Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born Dutch-American activist and former politician. Ali is an anti-Islam and anti-transgender activist. Ali is often associated with the intellectual dark web, a gateway to the far right.
Background
Ayaan Hirsi Magan was born November 13, 1969 in Mogadishu. Ali’s parent Hirsi Magan Isse was a political prisoner who escaped Somalia in 1977, eventually settling the family in Kenya.
In 1992 Ali sought asylum in The Netherlands to avoid an arranged marriage. Ali worked as a translator while earning a master’s degree in 2000 from Leiden University. Ali became a Muslim apostate around that time. Ali’s 2004 film “Submission” with Theo Van Gogh criticized Islam and led to Van Gogh’s murder. Ali faced threats and went into hiding. In 2006 an exposé revealed Ali lied on the Dutch asylum application. Ali resigned from Parliament and was ultimately allowed to retain Dutch citizenship. Ali took a position at the American Enterprise Institute in the US, getting her green card in 2007.
In 2016, the Southern Poverty Law Center listed Ali as an anti-Muslim extremist, though they later removed the whole list.
Ali created the AHA Foundation and has worked for conservative organizations like the Hoover Institution.
Anti-transgender activism
Ali wrote for anti-trans publication UnHerd:
Those who would divorce “woman” from its biological implications often present their ideas as innocuous. They are, we are told, simply champions of “inclusion”. But their ideology is hardly uncontroversial, and surrendering to it is not harmless. The past year has seen reports of transgender women attacking women in female-only spaces and unfairly winning trophies in women’s sports. The spirit of these failures was perhaps best-distilled in the words of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who in March was unable to define what being a woman entailed during her Senate confirmation hearing. “I’m not a biologist,” she said, as if one needed to be a professional scientist to know basic biological facts.
A word of clarification. I am immensely sympathetic to the plight of transgender people and believe they ought to have the same moral and legal rights as everyone else. To be against militant trans activists’ gender ideology is not to be transphobic. Rather, it is simply to agree, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie succinctly put it, that “trans women are trans women”. Adichie was savaged for this and other statements evincing wrongthink, but acknowledging that trans women are distinct from women, that there are potential conflicts between their rights, and that gender ideology opens the door to abusive men masquerading as women, should not be controversial. Standing up for the rights of transgender people should not mean pretending sex does not exist altogether.
Podcast
Ali’s podcast logrolls for other anti-trans activists, including:
References
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (December 27, 2022). The year the West erased women. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/12/the-year-the-west-erased-women/
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi (March 25, 2022). Do we need a Trans Olympics? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/03/do-we-need-a-trans-olympics/
Resources
Ayaan Hirsi Ali (ayaanhirsiali.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
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Hoover Institution (hoover.org)
Sam Brinton is an American nuclear engineer and LGBTQ activist. In 2022 Brinton briefly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, the first openly genderfluid person in federal government leadership. The role ended after Brinton was accused of stealing luggage at airports.
Background
Samuel Otis Brinton was born in September 1987 and grew up in Perry, Iowa in a Baptist household. After coming out as bisexual, Brinton was reportedly sent to conversion therapy that practiced harsh aversion techniques. Much of Brinton’s subsequent activism focused on ending conversion therapy.
Brinton graduated from Perry High School in 2006, earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in 2011, and earned a dual master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013.
According to an official biography, prior to the DOE role, Brinton held energy policy roles at the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Breakthrough Institute, the Clean Air Task Force, Third Way, and Deep Isolation.
Brinton married Kevin Rieck in 2019.
Theft accusations
Shortly after taking office in 2022, Brinton was accused of theft of women’s luggage at airports. The investigation uncovered at least three cases:
- Washington Reagan (2018): reportedly arrested in May 2023
- Las Vegas (July 2022): pled no contest, paid restitution, 180-day suspended sentence
- Minneapolis (September 2022): mental health evaluation ordered
The scandal received widespread media attention and cost Brinton the DOE job.
References
Maxwell, Jill (December 29, 2015). Meet the Nuclear Engineer Leading the Fight Against Gay Conversion Therapy. alum.mit.edu. https://alum.mit.edu/slice/meet-nuclear-engineer-leading-fight-against-gay-conversion-therapy
McDonald, John (July 7, 2022). Gender-Fluid ‘Nuclear Nerd’ Climbing the Ladder at Department of Energy. southfloridagaynews.com https://southfloridagaynews.com/National/gender-fluid-nuclear-nerd-climbing-the-ladder-at-department-of-energy.html
Has Sam Brinton’s story always been too good to be true?. LGBTQ Nation. December 7, 2022. https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/12/sam-brintons-story-always-good-true/
Sands, Geneva; Vazquez, Maegan; Diamond, Jeremy (December 13, 2022). Top Energy Department official no longer employed after luggage theft accusations. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/politics/sam-brinton-department-of-energy/index.html
Graziosi, Graig (May 19, 2023). Former DOE official arrested for third time for allegedly stealing luggage at airport. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/sam-brinton-luggage-theft-arrest-doe-b2341647.html
Resources
Sam Brinton (samuelbrinton.com) [archive]
US Department of Energy (energy.gov)
- Sam Brinton [archive]
- https://www.energy.gov/ne/person/sam-brinton
Twitter (twitter.com)
Jonny Best is a British musician, researcher, and producer. He is a gender critical gay man.
Background
Jonathan “Jonny” Best worked in theatre as a director (with RSC, National Theatre etc), as a staff director in opera (ENO, Royal Opera & Opera North), in commercial theatre (pantomime, West End musicals and plays), classical music (with Aurora, BBC Scottish Symph, and ten years in association with City of London Sinfonia).
In 2005 he became the artistic director of Manchester’s Queer Up North Festival. He was criticized for inviting the act Bitch to perform after they had played the trans-exclusionary Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.
He then produced Classical Sheffield, Festival of the North East, and Yorkshire Silent Film Festival.
He began a doctorate degree in music at University of Huddersfield in 2016.
Activism
Best made a number of provocative statements, believing there are no such things as misgendering and deadnaming. Huddersfield University opened an investigation, but later apologized to Best.
He has written for anti-trans publication UnHerd, arguing that “The marginalisation of sex in trans activism sits uneasily with the centrality of sex to lesbian and gay activism.”
His is especially critical of UK’s Stonewall:
But this good-natured debate is as nothing compared to the division that has opened up in lesbian and gay communities following Stonewall’s 2015 decision to re-formulate homosexuality around the nebulous concept of “gender identity”. Its policy today, which it has promoted through its Diversity Champions scheme, is that biological sex is less important than self-declared “gender identity” — an inner feeling of being either man or woman, male or female, which, according to Stonewall, is an identity we all possess. It follows that biological males can be lesbians, and biological females can be gay men. To disagree is transphobic.
Stonewall’s strategy for dealing with the fallout has been to insist that there can be “no debate”, characterising entreaties to discussion as equal to debating trans people’s very existence.
References
Best, Jonny (August 2018). My first brush with trans activism and what I learned. Medium https://www.jonnybest.co.uk/my-first-experience-of-trans-activism
Best, Jonny (October 7, 2020). Why I can’t trust Stonewall any more. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2020/10/why-i-cant-trust-stonewall-any-more/
Best, Jonny (August 27, 2021) Stonewall’s greatest betrayal. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/08/stonewalls-greatest-betrayal/
Resources
Jonny Best (jonnybest.co.uk)
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Susie Green is a British gender rights activist who focuses on transgender youth. Green helped her child Jackie medically transition as a minor, including gender affirming surgery in 2010 at age 16. Green was involved in the British charity Mermaids as a trustee from 2011 to 2015, then as CEO from 2016 to 2022.
Background
Susie Marie Green was born in December 1957. She was an IT manager for Citizens Advice from 2002 to 2015. Green lives in Yorkshire, and is married to Tim Green. They have four adult children, including twins.
Green gave a 2017 talk at TEDx Truro that was criticized by anti-trans activists. Green later removed the video.
Green was a consultant on the 2o18 ITV drama Butterfly and helped shape the WPATH chapter on children and adolescents.
She got involved at Mermaids in 2000 because her daughter Jackie was trying to navigate gender transition as a minor. During her time as CEO, the debate about transgender youth intensified, particularly following a £500,000 grant from the National Lottery and corporate sponsorships.
Under Green, Mermaids launched the first legal challenge of its kind against the LGB Alliance, a trans-exclusionary charity which is critical of “gender ideology.” Mermaids sought to end its charitable status.
In late 2022, Mermaids was hit with several setbacks. New Mermaids trustee Jacob Breslow resigned after a 2011 presentation he gave at a conference for minor-attracted persons held by B4U-ACT came to light. Complaints from staff led to an outside audit conducted by DEI consultants the Social Justice Collective. Days after Green resigned, UK’s Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into Mermaids after reports that they offered chest binders to teens whose parents opposed their transitions.
Green has been recognized for her contributions to the trans community on several occasions, including an event at Buckingham Palace. In 2016 she won the Diversity Champion Award. In 2023 Green joined GenderGP as project manager on the GenderGP Trans Youth Fund.
References
The Newsroom (October 25, 2018). Mum of Leeds transgender woman who inspired ITV’s Butterfly opens up about daughter’s suicide attempts after bullying. Yorkshire Evening Post https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/mum-of-leeds-transgender-woman-who-inspired-itvs-butterfly-opens-up-about-daughters-suicide-attempts-after-bullying-237976
Gentleman, Amelia (November 25, 2022). Head of trans children charity Mermaids resigns after six years. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/nov/25/head-of-trans-children-charity-mermaids-resigns-after-six-years
Thomas, Rebecca (October 15, 2018). How ITV’s Butterfly hopes to be a ‘game-changer’ for trans people. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45672230
Gilligan, Andrew (December 16, 2018). Child sex-change charity Mermaids handed £500,000 by national lottery. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/child-sex-change-charity-handed-500-000-by-national-lottery-dvbt7t2kb
SJC (2022). EDI Audit: Recommendations and Next Steps. https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/EDI-Audit_-Recommendations-and-Next-Steps.pdf
Staff report (October 11, 2017). Prince Harry calls transgender children’s charity Mermaids ‘amazing’ at Buckingham Palace event. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/10/11/prince-harry-calls-transgender-childrens-charity-mermaids-amazing-at-buckingham-palace-event/
Baska, Maggie (February 9, 2023). Ex-Mermaids CEO and GenderGP launch vital trans youth healthcare fund. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/02/09/gender-gp-fund-trans-youth-healthcare-mermaids-susie-green/
Resources
IMDb (imdb.com)
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Julie Burchill is a writer and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Julie Burchill was born on July 3, 1959 in Bristol. After graduating Brislington Comprehensive School, she began writing for New Musical Express in 1976. Her future husband Tony Parsons took an interest in the 17-year-old. They soon married, and she then started freelancing as a culture writer. They divorced in 1984.
She did a lot of drugs and wrote a lot of obnoxious things through the 1980s. She married Cosmo Landesman in 1985; that lasted 7 years. She co-founded Modern Review and had a brief affair with Charlotte Raven in the 1990s. She also lost a big libel case and several writing gigs. From 1998 to 2003 she had a weekly column at The Guardian, where she wrote anti-Irish pieces and supported the invasion of Iraq. She made Channel 4’s 2003 poll of 100 Worst Britons. She continued to fail upward, landing a gig at The Times until she was fired in 2007, returning to the Guardian, then a gig at The Independent for 18 months.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2013, Burchill wrote an article for The Observer defending a transphobic piece by Suzanne Moore. Burchill quipped it showed “chutzpah” to have one’s “cock cut off and then plead special privileges as women.”
Burchill has since gone on to write many other anti-trans pieces.
References
Burchill, Julie (13 January 2013). “Transsexuals should cut it out”. The Observer.
^ Kaveney, Roz (13 January 2013). “Julie Burchill has ended up bullying the trans community”. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
^ Pearce, Ruth. “Transphobia in The Guardian: no excuse for hate speech”. Lesbilicious. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
Philipson, Alice (13 January 2013). “Lynne Featherstone calls for Observer’s Julie Burchill to be sacked following ‘disgusting rant’ against transsexuals”. The Telegraph. London. Archived
Stephen Pritchard “Julie Burchill and the Observer, The readers’ editor on why the paper was wrong to publish slurs against trans people” The Guardian, 18 January 2013Archived
Burchill, Julie (19 April 2018) I knew I was right… The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/i-knew-i-was-right/
Tatlock, John (January 14, 2013). “Nasty Idiotic Tripe”: Stand Against Julie Burchill’s Years Of Transphobia. The Quietus https://thequietus.com/articles/11108-julie-burchill-suzanne-moore-transphobia
Bindel, Julie (March 19, 2018). Why you can’t rely on the news media to understand… trans issues. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2018/03/cant-rely-news-media-understand-trans-issues/
Burchill, Julie (October 12, 2022). What incels and trans activists have in common. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/10/12/what-incels-and-trans-activists-have-in-common/
Resources
Substack (substack.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Nicola Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023.
Sturgeon became a target of gender critical activists for her support of gender recognition reform.
Background
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon was born on 19 July 1970 in Irvine. She joined the SNP in 1986. She earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Glasgow School of Law in 1992. She soon began working as a solicitor and holding leadership roles within SNP. She served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 under Alex Salmond, during which time she also served as Health Secretary. She was a key leader in SNP’s unsuccessful 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign. She was sworn in a First Minister later that year.
She and former SNP CEO Peter Murrell began a relationship in 2003 and married in 2010. Both were arrested and questioned about SNP finances several weeks after Sturgeon resigned in 2023.
Gender Recognition Reform
In 2016, the SNP vowed to review and reform the way that trans people change their legal gender via the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill . The bill passed in Parliament 86 to 39 in 2022. Weeks later, the UK Government prevented it from gaining Royal Assent under a section 35 order of the Scottish Act 1998. Sturgeon was attacked by critics for her response to the Isla Bryson case involving transgender prisoner housing.
References
Staff report (April 1, 2016). Nicola Sturgeon makes gender recognition pledge. BBC News [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2016-scotland-35945543
Sanderson, Daniel (February 1, 2021). SNP civil war deepens as leading Sturgeon critic Joanna Cherry purged from Westminster team. The Daily Telegraph [archive] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/01/snp-civil-war-deepens-leading-sturgeon-critic-purged-westminster/
Staff report (June 20, 2019). Scottish transgender reforms put on hold. BBC News [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48702946
Staff report (April 1, 2020). Transgender reforms shelved due to coronavirus pandemic. STV News [archive]
Merson, Adele (June 30, 2021). Trans rights: How gender recognition reform became one of Scotland’s most heated debates. The Press and Journal (Scotland) [archive] https://news.stv.tv/politics/transgender-reforms-shelved-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic
Johnson, Simon (August 23, 2021). Nicola Sturgeon facing backlash over proposed gender legislation. The Telegraph [archive] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/08/23/nicola-sturgeon-facing-backlash-proposed-gender-legislation/
Gordon, Tom (September10, 2021). Nicola Sturgeon dismisses concerns over gender reforms as ‘not valid’. The Herald [archive] https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19571909.nicola-sturgeon-dismisses-concerns-gender-reforms-not-valid/
Staff report (January 17, 2023). Nicola Sturgeon says gender reform row will go to court. BBC News [archive] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64264063
Staff report (February 9, 2023).Nicola Sturgeon’s gender conundrum: Is Isla Bryson a man or a woman. BBC News [archive] https://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64590421
Camobell, Glenn (February 15, 2023). Nicola Sturgeon says time is right to resign as Scotland’s first minister. BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-64647907
Resources
Scottish Parliament (parliament.scot)
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Dave Chappelle is an American comedian. Considered one of the greatest standups of all time, his late career has been marked by a series of transphobic incidents.
Background
David Khari Webber Chappelle was born August 24, 1973 in Washington, DC. His parents were politically active academics. He graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 1991. He moved to New York City and began honing his act, quickly becoming a regular at comedy clubs and in late night guest spots. He began appearing on televisions shows and t=developing pilots. His first starring role was in the 1998 film Half Baked. He recorded his first comedy special in 2000. In 2003 he starred in the sketch comedy program Chappelle’s Show, then left abruptly in 2005 at the height of the show’s popularity. He made sporadic appearances until 2013, when he started touring full-time again. In 2017, Netflix released the first of five comedy specials starring Chappelle. In 2019 he won the Mark Twain Prize.
Chappelle and his wife have three children.
Anti-transgender statements
Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special The Closer included transphobic jokes and a defense of transphobic author JK Rowling, during which he declared “I’m team TERF.” In his defense, Chappelle said some of his best friends were trans, citing trans comedian Daphne Dorman.
Netflix employees organized a walkout and demanded that The Closer be taken off of Netflix. CEO Ted Sarandos refused to take down the special, stating that he “does not believe it falls into hate speech.” Chappelle’s alma mater Duke Ellington School decided not to name its theater after him.
Chappelle continued to troll the trans community with jokes and play the victim. In 2022, Chappelle brought transphobe Elon Musk onstage at a San Francisco show, and Musk was booed off stage.
References
Chapman, Wilson (May 21, 2022). John Mulaney Draws Criticism for Having Dave Chappelle Open, Tell ‘Transphobic Jokes’ at Ohio Show. Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
Yang, Maya (October 7, 2021). ‘I’m team Terf’: Dave Chappelle under fire over pro-JK Rowling trans stance. The Guardian. [archive]
After Dave Chappelle Visit, Some Duke Ellington Students And Parents Speak Out. WAMU.
Blistein, Jon (July 12, 2022). Emmys Ready to Honor Another Dave Chappelle Special Filled With Transphobic Jokes. Rolling Stone.
Gerstmann, Evan. Dave Chappelle, Transphobia And Anti-Semitism. Forbes. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
Carras, Christi (October 20, 2021). Protesters demand accountability from Netflix after Chappelle backlash spurs walkout. Los Angeles Times.
Carras, Christi (October 20, 2021). Fed up with Chappelle fallout, Netflix employees are leading a walkout today in L.A. Los Angeles Times.
Donnelly, Matt (October 20, 2021). ‘I Screwed Up’: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Addresses Dave Chappelle Fallout. [archive]
Weekend Update: House Passes Build Back Better Bill – SNL, retrieved July 18, 2022
Dave Chappelle declines having Duke Ellington School theater named for him”. The Washington Post
AJ Willingham (June 21, 2022). Dave Chappelle says his former high school theater will no longer be named after him. CNN
Dave Chappelle Name Won’t Go On Duke Ellington Theater In DC. DCist. [archive]
Kearns, Madeleine (June 22, 2022). Dave Chappelle’s Plot Twist. National Review.
Resources
IMDb (imdb.com)
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Nick Gillespie is an American libertarian author, right-wing pundit, and anti-transgender activist. Gillespie’s podcast frequently promotes other figures from the anti-transgender fringe, including Jesse Singal, Michael Shermer, Michael Shellenberger, Steven Pinker, Abigail Shrier, Scott Barry Kaufman, Debra Soh, Katie Herzog, and Meghan Daum.
Background
Nicholas John “Nick” Gillespie was born August 7, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Middletown, New Jersey. Gillespie was raised Catholic and graduated from Mater Dei High School. Gillespie earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in 1985, a master’s degree from Temple University in 1990, and a doctorate from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1996. Gillespie married author and academic Katharine Marie Walke Gillespie (born 1960). They have two children, Jack and Nick. The Gillespies have since divorced. In 2023 Gillespie became engaged to Sarah Rose Siskind.
Gillespie has been associated with Reason magazine. Gillespie edited the 2004 book Choice: The Best of Reason and co-authored the 2011 book The Declaration of Independents.
Anti-trans promotion
With the exception of conservative trans libertarian Deirdre McCloskey, Gillespie has never platformed any trans journalists, scientists, lawyers, politicians, or activists who could address anti-trans guests’ statements or Gillespie’s own misconceptions.
References
Gillespie, Nick (May 24, 2023) Jesse Singal: How To Stay Honest While Doing Journalism
Gillespie, Nick (March 29, 2023). Deirdre McCloskey: ‘What We Want Is a Nonslave Society’
Gillespie, Nick (August 17, 2022). Michael Shermer: ‘Women Are Not Just Tits and Ass. There’s More to It Than That, a Lot More.’
Gillespie, Nick (July 29, 2022). John Cleese: Wokeism Is the Enemy of Comedy—and Creativity
Gillespie, Nick (January 12, 2022). Michael Shellenberger: How Progressives Ruined American Cities
Gillespie, Nick (October 13, 2021). Steven Pinker: Rationality Has Made Us Richer, Kinder, and More Free
Gillespie, Nick (July 7, 2021). Abigail Shrier: Trans Activists, Cancel Culture, and the Future of Free Expression
Gillespie, Nick (April 14, 2021). Jesse Singal: Why We Keep Falling for Psychological Quick Fixes
Gillespie, Nick (September 30, 2020). Scott Barry Kaufman on Narcissists and Libertarians
Gillespie, Nick (August 19, 2020). Debra Soh: The End of Gender
Gillespie, Nick (June 17, 2020). Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on Left-Wing Cancel Culture
Gillespie, Nick (October 30, 2019). Meghan Daum Is Done with ‘Cancel Culture.’ But Is America?
Gillespie, Nick (February 20, 2019). Let’s Talk About Sex Differences with Christina Hoff Sommers and Debra Soh: Podcast
Resources
Reason (reason.com)
Reason Foundation (reason.org)
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Alok Vaid-Menon is an American nonbinary performer and writer who uses the mononym ALOK.
Background
ALOK was born July 1, 1991, grew up in College Station, Texas, then earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Stanford University in 2013.
Art and activism
ALOK’s creative output focuses on gender, ethnicity, and loneliness. ALOK uses live performance, fashion design, and writing to express views.
Selected publications
- Femme in Public (2017)
- “Entertainment Value” in Unwatchable (2019)
- Beyond The Gender Binary (2020)
- Your Wound/My Garden. (2021)
References
Dicochea, Perlita R. (May 26, 2022). ALOK (CSRE ’13) on Making a Life. Stanford https://ccsre.stanford.edu/news/alok-csre-13-making-life
Reports, Alok Vaid-Menon via Creative Time (October 13, 2015). Greater transgender visibility hasn’t helped nonbinary people – like me Alok Vaid-Menon. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/13/greater-transgender-visibility-hasnt-helped-nonbinary-people-like-me
Sharma, Jeena (March 1, 2019). ALOK: ‘Beauty Is About Looking Like Yourself.’ PAPER https://www.papermag.com/alok-beauty-2629993229.html?rebelltitem=25#rebelltitem25?rebelltitem=25
Jagota, Vrinda (December 24, 2017). Alok Vaid-Menon on Building a Transfeminine Future. VICE https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8xvqev/alok-vaid-menon-on-building-a-transfeminine-future
Wortham, Jenna (November 16, 2018). On Instagram, Seeing Between the (Gender) Lines. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/16/magazine/tech-design-instagram-gender.html
Carmel, Julia (December 4, 2021). Alok Vaid-Menon Finds Beauty Beyond Gender. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/04/style/alok-vaid-menon-artist-nonbinary-poet-activist.html
Hawbaker, KT (June 21, 2018). Performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon on why identity categories don’t work — but stories do. Chicago Tribune https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-ent-alok-vaid-menon-femme-in-public-pride-20180621-story.html
Resources
ALOK (alokvmenon.com)
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Christina Hoff Sommers is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Sommers is critic of “gender feminism” or “victim feminism” and has supported many anti-trans activists over the years.
Background
Christina Marie Hoff Sommers was born on September 28, 1950 in Petaluma, California. Sommers earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University in 1971 and a doctorate in philosophy from Brandeis University in 1975.
After writing several works on ethics, Sommers began a career questioning “gender feminism,” a set of tenets central to third-wave feminism. Sommers went on to write several books on the subject:
- Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women (1994)
- The War Against Boys (2000)
- Freedom Feminism: Its Surprising History and Why It Matters Today (2013)
Sommers married philosopher Frederic Tamler “Fred” Sommers (1923 – 2014). Sommers’ stepchild is philosopher Saul Tamler Sommers (born 1970).
Anti-transgender activism
Sommers is sympathetic to other anti-transgender activists and frequently platforms people with anti-transgender views. From 2018 to 2022 Sommers and Danielle Crittenden hosted the podcast The Femsplainers, which described trans women as “men identifying as women.” The hosts have suggested that trans women would violently attack people who questioned their gender identity. Their many anti-transgender guests over the years include Jordan Peterson, Debra Soh, Claire Lehmann, Meghan Murphy, Caitlin Flanagan, Emily Yoffe, Heather Heying, Bridget Phetasy, Andrew Sullivan, Meghan Daum, Mona Charen, Dave Rubin, Abigail Shrier, Bari Weiss, Katie Herzog, Corinna Cohn, Angus Fox, “Two mothers,” Carole Hooven, and Helen Joyce.
References
29 January 2018 8:15 AM, @Femsplainers.
TERFWars: Men identifying as women are challenging women’s sports, women’s groups, women’s spaces, and even the very definition of womanhood. Disagree — and they may threaten to beat the crap out of you. New episode w #MeghanMurphy. L
Resources
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