Kate Bornstein is a nonbinary American author, playwright, and performer. Bornstein’s important work on gender theory helped lay the groundwork for the resurgence of trans rights and culture in the 1990s.
Background
Bornstein was born March 15, 1948, grew up in Asbury Park, New Jersey and graduated from Brown University in 1969. Bornstein joined the Church of Scientology, moving into high ranks before leaving in 1981. Bornstein transitioned in 1986 and began doing theatre in San Francisco.
In 2012, Bornstein was diagnosed with lung cancer, saying it had been cleared for two years in 2015.
Bornstein is the subject of the 2014 documentary Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger. Bornstein appeared with Caitlyn Jenner on the reality show I Am Cait.
Books
- Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. ISBN 978-0679757016.
- Nearly Roadkill: An Infobahn Erotic Adventure. ISBN 978-1852424183.
- My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely. ISBN 978-0415916721.
- Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws. ISBN 9781583227206.
- Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation. ISBN 9781580053082.
- A Queer and Pleasant Danger: A Memoir.
- My New Gender Workbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. ISBN 978-0415538657.
- Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us (Revised and Updated). ISBN 978-1-101-97461-2.
Performance pieces
- Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger
- The Opposite Sex Is Neither
- Virtually Yours
- Hidden: A Gender
- Strangers in Paradox
- y2kate: gender virus 2000
- Hard Candy
Resources
Kate Bornstein (katebornstein.com)
Dianne Ranae Berg (born 1964) is an American psychologist. Berg’s work has focused on transgender and gender diverse adults and youth. She also studies compulsive sexual behavior and nonconsensual sexual behaviors.
She is a member of the Child and Adolescent Committee of WPATH.
Background
Berg grew up in Moose Lake, Minnesota. Berg was a standout volleyball player at University of Missouri, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1985. Berg earned a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health.
She serves as an Assistant Professor at University of Minnesota. She and Katie Spencer are Co-Directors of the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health, a division of the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health. They developed the Gender Affirmative Lifespan Approach (GALA).
2018 Atlantic article
Berg was quoted in 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 later presents Berg and fellow clinicians Laura Edwards-Leeper and Erica Anderson as therapists who have “concerns” that more affirming care for minors may lead to negative transition outcomes:
Clinicians are still wrestling with how to define affirming care, and how to balance affirmation and caution when treating adolescents. “I don’t want to be a gatekeeper,” Dianne Berg, a co-director of the National Center for Gender Spectrum Health, at the University of Minnesota, told me. “But I also worry that in opening the gates, we’re going to have more adolescents that don’t engage in the reflective work needed in order to make sound decisions, and there might end up being more people when they are older that are like, Oh, hmm—now I am not sure about this.”
[…]
“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.
References
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/
Selected publications
Becker-Warner R, Candelario-Pérez L, Rider GN, Berg, D (2021). “Childhood gender nonconformity.” In H. L. Armstrong (Ed.), Encyclopedia of sex and sexuality: Understanding biology, psychology, and culture (pp. 110-112). ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-61069-874-0
Spencer KG, Berg DR, Bradford NJ, Vencill J, Tellawi G, Rider GN (2021). The Gender Affirmative Lifespan Approach: A developmental model for clinical work with transgender and gender diverse children, adolescents, and adults. Psychotherapy, 58(1), 37-49. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000363
Munns R Dickenson J, Candelario-Perez L, Kovic A, Rider GN, Berg D, Coleman E, Girard A (2021). Psychotherapies in the treatment of CSBD. In R. Balon & P. Briken (Eds.), Compulsive sexual behavior disorder: Understanding, assessment, and treatment (pp. 109-128). American Psychiatric Association. ISBN 978-1615372195
McGuire J, Berg D, Catalpa J, Morrow QJ, Fish JN, Rider GN, Steensma T, Cohen-Kettenis PT, Spencer K (2020). Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale – Gender Spectrum (UGDS-GS): Construct validity among transgender, nonbinary, and LGBQ samples. International Journal of Transgender Health, 21(2), 194-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2020.1723460
Bradford NJ, Dewitt J, Decker J, Berg DR, Spencer KG, Ross MW (2019). Sex education and transgender youth: “Trust means material by and for queer and trans people.” Sex Education, 19(1), 84-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2018.1478808
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). Letter to the Editor. Revisiting the link: Evidence of the rates of autism in studies of gender diverse individuals. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(11), 885-887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.04.023
Bradford NJ, Rider GN, Catalpa J, Morrow QJ, Berg DR, Spencer, KG, McGuire J (2019). Creating gender: A thematic analysis of genderqueer narratives. International Journal of Transgenderism, online ahead of print May 25, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2018.1474516
Catalpa JM, McGuire JK, Fish JN, Bradford NJ, Rider GN, Berg, DR (2019). Predictive validity of the genderqueer identity scale (GQI): Differences between genderqueer and transgender individuals. International Journal of Transgenderism. 10.1080/15532739.2018.1528196
Milhausen RR et al, Eds. (2019). Handbook of sexuality-related measures (4th ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-1138740846
- McGuire JK, Berg D, Catalpa JM, Rider GN, Steensma TD (2020). “Genderqueer Identity Scale.” pp. 355-359.
- McGuire JK, Rider, GN, Catalpa JM, Steensma TD, Cohen-Kettenis PT, Berg D. “Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale—Gender Spectrum.” pp. 359-362
- McGuire JK, Berg D, Catalpa JM. “Genderqueer identity scale.”
AK Tatum, J Catalpa, NJ Bradford, A Kovic, DR Berg Examining identity development and transition differences among binary transgender and genderqueer nonbinary (GQNB) individuals. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity
D Berg, L Edwards-Leeper Child and family assessment. American Psychological Association
Resources
University of Minnesota School of Medicine (med.umn.edu)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Healthgrades (healthgrades.com)
Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
Cheryl Chase is the pseudonym of Bo Laurent an American activist associated with internet troll Denise Magner and historian Alice Dreger. All three were involved with Intersex Society of North America prior to its 2008 dissolution.
Chase was quoted about “factitious intersex” in The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey:
Cheryl Chase, the intersex activist, told me that transsexuals frequently join intersex groups because they are convinced that they are also intersexual. In most cases, they are not.
Background
Chase’s self-reported personal and medical history is murky and often contradictory. She claims she had multiple names starting at birth:
- Brian Sullivan (1956)
- Charlie Sullivan (1956)
- Bonnie Sullivan (~1957)
- Cheryl Chase (1993)
- Bo Laurent (1995)
Resources
Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Sidhbh Gallagher is an Irish plastic surgeon practicing in the United States. Gallagher is known for performing masculinizing top surgery.
Background
Sidhbh Treasa Gallagher (pronounced “sive”) was born in ~1981 and grew up in Louth and Dundalk, Ireland. Gallagher earned an undergraduate degree from University College Dublin. In 2006 Gallagher studied at Emory University, then did a residency at Abington Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia from 2007 to 2012. Gallagher did plastic surgery training at Indiana University School of Medicine. In 2016 Gallagher took a surgical appointment at Eskenazi Health Transgender Health & Wellness Program in Indianapolis.
Gallagher relocated to Miami, Florida in 2019 and founded Gallagher Plastic Surgery and Gallagher Med Spa.
Gallagher is known for promoting on social media, particularly TikTok.
References
Staff report (July 12, 2018). Meet the Irish surgeon changing lives for transgender Americans. Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/working-abroad/meet-the-irish-surgeon-changing-lives-for-transgender-americans-1.3561668
Wilkinson, Kelly (June 9, 2018). IU Health helps Central Indiana woman embrace new gender. IndyStar https://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/news/2018/06/09/iu-health-helps-central-indiana-woman-embrace-new-gender/35874247/
Staff report (November 03, 2017)
Taking the Lead: An Inside Look at Eskenazi Health’s Leadership, Dr. Gallagher. https://www.eskenazihealth.edu/news/taking-the-lead-an-inside-look-at-eskenazi-healths-leadership-dr-gallagher
Resources
Gallagher Plastic Surgery (gallagherplasticsurgery.com)
TikTok (tiktok.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
LiunkedIn (linkedin.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
University Gender Affirmation Surgery (universitygenderaffirmationsurgery.com) [archive]
Grace Branham is an American “ex-transgender” activist.
Branham served as treasurer for anti-trans organization Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN).
Background
Branham earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 2018 and a graduate certificate from University of Kansas in 2022. Following a stint at a dog daycare facility, in 2022 Branham took a job at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis as an animal research technician.
From the GCCAN site:
Grace Branham is a post-operative detransitioner who received gender care from the ages of 15 to 21. S/he did not feel adequately supported by providers before, during, or when ending treatment and believes all consumers deserve high-quality care whether they are considering transition, in the process, or detransitioning. S/he hopes GCCAN’s work will help providers better understand the varied experiences of consumers so they may better serve sexuality- and gender-diverse communities.
References
Alumni spotlight: Grace Branham. IU Department of American Studies. https://americanstudies.indiana.edu/about/alumni-grace.html
Resources
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (gccan.org) [archive]
- Who We Are [archive]
- gccan.org/who-we-are
S. Ding Lab (sdinglab.wustl.edu)
Lee Leveille is a former member of the “ex-transgender” movement. In January 2021, Leveille and partner Ky Schevers launched the organization Health Liberation Now!
Background
Leveille was born in June 1988 on a military base in San Diego, California. They moved to Sumner, Maine in around 1997. Leveille has a sibling who is four years younger. Leveille earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Maine at Machias. Leveille is an intentional peer support (IPS) specialist.
Leveille converted to Judaism in 2016 and identifies as disabled and trans androgynos.
Activism
Following a gender transition, in the late 2000s Leveille became active in disability justice, trans rights, and opposing psychiatric oppression. Leveille experienced vision loss during a change in gender identity and expression.
Following a “detransition,” Leveille was a founding director of Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN), an anti-trans organization.
Leveille resigned from the group in 2020 and has since been heavily involved in exposing anti-trans activists, particularly those who exploit and uplift “detransition” narratives.
Leveille is a coauthor of the 2023 CAPTAIN report by Southern Poverty Law Center that traces the origins of 21st-century anti-transgender extremism.
References
Leveille, Lee (May 19, 2022). My Resignation Letter to Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN). Medium https://thatweirdolee.medium.com/my-resignation-letter-to-gender-care-consumer-advocacy-network-gccan-59596eb53f96
Leveille, Lee (January 20, 2021). I’m A Trans Person That Helped Found a “Detransition Advocacy” Organization Health Liberation Now! https://healthliberationnow.com/2021/01/20/im-a-trans-person-that-helped-found-a-detransition-advocacy-organization/
Student interviewer (March 14, 2019). Lee Leveille. Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries. https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/querying_ohproject/41/
Resources
Health Liberation Now! (healthliberationnow.com)
Reclaiming Trans Butch (reclaimingtransbutch.com) [archive]
Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (gccan.org) [archive]
- Who We Are [archive]
- gccan.org/who-we-are
Medium (medium.com)
Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org)
Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD is an American pediatrician and government health official. Levine is the first out transgender four-star officer in the US uniformed services. Levine was appointed as Assistant Secretary for Health by the US Senate in 2021.
Background
Levine was born October 28, 1957 and grew up in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Both of Levine’s parents were lawyers. Levine has an older sibling.
After private school, Levine graduated from Harvard College, then Tulane University School of Medicine. Levine did a pediatrics residency and adolescent medicine postdoc at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, then took a position at Penn State College of Medicine as well as Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
Levine married Martha Peaslee Levine in 1988. They have two children. Levine transitioned in 2011, and they divorced in 2013.
Levine was appointed Pennsylvania Physician General in 2015 and Secretary of Health in 2017. In 2020 Levine was responsible for the commonwealth’s COVID response. In 2021, the Senate confirmed Levine as Assistant Secretary for Health following President Joe Biden’s nomination.
Among Levine’s first initiatives were addressing bullying, suicide, discriminatory policies, and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic as pressing issues among LGBTQ youth. Levine has criticized Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and the push in some conservative states to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children.
Levine became a lightning rod for anti-transgender hatred from anti-trans lawmakers and media figures after taking office.
Support of gender affirming care for youth
Levine supports the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding trans and gender diverse youth. The AAP states that the gender affirming model of care is the current medical consensus.
Levine discussed this in a 2023 keynote at Yale University:
Levine described gender-affirming care — which includes puberty blockers, gender-affirming hormones and surgical procedures, among other interventions — as “safe,” “effective” and “medically necessary.”
Levine described how transgender and nonbinary youth are disproportionately burdened by mental health challenges. She noted that gender-affirming interventions are associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Given this, Levine said, gender-affirming care has been life-saving for thousands of young LGBTQI+ people across the country.
Zhang (2023)
References
Zhang, William ( FEB 07, 2023). Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel L. Levine discusses LGBTQI+ health at Yale Law School. Yale Daily News https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2023/02/07/assistant-secretary-for-health-rachel-l-levine-discusses-lgbtqi-health-at-yale-law-school/
Zezima, Katie (June 1, 2016). Meet Rachel Levine, one of the very few transgender public officials in America. The Washington Post [archive] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-rachel-levine-one-of-the-very-few-transgender-public-officials-in-america/2016/06/01/cf6e2332-2415-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html
Sullivan, Eileen (January 19, 2021). Biden’s pick for Health and Human Services role would be first transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/us/politics/rachel-levine-transgender-health-human-services.html
Weissert, Will (January 19, 2021). Biden picks transgender woman as assistant health secretary. AP News https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-pandemics-biden-cabinet-health-coronavirus-pandemic-4eee53439e9c2b4c27fcf4e7f572cb0e
Diamond, Dan (October 19, 2021). Rachel Levine, openly transgender health official, to be sworn in as four-star admiral in Public Health Service. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/10/19/levine-transgender-four-star-admiral-public-health-service/
Hackney, Suzette (March 13, 2022). ‘Be true to yourself’: A message from the nation’s highest-ranking openly transgender official. USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/opinion/2022/03/13/rachel-levine-honoree-usa-today-women-of-the-year/6600134001/
Goodin-Smith, Oona (January 19, 2021). What to know about Rachel Levine, the history-making Pa. health official tapped for Biden administration. The Philadelphia Inquirer https://www.inquirer.com/news/rachel-levine-joe-biden-assistant-health-secretary-hhs-transgender-pennsylvania-20210119.html
Loveland, Barry (February 6, 2017). LGBT Oral History: Rachel Levine. (PDF). LGBT Center of Central PA History Project Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections. Carlisle, PA, USA. [archive] http://archives.dickinson.edu/sites/all/files/files_lgbt/LGBT-interview-transcription-Levine-Rachel-064.pdf
Resources
US Dept. of Health and Human Services (hhs.gov)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Buck Angel is an American model, pornographic performer, entrepreneur, and cultural critic.
Although many of Angel’s views on sex, sexuality, and gender are progressive, Angel is considered a prominent transgender conservative for using terms and concepts that have largely fallen out of use. These views have made Angel a favored source among conservative and anti-transgender journalists and commentators.
Background
Angel was born June 5, 1962 in Los Angeles, California. After high school Angel worked as a model but felt disconnected from the world, self-medicating with alcohol and drugs. After identifying as lesbian until age 28, Angel began taking hormones, later opting for top surgery but not bottom surgery. Angel later had a hysterectomy.
Beginning around 2005, Angel began to appear in pornographic films, billed as “the man with a pussy.” Angel earned industry recognition for this groundbreaking career.
Angel eventually moved into sex education, appearing in films and speaking at conferences and schools. Angel has frequently appeared in the media. Angel’s entrepreneurial projects include a dating site, an outreach site for trans men, a cannabis company, and sex toys.
Angel was married to Karin Winslow, a dominatrix who left Angel for filmmaker Lana Wachowski. Angel was then in a one-year marriage to a body piercer that ended in an acrimonious split. Angel later married filmmaker Rachel Mason.
Political views
Angel identifies as transsexual and as a “female who lives as a man.” Most people in the community reject these older terms and conceptualizations. Angel advocates for maintaining sex-segregated spaces like competitive sports and takes issue with the phrase “trans women are women.” Progressive members of the community characterize Angel’s views as transmedicalist and sex segregationist. Angel has been affiliated with extremist group Gays Against Groomers.
These views have made Angel a favored source among conservative and anti-transgender activists. Angel has appeared with or on Fox News, Meghan Daum, Heterodorx, Scott Barry Kaufman, Chloe Cole, Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, Dan Savage, Benjamin Boyce, and Quillette.
References
Bindel, Julie (April 26, 2023). Buck Angel: ‘We never denied our biology.’ UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/04/buck-angel-we-never-denied-our-biology/
Sahakian, Teny (May 23, 2022). Transsexual pioneer criticizes modern trans activists, says they’re indoctrinating kids: ‘This isn’t a game.’ Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/health/transsexual-pioneer-criticizes-modern-trans-activists-indoctrinating-kids
Reyes, Gabrielle (October 28, 2022). Transsexual activist criticizes trans movement for accelerating ‘far too fast.’ Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/us/transsexual-activist-criticizes-trans-movement-accelerating-far-fast
Asarch, Steven (October 21, 2019). YouTuber ContraPoints Attacked After Including Controversial Buck Angel in Video. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/youtuber-contrapoints-attacked-after-including-controversial-buck-angel-video-1466757
Resources
Instagram (instagram.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Substack (substack.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Ana Valens is an American journalist who frequently writes about gaming and sexuality from a progressive and pro-transgender perspective.
Background
Valens earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 2016.
Valens has written and edited at New Brunswick Today, TRIM Magazine, Gamemoir, The Anthologist, Kill Screen Media, Inc., CGMagazine, PRIDE, Now Loading, Dot Esports, The Toast, Bitch Media, Fanbyte, Kill Screen, Waypoint, Glixel, Daily Dot, and The Mary Sue.
Valens has also worked with gaming companies Sekai Project and FemHype.
References
Valens, Ana (January 5, 2023). Oklahoma’s New Anti-Trans Bill Would Have Banned Me From Transitioning as an Adult. The Mary Sue https://www.themarysue.com/oklahomas-new-anti-trans-bill-would-have-banned-me-from-transitioning-as-an-adult/
Valens, Ana (August 4, 2017). ‘Nevada,’ my transition, and me. Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/nevada-imogen-binnie-transgender/
Valens, Ana (February 4, 2019). If there were no cis people in the world for 24 hours, here’s what I would do. Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/trans-woman-everyday-life-cis-didnt-exist/
Valens, Ana (February 4, 2019). Why Are There So Many Bills Targeting Trans Kids? The Mary Sue https://www.themarysue.com/why-are-there-so-many-bills-targeting-trans-kids/
Valens, Ana (April 2, 2018). There’s nothing feminist about attacking trans women. Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/attacking-trans-women-feminist/
Valens, Ana (January 27, 2021). A guide to understanding cisgender privilege. Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/what-is-cisgender/
Resources
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Daily Dot (dailydot.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Medium (medium.com)
The Mary Sue (themarysue.com)
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Luka Hein is an American ex-transgender activist. Hein gets money and attention by making it more difficult for others to get trans healthcare.
Background
Luka “Bunny” Hein was born January 29, 2002. Hein is a Minnesota native and grew up in Nebraska.
Hein had a “rough home life” and claims, “I was a young teenager with a history of mental health issues who was groomed and preyed upon online” which reached “the point of authorities getting involved.”
Hein’s parents were “scared” but supportive of Hein’s requests for trans healthcare after reportedly being “bullied and emotionally blackmailed” by healthcare professionals.
Hein received care at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Hein’s chest “was the biggest issue” and led to binding. In 2018, Hein requested and received top surgery with parental consent, then started hormones.
Hein stopped testosterone at age 20. Hein moved to Wisconsin for school and began traveling the country testifying against trans healthcare.
2023 lawsuit
The same activist law firm representing the handful of American ex-trans activists filed suit in Nebraska in 2023.
According to the filing, Hein’s alleged disorders, diseases, “comorbidities,” problems, and maladies include:
- parents divorced in 2015 (age 13)
- struggled in school
- could not concentrate
- lost motivation
- anxiety
- panic attacks
- lost appetite
- easily angered
- cutting
- suicidal ideation
- placed in a “partial care psychiatric program” (February 2017)
- diagnosed depression (2017)
- diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder (2017)
- prescribed antipsychotic medication
- groomed online by an older man
- sent sexually explicit pictures to older man
- police investigation after man made threats
- traumatized
- returned to a “partial care psychiatric program” (May 2017)
- antipsychotic medication increased
- prescribed SSRI
Coming out as trans (June 2017)
- hated menses
- uncomfortable with developing breasts
- found transgender influencers online
- ordered a chest binder
- transferred from an all-girls school
- moved from childhood home
- changed name
- began identifying as male
- referred to UNMC Gender Clinic
UNMC Gender Clinic
- met with Megan Smith-Sallans (July 2017)
- met with Nahia Jean Amoura
- diagnosed gender identity disorder (2017)
- prescribed Xanax (August 2017)
More mental health care
- stopped going to school
- returned to a “partial care psychiatric program” (September 2017)
- prescribed ADHD medication (September 2017)
- overwhelmed by the custody arrangements
- loneliness
UNMC Gender Clinic
- referred for requested top surgery (October 2017)
- Met with Perry Johnson, who noted “Typically, we would wait until the patient is a little bit older, but this would be influenced by the potential negative impact psychologically on the patient by prolonging the transition. […] I would require a letter from the patient’s therapist regarding the appropriateness of the operation and the appropriateness of the timing of the procedure.”
- preoperative evaluation (July 3, 2018)
- top surgery with Perry, assisted by Stephen Barrientos (July 26, 2018, age 16)
- prescribed testosterone by Amoura (November 2018, age 16)
- parents did not consent to hysterectomy
- legal adulthood (January 29, 2020)
- quit taking testosterone (late 2022, age 20)
- informed Amoura of change in gender identity (January 10, 2023, age 20)
The lawsuit cites 2019 publications by anti-trans activists Paul Hruz and James Cantor.
References
Astor, Maggie (May 16, 2023) How a Few Stories of Regret Fuel the Push to Restrict Gender Transition Care. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/us/politics/transgender-care-detransitioners.html
Siegel, Marc (December 19, 2022). Detransitioning becomes growing choice among young people after gender-affirming surgery. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/health/detransitioning-becomes-growing-choice-young-people-gender-affirming-surgery
Nebraska Health and Human Services Committee (February 8, 2023). https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Transcripts/Health/2023-02-08.pdf
Resources
Twitter (twitter.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
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reddit (reddit.com)
