Hutchinson is a British psychologist involved in the “ex-transgender” movement. Similar to the ex-gay movement, it is a group of people who believe they have been cured of being trans, either through “desistance” or “detransition.” Hutchinson is also a proponent of the disputed diagnosis “rapid onset gender dysphoria.”
Background
Anna Hutchinson was born in November 1977. Hutchinson earned a bachelor’s degree from Cardiff University, a master’s degree from University College London, and a doctorate from Royal Holloway, University of London.
Hutchinson has held roles at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Kingâs College Hospital, and the infamous “gender clinic” at The Tavistock Centre.
Hutchinson and Netali Riddell Levi operate The Integrated Psychology Clinic, the trading name for Netali Hutchinson LLP.
Anti-transgender activism
Hutchinson was a founding member of the International Association of Therapists for Desisters and Detransitioners (IATDD), an anti-transgender front group. Its members are key figures in âgender criticalâ anti-transgender activism. Hutchinson was a founding member of the website Detrans Foundation but was taken off in the first two months.
IATDD supported the âex-transgenderâ movement, people who describe themselves as âdesistersâ and âdetransitioners.â They sell their services to parents who do not want their children to make a gender transition, known as the âparental rightsâ movement.
Hutchinson also supports the disputed diagnosis “rapid onset gender dysphoria” and urged more research in the anti-trans publication Archives of Sexual Behavior. That journal’s stated goal since its founding has been “the prevention of transsexualism.”
References
United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity â IESOGI. Report on Conversion Therapy. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/ConversionTherapyReport.pdf
Butler C, Hutchinson A (2020). Debate: The pressing need for research and services for gender desisters/detransitioners. Child Adolesc Ment Health 2020 Feb;25(1):45-47. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12361
Hutchinson A, Migden M, Spiliadis A (2020). In Support of Research Into Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2020 Jan;49(1):79-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01517-9
Gilligan, Andrew (July 20 2019). Children âmisledâ at gender clinic. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/children-misled-at-gender-clinic-ccdpghgx5
Ashley F (2022). Interrogating Gender-Exploratory Therapy. Perspectives on Psychological Science, Volume 18, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221102325
Resources
The Integrated Psychology Clinic (integrated-psychology-clinic.com)
International Association of Therapists for Desisters and Detransitioners (iatdd.com)
- Dr Anna Hutchinson
- iatdd.com/dr-anna-hutchinson/ [archive]
Anastassis Spiliadis is a Greek anti-transgender psychologist who supports the “ex-transgender” movement and promotes a form of delayed transition for gender diverse youth called “gender exploratory therapy.”
Anastassis Spiliadis’ name is sometimes styled Anastasios Spiliadis and is ÎΜαÏÏÎŹÏÎ·Ï ÎŁÏηλÎčÎŹÎŽÎ·Ï in Greek.
Background
Spiliadis was born in July 1987. After earning a bachelor’s degree from National University of Athens (NKUA/ÎΞΜÎčÎșÏ ÎșαÎč ÎαÏοΎÎčÏÏÏÎčαÎșÏ Î Î±ÎœÎ”ÏÎčÏÏÎźÎŒÎčÎż ÎΞηΜÏÎœ), Spiliadis earned master’s degrees from Kings College London, Westminster University, and Imperial College London.
Spiliadis has held a number of roles within the UK’s National Health Service. Spiliadis has worked at the Maudsley Centre for Child & Adolescent Eating Disorders (MCCAED).
Spiliadis also worked for four years at the infamous Tavistock Centre Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS).
Anti-trans activism
Spiliadis supports the disputed diagnosis “rapid onset gender dysphoria” and urged for more research in the anti-trans publication Archives of Sexual Behavior. That journal’s stated goal since its founding has been “the prevention of transsexualism.”
Spiliadis is a founding member of “ex-trans” organizations International Association of Therapists for Desisters and Detransitioners, and the Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research. Spiliadis is also associated with the website Detrans Foundation.
Spiliadis is a member of the Institute of Mental Health for Children and Adults in Athens, Greece. Spiliadis is based in London and in Athens.
References
United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity – IESOGI. Report on Conversion Therapy. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/ConversionTherapyReport.pdf
Hutchinson A, Migden M, Spiliadis A (2020). In Support of Research Into Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2020 Jan;49(1):79-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01517-9
Spiliadis A (2019). Towards a Gender Exploratory Model: slowing things down, opening things up and exploring identity development. Metalogos (35). https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/IESOGI/Other/Rebekah_Murphy_TowardsaGenderExploratoryModelslowingthingsdownopeningthingsupandexploringidentitydevelopment.pdf
Ashley F (2022). Interrogating Gender-Exploratory Therapy. Perspectives on Psychological Science, Volume 18, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221102325
Resources
ICF Consultations (icf-consultations.com)
- ICF = Individual, Couple, Family
Detrans Foundation (detransfoundation.com)
International Association of Therapists for Desisters and Detransitioners (iatdd.com)
- Anastassis Spiliadis
- iatdd.com/anastassis-spiliadis [archive]
Lynn Meagher is an American anti-transgender extremist and unsupportive parent to two adult transgender children, both of whom are estranged from Meagher.
Meagher also uses the alias “Lynn Chadwick.” As Chadwick, Meagher is associated with anti-trans groups Genspect and Themis Resource Fund.
Background
Lynn Frances Meagher was born on January 26, 1962. Meagher worked in nursing in Washington State from 1985 to 2021.
According to a social media account, in 2022 Chadwick was in a relationship with biology professor Arla Hile (born 1962).
Anti-transgender activism
Meagher has appeared on religious and conservative programs. Meagher reportedly lost both children to the “transgender cult.”
Meagher’s children disagree:
âShe didnât lose me to a cult,â her eldest daughter said, clarifying that she is estranged from her mum because Meagher is âracistâ, âabusiveâ, âtransphobicâ, âgreedyâ, âcruelâ and âreligiously intolerantâ.
âShe lost me because sheâs a piece of s**t,â she added. âItâs true, we wonât speak to her, although her TERF-ness was only the tip of the iceberg. She was extremely emotionally and physically abusive growing up.â
Parsons (2020)
Meagher frequently appears at anti-trans events and was part of the group blog Compassion Coalition. On that blog, Meagher’s self-written bio states:
Lynn works as an advocate for parents of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) kids and as a spokesperson for the Kelsey Coalition. She feels honored to work with many gifted and talented women through the Hands Across the Aisle coalition.
Lynn has recently become involved in activism against Drag Queen Story Hours at public libraries and helped to start Ask Moms on Facebook to inform and equip ordinary people everywhere to stand against the sexualization of children. She worked as a nurse in Neonatal Intensive Care for 28 years.
Compassion Coalition (2020)
In November 2022 “Chadwick” appeared at a Sovereign Women Speak event with Kara Dansky, Lierre Keith, Exulansic, Meghan Ventura, and April Morrow.
References
Parsons, Vic (February 6, 2020). Christian mum who said she âlost her kids to the trans cultâ spectacularly called out by her own children. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2020/02/06/lynn-meagher-called-out-children-trans-cult-proud-boys-posie-parker-christian-post/
Showalter, Brandon (April 27, 2019). ‘I’ve lost two kids to the trans cult, I want them back’: An anguished mom shares her journey. Christian Post https://www.christianpost.com/news/ive-lost-two-kids-trans-cult-i-want-them-back-anguished-mom-shares-her-journey.html
Meagher, Lynn (March 19, 2021) When Transgenderism Discards My Daughter, I Will Still Be Here For Her. The Federalist https://thefederalist.com/2021/03/19/when-transgenderism-discards-my-daughter-i-will-still-be-here-for-her/
Resources
Substack (substack.com)
Washington State Department of Health (wa.gov/doh)
- RN00101182 (1990â2021)
- LP00033026 (1985â1990)
Facebook (facebook.com)
X/Twitter (twitter.com)
Miriam Ben-Shalom is an American educator and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Ben-Shalom was born May 3, 1948 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, one of six children in a Roman Catholic family. Ben-Shalom’s mother died when Miriam was six. After graduating high school in 1967, Ben-Shalom married and had a child. At 19, Ben-Shalom converted to Judaism, moved to Israel, joined the military, changed names, and remarried. In 1971, Ben-Shalom divorced and returned to the US, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of WisconsinâMilwaukee.
In 1974, Ben-Shalom enlisted in the United States Army Reserve. After coming out as lesbian in the media, Ben-Shalom was honorably discharged in 1976. Ben-Shalom sued, and after a lengthy court battle, lost in 1990. Ben-Shalom then co-founded the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America (GLBVA), now American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER). Ben-Shalom continued protesting until “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was repealed.
Ben-Shalom taught English at Milwaukee Area Technical College. Ben-Shalom has been in a relationship with Karen Weiss (born September 1947).
Anti-transgender activism
In 2017, Ben-Shalom testified at the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs against trans rights and co-founded the Hands Across the Aisle Coalition with right-wing activist Kaeley Triller Haver. Ben-Shalom has worked with the Heritage Foundation to oppose trans rights.
Ben-Shalom also participated in the anti-trans group blog The Compassion Coalition.
Because of these hateful views, Ben-Shalom was disinvited from being grand marshal of the 2016 Milwaukee Pride Parade.
References
Jones, Andrea; Wood, Melody (March 3, 2017). Feminists and Conservatives Link Arms to Confront Transgender Ideology. The Daily Signal. The Heritage Foundation.
Anderson, Ryan T. (2018). When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. New York: Encounter Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-1594039621.
The Bending and Twisting of Sex and Gender. Ms. Miriam Ben-Shalom on YouTube. CitizenGo. February 23, 2018
1st International Conference on Sex, Gender, and Education #GenderAndSex (February 2018). Madrid Declaration for Understanding, Respect and Freedom (PDF). Femina Europa
Polcyn, Bryan; Davis, Stephen (June 8, 2016). Transgender issues are driving a wedge in LGBT community, says activist ousted from Pride Parade. WITI
Milwaukee Pride Parade (May 3, 2016). Re: Former Grand Marshal Miriam Ben-Shalom. Facebook. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
Miriam Ben-Shalom (April 27, 2016). For your reading enjoyemnt (not sarcasm): I am no longer Milwaukee Pride’s Grand Marshal for their parade. Facebook.
-http://mcgarryfh.frontrunnerpro.com/book-of-memories/2215570/Samuel-Ages/obituary.php
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Library of Congress (loc.gov)
X/Twitter (x.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
John Bickley is a conservative American writer and anti-transgender activist. Bickley is editor of The Daily Wire and co-host of Morning Wire with Georgia Mae Howe.
Background
John Taylor Bickley was born on December 24, 1976 and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. Bickley graduated from Leon High School.
Bickley earned a master’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a doctorate from Florida State University. Bickley spent several years teaching college before moving into producing conservative propaganda. Bickley is personally, spiritually, and professionally responsible for The Daily Wire’s sustained attacks on America’s 300,000 trans and gender diverse children and adolescents.
Bickley’s spouse is Danielle “Dani” Su Armstrong Bickley (born 1980). They married in 2011. They have two children.
References
Staff report (Jul 19, 2021). The Daily Wire Enters The Daily Morning News Podcast Race. Inside Radio https://www.insideradio.com/podcastnewsdaily/the-daily-wire-enters-the-daily-morning-news-podcast-race/article_09e46eda-e8b6-11eb-a33b-e35aec9f2203.html
Leonardi, Anthony (July 07, 2020). Ben Shapiro steps down as editor-in-chief in shake-up at Daily Wire. Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/ben-shapiro-steps-down-as-editor-in-chief-in-shakeup-at-daily-wire
Resources
Daily Wire (dailywire.com)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Jeremy Boreing is a conservative American media executive and anti-transgender activist. He is a founder of conservative news and opinion website The Daily Wire.
Background
Jeremy Danial Boreing was born on February 5, 1979 in Slaton, Texas. After working in local theater, he moved to Los Angeles and produced several film and television projects.
In 2013, Boreing and Ben Shapiro founded conservative media watchdog Truth Revolt. In 2015 Boreing and Shapiro founded The Daily Wire.
Boreing has been involved in conservative networking in the entertainment industry. Boreing has advised PragerU on production, including using animation to avoid use issues around images and video.
After Hershey’s Chocolate included Canadian trans activist Fae Johnstone in a campaign celebrating five women for International Women’s Day, Boreing launched Jeremy’s Chocolate, with wrappers that said HeHim and SheHer.
References
Pritchett, Elizabeth (March 4, 2023). Daily Wire’s Jeremy Boreing offers alternative to Hershey’s after controversial International Women’s Day ad. Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/media/daily-wires-jeremy-boreing-alternative-hersheys-controversial-international-womens-day-ad
Resources
Jeremy Boreing (jeremyboreing.com)
I Hate Hersheys (ihatehersheys.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Daily Wire (dailywire.com)
- Jeremy Boreing [archive]
- https://www.dailywire.com/authors/jeremy-boreing
Michael Knowles is an American writer and anti-transgender extremist.
Background
Michael John Knowles was born March 18, 1990 in Bedford Hills, New York. He grew up in a Catholic family. As a teen he trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. After he earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, he acted in Los Angeles.
In 2016, Knowles was invited to join The Daily Wire.
He married Alissa Mahler in 2018 and has two children.
Anti-transgender activism
Knowles opposes marriage equality.
In 2019, Knowles gave a speech at the University of MissouriâKansas City titled “Men Are Not Women,” which led to protests.
In February 2023, Knowles called for the elimination of the concept of being transgender, arguing that those who identify as transgender are “laboring a delusion, and we need to correct that delusion”. At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March, he further stated that “there can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism”, and that “for the good of society, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.”
References
Kilander, Gustaf (March 4, 2023). CPAC speaker sparks alarm with call for trans people to be ‘eradicated’. The Independent. [archive] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/cpac-transgenderism-daily-wire-michael-knowles-b2294252.html
Hawkinson, Katie (March 4, 2023). Michael Knowles Says Transgenderism Must Be ‘Eradicated’ at CPAC. The Daily Beast. [archive] https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-knowles-calls-for-eradication-of-transgender-people-at-conservative-political-action-conference
McClure, Kelly (March 4, 2023). CPAC speaker says, “Transgenderism must be eradicated,” while claiming it doesn’t exist. Salon. [archive] https://www.salon.com/2023/03/04/cpac-speaker-says-transgenderism-must-be-eradicated-while-claiming-it-doesnt-exist/
Zoledziowski, Anya (March 6, 2023). CPAC Speaker Calls for Eradication of ‘Transgenderism,’ Crowd Goes Wild. Vice. [archive] https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvjgnq/cpac-transgenderism-speaker-called-for-eradication
Rodriguez, Matthew (March 6, 2023). CPAC Speaker Michael Knowles Says “Transgenderism Must Be Eradicated”. them [archive] https://www.them.us/story/michael-knowles-transgenderism-cpac
Resources
Michael Knowles (michaeljknowles.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
IMDb (imdb.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Daily Wire (dailywire.com)
James Damore is an American software engineer and conservative activist. Damore was fired from Google after writing a memo criticizing Google’s diversity policies, specifically about sex differences in cognitive ability.
Damore is considered part of the so-called intellectual dark web, a gateway to the far right. Damore was represented by anti-trans lawyer Harmeet Dhillon in subsequent legal matters. Damore was supported by many anti-trans activists and appeared on several shows connected to the alt-right.
Background
James Anthony Damore was born on April 24, 1989, in Romeoville, Illinois.
Damore earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois and a master’s degree form Harvard. Damore left the Harvard doctoral program in 2013 to work at Google. Damore was determined to be autistic as an adult.
In 2017, after attending a diversity training that solicited feedback, Damore wrote a memo titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” which asserted that due to sex differences, men are more suited to working in technology.
Activism
Damore gave interviews to numerous outlets, including many conservative and anti-trans people associated with the intellectual dark web:
Damore was supported in some of these assertions about sex differences by a number of writers, and some commented on the public reaction, including
References
Shankland, Stephen (May 9, 2020). James Damore’s diversity lawsuit against Google comes to quiet end. CNET https://www.cnet.com/culture/james-damores-diversity-lawsuit-against-google-comes-to-a-quiet-end/#google_vignette
Damore, James (July 2017). Googleâs Ideological Echo Chamber. https://diversitymemo-static.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Googles-Ideological-Echo-Chamber.pdf
Resources
James Damore (http://jamesdamore.com/)
Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/)
RationalWiki (rationalwiki.org)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Redbubble (redbubble.com)
- James Damore
- https://www.redbubble.com/people/jamesdamore/shop
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author whose comments about transgender people have been criticized as transphobic.
Background
Adichie was born 15 September 1977 Enugu in Nigeria. Adichie’s seminal parent was a professor, and Adichie’s birth parent served as a college registrar. Their family is Catholic, and Adichie has five siblings.
Adichie studied medicine and pharmacy at the University of Nigeria before coming to the US and enrolling at Drexel University before transferring to Eastern Connecticut State University, where Adichie earned a bachelor’s degree in 2001. Adichie then earned master’s degrees at both Yale and Johns Hopkins before winning a MacArthur Fellowship that took Adichie to Harvard.
Adichie began publishing work in 1997 and has since written many poems, short stories, and books that have earned a number of awards and prizes. Adichie gave a TED Talk in 2009 and a TEDx talk in 2012 that were well received.
Views on transgender issues
2017 comments
Although Adichie has criticized anti-LGBT laws in Nigeria, Adichie was accused of transphobia in 2017 when asked if trans women are women. Adichie said, “My feeling is trans women are trans women.”Â
Adichie later clarified on March 13:
Perhaps I should have said trans women are trans women and cis women are cis women and all are women. Except that ‘cis’ is not an organic part of my vocabulary. And would probably not be understood by a majority of people. Because saying ‘trans’ and ‘cis’ acknowledges that there is a distinction between women born female and women who transition, without elevating one or the other, which was my point. I have and will continue to stand up for the rights of transgender people.
2020 comments
In 2020, Adichie voiced support for J.K. Rowling after Rowling complained about the “new trans activism” that had labeled Rowling a TERF and a transphobe. After Adichie got criticism for calling Rowling’s piece “perfectly reasonable,” Adichie complained about “cancel culture” and “the American liberal orthodoxy.“
Thereâs a sense in which you arenât allowed to learn and grow. Also forgiveness is out of the question. I find it so lacking in compassion. How much of our wonderfully complex human selves are we losing?
I think in America the worst kind of censorship is self-censorship, and it is something America is exporting to every part of the world. We have to be so careful: you said the wrong word you must be crucified immediately.
[…] The orthodoxy, the idea that you are supposed to mouth the words, it is so boring. In general, human beings are emotionally intelligent enough to know when something is coming from a bad place.
2022 comments
In 2022, Adichie expanded on these views about “this whole trans thing” in The Guardian:
This is the driving logic of her fear for free speech: that she canât say biological sex is inalienable without sparking a storm. âSo somebody who looks like my brother â he says, âIâm a womanâ, and walks into the womenâs bathroom, and a woman goes, âYouâre not supposed to be hereâ, and sheâs transphobic?â
When the interview countered that if her sibling really were trans, “Youâd probably think treating him with dignity and respect was more important than where he went to the toilet?”
[Adichie] âBut why is that?â she asks. âWhy canât they be equal parts of the conversation?â
[reporter] âMaybe because dignity is more important?â
[Adichie] âNot if you consider womenâs views to be valid. This is what baffles me. Are there no such things as objective truth and facts?â
Media
TED (October 7, 2009). The danger of a single story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
TEDx Talks (April 12, 2013). We should all be feminists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc
References
Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Goes Anti-Trans Again. Advocate. 2 December 2022
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie doubles down on anti-trans views. PinkNews. 1 December 2022.
Williams, Zoe (November 19, 2022). âI believe literature is in perilâ: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie comes out fighting for freedom of speech. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/nov/28/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-bbc-reith-lecture-freedom-truth-trans-rights
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Clarifying. Facebook Archived from the original on 26 February 2022.
Flood, Alison (16 June 2021). ‘It is obscene’: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pens blistering essay against social media sanctimony. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2021. we have a generation of young people on social media so terrified of having the wrong opinions that they have robbed themselves of the opportunity to think and to learn and to grow. I have spoken to young people who tell me they are terrified to tweet anything, that they read and re-read their tweets because they fear they will be attacked by their own. The assumption of good faith is dead. What matters is not goodness but the appearance of goodness. We are no longer human beings. We are now angels jostling to out-angel one another. God help us. It is obscene.
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozie (15 June 2021). IT IS OBSCENE: A TRUE REFLECTION IN THREE PARTS. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Akhabau, Izin (18 November 2020). Akwaeke Emezi: Non-binary author shares heartbreak at Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The Voice. Archived
Okafor, Chinedu (17 November 2020). Chimamanda Adichie comes under same fire as Rowling over transphobia. YNaija Archived
Allardice, Lisa (14 November 2020). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: ‘America under Trump felt like a personal loss’. The Guardian Archived
Allardice, Lisa (28 April 2018). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: ‘This could be the beginning of a revolution’. The Guardian. Archived
Crockett, Emily (15 March 2017). The controversy over Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and trans women, explained. Vox Archived
Resources
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (chimamanda.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Choire Sicha is an American writer and anti-transgender activist.
While running the New York Times Style section, Sicha claimed, “We will aggressively cover politics, gender, sexuality, health, crime, shoes and contouring,” but the only notable gender coverage was a piece by John McDermott sympathetically profiling numerous anti-transgender public figures.
Background
Choire Arthur Sicha was born November 19, 1971 and grew up in Southern California, according to self-reports.
Parent Jeffrey Sicha (born 1940) is a Rhodes Scholar and philosopher who currently lives in Atascadero, California with Sadie Kendall, creator of Kendall Farms CrĂšme FraĂźche. The elder Sicha occasionally publishes philosophical texts. Sicha’s other birth parent is often mythologized in various origin stories and appears to have been the primary caregiver. Sicha graduated from Evanston Township High School in Illinois in 1989.
From 1991 to 1997, Sicha did HIV/AIDS activism at organizations including Larkin Street Youth Services, People with AIDS Coalition, HIV Law Project, and Visual AIDS. From 1997 to 2003 Sicha was director of Manhattan art gallery Debs & Co. During that time Sicha reportedly shared a “shitty East Village rabbit warren with Dale Peck” and was a key figure in developing “blog voice,” the snarky Gen X tone that further metastasized into millennial Twitter and Tumblr voice.
On October 22, 2011, Sicha married commercial real estate executive David Michael Valdez. They spend much of their time in the Hudson Valley north of New York City.
Gawker
Nick Denton founded Gawker in 2002 and appointed Elizabeth Spiers editor. When Spiers left, Sicha served as editor for a year before Jessica Coen replaced Sicha in August 2004. While Sicha was editing at Jared Kushner’s New York Observer from 2005 to 2007, then writing for Radar, the Gawker feature “Gawker Stalker” became more and more invasive. Sicha returned to Gawker and continued ramping it up:
Gawker had always sold itself as mean but it now became, actually, very mean. Sicha, who liked to pretend to be a news organization, had sent âcorrespondentsâ and âinternsâ to official media events. Coen found more of them, and she sent them not only to launches and readings but also to private parties, where they took embarrassing party photos. This was the important development: the decision to treat every subject, known or unknown, in public or private situations, with the fascinated ill will that tabloid magazines have for their subjects. Spiers had invented the best-known element of Gawker, âGawker Stalker,â which compiled reports of celebrity encounters. Really this had started as a support group for CondĂ© Nast assistants, who wrote in to say what it felt like to see Anna Wintour in person and, also, what she was wearing. As the feature expanded, under Spiers and Sicha, it remained a record of that nice New York moment: seeing a Hollywood face. During Coenâs tenure, Gawker Stalker morphed from a list, to a list with photographs, to an interactive map that tracked its subjects through Manhattan with unnerving immediacy.
Sicha later called Gawker Stalker “the bane of my existence.”
Libertarian anti-trans activist Nick Gillespie named Sicha one of the “50 Most Loathsome NYers.”
When Spiers left, […] she handed the reins to Choire Sicha (yes, folks, that’s pronounced “Cory”, and yes, it’s a dude) who turned Gawker into an unreadable circle-jerk for the cream of New York City’s wannabe media asshole crop. To read Gawker now is no longer an enjoyable five minutes in the morning; it’s stumbling into a horrifying online cocktail party hosted by a humorless, obnoxious prick and attended by his even less interesting obnoxious prick friends.
The Awl and 2013 book
Sicha co-founded The Awl with David Cho and Alex Balk in 2009 and edited there until taking the Style section job at the New York Times. The Awl folded in 2018.
Sicha authored the 2013 book Very Recent History.
2019 New York Times piece
Sicha claimed on many occasions that gender would be covered at the Times:
â[The] Style desk covers change, it covers generational change, it covers change in how we talk about gender, it covers young people. It covers technology, and it covers love, marriage and how we look. Those are all things that are incredibly fraught at this time, and theyâre supposed to upset people.â
Bienaimé (2019)
Gender was conspicuously absent from subsequent coverage, with one notable exception. Sicha greenlit and published John McDermott’s 2019 puff piece about gender critical media figures. Sicha and McDermott interviewed zero trans people or media watchdogs critical of these bigots.
As Melissa Gira Grant noted in The New Republic:
Conspicuously absent from the Times piece are quotes and stories from the people who have been deemedâboth by the canceled and their chroniclersâsupporting players in the culture war debate: the trans individuals the canceled have concerned themselves with, and whose lives and health are at stake.
Grant (2019)
People Sicha and McDermott profiled sympathetically include:
Vox Media
Sicha has had a relationship with Vox Media starting in 2016, returning to their property New York after the stint at the New York Times. Sicha profiled Daniel and Grace Lavery and their partner, Lily Woodruff in 2024.
Sicha has wisely deleted almost all tweets interacting with anti-trans media figures. Those have been left out for now as a courtesy. In 2024, Sicha scrubbed the account, noting for a time “find me on other less transphobic platforms.”
References
Staff report (June 7, 2021). Choire Sicha to join New York Magazine as Editor-at-Large. New York https://nymag.com/press/2021/06/choire-sicha-to-join-new-york-magazine-as-editor-at-large.html
Dean Baquet, Joe Kahn, and Sam Sifton (April 16, 2021). A New Role for Choire Sicha. New York Times Company https://www.nytco.com/press/a-new-role-for-choire-sicha/
Bienaimé, Pierre (December 3, 2019). New York Times Style editor Choire Sicha on covering boomers, Gen Z and the generations between. Digiday https://digiday.com/media/new-york-times-choire-sicha-style-generations/
Grant, Melissa Gira (November 6, 2019). Fixating on âcancel cultureâ in an age of transphobia. The New Republic https://newrepublic.com/article/155606/fxating-cancel-culture-age-transphobia
Hiltner, Stephen (October 26, 2017). What constitutes style? Choire Sicha, our new Styles editor, answers your questions. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/reader-center/choire-sicha-styles-editor-q-and-a.html
Heinzinger, Kristen (September 21, 2017). Choire Sicha on his plans for NYT Styles, his Gawker days, and more. Fashion Week Daily https://fashionweekdaily.com/preaching-to-the-choire/
Moses, Lucia (27 April 2016). Vox Media’s Choire Sicha is the unlikely platform wrangler. Digiday https://digiday.com/media/vox-media-choire-sicha-unlikely-platform-wrangler/
Alpert, Lukas I. (February 17, 2016). Vox hires Choire Sicha to oversee partnerships with Facebook, Snapchat. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/vox-hires-choire-sicha-to-oversee-partnerships-with-facebook-snapchat-1455714001
Dzieza, Josh (July 9, 2015). Why are the most important people in media reading The Awl?”. The Verge https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/9/8908279/the-awl-profile-choire-sicha-john-herrman-matt-buchanan
Chafin, Chris (June 3, 2014). The Awl and the rise of downtown Brooklyn. Brooklyn Magazine http://www.bkmag.com/2014/06/03/the-awl-and-the-rise-of-downtown-brooklyn/
Gregory, Alice (August 13, 2013). Choire Sicha, the anti-blogger. The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/choire-sicha-the-anti-blogger
Wayne, Teddy (October 28, 2010). The definitive interview with Choire Sicha, Editor of The Awl, on the state of the media, writing, and New York. GQ https://www.gq.com/story/the-definitive-interview-with-choire-sicha-editor-of-the-awl-on-the-state-of-the-media-writing-and-n
Blumenkranz, Carla (Winter 2008). Gawker: 2002â2007. n+1 https://www.nplusonemag.com/issue-6/reviews/gawker-2002-2007/
Selected writing involving Sicha
Sicha, Choire (July 13, 2024). Keeping Up With the Laverys: The Brooklyn literary power throuple all working and baby-raising from home. New York https://www.thecut.com/article/daniel-lavery-grace-lavery-lily-woodruff-brooklyn-interview.html
McDermott, John (November 2, 2019). Those people we tried to cancel? Theyâre all hanging out together. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/style/what-is-cancel-culture.html
Sicha, Choire (March 9, 2008). Patricia Arquette talked about her sibling Alexisâ gender transition. Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-arquette-20090309-snap-story.html
Sicha, Choire (July 13, 2004). Stanley Crouch Punches Critic: The Literary Wars Turn Violent. Gawker https://www.gawker.com/topic/stanley-crouch-punches-critic-the-literary-wars-turn-violent-017590.php [archive]
Resources
Choire Sicha (choiresicha.com) [archive]
X/Twitter (x.com)
- choire [posts scrubbed in 2024]
Substack (substack.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Instagram (instagram.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
New York (nymag.com)