Jordan B. Peterson is a Canadian psychologist and anti-transgender activist. Peterson is one of the foremost figures in the global anti-transgender movement.
Background
Jordan Bernt Peterson was born June 12, 1962 in Alberta. Peterson earned two bachelor’s degrees from University of Alberta and a doctorate from McGill University, then took a teaching position at University of Toronto. Peterson’s 1999 book Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, formed the basis of subsequent teaching.
Anti-transgender activism
Peterson is a central alt-right figure and part of the so-called intellectual dark web, a group of academics and media figures described as a gateway to the far right.
Peterson is also the key figure in the Jungian psychology faction of anti-transgender activism. It’s not clear why followers of Carl Jung are especially susceptible to anti-trans beliefs.
In 2016, Peterson criticized Canada’s Bill C-16, which introduced gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination. Much of Peterson’s argument focused on pronouns and misgendering. Peterson believed the law constituted “compelled speech.”
Peterson’s 2019 book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos became an international hit due to claims that there is a “crisis of masculinity” in the West.
Peterson is married and has two children. In 2019 Peterson underwent treatment in Russia for a benzodiazepine habit.
Cathy “Bug” Brennan is an American lawyer and anti-transgender extremist. Brennan is a prominent and strident member of the movement’s gender critical faction.
In a 2011 letter to the United Nations, Brennan argued against certain legal protections based on gender identity and expression, claiming that “the proliferation of legislation designed to protect ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ undermines legal protections for females vis-à-vis sex segregated spaces.”
Brennan claims that eschewing the term lesbian for more inclusive alternatives is “catering” to trans people that will lead to “lesbian annihilation.”
Background
Catherine Margaret “Cathy” Brennan was born in The Bronx, New York on December 30, 1970 and lived there until 1976. Brennan graduated from Pine Bush High School in Pine Bush, New York in 1988. Brennan then earned a bachelor’s degree in 1992 from Fordham University, followed by a law degree from University at Buffalo in 1995. Brennan is admitted to practice law in Maryland (1996), New York (1996), Pennsylvania (2006), and Oregon (2017).
After briefly working as a reporter at Baltimore’s The Daily Record, Brennan then held advocacy and enforcement roles at Bar Association of Baltimore, The Women’s Law Center of Maryland, Advocates for Children and Youth, and the City of Baltimore. Since 2004 Brennan has worked at Hudson Cook LLP, becoming a partner in 2008.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2011, Brennan and Elizabeth Hungerford sent a letter to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women with their concerns about legal protections based on gender identity and expression, claiming such protections undermine legal protections based on sex.
Brennan became infamous in the mid-2010s for anti-trans trolling and verbal abuse on social media, particularly on Tumblr and Twitter. Brennan ran a site called Gender Identity Watch that documented trans people and their supporters, usually in disparaging terms. The anti-trans site was eventually suspended by WordPress for violations of their terms of use.
Brennan also allegedly contacted the Canadian caregivers of Emily Horsman (suspended user derpemily on Twitter) to complain about Horsman’s online activity.
The tone and tactics used, which included contacting people’s employers and doctors, made Brennan the most notorious trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) of the time:
The chief TERF figurehead is a Maryland attorney named Catherine Brennan who once served as a liaison on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. In July of 2012, a petition circulated to have Brennan removed from that position because, to put it mildly, she flatly rejected the “Gender Identity” half of her job description.
Apart from a sordid internet history of harassing, misgendering, and mocking trans* people, Brennan co-authored a letter with Elizabeth Hungerford to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to argue against — yes, against — legal protections based on “gender identity or expression.” In so doing, Brennan has effectively allied herself with those on the Right who viciously deter trans* folks’ attempts to secure employment, housing and safe public spaces.
Since vacating the American Bar Association liaison position, Brennan has continued to spread her anti-trans* viewpoints at the annual Radfem conference.
Brennan was also involved in Radfem Hub, a group blog and forum with a substantial anti-trans focus. In 2011, a Radfem Hub contributor named “Agent Orange” was revealed to be a men’s rights activist named James Huff. Huff then released a data dump from their forum that had a significant impact on members.
Brennan was involved in organizing the annual Radfem Conference. As the group began to have a harder time operating, including last-minute cancellation of their 2013 conference venue, Brennan made a legal claim to the Radfem Hub site. The content was then archived at other domains.
As of 2018, Brennan was no longer interested in running the Gender Identity Watch website. Anti-trans group Women’s Liberation Front then volunteered to maintain it. WordPress suspended Gender Identity Watch, GenderTrender, and a number of other virulently anti-trans sites in November 2018. Gender Identity Watch went offline in 2023.
References
Note: This site regrets previously misstating Brennan’s early childhood place of residence.
[Shanko, Linda] (January 29, 2015). Cathy Brennan files legal copyright claim over ownership of RadFem Hub. GenderTrender https://gendertrender.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/cathy-brennan-files-legal-copyright-claim-over-ownership-of-radfem-hub/ [archive]
Reilly, Peter J. (June 20, 2013). Cathy Brennan On Radfem 2013.Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2013/06/15/cathy-brennan-on-radfem-2013/
Brown, Elizabeth Nolan (October 21, 2013). Cathy Brennan Speaks on Trans Women.Bustle https://www.bustle.com/articles/7277-cathy-brennan-speaks-to-bustle-about-her-stance-on-transgender-people
Taylor, Dana Lane (February 25, 2014). Cathy Brennan Contacted My Doctor. http://danalanetaylor.com/2014/02/25/cathy-brennan-contacted-my-doctor
Taylor, Dana Lane (February 14, 2014). My “Harassment” of Cathy Brennan – The Real Truth. http://danalanetaylor.com/2014/02/14/my-harassment-of-cathy-brennan-the-real-truth/
Taylor, Dana Lane (October 19, 2013). Jancie Raymond [sic] and Cathy Brennan contacted my employer. http://dana.stopabuseonline.org/2013/10/19/jancie-raymond-and-cathy-brennan-contacted-my-employer/ [archive]
Sandeen, Autumn (May 24, 2012). The Bittersweet “Change Of Gender” Court Ruling: It Came With Cyberbulling [sic]. Pam’s House Blend http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/05/24/the-bittersweet-change-of-gender-court-ruling-it-came-with-cyberbulling/ [archive]
Brennan, Cathy (June 2013). Ladybug’s Political Smackdown: Pride in the Name of Lesbians. Baltimore OUTloud https://www.baltimoreoutloud.com/thinking-outloud/equality/ladybugs-political-smackdown/item/1358-pride-in-the-name-of-lesbians [archive]
Ramseyer, Laurel (August 10, 2011). Cathy Brennan & Elizabeth Hungerford take their anti-trans activism to the UN. Pam’s House Blend http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2011/08/10/cathy-brennan-elizabeth-hungerford-take-their-anti-trans-activism-to-the-un/ [archive]
Allen, Mercedes (August 4, 2011). Less Than Woman, Less Than Human. The Billerico Project http://www.bilerico.com/2011/08/less_than_woman_less_than_human.php [archive]
Brennan, Cathy; Hungerford, Elizabeth (August 1, 2011). [Response to United Nations] via Sex Matters https://sexnotgender.com/gender-identity-legislation-and-the-erosion-of-sex-based-legal-protections-for-females/ PDF available at https://radicalhubarchives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/communication_csw_un_brennanhungerford_08012011_.pdf
Maria Keffler is an American anti-transgender activist. Keffler is part of the “parental rights” faction of anti-transgender activists.
Background
Maria Lee Schlatter was born July 2, 1970 and attended Purdue University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1992 and a master’s degree in 1994. Schlatter taught in Japan from 1995 to 1999, then worked for a year at Sea Life Park Hawaii in Waimanalo Beach.
Keffler is married to Aaron B. Keffler (born September 20, 1974), currently a Senior Engineer at Science and Technology Associates. Keffler has been a homemaker since 2003, when oldest child Christopher was born. Keffler and spouse live in Arlington, Virginia with their three children. Keffler has volunteered for the parent-teacher association at Arlington Public Schools. Keffler self-publishes via Smashwords and KDP.
Keffler also runs a knitting business called Wylde & Plumb and is active on Ravelry and other knitting platforms.
Anti-transgender activism
Keffler is a co-founder of Partners for Ethical Care (PEC), an American anti-transgender front group. Keffler is also a co-founder of non-profit Advocates Protecting Children and the website Arlington Parent Coalition.
Keffler is the author of multiple self-published books, including
Desist, Detrans & Detox: Getting Your Child Out of the Gender Cult (2021)
Year-In-Review: the Entirely True Histories of a Perfectly Wretched Family (2013)
Keffler and Erin Brewer have also produced two video series, Commonsense Care for parents of trans-identified children, and Teacher Talks for educators.
References
Keffler, Maria (April 5, 2019). Gender politics don’t belong in the classroom, but Title IX protections do.Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/local-opinions/gender-politics-dont-belong-in-the-classroom-but-title-ix-protections-do/2019/04/05/1cd1a156-5561-11e9-9136-f8e636f1f6df_story.html Parents should decide what their children learn about sexuality and gender
Jennifer Dellasega is an American anti-transgender activist. She is a co-founder of Partners for Ethical Care (PEC), an American anti-transgender front group. They are part of the “parental rights” faction of anti-transgender activists.
Anti-trans activism
According to Krohn’s testimony:
We found out our daughter was being socially transitioned by her elementary school teacher and therapist when she was in 5th grade at 10/11 years old. The therapist and teacher were using male pronouns and a new made up name. This was something my child was trying on like a teen would have tried a style like punk or goth in years past. The problem is that it’s hard to get out of once they go down this road, for many reasons, not the least of which are the adults who are encouraging them.
[…]
We removed our daughter’s access to the internet and took her out of public school and found her a therapist who explored with our daughter what might be causing her discomfort. she is now comfortable knowing she is a girl. The exploratory therapist worked in partnership with us and treated us as a whole family unit. Our daughter is now happy and flourishing and we are stronger and closer as a family. If we had not removed our daughter from all of the influences that were affirming her as a boy at age 10 or 11, she could likely have gone down the path of medicalization. I believe school and medical and mental health professionals would have encouraged it. I have learned that I cannot trust these blindly-affirming professionals with my daughter’s medical and mental well-being.
References
Dellasega, Jennifer (March 20, 2023). Testimony opposing House Bill 2002. https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/PublicTestimonyDocument/68314
Erin K. Player was born in January 1967 and grew up in Salt Lake City. Brewer claims to be a “former ‘trans kid’ who was talked back to reality by talk therapy.”
In first grade, my elementary school teacher Ms. Hicken asked the school psychologist to evaluate me. She was concerned because I insisted I was a boy. I wore my brother’s hand me downs. I cut my hair short. I was verbally aggressive to both adults and my classmates. I was physically aggressive with the other children. In addition, I profoundly hated my female anatomy.
Brewer earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in 1990. Brewer returned to school at Utah State University, earning a master’s degree in 2000 and a doctorate in 2004. Brewer works as a Project Coordinator at Utah State University.
Following a first marriage, Brewer went by Erin Edwards. Brewer is currently married to Kevin Brewer (born 1955) and lives in Logan, Utah.
Media
Brewer’s anti-trans books include:
Gender Confusion: A Personal Story of Childhood Gender Dysphoria (2018)
Childhood Gender Dysphoria: The Fallacy of Affirmation (2019)
“Alix Aharon” is the stage name of Alexandra “Alix” Hecht, a Scottish anti-transgender activist. Hecht is a co-founder of anti-transgender front group Partners for Ethical Care.
Hecht took data from a map of trans-supportive healthcare providers to create an anti-trans project called The Gender Offender Mapper (later called The Gender Mapping Project). Hecht is an advisor for Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF).
Background
Hecht was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Hecht graduated from Craigholme School for Girls in 2003 and earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Aberdeen in 2007. Hecht has worked in sales for SuperDerivatives, Checkmarx, WalkMe, AppSee, dLocal, Wishbox, Duve, and Coro.
Hecht reportedly had an “aggressive eating disorder” for ten years. Hecht reportedly emigrated to Israel and spends time in California and Tel Aviv.
Hecht has used a number of aliases:
Alix Aharon
Alexandra Hecht
Lara Alix
Alix Hecht
Alex Hecht
Lara Alix Hecht
Anti-trans activism
While living in Israel, Hecht reportedly saw a 2019 documentary on four young trans men who were scheduled to serve in the Israeli Defense Force. Hecht was enraged and embarked on anti-trans activism.
Hecht’s most notable project is the Gender Offender Mapper.
Hecht has appeared on and has been mentioned in conservative and fascist media, including Newsmax and New York Post.
Hecht has logrolled for other anti-trans efforts, such as the documentary Trans Mission: What’s the Rush to Reassign Gender? Hecht called it “crucial.”
Leveille, Lee (April 12, 2021). The Mechanisms of TAnon: What is “TAnon”?Health Liberation Now! https://healthliberationnow.com/2021/04/12/the-mechanisms-of-tanon-what-is-tanon/
Leveille, Lee (July 5, 2021). The Mechanisms of TAnon: Where it Came From.Health Liberation Now! https://healthliberationnow.com/2021/07/05/the-mechanisms-of-tanon-where-it-came-from/
Jeannette Cooper is an American anti-transgender activist. After losing parental custody, Cooper co-founded anti-trans front group Partners for Ethical Care. Cooper is known as Jeannette Srivastava outside of anti-trans activism.
Background
Jeannette Michelle Cooper was born on November 6, 1977 and grew up in southeastern Ohio. Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree in 2000 from Kalamazoo College and a master’s degree from Michigan State University in 2005. Cooper then taught English and did technical writing. Cooper married Prashant Srivastava (born 1978), and they had one child together.
Cooper founded an organization called Immigrants to Women Empowered Chicago in 2008 and ran it until 2014. Since 2013 Cooper has been involved in homeschooling. In 2015 Cooper enrolled in a doctorate program at DePaul University.
Cooper and Srivastava divorced in 2015. In 2019, when their 12-year-old child began going by Ash and using xe/xyr pronouns, Cooper’s ex-spouse filed for full custody, stating that Ash was “no longer mentally or emotionally safe” around Cooper.
Despite group family therapy sessions, Cooper still opposed any medical transition steps for Ash, stating:
“But the thing that I clearly am not complying with is this concept that good parenting means that you affirm a child’s claim that there is something wrong with their body. I’m not willing to do that. I don’t think that’s good parenting.”
Cooper runs a private anti-trans Facebook group called Parents of Transgender/Non-binary Kids, Teens, and Young Adults.
Cooper has provided testimony in several states supporting anti-trans legislation, including Florida, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Cooper, Jeannette (March 14, 2023). 03 14 2023 Jeannette Cooper Testimony for KY HB470. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/CommitteeDocuments/362/22848/03%2014%202023%20Jeannette%20Cooper%20Testimony%20for%20KY%20HB470.pdf
Geoffrey Miller is an American evolutionary psychologist who holds a number of fringe views that are sex segregationist and anti-transgender.
Anti-transgender activism is a family business; Miller’s spouse Diana Fleischman is also an anti-trans activist.
Background
Geoffrey Franklin Miller was born on April 23, 1965 in Cincinnati, Ohio. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Columbia University in 1987, Miller earned a doctorate in cognitive psychology from Stanford University in 1994. Miller took a position at University of New Mexico in 2001 and has written a number of books:
If you think autogynephilia is a 'fringe idea', you don't know anything about contemporary sex research, and you have no business writing about this issue.
When you hear the phrase 'trans woman', what is your first, reflexive, gut-level reaction about what this phrase means? 1) biological man who identifies as a woman 2) biological woman who identifies as a man 3) it confuses me; I have to think about it 4) other/just show results
Suzy Weiss is an American cultural critic and anti-transgender activist. Weiss’ work focuses on maintaining sex segregation and attacking healthcare for gender diverse youth.
Background
Suzanne Lee “Suzy” Weiss was born July 6, 1995. Parents Lou and Amy Weiss run Weisslines, a flooring retailer. Weiss’ sibling is intellectual dark web promoter Bari Weiss. Weiss grew up in Pittsburgh and graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 2013.
In 2013, Weiss wrote a piece for Bari’s former employer The Wall Street Journal about being rejected from colleges for being a straight white person with normal abilities and habits. The piece received widespread negative attention, and Weiss later claimed it was “satire.”
Weiss then earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan in 2018.
While in high school, Weiss served as a US Senate page, followed by college internships at STATE Bags, Zola.com, Funny or Die, The Heymann Brothers, and Ogilvy & Mather.
Weiss was a reporter for the New York Post from 2018 to 2023, then joined Bari Weiss’ publication in 2021.
Weiss, Suzy Lee (March 29, 2013). To (All) the Colleges That Rejected Me.Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324000704578390340064578654
Gachman, Dina (April 3, 2013). Suzy Lee Weiss and the Age of Entitlement.Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/dinagachman/2013/04/03/suzy-lee-weiss-and-the-age-of-entitlement/?sh=4e1c0b2e2bbc
Bari Weiss (March 6, 2022). Watching Lia Thomas Win.Honestly with Bari Weiss https://podcasts.apple.com/hu/podcast/watching-lia-thomas-win/id1570872415?i=1000553066075
Heather B. Armstrong was an American “mommy blogger” nicknamed “dooce.” After one of Armstrong’s children began identifying as nonbinary, Armstrong made a number of anti-transgender statements.
Background
Heather Brooke Hamilton was born July 19, 1975, grew up in a Mormon household in Memphis, Tennessee, and was sexually assaulted shortly before earning a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in 1997.
After marrying web designer Jon Armstrong and and starting to blog in 2001, Heather Armstrong was terminated in 2002 after colleagues learned they were discussed on the blog. The couple had two children: Leta Elise (born 2004), and Marlo Iris (born 2009). In 2009 Armstrong published a memoir, appeared on Oprah, and was named one of “30 most influential women in media” by Forbes.
In 2012, the couple divorced. As social media began to replace blogging, Armstrong’s readership began to dwindle, leading to struggles with depression. Armstrong began a relationship with Utah internet executive Pete Ashdown. In 2019 Armstrong published The Valedictorian of Being Dead. Armstrong underwent medically induced comas to treat depression. In 2021 Armstrong went sober.
Anti-transgender views
Writers and readers of the “mommy blogging” genre have been particularly susceptible to anti-transgender radicalization. In 2022, Armstrong posted a long piece full of anti-trans views after Armstrong’s younger child began identifying as nonbinary.
Titled “America is wrong,” it revealed Armstrong was deeply involved in the “parental rights” faction of anti-transgender activists. Armstrong created a standalone page called “Trans Central Station” and solicited “desistance” and “detransition” narratives from “ex-transgender” activists:
Desisters and Detransitioners, America needs your stories.
You can trust that I will not censor you or expose you in any way. You are safe here.
You can make up a name and leave any field blank. We all just need to hear from you.
What do you wish you had known before you began to question your biological gender?
The pages were soon removed and Armstrong replaced them with a poem prefaced with this:
Your children are asking you through their behavior, “Why are you agreeing with me when I am telling you that I hate myself?” Remember that and consider it every day for the rest of your lives.
[emphasis in original]
The revelations had a significant impact on Armstrong’s reputation. Armstrong died by suicide on May 9, 2023.
References
Armstrong, Heather (2009). It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita. ISBN 978-1416936015
Armstrong, Heather (August 10, 2022). America is wrong. Dooce https://dooce.com/2022/08/10/america-is-wrong/ [archive]
Armstrong, Heather (August 10, 2022). Trans central station. Dooce https://dooce.com/trans-central-station/ [archive]
