Christopher Richard Brand was born June 1, 1943 in Preston, England.
Brand taught at Edinburgh University from 1970–1997. In 1996 Brand published the book The g Factor, claiming that general intelligence correlates with life outcomes. Brand claimed people of African descent had lower general intelligence as a group, which affected their success.
Brand was fired following an investigation into his 1996 comments about age of consent following child molestation charges brought against medical researcher Daniel Carleton Gajdusek. Brand’s firing became a rallying cry for “academic freedom” extremists.
Brand had three children and married spouse number three in 2001. Brand died May 28, 2017.
Comments on trans issues
Here’s what Brand had to say in 2003 when trans people began criticizing J. Michael Bailey’s The Man Who Would Be Queen:
Dr Sex‚ VERSUS ANTI-HOMOPHOBISTS AND ASSORTED FAGGOTS
A book-burning witch-hunt began against psychologist J. Michael Bailey, of Northwestern University, near Chicago, who claimed from his research that some transsexuals are homosexuals, thus apparently managing to annoy representatives‚ of both these hyper-sensitive groups at the same time. Fortunately, Chronicles of Higher Education (20 vi) gave Bailey, a Texan nerd‚, a friendly write up, saying he had plenty of transsexual/friends, did a good job on the dance floor and bought a round of drinks, so there was a possibility that he and his book, The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism, might survive.
See also the Chris Brand information on Lynn Conway’s site, which Brand responded to thus:
HUMAN BIODIVERSITY GROUP (HBDG) ‘NAMED AND SHAMED’ Opponents of J. Michael Bailey, the Texan sexologist (who has ‘controversially’ suggested that some transsexuals are actually homosexuals), managed to discover the names on Steve Sailer’s private list of experts (and gifted amateurs….) on the subject of ‘human biodiversity’ i.e. racial differences. They set up a website to denounce selected and possible HBDG members:
Andrews, Lewis R. (“promotes an array of neoconservative (mostly racist) theories”) {Normally called Louis Andrews}
Bailey, Michael (“under investigation here {i.e. by transsexuals} regarding his HBDG affiliations”)
Brand, Chris (“infamous ‘scientific racist’”)
Brimelow, Peter (“prominent and active member and contributor to {anti-immigration} VDARE)
Burr, Chandler (believes “biological cause of male homosexuality as a “defect in development””)
Buss, David M.(has “notions of rigidly bi-polar genders in humans”)
Cochran, Gregory M. (actually environmentalistic but “highly extolled for his racial-genetic-profiling science and homosexual-causation-science by various neoconservative and far-right groups, such as the British National Party”)
Derbyshire, John (“virulently homophobic”)
Entine, Jon (“condescending toward Asians, like a comical stereotype, and believe[s] blacks are uncivilized animals who are mentally inferior and only suitable for athletics”)
Hausman, Patricia (“part of a neoconservative organization that makes a special point of trashing trans women”)
Miller, Edward M. (“made strongly racist “scientific” statements in 1996 about the intelligence of black people”)
Murray, Charles (“widely perceived as racist by most moderate people”)
Pinker, Steven (“biology-is-destiny theory”….“active participant in the Baileyan defamation of transsexual women”….“Could he be a Fourattist-type gay man?…”)
Pitchford, Ian (actually a keen leftist but called “another of the HBDG’ers known to have supported Bailey”)
Rushton, J.P. (“misrepresented the entire evolutionary theory simply for the shock value”)
Sailer, Steve (“has long exploited the works of racial-profiling scientists and pundits such as Brand, Cochran, Entine, Miller, Murray, Rushton, etc., to justify his positions”….”one of a handful of extreme “scientific racists”, affiliated with and often paid by extreme right-wing groups like VDare”)
Seligman, Dan (“promoting HBDG’s vain hope that Bailey could somehow be anointed as the national expert on homosexuality and transsexualism”)
What a wonderful display of leftists’ willingness to caricature scholarly opponents! And such hypersensitive leftists have the temerity to complain I jest about them as ANTI-HOMOPHOBISTS AND ASSORTED FAGGOTS! (Of course, it was a pity that members of the HBDG list did not all plainly announce their scientific racism / race realism seven years ago when they might collectively have made a mark and defended me in Edinburgh. Sadly, still in 2003, the world’s only declared academic race realists (Glayde Whitney having sadly died) were Philippe Rushton, Richard Lynn and myself. The unwillingness of race realists to pull together reflected the non-emergence of national neoliberealism or any comparable liberty-respecting realism with which academics could be happy.
Egan V, Brand N, Brand T (2018). Obituary of Chris Brand (1st June 1943–28th May, 2017). Personality and Individual Differences Volume 122, 1 February 2018, Pages 206-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.08.011
Wotjas, Olga (27 March 1998). ‘Racist’ Brand loses dismissal appeal. Times Higher Education http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=106530§ioncode=26
Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
David Buss is an American evolutionary psychologist whose life’s work is dedicated to maintaining and reinforcing a sex binary.
Buss is a frequent supporter of anti-trans psychologist J. Michael Bailey. Of all the people in the investigation to date, Buss has the most overlapping interests and experiences with Bailey:
Buss earned a doctorate in the notoriously anti-trans psychology department at University of California, Berkeley in 1981.
Buss was married to Cynthia Louise “Cindy” Refhues (1958-2012) in 1981.
The Man Who Would Be Queen
He was cited in promotional materials for Bailey’s book.
“Bailey is one of a rare breed of writers who manages to combine first-rate science with deep
psychological understanding, resulting in great breadth of vision. He takes us on an unforgettable
journey into the minds and lives of feminine men. Bailey skillfully interweaves vivid case studies
with cutting-edge scientific findings, placing both in a deep historical context from the sexual
playground of ancient Greece to the dilemmas of gender in the modern world. Refreshingly
candid, remarkably free of ideology, this book is destined to become a modern classic in the field.
But readers should be prepared to have some cherished assumptions about human nature
shattered.”
– David M. Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating and Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind
Sexuality and Its Disorders
College textbooks on psychology and human sexuality are consistently among the most transphobic knowledge produced in academia. A 2017 textbook by Mike Abrams lays out Buss’s views.
Teachings
A reader reports:
“Every Spring semester since 2016, Dr. Buss has co-taught PSY 306: Introduction to Human Sexuality, a seminar class, with Dr. Cindy Meston. The class is taught in a live-streaming, online format. There’s a little studio on-campus. The professors show up 15 minutes before class time, then sit in the studio to give their lecture in front of some cameras and a small live studio audience of 20 of their students. That lecture gets broadcast live to a much larger number of students – typically between 250 – 700 students each semester. So, 1000s of students have seen this class. Each semester, there is a lecture on Gender Dysphoria. I’ve attached a .txt file of the transcript. Here’s a particularly concerning section from that class (as spoken by Dr. Meston):
I think what’s happening is that people are more aware of the disorder. Absolutely, people like Jazz Jennings. This is the little girl that was on the 20/20 video you watched. She is now a huge voice for the transgendered community. She’s set up a foundation. She’s done a lot of good will for the transgender community. She has put out many videos giving advice and education. She’s had a reality show.
There was actually the first transgendered doll launched a few years ago in her image. So people like this, people like, and a few years ago, the very first transgendered Playmate appeared.
So what’s happening is there’s a lot more talk about transgender, a lot of famous people have come forward to talk about their struggle with gender dysphoria, and so this has been, has had a remarkable good impact, I believe, in the sense that, when it’s so much more visible and so much more talked about, people become educated.
They learn about the disorder, and when you learn about a disorder then you’re less afraid of it. And not always, sadly, but a lot of the time, people become more accepting, and you know, we see now, compared to even a decade ago, that there are policy changes made with regard to transgendered individuals in, for example, washrooms.
So that’s something that never would have occurred even, you know, a decade ago. So this awareness has clearly made many people more comfortable in coming forward and talking about their problem, and seeking help, which is a good thing.
Now, I want to mention, just on the other hand, why sometimes social media may not be in one’s best interest. So what is happening is that, among young people, teenagers, early 20s, there’s this rise in the prevalence rates of gender dysphoric individuals. That’s really unusual and it doesn’t seem to fit the pattern of what we know clinically, and have known for many, many years about individuals who have gender dysphoria.
So, for example, adults, who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, they almost always have been either diagnosed as having childhood gender identity dysphoria, or gender dysphoria I should say, and if not diagnosed as a child, they showed signs as a child. Their tales are that they have struggled with this most of their lives, or there has been some pattern very early on that there were signs of gender dysphoria. This group that has emerged in young people presents a very different picture.
They present, often, as suddenly realizing they’re gender dysphoric, and so some researchers are concerned by this, and clinicians, and have talked about this disorder, which has been given the name rapid-onset gender dysphoria. And rapid-onset gender dysphoria is exactly as it sounds, the development of gender dysphoria begins suddenly, during or after puberty, in adolescents or a young adult, who would not have met the criteria in childhood.
So this is not a typical etiology because, as I just described, the typical etiology is that they would’ve met the criteria in childhood. And so this has led to a debate or a discussion in the research and clinical community as to the possible role of social media and online content in possibly leading a group of young adults to self-diagnosing themselves incorrectly as having gender dysphoria.
Now, we know that, oftentimes, depression, or anxiety, or autism, individuals along the autism spectrum, some of you may have heard the term, Asperger’s. This term is no longer used in the DSM, it’s now just considered part of the autism spectrum, but it refers to individuals who struggle somewhat with social aspects of their lives.
And sometimes, what may be happening is individuals who are experiencing some type of mental disorder, they google on the internet, or they do some research online to figure out what’s wrong with them, and there’s so much information out there now on transgendered individuals, that they may be incorrectly identifying as a transgendered individual as opposed to some other underlying mental disorder.
The legal uncertainties reflect widespread puzzlement about the basic science. What is transsexualism’s connection to homosexuality? Does it signify mental illness? The American Psychiatric Association long ago (1973) eliminated homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, but its fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) still lists “gender identity disorder,” also mystifying to many people. Why does it cause thousands of Americans to powerfully desire membership in the opposite sex, leading some subset of this population to undergo transformative genital surgery?
A good recently published guide to all these questions is The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism, by J. Michael Bailey, 46, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University who teaches an undergraduate course in human sexuality. The book is mostly about effeminate boys and men and how they got that way, but its concluding chapters zero in on the world of transsexuals–not all of whom were effeminate. The book has ignited a firestorm of protest from some transsexuals.
This despite the fact that Bailey, himself a standard-model male heterosexual, is warmly sympathetic to gays and transsexuals and argues persuasively that for the great majority of individuals taking the male-to-female route, the decision is rational.
The size of the transsexual population is itself a matter of controversy, and their propagandists endlessly seek to inflate the numbers. DSM-IV estimates that 1 in 30,000 males (and 1 in 100,000 females) opts for the surgery. Bailey’s estimate is 1 in 12,000 males, implying 8,000 gender-crossers now living in the country.
Transsexual Lynn Conway–who has been a computer scientist at IBM and is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan–is now an activist for the cause. She says the figure is 30,000 to 40,000.
But the transsexuals’ attack on the Bailey book is not based on his population estimates. The main point of the protests is Bailey’s explanation of the roots of gender-crossing. Relying heavily on the work of Ray Blanchard, who heads the clinical sexology program at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto, Bailey tells us that there are two different, quite distinct types of male-to-female transsexuals.
First is the “classic” homosexual type: the effeminate boy who, from early childhood, is profoundly convinced that he was meant to be a woman. A likely but still unproven interpretation of this feeling is that it traces back to an inadequate dose of male hormones six or seven weeks after conception. The result could be a young man sexually attracted to other men and gravitating toward a transsexual solution.
The second type bears the label “autogynephilia,” a clunky term invented by Blanchard, who coined it to describe that sizable fraction (perhaps half) of male-to-female transsexuals that he found to have a different version of gender identity disorder. They are erotically stimulated not by other men, and not primarily by women, but by the image of themselves as women. Except for their cross-dressing propensities, these transsexuals tend to lead rather ordinary heterosexual lives.
I spoke recently with an eminent transsexual who Bailey believes to be autogynephilic. Deirdre McCloskey, 61, is distinguished professor of the liberal arts and sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a quantitatively oriented Chicago-school economist, a huge fan of Milton Friedman, and a dazzling writer, who is also a professor in the university’s English and history departments. Until she underwent the sex change in the mid-1990s, her name was Donald McCloskey, and she was a cross-dresser with a wife and two grown kids.
It is Bailey’s impression that the first type–the homosexual gender-crossers–are relatively indifferent to his book and that the protest emanates mainly from the autogynephiles. It is possible to understand their rage. The Blanchard diagnosis is hard to live with: Cross-dressing strikes most Americans as ridiculous, and its specified erotic role only makes matters worse. McCloskey, for one, is furious about the book and told the Northwestern newspaper: “He’s saying ‘Look, they’re driven by sex, sex, sex. They’re men, men, men.'”
The Bailey book sheds some much-needed light on the topic of transsexualism. But it is not destined to end the debate, or the lawsuits. Expect this difficult topic to keep judges and equal-opportunity commissions busy for a long while to come.
References
Seligman, Dan (October 13, 2003). Transsexuals And the Law. Forbes http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1013/068.html
Jeremy W. Peters is an American author and New York Times employee who contributes to and vigorously defends their anti-transgender coverage.
Peters and Adam Nagourney also claim there is a “medical disagreement” about trans healthcare. In actuality, there is clear medical consensus on best practices which is opposed by a conservative fringe minority.
Background
Jeremy Warren Peters was born on January 25, 1980. Peters earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan in 2002, then worked as a freelance writer. Peters wrote for The Virgin Islands Daily News before joining the Times Detroit bureau, followed by the Albany bureau. While at Albany, Peters helped cover the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal.
In 2010 Bruce Headlam announced Peters would take over the publishing beat, covering both newspapers and magazines.
Peters’ book Insurgency came out in 2017. Peters also appears in the 2018 documentary series The Fourth Estate.
Peters is in a relationship with dermatologist Brendan Camp.
2023 attack on News Guild of New York
After the union representing Times journalists noted the profound anti-trans discrimination and hostile workplace created by Carolyn Ryan, Peters attacked union leadership, drafting the letter below and gathering signatures from colleagues.
Dear Susan,
We are writing to you privately in response to your February 17th letter, which we were surprised to see.
Like you, we support the right to a non-hostile workplace where everyone is respected and supported. We believe The New York Times should never engage in biased or discriminatory practices of any kind. We all strive to be part of a truly diverse news organization where everyone is treated fairly. We welcome robust and respectful critical feedback from colleagues, either in direct conversation or through internal Times channels.
But your letter appears to suggest a fundamental misunderstanding of our responsibilities as journalists. Regretfully, our own union leadership now seems determined to undermine the ethical and professional protections that we depend on to guard the independence and integrity of our journalism.
Factual, accurate journalism that is written, edited, and published in accordance with Times standards does not create a hostile workplace.
Every day, partisan actors seek to influence, attack, or discredit our work. We accept that. But what we don’t accept is what the Guild appears to be endorsing: A workplace in which any opinion or disagreement about Times coverage can be recast as a matter of “workplace conditions.” Our duty is to be independent. We pursue the facts wherever they may lead. We are journalists, not activists. That line should be clear.
Debates over fairness and accuracy are perfectly reasonable. We understand and respect that the Guild has an absolute duty to offer representation to members when they are subject to discipline by management. But we do not think it is the role of our union to be engaged in – and taking sides in – public debates over internal editorial decisions.
Our hope is that the coming days will bring more constructive internal dialogue among Times employees and with Guild leadership that can help unify and improve our news organization. And we ask that our union work to advance, not erode, our journalistic independence.
Sincerely,
Reed Abelson Maria Abi-Habib Peter Baker Emily Bazelon Brooks Barnes Julian Barnes Susan Beachy Jack Begg Ginia Bellafante Walt Bogdanich Alan Blinder Kellan Browning Russ Buettner David Chen Nicholas Confessore Rob Copeland Reid Epstein Elizabeth Dias Harvey Dickson Susan Dominus Joe Drape Jesse Drucker Sydney Ember Maureen Farrell Matt Flegenheimer Ellen Gabler Trip Gabriel Robert Gebeloff Adam Goldman Ruth Graham Michael Grynbaum Danny Hakim Anemona Hartocollis Virginia Hughes Sharon LaFraniere Joshua Katz Clifford Krauss Nicholas Kulish Steven Lee Myers Lisa Lerer Sarah Lyall Veronica Majerol Jonathan Mahler Sapna Maheshwari Apoorva Mandavilli Mark Mazzetti Mike McIntire Jennifer Medina Phyllis Messinger Rebecca O’Brien Dennis Overbye Ken Paul Michael Paulson Ivan Penn Jeremy Peters Michael Powell William Rashbaum Rebecca Robbins Matthew Rosenberg Katie Rosman Michael Rothfeld Jim Rutenberg Margot Sanger-Katz Charlie Savage Stephanie Saul Jennifer Schuessler Kim Severson Jessica Silver-Greenberg Jeff Sommer Nicole Sperling Emily Steel Katie Thomas Marcela Valdes Ken Vogel Nancy Wartik Mark Walker Ben Weiser Elizabeth Williamson Michael Wilson Michael Wines David Yaffe-Bellany Kate Zernike
Sulzberger, A. G. (October 7, 2015). Our Path Forward (PDF). The New York Times Company. https://nytco-assets.nytimes.com/m/Our-Path-Forward.pdf
Sulzberger, A. G. (January 1, 2018). A Note from Our New Publisher. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/01/opinion/Arthur-Gregg-Sulzberger-The-New-York-Times.html
Drew Pinsky is an American physician who has covered issues related to trans and gender diverse people.
Background
David Drew Pinsky was born on September 4, 1958 in Pasadena, California to physician Morton Pinsky (1926–2009) and entertainer Helene Stanton (1925–2017).
After graduating from Polytechnic School in 1976, Pinsky earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College in 1980 and a medical degree from University of Southern California in 1984.
Pinsky had a longstanding goal of covering medical issues in the media. After about a decade of radio appearances, Pinsky’s radio show Loveline was syndicated in 1995. MTV premiered a television version in 1996, hosted by Pinsky and Adam Carolla. From 2007-2008 Pinsky hosted Dr. Drew Live. From 2015 to 2019, Pinsky co-hosted Dr. Drew Midday Live. Loveline continued until 2016.
Pinsky hosted several other TV programs, including Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew, Strictly Dr. Drew, Sex…with Mom and Dad, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, Dr. Drew On Call . Pinsky has made many cameos and is often sought for comment on medical issues, especially drug and alcohol use.
Pinsky and spouse Susan Sailer married on July 21, 1991 and had triplets Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina in 1992. Pinsky has had treatments for prostate cancer. Pinksy has espoused libertarian and sometimes conservative views.
Transgender coverage
Pinsky hosted the program “Transgender in America” on August 26-27 2015 on HLN. The show included Ian Harvie, Marci Bowers, Bamby Salcedo, and D’Lo.
In 2015, Pinsky invited anti-trans extremist Ben Shapiro and trans journalist Zoey Tur on an episode of Dr. Drew on Call to discuss an award won by Caitlyn Jenner. After Shapiro insulted trans people in general and Tur in particular, Tur told Shapiro “You should cut that out now, or you’ll go home in an ambulance.” Shapiro, visibly shaken, later threatened to file police reports and lawsuits, but nothing came of any of it. Pinsky later apologized to Shapiro.
Ennis, Dawn (August 26, 2015). Can Dr. Drew Capture the Trans Experience?The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/08/26/can-dr-drew-capture-trans-experience
Robinson, Judah (August 26, 2015). Dr. Drew Says Special On Transgender Issues Was Inspired By Caitlyn Jenner. HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-drew-special-transgender-caitlyn-jenner_n_55ddb666e4b04ae49705143e
Caitlyn Lance Antrim was born on August 30, 1949 at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Antrim’s parents were Admiral Richard Nott Antrim and Mary Jean (Packard) Antrim.
She earned her SBME from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1971. On returning to civilian life, she returned to MIT to earn the professional degree of Environmental Engineer in 1977, specializing in ocean mineral development, international law and public policy.
A noted expert on the Law of the Sea, she was Executive Director of the Rule of Law Committee for the Ocean. She died on July 28, 2018 while attending the International Seabed Authority Conference in Kingston, Jamaica.
In the course of some work on the internet I came across your post to ‘Currents of Justice’ in Atlanta. You were promoting the idea of having Professor Michael Bailey appear on the show to promote his recent book.
I believe in social justice. I have worked to promote justice at the national and international levels in the US government, for NGOs and at the United Nations – I have even worked at the National Academy of Sciences. Because of this connection, particularly my involvement with the Academies and friendships with many of the staff, I feel competent to write to you on this subject.
Years ago a feminist author published a book called “The Transsexual Empire.” This book, which put forth the idea that men were trying to take over the women’s movement by becoming ersatz women and supplanting ‘real’ women, was a hurtful, biased book. In spite of its lack of substantive research or analysis, it continued to arise year after year, denying that transsexuals could ever be real women, causing hurt to many and relegating them to a lesser role, or denying them a role at all, in the women’s movement. I hope that you will understand that the lesson of “The Transsexual Empire” has been that such publications, based on bias and pre-conceived opinions, cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged. If you wish to understand the current relevance of this lesson, you may search the internet where you will find that Bailey’s book receives strong support in very conservative web sites where it is used to degrade both gays and transsexuals.
Professor Bailey has proven to be intolerant of disagreement with his book, his ideas and his methods. He has declared that the many people who have transitioned across genders who claim they do not fit into his two categories are lying about their experience. I am insulted by his arrogance, and I am disappointed by the glowing recommendations that the Academy Press has provided, particularly now that Professor Bailey has stated that he did not base his book on original research and that he even fabricated the ending of at least one story to support his personal position.
Most hurtful of all – I find that when I attend meetings in the Academy building and stop in the first floor bookstore, I am met by the cover of “The Man Who Would Be Queen”. At that moment, as I stand in the doorway, I feel that it is the Academy itself that is insulting me by promoting this book that not only presents a view of transsexuals that does not apply to me, but denies that I have the self-understanding or the right to exclude myself from its categorization. It is only when I remember my friends and colleagues throughout the Academy who have supported me in my own transition that I regain my balance.
Ms. Pinnel, if you truly value social justice, I hope you will consider the injustice that Michael Bailey’s presentation does to the many, many transsexuals he never considered in all his study, indeed, that he refused to consider – those of us who work throughout society, who teach at universities, who lead major businesses, who practice compassionate medicine, who work to improve the lot of the oppressed, and who work at the Academy, participate in its committees and are even elected to its membership. We are the people who Michael Bailey never considered; we are those he refused to meet even before the Joseph Henry Press ever heard of his book. We simply seek our deserved recognition as women (and as men for those who transitioned from female to male). Justice cries out for us to be heard! Are you listening? Are you willing to?
In closing, I ask you to try to consider what it would be like for a prominent institution, one that you respect most highly, to publish a book that denied to you recognition of something of great personal importance – your religion, perhaps, or your ethnic heritage — how would you feel? How would you feel toward the people who, perhaps in ignorance, promoted that book and further denied you the understanding that you deserved?
On that question, I will close and ask you to ponder your response. If you would like more understanding, I would welcome your questions and would even be willing to discuss the matter with you and your colleagues to develop ways to redeem the injustice.
Mary Kate Fain is an American publisher and anti-transgender extremist. Fain created gender critical projects Spinster and 4W and is co-host of Identity Crisis with Plebity cofounder Sasha White. Fain also jelped with the initial launch of Ovarit after r/gendercritical was banned from reddit.
Background
Mary Kate Fain was born in October 1992, one of six children born to Karen Marie Fain (1965–2015) and Michael L. Ozlek (born 1954).
Fain graduated from Phoenixville Area High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College in 2013. From 2016 to 2018, Fain founded and ran animal rights organization Liberation Philadelphia.
Fain’s concerns center around maintaining sex segregation in remaining institutions and in creating platforms that allow participants to express anti-trans opinions.
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.
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 …
— International Academy of Sex Research (@TheIASR) April 19, 2023
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
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
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.
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?”
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
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 (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/
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.”
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 –
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/
Singleton, Mary Lou (25 July 2016). Thinking Differently conference. Women’s Liberation Front http://womensliberationfront.org/thinking-differently-conference/
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/
