PÀr Henrik Georg Söderström was born October 12, 1966 in Göteborg, Sweden.
In 2005 AnckarsÀter was appointed associate professor at Lund University, and in 2008 assumed a professorship in forensic psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg. AnckarsÀter was also a visiting professor at the University of Paris XII from 2006 to 2007 and in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Lund University, Malmö, from 2009 to 2015.
AnckarsÀter was affiliated with the Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health.
AnckarsĂ€ter’s spouse is Rolf AnckarsĂ€ter. AnckarsĂ€ter died on March 9, 2021 in Askim, Sweden.
Henrik AnckarsÀter 1, Christopher Gillberg (2020). Methodological Shortcomings Undercut Statement in Support of Gender-Affirming Surgery. Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 1;177(8):764-765. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.19111117
Marcus Evans is a British psychoanalyst whose clientele has included trans and gender diverse people. Evans was a key critic of trans healthcare for gender diverse youth at the Tavistock. The clinic was later closed.
Evans and his wife Sue Evans co-authored the 2021 book Gender Dysphoria: A Therapeutic Model for Working with Children, Adolescents and Young Adults.
Evans graduated from Bembridge in 1976. Evans served as head of nursing at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust from 1998-2018. Evans was Clinical Director of the adult & adolescent departments between 2011 & 2015. In 2018 Evans began working in private practice.
2021 book
The following people are mentioned in the acknowledgements:
We are grateful to the following people who have generously given their time and expertise to the development of this book: Annie Pesskin, Ian Williamson, Richard Stephens, Margot Waddell, Frances Grier, and Ema Syrulnik [Zhenya Abbruzzese], as well as all our colleagues at the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine. We are grateful to Kate Pearce at Phoenix for offering to publish this book.
Hannah Barnes is a UK-based author and anti-transgender activist. Barnes is a key historical figure in the oppression of trans and gender diverse youth.
Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Oxford in 2005 and a degree from City University of London in 2006.
After roles at DeHavilland and GCap Media, Barnes joined the BBC in 2014. Barnes is a significant contributor to anti-trans publication The New Statesman.
Anti-trans activism
Barnes is a key figure in FUD propaganda around healthcare for gender diverse youth, with a special focus on medications for unwanted puberty.
Time to Think
Barnes authored the 2023 book Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children. The Tavistock was typical of bureaucratic centralized federally funded clinics that have emerged under nationalized healthcare systems. These clinics often deliver substandard care due to unacceptable wait times. Countries like Canada and the UK have closed these kinds of clinics in favor of decentralized options.
The acknowledgements list many key figures in global anti-trans activism:
This book would never have been written without the endless support of my husband, Pat, who has kept our family on track while allowing me to research, conduct interviews, write and rewrite. Enormous thanks are also due to my parents and step-parents for their love, and for their help with looking after their amazing grandchildren. To all those who shared their experience of GIDS as service users or as their family members, thank you for telling your stories. Ellie, Jack, Phoebe, Hannah, âJacobâ, âMichelleâ, âDianaâ, âHarrietâ â thank you for trusting with me with such personal accounts, and, in some cases, highly sensitive information.
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of the GIDS clinicians who have given me their time, shared their thoughts â whatever they may be â and who met or spoke with me, even if they did not feel comfortable being interviewed. To Anna Hutchinson, who patiently shared her experiences over many hours, to Matt Bristow, Will Crouch, Kirsty Entwistle, Sue Evans, Az Hakeem, Melissa Midgen, Natasha Prescott, Anastassis Spiliadis, and to the many, many others who have spoken on condition of anonymity â thank you. For some, I am aware it has been a difïŹcult experience, and I do not take lightly how daunting it might have been to share your views â for a variety of reasons. There are also further, unnamed clinicians who have spoken out over several years, and who have tried to bring about change away from the public eye. Thanks too to all who have spoken with me who work or worked in the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, or were charged with its governance: Sonia Appleby, Juliet Singer, David Bell, Marcus Evans, Stanley Ruszczynski, David Taylor, Marilyn Miller and those who do not wish to be named. Paul Moran, Donal OâShea, Russell Viner, David Freedman and Stephanie Davies-Arai also deserve my thanks, as do Lucy Bannerman, Susan Matthews and Richard Stephens.
Barnes, Hannah (25 September 2024). The intolerant age.New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2024/09/intolerant-age-free-speech-britain-institutions
Barnes, Hannah (25 June 2024). Labourâs women problem.New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2024/06/labour-starmer-women-problem-jk-rowling-gender
“Michelle Alleva” is the stage name of Michelle Zacchigna, a Canadian ex-transgender activist. Zacchigna gets money and attention by making it more difficult for others to get trans healthcare.
Zacchigna is a member of ex-trans group Beyond Trans.
Zacchigna has used a number of aliases and handles:
“Scarlett P”
“Michelle Alleva”
somenuanceplease
sumenuancepls
Zacchigna transitioned as an adult and made additional identity and expression changes ten years later.
Background
Zacchigna was born in 1988. Zacchigna reports being bullied in school, especially from ages 8 to 13. After a close adolescent friendship ended, Zacchigna experienced even more social isolation. Zacchigna alleges having the following problems as a teen:
developmental trauma
dissociation
low self-esteem
self-harm
anxiety
depression
2008 suicide attempt
dated older people “who didnât seem to have my best interests at heart”
At age 20, Zacchigna identified as asexual:
Although I had never had gender dysphoria before, the more I thought about gender and how I wanted to present myself, the more self-aware I became about my body, and the more I wanted to change it. I thought about my past and became convinced that I had been bullied because I was trans and just didnât know it.
In spring 2010, at age 21, Zacchigna went to the Gender Journeys support group at Toronto’s Sherbourne Health. Two years later, in 2012, Zacchigna saved up and then paid out of pocket for elective top surgery in Florida.
Because transition doesn’t make you a new person or change who you are, Zacchigna felt better for a while, but then reported problems started again:
social anxiety
still difficult to make friends
depression
gender dysphoria
couldn’t cry anymore “because of the hormones”
uncontrolled acne
poor self-care
gained about 70-80 pounds
fired for âinconsistentâ work output
irregular sleep schedule
stopped caring about appearance
became low income
moved back in with family
failed out of college
autism spectrum disorder
ADHD
post-traumatic stress symptoms
major depressive disorder
medical trauma
low voice
male-pattern balding
facial hair
an enlarged clitoris
a flat chest
the inability to ever become pregnant
“among other things”
Following a 2017 evaluation that added to Zacchigna’s long list of problems, in 2018 Zacchigna had a “medically unnecessary” partial hysterectomy because “it was covered by provincial insurance, and I liked the idea of not having any more periods or pap exams.”
Zacchigna is upset and angry “that I wasnât screened for the diagnoses I later received before I was prescribed hormones.” Zacchigna was screened prior to the hysterectomy but still blames others for that decision made at age 30.
Anti-transgender activism
Now based in Orillia, Ontario, Zacchigna’s income is now supplemented by making it harder for other adults to get trans healthcare:
“I have spent the last 18 months involved in health care advocacy related to this topic. I’ve presented at webinars, spoken at universities, been featured in news articles, appeared on Podcasts, and written blogs semi-regularly sharing my experiences and my thoughts about how this could have happened.”
In 2022 Zacchigna announced a planned lawsuit:
âIâve been holding this card close to my chest for a while, and Iâm ready to show it. In November 2022, I commenced legal action against the Canadian healthcare providers that facilitated my medical transition in Ontario,â
Zacchigna is now a source for a number of anti-trans activists and outlets, including Michael Shellenberger, the National Post, and Western Standard. Zacchigna is also active in the anti-trans “parental rights” movement, appearing in Lighthouse and the 2023 film No Way Back.
Anna Hutchinson is a British psychologist and anti-transgender activist 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.”
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.
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.”
In 2025, Hutchinson coined a new term for anti-trans conversion therapy: “Cass informed psychotherapy.” That paper thanks anti-trans activist Richard Stephens.
References
United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity â IESOGI (May 1, 2020). Report on Conversion Therapy. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/SexualOrientation/ConversionTherapyReport.pdf
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
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
Larcher, V., & Hutchinson, A. (2009). How should paediatricians assess Gillick competence? Archives of Disease in Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.2008.148676
Carey Callahan is an American therapist and a key historical figure in the ex-transgender movement. Callahan’s activism helped unleash a wave of anti-trans legislation targeting healthcare for transgender youth and adolescents. Callahan has written for anti-trans publications 4thWaveNow and The Economist and has appeared on anti-trans podcasts Calmversations and Blocked and Reported.
Callahan is a founder of the Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN), a group of activists with regrets about aspects of their gender transitions. GCCAN campaigned against current trans healthcare protocols, demanding more gatekeeping from therapists.
Callahan has used a number of names and aliases, including:
“Maria Catt”
“mariacatt42”
“CareyCallsBS”
“catt_bear”
Carey Callahan
Carrie Maria Callahan
Carrie English
Carrie Callahan-English
Background
Carrie Maria Callahan was born May 1, 1982. Callahan earned a bachelor’s degree from the The Ohio State University in 2004. After college, Callahan worked as a union field organizer, then as a counselor and educator at Marilyn G. Rabb Foundation, Lyon-Martin Health Services, and The Emily Program.
In June 2012, at age 30, Callahan came out as genderqueer and began therapy. In October 2012 Callahan began a course of bimonthly intramuscular testosterone injections. In March 2013, Callahan moved to San Francisco, but had trouble finding work. Callahan soon decided that the issue was “not a trans thing, but a trauma thing” related to past trauma, including a sexual assault in college. Callahan stopped testosterone in June 2013 and socially transitioned again about a year after that in 2014.
Callahan moved back to Ohio, earned a Master’s degree from the University of Akron in 2018, then worked at OhioGuidestone as a therapist from 2018 until May 2021. Callahan is married to lawyer James P. English (born 1977), and they are raising their child (born 2021).
In 2022 Callahan stated via email: “I sought out an affirming therapist when I should have been much more responsible about investigating the symptoms I was experiencing before seeking testosterone.”
Ex-trans activism
Callahan was a key early organizer in the ex-trans movement.
Despite being 30 years old when deciding to take hormones for nine months before stopping, Callahan was extensively featured in the 2018 Atlantic article, “When a Child Says She’s Trans” by Jesse Singal and an accompanying video.
Callahan previously collaborated with Ky Schevers, another ex-trans activist who later left the movement because of “the role transphobic detrans communities play in organized transphobia.” In 2019 Callahan helped create Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN). In 2022, Callahan stated via email in part:
My focus when organizing GCCAN was on democratic decision making within the group and I wasn’t careful like I should have been about making sure Ky’s partner understood I was passing information on to the board for transparency’s sake, not trying to steer the group into supporting harmful legislation. I thought when we got the chance to vote against working with a ROGD parents group our decision making process was working. While I believe my intent and work was misunderstood, I can see how I was creating that risk.
In March 2019 Callahan spoke on a panel organized by anti-trans extremist organization Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF). The panel also included moderator Traci Nally and gender critical panelists Corinna Cohn and Nina Paley. Callahan discussed a 2017 USPATH presentation and a similar canceled presentation on “detransition” at Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference. Callahan criticized informed consent and pediatric transition, promoted ex-trans media like Pique Resilience Project, and directed attendees to a since-deleted article titled “Advice for gender dysphoric teens” that contained links to other recommended ex-trans resources.
When it became clear that Callahan’s efforts were having their desired effect, Callahan started to have some misgivings about being the face of the American ex-trans movement. Callahan stated via email, “It’s very sad to me that I wasn’t able to do more to steer detrans people away from being used as pawns.” Callahan’s goal is now reportedly “greater emphasis on and programming for those of us who explore but do not arrive at a trans identity.”
In 2023 Callahan testified in opposition to Ohio House Bill 68, a proposed law banning gender affirming healthcare for minors (the “Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act”) and banning transgender athletes competing in sex-segregated sports in Ohio high schools, colleges, and universities (the “Save Women’s Sports Act”). Callahan’s testimony concluded:
“I am begging you to stop attacking trans healthcare and trans people. I am begging you to stop referencing detransitioners such as myself as a justification for attacking trans healthcare and trans people. You arenât protecting children from becoming a detransitioner like me. You are exiling good people from our state, traumatizing kids and families, and working hard to make Ohio a less safe place to raise kids. You are doing real harm to me personally, to my neighbors who live a cul de sac up, to the lovely trans kids I know, to the lovely discerning kids I know, to the doctors and therapists who have put in the years of education and experience to improve peopleâs quality of life. Please drop this misguided experiment and use your elected positions to help Ohioans live good lives. Thank you.”
By then the damage was already done, and Callahan’s earlier ex-trans activism reached its inevitable outcome. Ohio House Bill 68 passed in 2024, banning trans healthcare for minors and curtailing other civil rights for trans children and adults.
Slothouber, V. (2020). (De)trans visibility: moral panic in mainstream media reports on de/retransition. European Journal of English Studies, 24(1), 89â99. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825577.2020.1730052
Callahan, Carey (December 14, 2023). An URGENT plea for my nuanced friends.Medium https://mariacatt42.medium.com/an-urgent-plea-for-my-nuanced-friends-72cb516fa8e8
Callahan, Carey (May 24, 2023). Witness Testimony of Carey Callahan (Opponent). House Bill 68 Committee Activity (PDF) https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/cm_pub_api/api/unwrap/general_assembly_135/chamber/135th_ga/ready_for_publication/committee_docs/cmte_h_pub_health_policy_1/testimony/cmte_h_pub_health_policy_1_2023-05-24-0930_557/hb68_callahan_opponent.pdf
Nicolas Pollock, Brian Jimenez, Ashley Bloom Kenny, Kasia Ciepak-Mayr von Baldegg (2018). Detransitioned: The Lives of Carey Callahan.The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/562988/detransitioned-film/ alt url https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6V0p3_bd6w
Note: In 2025, this site phased out AI illustrations after artist feedback. The previous illustration is here.
Megan McArdle is an American writer and anti-transgender activist. McArdle is a key historical figure in the oppression of trans and gender diverse youth.
McArdle is the central figure in the Washington Post opinion section’s shift to anti-trans positions during the 2020s.
Background
Megan J. McArdle was born January 29, 1973. McArdle earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago in 2001.
McArdle blogged under the name “Jane Galt” at Asymmetrical Information:
McArdle has something of a contrarian streak. Sheâs the âblack sheepâ of her ârabid Democratâ family. She took her pseudonym from the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged, solely to irk a frequent commenter on a New York Times Internet forum who smeared anyone to the âright of Chairman Maoâ as a âRandroid.â
McArdle authored the 2014 book The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success.
McArdle is married to Peter Suderman (born September 30, 1981), who ran the blog alarm-alarm.com. Suderman writes for Reason and previously worked for National Review, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, Doublethink, and Culture11.
McArdle has described distress from being personally misgendered: “Iâm 6-foot-2, tall enough that distracted store clerks often call me âsir,â a fact that caused me great distress as a young woman.”
Debbie Hayton is a conservative transgender British educator and critic of mainstream transgender activism. Hayton gets money and attention by siding with those opposed to rights for sex and gender minorities.
Hayton is author of the 2024 book Transsexual Apostate: My Journey Back to Reality.
Background
Deborah “Debbie” Hayton was born April 23, 1968. Hayton grew up in Consett in North East England. After graduating Blackfyne Comprehensive School in 1986, Hayton entered Newcastle University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1989 and a doctorate in 1992. Hayton worked in research until 1995, then began a career as a physics teacher. Hayton taught at Handsworth Grammar School in Birmingham from 1996 to 2002, then at King Henry VIII School in Coventry from 2002 to 2022. Beginning in 2016 Hayton began offering classroom timetable support and began freelance writing.
Hayton is based in Bristol, is married to Stephanie, and has three adult children. Hayton transitioned in 2012 at age 44.
An article in Church Times noted of Hayton, “She now believes that she has autogynephilia, a term first coined by the psychologist Ray Blanchard 30 years ago to describe a psychological condition in which a man, usually heterosexual, derives sexual or romantic pleasure from the fantasy of being female.”
Hayton has expressed regret about some aspects of transition:
“Now I realise the whole premise on which I transitioned was wrong. Trans women are not women. Yet I turned my life and my family’s lives upside down, causing them shock, embarrassment, hurt and upset because I thought I was a woman. […] Looking back now, I realise I didn’t need to transition, but if I hadn’t I would only have been increasingly frustrated and distressed. My grandmother would have said: ‘I could have told you but you had to learn the hard way.”
When asked if their marriage is now sexless, Hayton said:
‘Yes. And I am sad because of what was lost. I regret that. There are no other women, no affairs. Straying is not an option,’ says Debbie. ‘We’ve both made sacrifices because we love each other profoundly. What I want is the relationship with Stephanie.
Activism and trolling
Hayton’s writing is a mix of first-person stories and gender critical views on several trans topics:
Like many who regret some of all of their decision to transition, Hayton began seeking validation from those who see trans people as having a sex-fueled disease or being a problem for society. Hayton began promoting the work of anti-trans psychologists like Ray Blanchard and Stella O’Malley and infiltrated trans-exclusive women’s spaces like Woman’s Place UK and Labour Women’s Declaration, giving speeches supporting their aims. Some anti-trans extremists like “trans widow” Karen Ranney (“Ute Heggen”) recognized Hayton’s motives for what they are. Kellie-Jay Keensaid, “No one who understands this issue would be promoting Hayton. Youâre all fucking gaslighting cowards. He embodies all of the insidious trans cult boundary erasing abusive shit that slimed its way into our schools, institutions and language. […] Anyone promoting/following or endorsing Hayton hinders our success in ridding our schools and institutions of this grotesque ideology.”
From that point of view, it makes sense to take an unequivocal position: biological sex is real, binary, and immutable, and under no circumstances will we pretend otherwise. AGPs pose a threat to women and to children, and for that reason, we will give them no quarter, not even the supposedly âgoodâ ones. If we do, theyâll only take advantage of us.
In 2017, Hayton wrote:
If anyone could self-identify as a woman, how can we define the word âwomanâ without resorting to circular reasoning? And without clear definitions, how can society maintain the integrity of sex-based protections?Not surprisingly, women have been speaking out. We need to listen to them and not instantly denounce them as transphobes.
Hayton was welcomed into some trans-exclusionary spaces to agree with them.
Hayton authored a letter supporting anti-trans author Kathleen Stock. The letter was signed by like-minded conservative trans people: Tina Daniels, Lily Geidelberg, Sophie Gibbons, Kristina Harrison, Seven Hex, Jennifer Kenyon, Claudia McLean, Sarah McDonnell, Fionne Orlander, Nyah Putzo, Toni Roche-Simmons, Katie Sangwell, Gillian Simpson, Sian Taylder, and Miranda Yardley.
Hayton appeared in the 2018 anti-trans propaganda piece Trans Kids: It’s Time to Talk hosted by Stella O’Malley, founder of anti-trans hate groupGenspect.
Hayton enjoys trolling and mocking trans community members who hold differing views. Hayton is known for wearing a T-shirt that says “Trans women are men. Get over it.”
References
Staff report (October 30, 2023). Forum to publish Haytonâs memoir.The Bookseller https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/forum-to-publish-haytons-memoir
As transgender people, we need to be honest with ourselves and our therapists (Psychreg, Jan 11 2020)
Trans activists are making life harder for trans people (The Spectator, 14 Dec 2019) https://www.spectator.com/article/trans-activists-are-making-life-harder-for-trans-people
A Womanâs Place is a Safe Port â a transsexual perspective (Debbie Hayton blog, Sep 25 2018) https://debbiehayton.com/tag/womans-place-uk/
The Jack Jewell Podcast with Jack Jewell and Debbie Hayton (July 20, 2024). The Transexual Apostate | Debbie Hayton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYdIThi-rZo
The Spectator with Katy Balls and Debbie Hayton (January 19, 2024). ‘It’ll criminalise normal people’ â Debbie Hayton attacks Scotland’s trans bill | SpectatorTV.
Psychreg with Dennis Relojo-Howell and Debbie Hayton (February 20, 2020). Dr Debbie Hayton: Transwomen Are Men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO4pFnRdC1o
“Shannon Thrace” is the pen name of Shae Ramsey, an American author, IT professional, and anti-transgender activist. Ramsey is part of the “trans widow” movement of people upset that their spouses and romantic partners made a gender transition. Ramsey is affiliated with anti-trans hate groupGenspect.
Ramsey has used a number of aliases, including:
“Shannon Thrace”
“Sharon Thrace”
“Tracy Shannon”
Sharon Ramsey
Shannon Ramsey
Shae Ramsey
transwidow
Background
Sharon G. “Shae” Ramsey was reportedly born on July 4, 1968 (some sources report July 3). Ramsey attended Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2007 and a master’s degree in 2019. Ramsey worked at Key-Art Publishing from 1998 to 2003, managing websites. From 2003 to 2006, Ramsey worked at University Information Technology Services for Indiana University. Ramsey was SharePoint administrator for Hill-Rom from 2008 to 2011. From 2012 to 2013, Ransey was a consultant at PCMS Datafit (now Flooid), then from 2013 to 2014 was a SharePoint administrator at Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions. from 2014 to 2015, Ramsey was a systems administrator at RoundTower Technologies, and from 2015 to 2016 was a SharePoint administrator at Cigna Healthcare. In 2016, Ramsey joiined Eli Lilly and Company as an IT specialist.
Anti-transgender activism
Thrace was reportedly married for about 14 years to someone who came out as trans around age 40. Their relationship fell apart over the following 18 months. Thrace originally published under the pseudonym “Sharon Thrace.”
In 2016, Ramsey contributed a chapter titled “Destruction of a Marriage: My Husband’s Descent into Transgenderism” to the book Female Erasure, edited by Ruth Barrett.
In 2017, Ramsey spoke at TEDxMaastricht about being married to and ultimately divorcing “Jamie,” who made a gender transition.
“Thrace, Sharon” (2016). Destruction Of A Marriage: My Husband’s Descent Into Transgenderism. In Barrett, Ruth [editor] Female Erasure: What You Need To Know About Gender Politics’ War On Women, the Female Sex and Human Rights. Tidal Time Publishing, ISBN 978-0997146707
“Thrace, Shannon” (2022). 18 Months: A Memoir of a Marriage Lost to Gender Identity. Firebush Books, ISBN 979-8986693804
The Umbrella Hour with An Goldbauer, Zander Keig, and “Shannon Thrace” (February 8, 2024). [Interview with “Shannon Thrace”]. https://ukhealthradio.com/blog/episode/shannon-thrace-is-a-writer-cultural-critic-and-it-professional-and-the-author-of-18-months-a-memoir-of-a-marriage-lost-to-gender-identity/
the radical center with Leslie Elliott Boyce, Jennifer Friend, Deborah Knox, and “Shannon Thrace” (December 11, 2023). A Marriage Lost to Gender Identity: Solid Ground #47 with Guest Shannon Thrace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbkEeiSDqQg
OurVoices with Kristen Kalbli and “Shannon Thrace” (February 2022). S5 Ep 2: The Impact of Gender Transition on Sex. https://ourpath.org/ourpath_podcast/s5-ep-2-the-impact-of-gender-transition-on-sex/
Marci Bowers is an American gynecologist, surgeon, media personality, and activist. Bowers is one of the transgender community’s most notable surgeons.
Background
Marci Lee Bowers was born January 18, 1958 in Wisconsin.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1980, Bowers earned a medical degree from University of Minnesota Medical School in 1986. Bowers completed an OB/GYN residency at the University of Washington in 1990, then worked at Swedish Medical Center. Bowers has licensure in Washington, California, New York, and Colorado.
Bowers was chosen by Stanley Biber to take over Biber’s Colorado practice in 2003. In 2010, Bowers relocated to Burlingame, California.
Bowers has completed many medical missions to Africa to make surgical revisions to the organs of women subjected to traditional genital cutting. Bowers is an elected board member of WPATH and served as president from 2022 to 2024, the first trans woman to hold the position. Bowesrs was the first woman with trans history to serve a full term on the GLAAD board of directors in 2017. Bowers also served on the board of directors for the Transgender Law Center.
Bowers supplied the following list of firsts:
First woman to perform gender affirming vaginoplasty (2003)
First woman with trans history to perform gender affirming vaginoplasty (2003)
First surgeon to perform simple metoidioplasty (2004)
First surgeon to perform Ring Metoidioplasty in the US [Takamatsu] (2007)
First mentee of Dr Pierre Foldes (2007)
First doctor to deliver 2,000 babies and create 2,000 vaginas
First surgeon in North America to perform Clitoral Restoration Surgery (2009)
First surgeon in US to accept commercial insurance (2009)
Prototype designer of the Soulsource vaginal dilators
First surgeon to use tunica vaginalis tissue in vaginoplasty (2020)
First surgeon to perform monsplasty
Media appearances
Bowers has appeared frequently in the media, including TransGeneration, Sex Change Hospital, Trinidad, The Tyra Banks Show, I Am Cait, and I Am Jazz.
2021 60 Minutes interview
Bowers was a source for a 60 Minutes piece on “detransition” by Lesley Stahl, Alexandra Poolos, and Collette Richards titled “Transgender Healthcare” on May 23, 2021. That report was described by GLAAD thus:
Tonight 60 Minutes / Lesley Stahl aired a shameful segment fearmongering about trans youth. Parents of trans youth could walk away with the false belief that young people are being rushed into medical transition. That is simply untrue. As the piece noted, every major medical association supports affirming, age-appropriate care for trans youth and the guidelines for that care are safe and well-established. And yet, the majority of the story was devoted to âraising concernsâ about youth accessing that care. [60 Minutes] heard concerns from several trans leaders and, after spending months on the segment, they delivered a piece which still promulgates the same anti-trans dog whistles that we hear from anti-LGBTQ activists and in state legislatures like Arkansas.
Bowers’ appearance has been cited in reporting critical of the transgender rights movement, including Fox News, The Daily Signal, and The Federalist.
2021 Abigail Shrier interview
In October 2021, Bowers and USPATH officer Erica Anderson chose to express their concerns about healthcare for gender diverse minors to Abigail Shrier, one of the most prominent anti-transgender activists.
When asked whether children in the early stages of puberty should be put on blockers, Bowers said: âIâm not a fan.â
When I asked Bowers if she still thought puberty blockers were a good idea, from a surgical perspective, she said: âThis is typical of medicine. We zig and then we zag, and I think maybe we zigged a little too far to the left in some cases.â She added âI think there was naivete on the part of pediatric endocrinologists who were proponents of early [puberty] blockade thinking that just this magic can happen, that surgeons can do anything.â
I asked Bowers whether she believed WPATH had been welcoming to a wide variety of doctorsâ viewpoints â including those concerned about risks, skeptical of puberty blockers, and maybe even critical of some of the surgical procedures?
âThere are definitely people who are trying to keep out anyone who doesnât absolutely buy the party line that everything should be affirming, and that thereâs no room for dissent,â Bowers said. âI think thatâs a mistake.â
The problem for kids whose puberty has been blocked early isnât just a lack of tissue but of sexual development. Puberty not only stimulates growth of sex organs. It also endows them with erotic potential. âIf youâve never had an orgasm pre-surgery, and then your puberty’s blocked, it’s very difficult to achieve that afterwards,â Bowers said. âI consider that a big problem, actually. It’s kind of an overlooked problem that in our âinformed consentâ of children undergoing puberty blockers, weâve in some respects overlooked that a little bit.â
Nor is this a problem that can be corrected surgically. Bowers can build a labia, a vaginal canal and a clitoris, and the results look impressive. But, she said, if the kids are âorgasmically naiveâ because of puberty blockade, âthe clitoris down there might as well be a fingertip and brings them no particular joy and, therefore, theyâre not able to be responsive as a lover. And so how does that affect their long-term happiness?â
Shrier called the article “probably the most important piece of my career thus far.” Bowers’ views were once again widely reported in the conservative press, including the Daily Mail, the Christian Post, TheFederalist, and the Patriot Post.
In response to Bowers’ ill-informed decision, USPATH and WPATH released a joint statement:
The United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) stand behind the appropriate care of transgender and gender diverse youth, which includes, when indicated, the use of “puberty blockers” such as gonadotropin releasing hormone analogs and other medications to delay puberty, and, when indicated, the use of gender-affirming hormones such as estrogen or testosterone. Guidelines for the assessment of transgender and gender diverse youth, as well as for the use of pubertal delay and gender affirming hormone medications have been published by reputable professional bodies, including the Endocrine Society, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the American Psychiatric Association.
USPATH and WPATH support scientific discussions on the use of pubertal delay and hormone therapy for transgender and gender diverse youth. We believe that such discussions should occur among experts and stakeholders in this area, based on scientific evidence, and in fora such as peer-reviewed journals or scientific conferences, and among colleagues and experts in the assessment and care of transgender and gender diverse youth. USPATH and WPATH oppose the use of the lay press, either impartial or of any political slant or viewpoint, as a forum for the scientific debate of these issues, or the politicization of these issues in any way. Furthermore, individual decisions about gender affirming interventions and treatments for transgender and gender diverse youth should be made only among the patient, their parent(s) or guardian(s), their medical and mental health provider(s), and any other identified stakeholders on a case-by-case basis, and opposes any attempts to dictate or restrict, by statute, judiciary, or otherwise, access to such treatment when recommended according to accepted standards and guidelines.
Anderson resigned from USPATH and WPATH, and Bowers posted a letter about the Shrier interview online in November 2021:
I remain disappointed by the tone and intent of the article. My comments were taken out of context and used to cast doubt upon trans care, particularly the use of puberty blockers. Worse, Jazz Jennings was disrespectfully and erroneously portrayed as a puberty blockade failure, based solely upon her television portrayal.
[…] What I hope for, most of all, is that my out-of-context comments will not be excerpted to weaponize ongoing attacks upon transgender persons.
In 2022, Bowers appeared in What Is a Woman? The anti-transgender propaganda piece was hosted by Matt Walsh and distributed online by conservative media outlet The Daily Wire.
2023 New York Times guest essay
In 2023, the New York Times published a piece by Bowers critical of the wave of anti-transgender legislation in America. Bowers touched on transgender youth medicine, low rates of regret and “detransition,” the history of WPATH and trans healthcare, then urged lawmakers not to interfere in medical decisions made by doctors with their patients.
To be sure, worthwhile questions about how best to address gender diversity, adolescent mental health and teensâ expectations about gender remain. But answers to them will not be found in legislation thatwillharm â not protect â children, families and their health care providers. We must ask ourselves: Why are legislators and politicians making medical decisions for patients and families instead of doctors?
[…]
Anti-treatment bills will not protect children, and they will not help the medical community provide better care for patients in need. We should instead take anti-transgender legislation for what it is: thinly veiled cruelty to a specific minority population of the country. These bills are symptoms of a larger problem, where belittlement and bullying are reminders of what many trans people endure as children, teenagers and young adults.
References
WPATH (October 12, 2021). Joint Letter from USPATH and WPATH. (PDF) https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/Public%20Policies/2021/Joint%20WPATH%20USPATH%20Letter%20Dated%20Oct%2012%202021.pdf
Kvach, E., OâConnell, R., Walsh, C., Bowers, M., Wittmer, N., & Hyer, J. (2025). Postoperative Vaginoplasty Outcomes for Transgender and Nonbinary Patients in a U.S. County Safety-Net Health System. Transgender Health, 10(5), 459â467. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2023.0125
Coon, D., Morrison, S. D., Morris, M. P., Keller, P., Bluebond-Langner, R., Bowers, M., Brassard, P., Buncamper, M. E., Dugi, D., Ferrando, C., Gast, K. M., McGinn, C., Meltzer, T., Monstrey, S., Ăzer, M., Poh, M., Satterwhite, T., Ting, J., Zhao, L., ⊠Schechter, L. (2023). Gender-Affirming Vaginoplasty: A Comparison of Algorithms, Surgical Techniques and Management Practices across 17 High-volume Centers in North America and Europe. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open, 11(5), e5033. https://doi.org/10.1097/gox.0000000000005033
Bowers, Marci (November 2021). Dear colleagues, clients and friends. Marci L. Bowers, M.D. https://marcibowers.com/transfem/dear-colleagues-clients-and-friends/
Doo FX, Khorsandi A, Avanessian B, Bowers M, Somwaru AS (2019). Gender Affirmation Surgery: A Primer on Imaging Correlates for the Radiologist. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2019 Dec;213(6):1194-1203. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.19.21686
Kvach EJ, Hyer JS, Carey JC, Bowers M (2019). Testicular Seminoma in a Transgender Woman: A Case Report. LGBT Health. 2019 Jan;6(1):40-42. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2018.0173
Atkinson HG, Bowers M, Mishori R, Ottenheimer D (2017). Comments on “Female Genital Mutilation Reconstruction: A Preliminary Report”. Aesthet Surg J. 2017 Oct 1;37(9):NP111-NP112. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjx096
Gaither TW, Awad MA, Osterberg EC, Romero A, Bowers ML, Breyer BN (2017). Impact of Sexual Orientation Identity on Medical Morbidities in Male-to-Female Transgender Patients. LGBT Health. 2017 Feb;4(1):11-16. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2016.0097
Bowers, M. (2016). Aesthetic maleâtoâfemale transsexual surgery. In Female Genital Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery (pp. 120â130). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118848500.ch13
