Dylan Mulvaney is an American media personality who documented the first year of gender transition in a popular video series called “Days of Girlhood.”
Background
Mulvaney was born December 29, 1996 in San Diego, California, grew up in Southern California, and earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Cincinnati in 2019.
Mulvaney performed in the musical The Book of Mormon on its national tour, as well as in other musical theatre productions. Mulvaney also was brought up from the audience to dance with a friend at the Ellen show and appeared as a contestant on The Price Is Right.
“Days of Girlhood”
At the start of the pandemic, Mulvaney began posting comedy videos on social media. Mulvaney quickly amassed a large following after the “Day One of Being a Girl” post went viral on TikTok. Mulvaney was soon doing many endorsement deals and sponsored posts. Several of Mulvaney’s videos sparked criticism, including one about tampons, one about Ulta cosmetics, one about wearing tight clothing to “normalize the bulge,” and several where Mulvaney dressed up as a young girl.
In October 2022, Mulvaney was invited to speak with Joe Biden at the White House, which led to significant backlash from conservatives, including conservative trans people like Caitlyn Jenner.
Following 2022 facial feminization surgery, Mulvaney did a face reveal of the results in January 2023. At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Mulvaney talked over Laverne Cox while filming their first introduction. Though Mulvaney had solicited Cox’s advice, Mulvaney was clearly not listening, leading a number of prominent trans people to comment on the dynamics of the encounter.
In March 2023 Mulvaney held the live fundraising event Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 Live! to celebrate one year since starting transition. Those who showed Mulvaney support, including cisgender allies like Drew Barrymore, faced criticism.
In April 2023 Mulvaney made sponsored posts for Bud Light and Nike. The Nike post showed Mulvaney exercising in their sports bra and sparked more criticism from anti-trans people. The Bud Light posts promoted an NCAA March Madness giveaway and revealed the brand had made a customized Bud Light can with Mulvaney’s face on it.
Bud Light immediately faced bomb threats and boycotts after conservative demagogues like Tucker Carlson and anti-trans groups decided to make an example of the beer. Anti-trans troll Matt Walsh made such pointed and cruel personal attacks that Walsh’s YouTube channel was demonetized. In the first weeks, several conservative entertainers joined the boycott, Bud Light sales dropped about 25% year over year, two ABInBev marketing executives were ousted, the stock was downgraded by several firms, and Senator Ted Cruz announced a planned investigation into whether the brand was marketing to underage audiences. ABInBev released a noncommittal statement and a poorly received patriotic ad, announced they would buy back unsold beer, and hired conservative consultants to help with a rebrand. Bud Light lost its place as America’s favorite beer, ABInBev laid off hundreds of employees, and North American organic sales dropped $1.4 billion. The fiasco instantly became one of the worst marketing blunders in history and a setback for national brands supporting trans inclusion or offering brand endorsements to trans people.
Facing extreme overexposure, Mulvaney reduced the frequency of posting and announced an upcoming book. In June 2023 Mulvaney reflected on the first three months of the controversy:
âWhat transpired from that video was more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined. For months now, Iâve been scared to leave my house. I have been ridiculed in public. Iâve been followed. And I have felt a loneliness that I wouldnât wish on anyone. And Iâm not telling you this because I want your pity. I am telling you this because if this is my experience, from a very privileged perspective, know that it is much much worse for other trans people.â
Jones (2023)
In 2023 Attitude magazine honored Mulvaney as Woman of the Year.
To mark the 2024 anniversary of starting transition, Mulvaney posed with Lady Gaga and shared several messages with fans. In 2025, Mulvaney released the book Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer and announced a podcast called The Dylan Hour.
References
Mulvaney, Dylan (2025). Paper Doll: Notes from a Late Bloomer. Harry N. Abrams, ISBN 978-1419770395
Lange, Maggie (February 18, 2025). Dylan Mulvaney Dreams of Privacy. Really.New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/style/dylan-mulvaney-paper-doll-book.html
Chris Elston is a Canadian anti-transgender activist. Elston is best known for purchasing or wearing signs with anti-transgender messages. Elston gets money and attention by trying to provoke responses from trans and gender-diverse people and their supporters. Elston has been arrested, banned from venues, and involved in numerous legal disputes.
Elston is one of several “parental rights” activists who appear in public holding or wearing anti-transgender signs, including January Littlejohn and “Sidewalk Steve.”
Background
Christopher David Elston was born in 1976. Elston has used a number of nicknames, including
Christoph Elston
Christophe Elston
Chris Elston
Billboard Chris
Elstonâs spouse Sheree Lynn (Peacock) Elston earned a bachelorâs degree from Simon Fraser University in 2003, followed by a masterâs degree in education from Simon Fraser in 2007. Sheree Elston was a schoolteacher before becoming an administrator at Semiahmoo Trail elementary school in South Surrey, British Columbia. The Elstons have been members of Village Church, an evangelical Christian church with a location in Surrey. Their older child Arya was born in 2010, followed by Mila. Both children are involved in the same local sport.
Scientology
Around age 20, Elston became involved in Scientology while traveling in Ireland. Elston joined the organizationâs elite Sea Org, a group of Scientologyâs most dedicated members, in March of 1996. Because of that zeal and fervor, Elston was soon assigned to the Church of Scientologyâs Saint Hill Manor property in East Grinstead, West Sussex. The location is called Scientologyâs Advanced Organization & Saint Hill United Kingdom. It is an 18th-century manor originally purchased by L. Ron Hubbard in 1959 and later renovated as a Scientology museum. Elston was reportedly assigned to run the Hubbard Communications Office (HCO) in the Continental Liaison Office (CLO).
In June 1997, Elston was a witness to the death of 17-year-old Sea Org member Russell Dienes. Elston was part of a car procession hurrying to work at Saint Hill. Dienes pulled in front of an oncoming truck, causing Dienes’ death and the serious injury of teen passengers Thilo Gnass and Frederik Zengel.
Elston remained with Scientology for almost two years:
I joined the Sea Org in March 96, worked their 100 hour weeks and escaped in the middle of the night Dec. 98 when I was told I couldnât go home on a visit to see my parents. Passport and plane ticket had been seized.
Elston returned to Canada and reportedly was the subject of an âSP Declare,â a document outlining why Scientology designates Elston as a Suppressive Person, or Anti-Social Personality. Elston has been involved in anti-Scientology activism ever since.
Insurance career
After moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, Elston took a job as an investment advisor at Canaccord Capital (later named Canaccord Financial, now called Canaccord Genuity). Elston worked there from 2001 to 2008, then was a Financial Advisor at Raymond James from 2008 to 2014. After founding Elston Insurance Agency in 2014 and selling insurance, Elston began generating significant income and media coverage from anti-transgender activism. After Elston’s insurance license expired in 2022, Elston began doing anti-trans activism full-time.
Anti-transgender activism
Elston pivoted from anti-Scientology activism to anti-transgender activism following several controversies in the Vancouver area.
Jessica Yaniv aka Jessica Simpson
Elston got involved in several controversies related to Jessica Yaniv, now known as Jessica Simpson, a frequent litigant who used anti-discrimination laws to bring numerous complaints against local businesses. Simpson identifies as transgender and brought many complaints against waxing practitioners who would not wax Simpson’s genitals.
In December 2020, the Western Standard reported that the Langley Royal Canadian Mounted Police had charged Simpson with mischief and uttering threats in relation to an incident in October 2020 concerning Elston.
I â„ JK ROWLING
Elston met nurse and anti-transgender extremist Amy Hamm at a Simpson hearing. They began purchasing billboards with the slogan “I â„ JK ROWLING,” a reference to British author J. K. Rowling’s anti-transgender activism. British anti-trans extremist Posie Parker had purchased similar out-of-home ads. Elston’s first one was taken down following complaints. Elston got the nickname “Billboard Chris” soon after.
Elston has been arrested for disturbing the peace after showing up to pro-trans events wearing provocative anti-transgender messages like “Gender ideology does not belong in schools,” and “No child is born in the wrong body,” and “Children cannot consent to puberty blockers.” Elston is no longer allowed on the street around the Vancouver art gallery where Elston was arrested.
Elston’s goal is to be verbally or physically assaulted, which has happened several times. Elston then uses video of those encounters to get money and attention.
“Christophe Elston, the transphobic insurance agent who hangs out with known fascist “John Southern,” showed up to yesterday’s Mi’kmaw solidarity rally for some reason. He was briefly detained by the VPD, and had his “I â„ JK Rowling” sandwich board taken away.”
Christophe Elston, the transphobic insurance agent who hangs out with known fascist "John Southern," showed up to yesterday's Mi'kmaw solidarity rally for some reason.
Naylor, Dave (December 31, 2020). Transgender activist Yaniv wanted by police in BC. The Western Standard. Wildrose Media Corp. [archive] https://www.westernstandardonline.com/2020/12/transgender-actvist-yaniv-wanted-by-police-in-bc/
Cupp, Anne Renner (March 26, 2018). [Scientology discussion page] https://www.facebook.com/groups/1097697983669219/posts/1407298826042465/?comment_id=1407325562706458&reply_comment_id=1408239902615024
“Chris Elston ingratiates himself to people to gather personal information on them and the moment they cross him, it gets splashed across the internet. He’s a known serial offender and it’s always women. Always. Ginger has been hoodwinked by a master at his craft. I was too, once. […] Maybe her new BFF who is a financial advisor should coach her on that, when he’s not too busy harassing other women.”
Hughes is from Cheshire, a rural county south of Liverpool and Manchester.
Hughes taught in Taiwan for almost ten years after college. Hughes met a Canadian citizen there, and they married there and had their first child there. Hughes and spouse moved to Ottawa in around 2011 and now have three children. Hughes was a stay-at-home parent who began homeschooling their children: “I got to spend a precious decade with my children while they were young.”
Hughes has published under several names, including:
Hughes was radicalized by a tweet by J.K. Rowling on December 19, 2019 that supported anti-trans activist Maya Forstater:
Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult whoâll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya#ThisIsNotADrill
There were signs that I wasn’t truly woke, and then it was a very rapid change from the tweet, JK’s tweet. I read it and I just couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. And I even asked woke friends, I went into it on Facebook: “I don’t see what the fuss is about.” And that was the first time that I experienced something of a pile-on, where they were all calling her a TERF and trying to show me why it was hateful, and I just couldn’t see why it was hateful at all. And so I plunged down a rabbit hole that possibly I wish I’d never gone down. Then I emerged as a fully fledged TERF. I was outraged about what I had learned and just started tweeting about it.
Hughes was soon suspended by Twitter for anti-transgender posts, then created a new ban evasion account.
Hughes writes for anti-trans extremist Michael Shellenberger. A profile at the non-profit Environmental Progress stated Hughes focused on “the controversy of pediatric medical transition and how trans rights collide with the rights of women and the LGB community.” Shellenberger retained Hughes to write at the for-profit Substack and podcast called Public. Hughes has contributed the majority of anti-trans content there. Hughes continues to do anti-trans work under the aegis of Environmental Progress, including The WPATH Files, a 2024 propaganda piece featuring Hughes’ distorted explanations of non-public communication by WPATH members.
Maëlys McArdle profiled Hughes in 2023:
Mia is a founding member of caWsbar, an advocacy group focused on one issue: denying trans people rights. It was part of a wave of anti-trans organizations using the sex-based rights dog whistle. She along with a local group of bigots are linked to multiple transphobic incidents in Ottawa, which Iâve previously covered here, here, here, and here.
Mia Ashton participated in the mob along with National Post columnist Rupa Subramanya and another active member of that local group, @MrsDrBee on Twitter.
Transgender Trend is a British anti-transgender pressure group founded by Stephanie Davies-Arai. It is an important hub for the “parental rights” faction of anti-transgender activists.
Background
Davies-Arai founded the group in 2015 after reading an article that recommended affirming children in their gender identities and expression.
Davies-Arai believes that children are being “groomed” and “brainwashed” into thinking they are transgender by “gender ideology.”
According to progressive publication Truthout:
“Groups like Transgender Trend, an organization that campaigns against LGBT-inclusive relationship and sex education to schools (and was allowed to contribute to the Keira Bell case as an expert witness), are now refocusing on targeting trans health care for anyone under 25.”
“As the number of children identifying as transgender has increased, schools have consulted trans charities such as Stonewall and Mermaids about how best to approach the topic. These charities have, however, come under criticism by campaigners, including Transgender Trend and Safe Schools Alliance, for reinforcing a rigid belief in gender roles, and for encouraging children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes to believe they might be trans.“
WPATH Global Board of Directors (4 September 2018). WPATH Position on “Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD).” (PDF) https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2018/9_Sept/WPATH%20Position%20on%20Rapid-Onset%20Gender%20Dysphoria_9-4-2018.pdf
Lisa Littman is an American public health researcher and anti-transgender activist.
Littman is involved in efforts to restrict gender affirming care for children and youth. Littman created the disputed diagnosis “rapid onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD) and is a key figure in the ex-transgender movement.
Littman contributed a chapter titled “Psychosocial factors and gender dysphoria: emerging theories” to the 2023 ant-trans book Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader.
References
Sullivan, Alice; Todd, Selina [Eds.] (2023). Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader. Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9781032261195
Littman, Lisa (2021). Individuals Treated for Gender Dysphoria with Medical and/or Surgical Transition Who Subsequently Detransitioned: A Survey of 100 Detransitioners. Archives of Sexual Behavior 50, pages3353â3369 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02163-w
RI Business Portal (January 15, 2o01). Fictitious name: ICGDR https://business.sos.ri.gov/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN=001717167
According to self-reports, Thomas Scott Newgent was born in Tucson on November 6, 1972 to Scott and Cindy King (other sources give November 10). In several recent interviews, Newgent referred to previously living under the name Kellie Ellen King. Newgent attended Missouri State University before earning a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1994. Newgent worked in sales. Newgent is reportedly a parent to three, including giving birth to a set of twins; their names are Joshua, Julia, and Justice. Newgent has listed over 30 different places in eight states as residences:
Indiana: Kendallville, South Bend, Fort Wayne
Texas: Rockwall, Ben Wheeler, Fort Worth, Dallas, Denton
Kansas: Olathe, Overland Park
Washington: Spokane, Port Angeles
Idaho: Post Falls
Oregon: Deadwood
Tennessee: Murfreesboro, Antioch
California: San Diego, Jamul, El Cajon
As is common with people who move this frequently, Newgent has a criminal history that includes serving a sentence relating to a court order in 2019.
Gender transition
Newgent reportedly began transition in 2016 but applied for a legal name and gender change in Texas in 2015. This took longer than usual because the court needed Newgent’s certification of criminal history record information, which Newgent’s lawyer supplied on November 2, 2015.
Newgent is dissatisfied with the reported seven surgeries, claiming that medical complications include:
a massive pulmonary embolism
a helicopter life-flight ride
an emergency ambulance ride
a stress-induced heart attack
sepsis
a 17-month recurring infection due to “using the wrong skin during a (failed) phalloplasty”
16 rounds of antibiotics
three weeks of daily IV antibiotics
the loss of all my hair
(only partially successful) arm reconstructive surgery
permanent lung and heart damage
a cut bladder
insomnia-induced hallucinations
frequent loss of consciousness “due to pain from the hair on the inside of my urethra” (“six inches” of it)
a form of PTSD “that made me a prisoner in my apartment for a year”
Newgent would transition again, but differently. Newgent says transition came with many costs, including “home, car, savings, career, wife, medical insurance, and most importantly his faith within himself and God.”
TReVoices
During the COVID pandemic in 2020, Newgent founded Indiana for-profit company TRans Educational Voices (TReVoices), a group that opposes “radical gender activism.” Newgent claims the medical and pharmaceutical industries are pushing children to transition medically.
In 2023, Newgent briefly claimed to be done with anti-transgender activism and deleted some online presence. In 2024, Newgent self-published an autobiography titled THE LESBIAN DEVIL TO THE STRAIGHT MAN SAINT: – A trip through trans HELL & back!
Trans Regretters
In 2024 Newgent redirected the site TReVoices to a new site called Trans Regretters. The site listed several people with regret about aspects of their medical transitions:
Myers, Ashlyn (March 21, 2023). Emotions stir the House before committeeâs approval of bill banning gender-affirming care. TheStatehouseFile.com https://www.thestatehousefile.com/politics/emotions-stir-the-house-before-committee-s-approval-of-bill-banning-gender-affirming-care/article_067d462c-c820-11ed-b589-0beadfab96ae.html
Newgent, Scott (2024), THE LESBIAN DEVIL TO THE STRAIGHT MAN SAINT: – A trip through trans HELL & back!â#SCREAMLouder Publishing, ISBN â979-8895463376
Newgent Scott (May 12, 2023). Scott Newgent, TReVoices [2023 Maine LD1735Â (Summary) An Act to Safeguard Gender-affirming Health Care.] https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getTestimonyDoc.asp?id=10023409
Sandra Currie, Rose Medina (June 29, 2022) Scott Newgent Founder of TRevoices. An American Conversation Podcastâą https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQMQ4VDiRZg
Scott Barry Kaufman is an American psychologist who frequently platforms anti-transgender activists and people associated with the intellectual dark web, a gateway to the far right. Kaufman also platforms academics who promote evolutionary psychology, an ideology frequently opposed to value-neutral scientific conceptualizations of trans and gender diverse people.
Ever since a graduate thesis on the subject, Kaufman been invested in misusing science to maintain and justify sex categories and sex segregation, in the way that race science has been misused to maintain and justify racial categories and segregation. Academic sex segregationists have staked their careers and legacies on defending the few remaining sex-segregated institutions.
Kaufman objects to being listed on this site, saying, “I try every day to do good in the world and have never done anything damaging to trans people.”
Background
Scott Barry Kaufman was born June 3, 1979 to Barbara Alpert (born ~1956), a professor of medicine, and Michael Stephen Kaufman (born ~1954), a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Both parents went to Harvard and were from families of high social standing.
Kaufman earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University, followed by a master’s degree from Cambridge. Kaufman’s 2007 master’s thesis was titled “Sex differences in mental rotation and spatial visualization ability: Can they be accounted for by differences in working memory capacity?” Kaufman then earned a doctorate in cognitive psychology from Yale, with a research focus on intelligence.
After personally experiencing challenges in early formal education, much of Kaufman’s work involves helping children realize their full potential. Kaufman has authored, co-authored, edited, and contributed to several books for a lay audience:
The Psychology of Creative Writing (2009)
Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined (2013)
Mating Intelligence Unleashed: The Role of the Mind in Sex, Dating, and Love (2013)
The Complexity of Greatness: Beyond Talent or Practice (2013)
The Philosophy of Creativity: New Essays (2014)
Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (2015)
Twice Exceptional: Supporting and Educating Bright and Creative Students with Learning Difficulties (2018)
Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization (2020)
Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity to Overcome Depression (2020)
Choose Growth: A Workbook for Transcending Trauma, Fear, and Self-Doubt (2022)
The Psychology Podcast
Kaufman hosts The Psychology Podcast and has consistently platformed gender-critical and anti-transgender guests, including:
In December 2022, Kaufman outlined agreement with anti-trans activist Jesse Singal about disagreements:
My friend @jessesingal convinced me that the following is probably true: “People look at someoneâs behavior, and then, based on how much it outrages them, they decide whether to attribute it to personal shortcomings (their fault) or mental illness (not their fault).”
In 2022, Kaufman expressed an interest in a “debate” on trans issues and trans rights.
Who would you like to see have a respectful, healthy debate about trans issues and trans rights? I'd love some suggestions of reputable evidence-based experts who have differing viewpoints. I will moderate this on @psychpodcast. Thanks!
Who would you like to see have a respectful, healthy debate about trans issues and trans rights? I’d love some suggestions of reputable evidence-based experts who have differing viewpoints. I will moderate this on @psychpodcast. Thanks!
When I asked Kaufman to provide more details on which rights for trans people should be debated, Kaufman said, “Iâm afraid I donât have the time to respond to your questions. I am extremely busy.”
If a podcaster consistently platformed antisemitic guests then suddenly wanted to have a “respectful healthy debate on Jewish issues and Jewish rights,” Kaufman would probably have a few questions. It’s also interesting that none of Kaufman’s gender critical guests appeared with someone who had opposing views.
Psychology is one of the key ways the state exerts social control on trans people. Academic exploitation of sex and gender minorities is well documented. People like Kaufman perpetuate these oppressive systems, probably unintentionally. It’s what biologist Julia Serano calls “trans unaware” and “trans suspicious” thinking.
In 2023, Kaufman released a series of podcast episodes on sex and gender. The episode titles reflect Kaufman’s anti-trans bias. Episodes Kaufman calls “science” are by gender critical people who have similar conservative views.
Kaufman chose not to use science to describe the episode with noted biologist/geneticist Anne Fausto-Sterling, even though Fausto-Sterling is by far the most notable and accomplished scientist Kaufman interviewed. That’s because Fausto-Sterling’s views are informed by the latest in scientific understanding of sex and gender and not Kaufman’s own biased views.
Episode list
“What we get wrong about transgender people” with Aaron Rabinowitz and Callie Wright
a decent introductory discussion about minutiae that ignores larger systemic issues
“The Science of Testosterone” with activist Carole Hooven
This one is just a bunch of conservative people agreeing with each other about evolutionary psychology
“Gender/Sex and the Body” with biologist/geneticist Anne Fausto-Sterling
This is the only one worth listening to
References
Kaufman SB (2007). Sex differences in mental rotation and spatial visualization ability: Can they be accounted for by differences in working memory capacity? Intelligencehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2006.07.009
Kaufman says this quote exemplifies the psychologist’s views on trans people:
You tweeted something this morning that caught me. You were talking about a study that was showing how hard it must be to be a transgender person because you walk through the world and the entire world has evolved to really only see two gender identities in this. So it’s like a millisecond in our evolutionary perspective. We just don’t quite have the ability to see them they way they see themselves.
Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
Sarah Pedersen is professor of communications and media at Robert Gordon University. Pedersen has researched the rise of the “gender critical” movement and has espoused “gender critical” views.
Background
Sarah Pedersen was born in October 1965. Pedersen attended University of York, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1987 and a master’s degree in 1989. Pedersen has been affiliated with Robert Gordon University since 2008.
Gender critical activism
Pedersen has researched toxic online community Mumsnet, a key forum for anti-trans extremism.
The June 2019 event “Women’s Sex-Based Rights: What Does (& Should) the Future Hold?” featured a panel of “gender critical” speakers including Pedersen, Julie Bindel, Rosa Freedman, Louise Moody, Lucy Hunter Blackburn, and Claire Heuchan. There, Pedersen acknowledged a recent move into gender critical activism:
“I am often asked at these talks whether I would have been a militant suffragette or a constitutional suffragist. I have always answered that I saw myself very much as a suffragist, quietly writing letters and signing petitions, only dipping a toe in the public sphere of the day, and probably rather disapproving of the militant actions of the suffragettes. However, by coming here today and speaking so publicly, I think I am beginning to embrace my inner suffragette.”
Pedersen drew comparisons between suffragette protests against Scotland’s 1911 census and efforts by “gender critical” groups like For Women Scotland to confound sex data in the 2022 Scottish census.
‘Debates on sex and gender go back a long way, but recently theyâve become more contentiousâand for many people, more confusingâthan ever. This collection, covering a range of subjects from biology and neuroscience to law and public policy, is a welcome attempt to clarify whatâs at stake in current disputes about the significance of sex and gender both in theory and in everyday life. I hope the book will be read by the confused and the undecided as well as by those who are already inclined to agree with it.’
Pedersen S (2022). âItâs what the suffragettes would have wantedâ: the construction of the suffragists and suffragettes on Mumsnet. Feminist Media Studies https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2022.2032788
Pedersen, Sarah (February 18, 2022). The SNP wonât silence women.UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/02/scotlands-women-wont-be-erased/
Pedersen, Sarah (2020). The Politicization of Mumsnet. Emerald Publishing, ISBN â9781839094712
Pedersen, Sarah (June 5, 2019). [speech at Women’s Sex-Based Rights panel] https://forwomen.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Sarah-Pedersen-Edinburgh-Uni-speech.pdf
Andrew Sullivan is a conservative gay cultural critic and anti-transgender activist. Sullivan says Catholic upbringing and values inform this conservatism. Sullivan’s gender critical views include:
Criticizing legal protections based on gender identity
Criticizing affirmative care for gender diverse youth
In 1986, Sullivan took a role at The New Republic, rising to editor in 1991 before leaving in 1996.
Sullivan wrote for The New York Times Magazine from 1998 until getting fired in 2002. During that time Sullivan started a blog called The Dish that ran until 2015. From 2016 to 2020 Sullivan wrote for New York magazine, then moved to Substack.
Anti-trans activism
Sullivan frequently appears in the media to attack trans people, especially gender diverse children.
Belonsky, Andrew (October 12, 2007). Andrew Sullivan Supports Barney Frank.Queerty http://www.queerty.com/andrew-sullivan-supports-barney-frank-20071012/
Selected anti-trans writing by Sullivan
Sullivan, Andrew (June 2, 2014). Engaging The T.The Dish https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/threads/engaging-the-t/
Sullivan, Andrew (February 1, 2019). The Nature of Sex.Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/andrew-sullivan-the-nature-of-sex.html
Sullivan, Andrew (September 20, 2019). When the Ideologues Come for the Kids. Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/andrew-sullivan-when-the-ideologues-come-for-the-kids.html
Sullivan, Andrew (April 9, 2021). A Truce Proposal in the Trans Wars. Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-truce-proposal-in-the-trans-wars-c49
Sullivan, Andrew (February 18, 2022). The Backlash Against Trans Extremism.Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-backlash-against-trans-extremism
Sullivan, Andrew (April 8, 2022). Who Is Looking Out For Gay Kids?Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/who-is-looking-out-for-gay-kids-a19
Sullivan, Andrew (May 19, 2023). The Queers Versus The Homosexuals.Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-queers-versus-the-homosexuals-cfd
Sullivan, Andrew (February 2, 2024). The Meaningless Incoherence Of “LGBTQ+.”Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-meaningless-incoherence-of-lgbtq-d47
Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
Lynn Conway was an American engineer and one of history’s most notable computer scientists. Conway was also a key figure in online transgender resources.
Background
Lynn Ann Conway was born on January 2, 1938 and grew up in White Plains, New York. Conway enrolled at MIT in 1955, but dropped out. After working as an electronics technician, Conway enrolled at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1962 and 1963.
Conway began at IBM Research in 1964, helping to develop new supercomputer technology. After coming out as transgender in 1968, Conway was fired by IBM.
After making a gender transition, Conway worked at Computer Applications and Memorex before joining Xerox PARC in 1973 to develop new integrated circuits. Conway co-authored Introduction to VLSI Systems with Carver Mead in 1978. The book’s insights are widely considered one of the most important advances in microchip technology.
Conway left Xerox to join DARPA’s Strategic Computing Initiative. Conway joined the University of Michigan in 1985 as professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and associate dean of engineering. Conway was appointed Professor Emerita in 1998.
Conway and engineer Charlie Rogers began a relationship in 1987, marrying in 2002.
Conway died on June 9, 2024 following heart issues.
Transgender activism
After creating an academic page in 1997, Conway bought the domain lynnconway.com in 2000 and began building a large personal website that included information about gender transition. Conway’s Transsexual Women’s Successes pages were an important early source of community inspiration, later expanded with a similar page for notable trans men.
Conway was a key figure in the transgender community response to the 2003 publication of the anti-transgender book The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey. Conway methodically documented events as they unfolded, creating an important archive. Gender studies professor K. Surkan said our work “represented one of the most organized and unified examples of transgender activism seen to date.”
Conway also performed in our first all-trans performance of The Vagina Monologues in 2004.
Conway was also among the first to question academia’s deliberate undercounting of trans and gender diverse people.
Olyslager F, Conway L (2007). On the calculation of the prevalence of transsexualism. WPATH 20th International Symposium http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Prevalence/Reports/Prevalence%20of%20Transsexualism.pdf
Surkan, K. Transsexuals protest academic exploitation. In Faderman, Lillian (ed). Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Events, 1848-2006. Salem Press, 2007, pp. 700â702.ISBN 9781587652653 [PDF]
