Jess de Wahls is an East German-born artist and anti-transgender activist based in London.
Background
Jess de Wahls was born in 1983 and grew up in East Berlin and moved to the UK in 2004. de Wahls’ medium is embroidery.
According to de Wahls, one parent crossdresses: “My father doesn’t do labels other than sometimes jokingly calling himself a paradise bird.”
Anti-transgender activism
in 2019, de Wahls published a long statement accompanying an embroidered artwork. In it, de Wahls revealed bring deeply involved in anti-transgender activism.
Jonny Best is a British musician, researcher, and producer who identifies as a gender critical gay man.
Background
Jonathan “Jonny” Best worked in theatre as a director (with RSC, National Theatre etc), as a staff director in opera (ENO, Royal Opera & Opera North), in commercial theatre (pantomime, West End musicals and plays), classical music (with Aurora, BBC Scottish Symph, and ten years in association with City of London Sinfonia).
In 2005 Best became the artistic director of Manchesterâs Queer Up North Festival. Best was criticized for inviting the act Bitch to perform after they had played the trans-exclusionary Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.
Best then produced Classical Sheffield, Festival of the North East, and Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.
Best began a doctorate degree in music at University of Huddersfield in 2016.
Activism
Best made a number of provocative statements, believing there are no such things as misgendering and deadnaming. Huddersfield University opened an investigation, but later apologized to Best.
Best has written for anti-trans publication UnHerd, arguing that “The marginalisation of sex in trans activism sits uneasily with the centrality of sex to lesbian and gay activism.”
Best is especially critical of UK’s Stonewall:
But this good-natured debate is as nothing compared to the division that has opened up in lesbian and gay communities following Stonewallâs 2015 decision to re-formulate homosexuality around the nebulous concept of âgender identityâ. Its policy today, which it has promoted through its Diversity Champions scheme, is that biological sex is less important than self-declared âgender identityâ â an inner feeling of being either man or woman, male or female, which, according to Stonewall, is an identity we all possess. It follows that biological males can be lesbians, and biological females can be gay men. To disagree is transphobic.
Stonewallâs strategy for dealing with the fallout has been to insist that there can be âno debateâ, characterising entreaties to discussion as equal to debating trans peopleâs very existence.
Josephine Eleanor “Jo” Bartosch was born in August 1982.
Bartosch founded the group Chelt Fems, a network of feminist activists, academics and professionals. From 2017 to 2019 Bartosch was co-director with Sadia Hameed of Gloucester-based Critical Sisters, which “offers a platform for marginal feminist opinion with particular emphasis on unravelling the twin man-made beliefs of gender and religion.”
From 2019 to 2020 Bartosch was Director of Click Off Limited. Bartosch was replaced by Edward Charles Buxton after resigning.
From 2017 to 2018 Bartosch was a Co-Director of Libra Learning Ltd. with Sadia Hameed and Emma Robertson.
From 2018 to 2022, Bartosch was a Director of Not Buying It Ltd. with Naomi Paxton, Almudena Fernandez-Alonso, Edward Charles Buxton, Rebecca Mordan, Josephine Liptrott, Kate Kerrow, Ellen Mary Grogen, Jeremy Jonathan Coutinho, and Rachel Carline Bell. Bartosch resigned in May 2022.
Bartosch has authored several reports exploring the links between violence against women and commercial sexual entertainment.
Bartosch, Jo (). Why wonât progressives speak up about NHS conversion therapy? Kemi Badenoch laid out evidence of the practice in a letter today 07 FEB 2024
Bartosch, Jo (). Network Railâs capitulation to Stonewall The railway company has been mocked for its The myth of JK Rowlingâs âheart of darknessâ Another opinion column unfairly maligns the Harry Potter author 16 JAN 2024
Bartosch, Jo (). Britain has bigger problems than toothbrushing Keir Starmer’s jaw-dropping proposal will anger parents 12 JAN 2024
Bartosch, Jo (). Kemi Badenoch is right about Britainâs trans âepidemicâ Linguistic disputes can’t disguise the surge in referrals 14 DEC 2023
Bartosch, Jo (). Why is Doctor Who obsessing over pronouns? Britain’s public broadcaster is championing a niche ideology 27 NOV 2023
Bartosch, Jo (25 AUG 2023). The New York Times is finally standing up to trans censorship Advocacy groups have criticised the paper for its gender coverage
Bartosch, Jo (12 JUL 2023). Nancy Kelley leaves Stonewall in a mess The outgoing charity boss dragged a once-great organisation down a rabbit hole
Bartosch, Jo (). The problem with âcisâ Elon Musk has vowed to restrict the word on Twitter. 22 JUN 2023
Bartosch, Jo (13 JAN 2023). Tate criticised for Drag Queen Story Hour childrenâs readings Several groups claim the gallery is targeting kids with gender propaganda
Bartosch, Jo (04 MAY 2022). The Survivorsâ Network succumbs to gender ideology The group is failing to provide women with all-female spaces.
Bartosch, Jo (16 FEB 2022). Unions are failing women The NEU is the latest to bow to trans activists
Bartosch, Jo (18 JAN 2022). Inside the Tory trans civil war 18 JAN 2022
Bartosch, Jo (09 DEC 2021). Inside the trans publishing purge
Bartosch, Jo (11 OCT 2021). Feminist âdinosaursâ are getting organised Protestors outside the Labour Party HQ were embracing David Lammy’s label
Bartosch, Jo (30 AUG 2018). When did womenâs rights stop being human rights?
Critical Sisters Ltd Company number 10875625 Sadia Hameed and Jo Bartosch, Directors.
Zhana Vrangalova is an anti-trans psychologist and “autogynephilia” activist.
Background
Snezana Zhana Vrangalova was born in November 1981 in Skopje, Macedonia. Vrangalova earned a bachelor’s degree from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. She earned a doctorate from Cornell University in 2014. She worked with Ritch Savin-Williams, Anthony Ong, and David Pizarro.
She was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at New York University in 2014. She authored the 2016 book The Casual Sex Project and often writes about hookup culture.
“Autogynephilia” activism
On April 13, 2015, Vrangalova made a comment about about the video game Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme, summoning “autogynephilia” creator Ray Blanchard.
When video games & psych research clash w/ views of ‘politically correct’ http://ow.ly/LxZK4#GenderBender#autogynephilia @BlanchardPhD
On June 13, 2015 Vrangalova made a comment about Caitlyn Jenner that revealed her anti-trans views:
The link went to religion site Patheos and an article by conversion therapist Warren Throckmorton discussing “autogynephilia” with unethical sexologist J. Michael Bailey.
When people pointed out the problem with her beliefs, she said:
I’m aware of the controversy, but there’s a lot of research to support #autogynephilia, pc or not pc.
When people pointed out that once-skeptical Bailey magically discovered bisexuality exists after getting paid by the American Institute of Bisexuality.
they didn’t “recant”, the conducted a study using more rigorous definition of “bisexual”.
It’s good science accepted by scientists.Those rejecting it r nonscientist activists who wrongly think it’s transphobic
Vrangalova co-hosted the The Science of Sex podcast with Joe Pardavila from 2017 to 2019. Guests included a number of anti-trans sexologists associated with J. Michael Bailey, including James Cantor and Gerulf Rieger.
Throckmorton, Warren (June 11, 2015). What Kind of Woman is Caitlyn Jenner? Part One of a Q&A on Autogynephilia with Michael Bailey. Patheos https://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2015/06/11/what-kind-of-woman-is-caitlyn-jenner-part-one-of-a-qa-on-autogynephilia-with-michael-bailey/ [archive]
Vrangalova Z (Apr 13, 2015). https://twitter.com/DrZhana/status/587695608976248832 https://archive.ph/KWNkh
Nicholas John “Nick” Gillespie was born August 7, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Middletown, New Jersey. Gillespie was raised Catholic and graduated from Mater Dei High School. Gillespie earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 1985, a master’s degree from Temple University in 1990, and a doctorate from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1996. Gillespie married author and academic Katharine Marie Walke Gillespie (born 1960). They have two children, Jack and Nick. The Gillespies have since divorced. In 2023 Gillespie became engaged to Sarah Rose Siskind.
Gillespie has been associated with Reason magazine. Gillespie edited the 2004 book Choice: The Best of Reason and co-authored the 2011 book The Declaration of Independents.
Anti-trans promotion
With the exception of conservative trans libertarian Deirdre McCloskey, Gillespie has never platformed any trans journalists, scientists, lawyers, politicians, or activists who could address anti-trans guests’ statements or Gillespie’s own misconceptions.
Dave Chappelle is an American comedian. Considered one of the greatest standups of all time, his late career has been marked by a series of transphobic incidents.
Background
David Khari Webber Chappelle was born August 24, 1973 in Washington, DC. His parents were politically active academics. He graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 1991. He moved to New York City and began honing his act, quickly becoming a regular at comedy clubs and in late night guest spots. He began appearing on televisions shows and t=developing pilots. His first starring role was in the 1998 film Half Baked. He recorded his first comedy special in 2000. In 2003 he starred in the sketch comedy program Chappelle’s Show, then left abruptly in 2005 at the height of the show’s popularity. He made sporadic appearances until 2013, when he started touring full-time again. In 2017, Netflix released the first of five comedy specials starring Chappelle. In 2019 he won the Mark Twain Prize.
Chappelle and his wife have three children.
Anti-transgender statements
Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special The Closer included transphobic jokes and a defense of transphobic author JK Rowling, during which he declared “I’m team TERF.” In his defense, Chappelle said some of his best friends were trans, citing trans comedian Daphne Dorman.
Netflix employees organized a walkout and demanded that The Closer be taken off of Netflix. CEO Ted Sarandos refused to take down the special, stating that he “does not believe it falls into hate speech.” Chappelle’s alma mater Duke Ellington School decided not to name its theater after him.
Chappelle continued to troll the trans community with jokes and play the victim. In 2022, Chappelle brought transphobe Elon Musk onstage at a San Francisco show, and Musk was booed off stage.
Carrie D. Mendoza is an American physician and anti-transgender activist. Mendoza leads FAIR in Medicine, the healthcare arm of anti-trans organization Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism.
Background
Carrie D. Edelstein was born June 29, 1966. After earning a bachelorâs degree in from Tufts University in 1988, Edelstein then attended University of Chicago, earning a masterâs degree and a medical degree, followed by a residency and a fellowship at Denver General Hospital.
Much of Mendoza’s career has been in emergency medicine. Mendoza has practiced at Parker and Castle Rock Adventist in Colorado and as part of the Advocate system in Illinois.
Mendoza married education reform activist Myles X. Mendoza (born 1972). They have three children: Jesse, Noah and Max.
Carrie D. Mendoza has contributed to Republican causes and was elected to the Douglas County school board in 2013. Mendoza was one of several parents who complained that New Trier High School library held the gay teen novel Two Boys Kissing.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2021, Mendoza appeared on a FAIR panel. Panelists included several prominent conservative and anti-trans activists:
After working as the Illinois coordinator for FAIR, Mendoza was tapped to lead FAIR in Medicine.
In an introductory video, Mendoza likened the “orthodoxy” of gender affirming care to forced sterilizations in Nazi Germany and Iran.
There is also the orthodoxy that only one treatment for youth gender dysphoria â affirmation, hormones, surgery â is the correct one, regardless of the individual conditions that might have led them to their discomfort with their body. Mastectomies are being performed on children as young as 15 as part of routine transgender healthcare. So-called gender-affirming hysterectomies have been performed on minors as well.
Asking if there are other better ways for certain patients reporting gender dysphoria is often treated as transphobic, as advocating conversion therapy, or pushing dysphoric children into suicide. Never mind the rate of regret and detransition increasing to amounts that have not yet been properly studied. Multiple studies have shown that medical transition has no effect on reducing suicide rates. And two studies show postoperative transgender people have considerably higher risk for suicidal behavior.
Some states are passing misinformation bills that would ban medical professionals from speaking in ways that contradict contemporary scientific consensus. Unaware of how wrong previous medical consensus was that sought to cure homosexuality or treat hysteria with oophorectomies and how wrong we might discover we are in the present.
FAIR (December 17, 2021). FAIR’s Gender Webinar with Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Zander Keig, and more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XYzCE1ph5s
FAIR in Medicine (March 9, 2023). Dr. Carrie Mendoza: Pro-Human Medicine Means Ending Unquestionable Orthodoxies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXkUU3cLRzsMedia
FAIR (May 18, 2023). https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrzvXNozKX Understanding Gender Dysphoria with Dr. Michael Bailey
Sara Stockton is an American therapist whose views on controlling trans healthcare have gotten more conservative and extreme.
Do not go to Stockton for any kind of therapy, trans or otherwise. If you are a trans or gender diverse minor forced to see Stockton, do everything in your power to end the sessions and find supportive local resources instead.
Stockton is known for appearances in conservative media. Stockton expresses concerns about trans healthcare to anti-trans extremists like Jordan Peterson, Sasha Ayad, and Stella O’Malley.
Sara E. Burke was born in June 1986 and was married to Daniel J. Farmer (born 1984), having a child together in 2012.
Stockton is currently married to Quincy J. Stockton (born 1979).
Stockton earned a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a master’s degree from Medaille College in 2018.
In 2012, Stockton co-authored a mental health assessment for gatekeeping trans healthcare. Stockton initially treated, advocated for, and taught about youth and families regarding gender identity and expression. Stockton worked with over one hundred families, often clearing youth for medical transition. Stockton later shifted focus, citing concerns about outcomes.
Since then Stockton has become a favored source for other anti-transgender activists.
References
Farmer S (2016). Considerations in Mentoring From a Transgender Ally, All About Mentoring, SUNY Empire State College Publication, Winter 2016.
Coolhart D, Baker A, Farmer S, Malaney M, Shipman D. (2012). Therapy with transsexual youth and their families: A clinical tool for assessing youthâs readiness for gender transition. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 39, 223â243. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00283.x
Media
Peterson, Jordan B. (March 23, 2023). Regrets of a Trans-Care Specialist. Daily Wire https://www.dailywire.com/episode/k-k-k-k-k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCH-bUFR3WM
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-Ă -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 Associationâs 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 âGender Identityâ 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 â yes, against â legal protections based on âgender identity or expression.â In so doing, Brennan has effectively allied herself with those on the Right who viciously deter trans* folksâ 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 Womenâs 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 âHarassmentâ of Cathy Brennan â 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 âChange Of Genderâ 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