve Sailer Sucks (xSteve.com) [archive]

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

Hannah Barnes is a British author and anti-transgender activist.

Barnes was an invited speaker at a 2023 anti-trans conference organized by the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine.

Background

Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Oxford in 2005 and a degree from City, University of London in 2006.

After roles at DeHavilland and GCap Media, Barnes joined the BBC in 2014.

Anti-trans activism

Barnes is a key figure in FUD propaganda around healthcare for gender diverse youth, with a special focus on medications for unwanted puberty.

Time to Think

Barnes authored the 2023 book Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children. The Tavistock was typical of bureaucratic centralized federally funded clinics that have emerged under nationalized healthcare systems. These clinics often deliver substandard care due to unacceptable wait times. Countries like Canada and the UK have closed these kinds of clinics in favor of decentralized options.

The acknowledgements list many key figures in global anti-trans activism:

This book would never have been written without the endless support of my husband, Pat, who has kept our family on track while allowing me to research, conduct interviews, write and rewrite. Enormous thanks are also due to my parents and step-parents for their love, and for their help with looking after their amazing grandchildren. To all those who shared their experience of GIDS as service users or as their family members, thank you for telling your stories. Ellie, Jack, Phoebe, Hannah, ‘Jacob’, ‘Michelle’, ‘Diana’, ‘Harriet’ – thank you for trusting with me with such personal accounts, and, in some cases, highly sensitive information.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of the GIDS clinicians who have given me their time, shared their thoughts – whatever they may be – and who met or spoke with me, even if they did not feel comfortable being interviewed. To Anna Hutchinson, who patiently shared her experiences over many hours, to Matt Bristow, Will Crouch, Kirsty Entwistle, Sue Evans, Az Hakeem, Melissa Midgen, Natasha Prescott, Anastassis Spiliadis, and to the many, many others who have spoken on condition of anonymity – thank you. For some, I am aware it has been a difïŹcult experience, and I do not take lightly how daunting it might have been to share your views – for a variety of reasons. There are also further, unnamed clinicians who have spoken out over several years, and who have tried to bring about change away from the public eye. Thanks too to all who have spoken with me who work or worked in the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, or were charged with its governance: Sonia Appleby, Juliet Singer, David Bell, Marcus Evans, Stanley Ruszczynski, David Taylor, Marilyn Miller and those who do not wish to be named. Paul Moran, Donal O’Shea, Russell Viner, David Freedman and Stephanie Davies-Arai also deserve my thanks, as do Lucy Bannerman, Susan Matthews and Richard Stephens.

My ïŹrst, and exceptionally brilliant, reader was my uncle, Robert Barnes, and I thank him for his many thoughtful, wise suggestions and feedback. My second was Julia Murphy, who managed to squeeze in reading alongside work and family life. Thank you. This book would also not have been written without the encouragement of Innes Bowen, who convinced me that I had it in me. Nor would it have been possible without my agent Toby Mundy, who took it – and me – on, and who has been a consistent voice of calm when I have needed it. And to Mark Richards and Diana Broccardo at Swift Press, who were brave enough to publish it. For bringing coherence to the many, many references, thank you to the ever-patient Alex Middleton. The seeds were sown at BBC Newsnight, and there would have been no book without the original backing and courage of my former editor, EsmĂ© Wren, and my friend and former colleague Deborah Cohen, as well as support from deputy editors Dan Clarke, Verity Murphy and Stewart Maclean. Finally, thank you to everyone who has sent me source material or shared information, and to those whose names I don’t know who have had the wisdom to archive hundreds of webpages. I am indebted to you all.

Resources

Twitter (twitter.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)