Graham Linehan is an Irish comedy writer and anti-transgender extremist. Linehan is associated with anti-trans hate group Genspect and has become one of the most prominent and strident anti-trans activists in history.
Background
Linehan was born on May 22, 1968 in Dublin. Linehan’s initial career was as a comedy writer. Linehan helped create and write on shows including Father Ted, Black Books, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong, Brass Eye, and The Fast Show.
Linehan was married to writer Helen Serafinowicz from 2004 to 2020. They have two children.
Anti-transgender activism
Linehan became an anti-transgender activist after the 2008 The IT Crowd episode “The Speech” was criticized as transphobic. Channel 4 pulled the episode from their streaming service in 2020, infuriating Linehan.
Linehan’s subsequent fixation on trans people led to the end of both Linehan’s comedy career and marriage. A review of Linehan’s 2023 book Tough Crowd summarizes “the extremity of Linehanâs rhetoric”:
In my view, and that of his critics, some of his online remarks have been plainly and unapologetically transphobic: Linehan has characterised the trans rights movement as âpaedophilicâ and called trans activists and allies âgroomersâ. Itâs true enough that his former life is in tatters: the controversies led to the end of his marriage, the abandonment of a planned, lucrative Father Ted musical, and his agent dropping him.
[…] Often, Linehan paints trans women as predators, men looking to insinuate themselves into womenâs spaces in order to assault them with greater ease. When convenient, they are made out to be victims, brainwashed and exploited young queer people who are convinced to âmutilateâ their bodies in the name of ideology.
[…] To an extent, the bookâs very existence disputes the pretence of Linehan to have been deplatformed. If Linehan had siloed his anti-trans views somewhat, rather than warp them into a life-consuming vocation, his once-glittering TV career might well have remained intact to this day.
In 2018, Linehan received a verbal warning from police following a dispute with Stephanie Hayden, a trans woman who sued Linehan for defamation.
In April 2025 Linehan was charged with harassment and criminal damage following a 2024 confrontation with Sophia Brooks, a 17-year-old transgender activist whose phone was reportedly damaged by Linehan, Linehan pleaded not guilty and was released on bail on the condition Linehan not contact Brooks. Linehan was cleared of the harassment charge and was ordered to pay a fine over the broken phone.
In September 2025, Linehan was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence after encouraging followers on X to assault trans women they find in sex-segregated spaces.
The Mess We’re In podcast
Linehan started an interview show in 2020 that frequently has conservative, ex-trans, and anti-transgender guests.
For the full episode list with guests, see The Mess We’re In.
References
Staff report (October 25, 2025). Linehan cleared of harassing trans activist but guilty of damaging phone. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjrj4520rrwo
Melley, Brian (October 20, 2025). TV writer Graham Linehan wonât face charges for transgender post that sparked UK debate. AP News https://apnews.com/article/graham-linehan-father-ted-transgender-posts-arrest-bbf936f63a152c3abe162198084f546b
Riedel, Samantha (September 4, 2025). Father Ted‘s Graham Linehan in Court For “Harassing” Trans Teen Days After Arrest Over Transphobia. them https://www.them.us/story/graham-linehan-transphobia-anti-trans-arrest-court
Stff report (September 2, 2025). TV writer Graham Linehanâs arrest over transgender posts sparks free speech outcry in the UK. AP News https://apnews.com/article/graham-linehan-father-ted-x-posts-arrest-b5728b93a1e5b3b0d833c3321c8ea51d
Chilton, Louis (October 13. 2023). The problems with Graham Linehanâs memoir Tough Crowd. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/graham-linehan-tough-crowd-book-trans-b2428578.html
Williamson, Harriet (April 16, 2023). Anti-trans mouthpiece Graham Linehan suspended from Twitter…again. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/04/16/anti-trans-graham-linehan-suspended-twitter-again/
Burrows, Marc (December 30, 2022). Opinion: Why do people like Graham Linehan keep choosing this hill to die on? The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/graham-linehan-twitter-trans-rights-b2253532.html
Wakefield, Lily (1 October 2022). Anti-trans activist Graham Linehan says he’s no longer sure about COVID vaccines or climate change. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/10/01/graham-linehan-covid-transphobia-climate-change/
Crellin, Zac (April 19, 2022). Father Ted creator rallies global support for Katherine Deves and her anti-trans comments. The New Daily https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/federal-election-2022/2022/04/19/katherine-deves-graham-linehan-trans/
Dodds, Io; Woodward, Alex (April 14, 2022). The GOP ‘grooming’ smear is sparking a new wave of anti-LGBT+ violence. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/republicans-disney-groomer-harassment-lgbt-people-b2058272.html
Rose, Anna (March 25, 2022). ‘Father Ted’ musical axed following Graham Linehan’s controversial views. NME https://www.nme.com/news/tv/father-ted-musical-axed-following-graham-linehans-controversial-views-3190721
Dalwood, Charlotte (January 6, 2022). The alt-internet of anti-trans activists. rabble.ca. [archive]
Moore, Sam (October 25, 2021). Matt Berry comments on ‘transphobic’ IT Crowd episode. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/matt-berry-transphobic-it-crowd-episode-b1944874.html
Berlatsky, Noah (April 20, 2021). Harassers Use Substack Sign-Ups to Spam Trans People and Allies. The Observer https://observer.com/2021/04/substack-transphobia-email-sign-ups-harassment/
Clute, Emily (April 18, 2021). The IT Crowd: The Controversial Episode that Killed the Hit Comedy Series. Screenrant https://screenrant.com/it-crowd-controversy-graham-linehan-april-transphobic-bad/
Kelleher, Patrick (21 February 2021). Graham Linehan joined a queer women’s dating app to share trans people’s profiles. It backfired, badly. PinkNews [archive]
Wakefield, Lily (December 3, 2020). Disgraced comedy writer Graham Linehan boasts he’s back on Twitter with a ‘new sim card’ after being kicked off for a second time. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/12/03/graham-linehan-twitter-new-account-transphobia-sim-card-ban-hateful-conduct/
Wakefield, Lily (December 1, 2020). Disgraced comedy writer Graham Linehan, booted from Twitter for hateful conduct, returns with fake ‘trans guy’ account. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/12/01/graham-linehan-twitter-scarlysimon-trans-rights-sock-account-colm-ogorman/
Krol, Charlotte (October 9, 2020). Channel 4 pulls IT Crowd episode over transphobic content. NME https://www.nme.com/news/tv/channel-4-pulls-it-crowd-episode-over-transphobic-content-2778346
Horbury, Ezra; Yao, Christine (1 August 2020). Empire and Eugenics: Trans Studies in the UK. Transgender Studies Quarterly. 3 (7): 445â454. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-8553104
Andrews, Penny (2020). Choose your fighter: Loyalty and fandom in the free speech culture wars. Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-1-5261-5255-8
Burns, Katelyn (December 19, 2019). J. K. Rowling’s transphobia is a product of British culture. Vox https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/12/19/21029874/jk-rowling-transgender-tweet-terf
Wakefield, Lily (June 12, 2019). NSPCC employee who hired Munroe Bergdorf gets homophobic abuse. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/12/nspcc-employee-hired-munroe-bergdorf-homophobic-abuse/
Staff report (January 22, 2019). Gamer Hbomberguy hands funding row charity Donkey Kong boost. BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-46961883
Asarch, Steven (January 20, 2019). Twitch stream pulls in $250,000 for Mermaids charity featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Owen Jones and more. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/twitch-stream-pulls-250000-mermaids-charity-featuring-alexandria-ocasio-1298710
Duffy, Nick (October 11, 2018). Father Ted writer Graham Linehan compares trans activism to Nazism. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2018/12/11/father-ted-graham-linehan-trans-nazis/
Staff report (October 7, 2018). Father Ted writer given harassment warning. BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45777689
Gentleman, Amelia (October 19, 2015). How heartbreak led Helen and Graham Linehan to campaign for abortion in Ireland. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/19/graham-helen-linehan-ireland-abortion-amnesty-international
Gabbatiss, Josh (July 7, 2018). London Pride: Anti-trans activists disrupt parade by lying down in the street to protest ‘lesbian erasure.’ The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anti-trans-protest-london-pride-parade-lgbt-gay-2018-march-lesbian-gay-rights-a8436506.html
Jones, Alice (May 30, 2015). Inside the comic world of Peter Serafinowicz: The spoof video master is heading to Hollywood. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/inside-the-comic-world-of-peter-serafinowicz-the-spoof-video-master-is-heading-to-hollywood-10279558.html
Edemariam, Aida (June 11, 2011). The Saturday Interview: Graham Linehan. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/jun/11/the-saturday-interview-graham-linehan
Anti-trans coverage
Boffey, Daniel (September 3, 2025). How Graham Linehanâs gender activism led to career armageddon. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/sep/03/how-graham-linehan-gender-activism-led-to-comedian-career-and-personal-armageddon
Brown, Lee (March 17, 2023). âFather Tedâ creator Graham Linehan blames trans war for ending his marriage. New York Post https://nypost.com/2023/03/17/father-ted-creator-trans-war-left-me-broke-and-single/
McGowan, Michael (April 14, 2022). NSW Liberal candidate likens anti-trans activism to opposing the Holocaust. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/14/nsw-liberal-candidate-likens-anti-trans-activism-to-opposing-the-holocaust
O’Connor, Wayne (March 14, 2021). TV writer Graham Linehan: How my transgender views cost me my marriage. Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/tv-writer-graham-linehan-how-my-transgender-views-cost-me-my-marriage-40194554.html
Blackall, Molly (June 27, 2020). Twitter closes Graham Linehan account after trans comment. The Guardian
Gataveckaite, Gabija (June 10, 2020). Hozier and Father Ted creator Graham Linehan join Twitter row over JK Rowling comments. Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hozier-and-father-ted-creator-graham-linehan-join-twitter-row-over-jk-rowling-comments-39276937.html
Falvey, Deirdre (January 21, 2019). Graham Linehan: Trans activists ‘don’t realise the damage’ they do. The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/graham-linehan-trans-activists-don-t-realise-the-damage-they-do-1.3765979
Haugh, Ben (December 18, 2019). Father Ted creator Linehan creates own social network to defy Twitter after transgender row. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/father-ted-creator-linehan-creates-own-social-network-to-defy-twitter-after-transgender-row-cfzw7xls0
Murphy, Sandra (January 22, 2019). How Graham Linehan went from national treasure to divisive figure for trans community. extra.ie https://extra.ie/2019/01/22/news/irish-news/video-graham-linehan-trans-views-cost-him-national-treasure-title
Lyons, Izzy (October 7, 2018). Transgender lawyer launches UK’s first ‘deadnaming’ case against Father Ted writer Graham Linehan. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/07/transgender-lawyer-launches-uks-first-deadnaming-case-against/
Coyle, Colin (October 7, 2018). Father Ted writer Graham Linehan warned by police after ‘trolling’ transgender activist. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/father-ted-writer-graham-linehan-warned-by-police-after-trolling-transgender-activist-wqfwqgsxn
Halliday, Josh (October 7, 2018). Graham Linehan given police warning after complaint by transgender activist. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/oct/07/graham-linehan-police-warning-complaint-by-stephanie-hayden-transgender-activist-twitter
Kelly, Guy (January 16, 2015). Graham Linehan interview: ‘On the streets, Twitter trolls would be considered sociopaths.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11342851/Graham-Linehan-interview-On-the-streets-Twitter-trolls-would-be-considered-sociopaths.html
Selected writing by Linehan
See Linehan’s Substack The Glinner Update for a running anti-trans commentary.
Linehan, Graham (September 2, 2025). I Posted on X. The British Police Arrested Me. The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/i-posted-on-x-the-british-police-arrested-me-free-speech
Book
Linehan, Graham (2023). Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy. Eye Books Ltd, ISBN 978-1785633065
Media analysis
Brigitte Empire (February 3, 2024). Dissecting Graham Linehan’s Transphobic Book (ft. The Leftist Cooks). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbHbYnlJtPs
Paul The Robin (March 5, 2021). Graham Linehan: A Study – A Decline into Transphobia, Bigotry & Brainrot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_35QK–u7Q
Media
Spiked with Georgina Mumford and Graham Linehan (December 3, 2025). âTheyâre little Hitlersâ | Graham Linehan on his decade-long persecution by trans activists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsdj6cCLeKs
TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster and Graham Linehan (November 30, 2025). Graham Linehan: Arrested for Trans Tweets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BMdCpttzd0
Timcast with Tim Pool and Graham Linehan (October 17, 2025). Leftist NO KINGS Protest Begins, Antifa EMBEDS, Riots & Violence FEARED Nationwide | Timcast IRL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-IpmerAIBU
Megyn Kelly with Graham Linehan (September 8, 2025). Comedy Writer Graham Linehan on the Social Media Posts Defending Women Leading to His ARREST in UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aXFEYlieAc
Jordan B. Peterson with Andrew Doyle and Graham Linehan (September 2, 2025). Europe Imploding | Andrew Doyle & Graham Linehan | EP 506. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykfUbIjtjEY
Spiked with Brendan O’Neill and Graham Linehan (August 14, 2025). Graham Linehan: Is Britain a lost cause? | The Brendan OâNeill Show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2aOqM7l050
The Joe Rogan Experience with Joe Rogan and Graham Linehan (August 6, 2025). Joe Rogan Experience #2361 – Graham Linehan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03V2ZnXyEDA
Spiked with Graham Linehan, Tom Slater, and Fraser Myers (April 25, 2025). The trans meltdown, with Graham Linehan | spiked podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH9gfix3ro8
Genspect with Graham Linehan (March 15, 2025). How Institutions Were Captured Without a Fight – Graham Linehan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSE4bpVmYUE
heretics with Andrew Gold and Graham Linehan (September 23, 2024). Gender Insanity Went VIRAL Because of THESE Celebrities – Graham Linehan (4K) | heretics. 94. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtliX5oSvGk
Quillette with Zoe Booth and Graham Linehan (Aprill. 11, 2024). Graham Linehan Was Right About Gender Ideology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-yZ3vGJ_7o
The New Culture Forum with Amy Gallagher and Graham Linehan (March 3, 2024). “I Popularised the Term ‘Grooming’ ‘”. “Trans is Middle-Class Nihilism” (Graham Linehan). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lmLQD5o5aE
Spiked with Graham Linehan (December 27, 2023). Graham Linehanâs last laugh | A spiked documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxgRbPnucg8
TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster and Graham Linehan (December 20, 2023). Backstabbed By Comedy Industry – Graham Linehan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va6hXYTMBDI
Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, and Graham Linehan (November 30, 2023). EP 144: Glinner is a TERF with Graham Linehan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJHyJ15mJ-A
heretics with Andrew Gold and Graham Linehan (November 18, 2023). The World’s Most Canceled Man – IT Crowd Creator Graham Linehan | heretics. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhMkwSPGUt0
UnHerd with Graham Linehan (October 17, 2023). Graham Linehan: I lost my comedy career to a mass delusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQyXIp-Rs2E
Karl Martin (September 22, 2023). Graham Linehan, woman (arrested for objecting to man in female toilets) speak #LetWomenSpeakDublin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FnVCrs2Scw
Graham Linehan (March 24, 2022). My interview with Stephen Nolan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3St5XimKi6U&t=345s
UK Parliament (March 9, 2021). Subject: Freedom of expression online. Communications and Digital Committee. parliamentlive.tv https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/5236fc59-47ae-41c9-93f7-4ea16b5782c3
BBC / Newsnight with Sarah Smith and Graham Linehan (February 11, 2020). Father Ted creator Graham Linehan on trans rights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e79k6LILL1I alt url https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08305wc
GBNews (August 16, 2022). Graham Linehan: ‘Trans activists tried to destroy my life’ after BBC interview on Tavistock Centre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IhgIXf2_WE
Triggernometry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOriXC2O4x0
Derrick Jensen and Graham Linehan (9 December 2018). Resistance Radio â Guest: Graham Linehan (Podcast). Podbean. The opposition is so extreme and so frightening that eventually everyone is asking you to stop. My feeling is that I can’t, because it’s too important. It’s too important to the women in my life and it’s too important to me. I’m now in a position where I can answer the question honestly of, if you were around at the time of something terrible happening like Nazism, or whatever it happened to be, would you be one of the people who said “no, this is wrong”, despite being opposed? I feel happy in myself that I’ve been one of the people standing up and saying “no, this is wrong”, despite everyone telling me not to do it.
The Same Drugs with Meghan Murphy and Graham Linehan (January 23, 2019). Graham Linehan on Twitter, trans activism, and why he won’t just shut up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mP6RZud4ls
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
RationalkWiki (rationalwiki.org)
IMDb (imdb.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Substack (substack.com)
WordPress (wordpress.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
The Free Press (thefp.com)
Hadley Freeman is an American-British journalist best known for manipulating notable authors into making statements about trans issues that they later must disavow. Freeman’s interviews with Margaret Atwood and Judy Blume both required the authors to issue statements.
Freeman has written for several anti-trans publications, including UnHerd, New Statesman, The Guardian, The Times, and The Sunday Times.
Background
Hadley Clare Freeman was born May 15, 1978 in New York City. As an adolescent, Freeman was hospitalized several times for self-imposed food restrictions. Freeman read English literature at St Anne’s College, Oxford.
Freeman and sports writer Andy Bull have three children.
Anti-trans activism
Freeman wrote for The Guardian starting in 2000. Freeman and Suzanne Moore both left The Guardian around the same time in 2022 amid public pushback over their anti-trans views.
References
Reed, Erin (April 20, 2025). Anti-Trans Activist Hadley Freeman Thinks UK Court Win Means People Have To Be Her Friend. Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/anti-trans-activist-hadley-freeman
Mack, Daniel (April 17, 2023). Judy Blume Blasted An Article Linking Her To J.K. Rowlingâs Anti-Trans Views As âBullshit.â BuzzFeed News https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/judy-blume-transgender-jk-rowling-hadley-freeman
Tani, Max (April 3, 2023). Inside the Guardianâs civil war over trans coverage. Semafor https://www.semafor.com/article/04/02/2023/inside-the-guardians-civil-war-over-trans-coverage
Milton, Josh (February 19, 2022). âGender criticalâ journalist tries to grill Margaret Atwood on trans rights. It backfires, badly. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/02/19/margaret-atwood-hadley-freeman-trans-gender-critical/
Hansford, Amelia (20 January 2023). Journalist Hadley Freeman condemned for ‘dangerous’ comments about suicidal trans kids. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/01/10/hadley-freeman-suicidal-trans-youth/
Ewens, Hannah (16 June 2020). Inside the Great British TERF War. Vice https://www.vice.com/en/article/889qe5/trans-rights-uk-debate-terfs
Valens, Ana (2 April 2018). There’s nothing feminist about attacking trans women. The Daily Dot https://www.dailydot.com/irl/attacking-trans-women-feminist/
Persio, Sofia Lotto (3 November 2018). Guardian US journalists denounce newspaper’s “transphobic” editorial. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/11/03/guardian-transphobic-editorial-concern/
Levin, Sam; Chalabi, Mona; Siddiqui, Sabrina (2 November 2018). Why we take issue with the Guardian‘s stance on trans rights in the UK. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/02/guardian-editorial-response-transgender-rights-uk
Anti-trans coverage
Moore, Suzanne (December 6, 2022). The Guardian is hiding the truth about trans. Both Hadley Freeman and I left the paper after not being allowed to write as we wished â including on subjects such as gender. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/12/06/guardian-hiding-truth-trans/
Singh, Anita (5 December 2022). Hadley Freeman: ‘Atmosphere of fear’ governs Guardian trans coverage. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/05/hadley-freeman-atmosphere-fear-governs-guardian-trans-coverage/
Kanter, Jake (February 21, 2022). Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman says left-wing media bows down to trans bullies. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/guardian-columnist-hadley-freeman-says-paper-bows-down-to-trans-bullies-79kk9d0d7
Selected writing by Freeman
Freeman, Hadley (November 23, 2025,). At Cambridge, three brave students are taking on the trans bullies. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/cambridge-students-trans-bullies-gc03ff6q3
Freeman, Hadley; Urwin, Rosamund; Yorke, Harry; Turvill, William; Hauschild, Dominic (April 20, 2025). Supreme Court victors getting death threats in gender ruling backlash. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/women-threatened-statues-defaced-supreme-court-trans-mwv6dvpz2
Freeman, Hadley (April 19, 2025). I lost friends and a job in the trans witch-hunt. Hordes of cowards caved in to the fantasy. A few brave women did not. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/trans-witch-hunt-supreme-court-women-xj7zlq0fv
Freeman, Hadley (August 6, 2023). My Sting interview farce shows how entrenched trans ideology has become. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/my-sting-interview-farce-shows-how-entrenched-trans-ideology-has-become-djwsftgph
Freeman, Hadley (December 20, 2022). Why I stopped being a good girl Women can no longer afford to sit out the gender wars. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/12/why-i-stopped-being-a-good-girl-2/
Freeman, Hadley (November 29, 2022). Mermaidsâ useful idiots. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/11/mermaids-useful-idiots/
Freeman, Hadley (August 9, 2022). Why the Tavistock wonât talk to me. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/08/why-the-tavistock-wont-talk-to-me/
Freeman, Hadley (July 14, 2022). Why Iâm suing Survivorsâ Network: Rape victims need female-only spaces. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/07/why-im-suing-survivors-network/
Freeman, Hadley (June 13, 2022). The kids arenât alright. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/06/are-the-kids-alright/
Freeman, Hadley (May 4, 2022). American feminism has turned its back on women. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/05/american-feminism-has-turned-its-back-on-abortion/
Freeman, Hadley (April 7, 2022). The week the trans spell was broken. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/04/the-week-the-trans-spell-was-broken/
Freeman, Hadley (February 19, 2022). Margaret Atwood on feminism, culture wars and speaking her mind: âIâm very willing to listen, but not to be scammed.â The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2022/feb/19/margaret-atwood-on-feminism-culture-wars
Freeman, Hadley (June 26, 2021). People have told me I’m on the wrong side of history, but I still want to be their friend. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/26/people-have-told-me-i-am-on-the-wrong-side-of-history-but-i-still-want-to-be-their-friend
Freeman, Hadley (March 6, 2019). Sport can help to clarify the trans debate. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/06/sport-trans-martina-navratilova
Freeman, Hadley (July 5, 2018). An aversion to dolls and dresses is no proof youâre a man. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/05/dolls-dresses-no-proof-not-girl-pink-v-blue
Freeman, Hadley (March 31, 2018). Donât you just love it when a man explains to you what it means to be a woman? The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/31/man-explains-what-means-be-woman
Freeman, Hadley (March 18, 2017). Identity is the issue of our age: so why canât we talk more honestly about trans women? The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/18/identity-issue-our-age-talk-more-honestly-trans-women
Freeman, Hadley (March 19, 2016). Hadley Freeman: the trouble with Caitlyn Jenner. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/19/caitlyn-jenner-donald-trump-car-crash-hadley-freeman
Resources
Books
- The Meaning of Sunglasses: And a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable (2008)
- Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies (2013)
- Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies (and Why We Don’t Learn Them from Movies Anymore) (2016)
- House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family (2020)
- Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia (2023)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
The Guardian (theguardian.com)
New Statesman (newstatesman.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Journalisted (journalisted.com)
UnHerd (unherd.com)
Lionel Shriver is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Shriver has spoken at a conference by anti-trans hate group Genspect and has made many anti-trans comments in the media. Shriver has written for anti-trans publications, including UnHerd, The Critic, The Times, Spiked, and The Spectator.
Background
Shriver was born on May 18, 1957 in Gastonia, North Carolina. Shriver is a self-described tomboy who grew up with an older and a younger sibling. Shriver took social transition steps as a minor, including a name change at 15. Shriver earned a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and a master’s degree from Columbia University. Shriver has written many novels and has been a columnist.
Anti-trans activism
Shriver frequently logrolls for other anti-trans activists and appears on conservative media outlets:
“Western media has moved on to an enthrallment with transgenderism bizarrely out of proportion to the statistical rarity of true gender dysphoriaâthough children and people generally being so suggestible, the condition will doubtless grow more common.”
Shriver was signatory on a 2020 Sunday Times open letter defending anti-trans extremist J.K. Rowling.
Shriver praised trans eliminationist Helen Joyce’s book Trans: “Reasonable, methodical, sane, and utterly unintimidated by extremist orthodoxy, Trans is a riveting read.”
In a Washington Post article about Shriver’s 2022 nonfiction book Abominations:
Writing about transgender people either sends her down slippery-slope thinking â âWe seem to be entering an era in which everything about ourselves that we donât like is subject to revisionâ â or infantile cracks about pronouns and LGBTQ+ culture. (âA three-year-old bashing the keyboard would produce a more functional shorthand.â)
From a profile in The Times:
Shriver is âmystifiedâ by the way in which the transgender debate has become so fraught, with death threats to writers and MPs. âThe transgender thing just seems to make people completely crazy,â she says. âI just donât think that what sex you are is that important. My sense of myself is not crucially female.â
As a teenager Shriver changed her name from Margaret Ann to Lionel because she was determined not to be eclipsed by her elder brother. âWomen are supposed to be soft and nurturing and pliable and driven to please and looking out for others. Men are strong and determined, and goal driven and powerful. If you look at the stereotypes, anyone with any self-respect would want to be a man. I reject the stereotypes . . . Iâm all for chucking them and one of my biggest problems with the transgender movement is itâs all about nailing them down.â
References
Levy, Ariel (May 25, 2020). Lionel Shriver Is Looking for Trouble. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/01/lionel-shriver-is-looking-for-trouble
Maxwell, Abigail (April 26, 2016). Lionel Shriver is wrongâgender matters. Prospect https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/society/48774/lionel-shriver-is-wronggender-matters
Anti-trans coverage
US staff report (September 5, 2024). Lionel Shriver: Iâm scared to visit Britain after Graham Linehan arrest. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/09/05/lionel-shriver-scared-visit-britain-graham-linehan-arrest/
Harvey, Chris (April 3, 2024). Lionel Shriver: âTransgenderism is a social mania.â The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/lionel-shriver-mania-interview-transgenderism/
Athitakis, Markâ(September 20, 2022). Lionel Shriver taunts the âculture policeâ and more in her new book. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/09/20/lionel-shriver-taunts-culture-police-more-her-new-book/
Sylvester, Rachel (September 10 2022) Lionel Shriver: âWhich sex you are isnât that important.â The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lionel-shriver-which-sex-you-are-isnt-that-important-8vq8m0cwd
Selected writing by Shriver
Shriver, Lionel (September 4, 2025). Will I be arrested next, after Graham Linehan? Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2025/09/04/will-i-be-arrested-next-after-graham-linehan/
Shriver, Lionel (June 28, 2025). âTrans rightsâ has never been a civil rights issue. The Spectator Australia https://www.spectator.com.au/2025/06/trans-rights-has-never-been-a-civil-rights-issue/
Shriver, Lionel (April 27, 2023). Is trans the new anorexia? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/04/is-trans-the-new-anorexia/
Shriver, Lionel (August 6, 2021). Trans purity test has lost touch with reality. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-purity-test-has-lost-touch-with-reality-qw5vkzmtp
Shriver, Lionel (September 15, 2018). One discouraging word and youâre a transphobe. The Spectator https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/one-discouraging-word-and-you-re-a-transphobe/
Shriver, Lionel (April 21, 2016). Gender â good for nothing. Prospect https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/features/gender-good-for-nothing https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/essays/48719/gendergood-for-nothing
Media
Genspect with Stella O’Malley and Lionel Shriver (December 24, 2025). Beyond Pronouns: Lionel Shriver Talks Civilization, Sanity, and the Trans Debate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWAbfcxV1po
Peter Boghossian with Lionel Shriver (October 21, 2025). Immigration Is THE Problem of Our Time w/ Lionel Shriver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmhEb0eVhcE
Piers Morgan Uncensored with Riley Gaines, Blaire White, Helen Webberley, Laurie Penny, and Lionel Shriver (September 5, 2025). “Flaming HYPOCRITE!” Linehan Arrest For Anti-Trans Posts & Free Speech Feat. Riley Gaines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIxkcyzi0OY
TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, and Lionel Shriver (May 11, 2025). Mania: How Societies Go Crazy – Lionel Shriver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N17dF847rpM
heretics with Andrew Gold and Lionel Shriver (April 14, 2025). The Left’s Most Hated Author Finally Speaks Out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXJDLB3_P24
The Spectator with Kate Andrews and Lionel Shriver (November 6, 2024). Lionel Shriver on the election that smashed identity politics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhZK1lM0pyk
Spiked with Fraser Myers and Lionel Shriver (October 23, 2024). Why I loathe Kamala Harris | Lionel Shriver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiqExmiNJck
GBNews / Uncancelled with Dan Wootton and Lionel Shriver (May 3, 2022). Has it become trendy to be trans? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB_jMq8hoUk
Centre for Independent Studies with Brendan O’Neill and Lionel Shriver (July 6, 2020). We must defend freedom of speech | Lionel Shriver | Brendan O’Neill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P60G1gJ3Q8Y
Intelligence Squared with Lionel Shriver, Trevor Phillips, David Lammy, Dawn Foster, and Kamal Ahmed (February 17, 2020). Debate: Identity Politics is Tearing Society Apart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVMYfuzhbxk
The Spectator with Douglas Murray and Lionel Shriver (October 30, 2019). Identity Politics: Lionel Shriver & Douglas Murray | The Spectator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddBKQIomyYI
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Facebook (facebook.com)
IMDb (imdb.com)
The Spectator (spectator.com)
UnHerd (unherd.com)
The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)
Spiked (spiked-online.com)
The Critic (thecritic.co.uk)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
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.”
Anti-trans activist Heather Brunskell-Evans wrote a piece for Transgender Trend titled “Judith Butler at the Court of Appeal.”
People
Core team
References
Kesslen, Ben (18 August 2022). How the idea of a “transgender contagion” went viralâand caused untold harm. MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/08/18/1057135/transgender-contagion-gender-dysphoria/
Dodds, Io (3 July 2022). How two trans women ran a legendary underground surgical clinic in a rural barn. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trans-history-underground-sugical-clinic-b2114777.html
Ring, Ellie (16 June 2022). Edinburgh LGBTQ+ officer claims university hosted ‘highly transphobic’ seminar. The Edinburgh Tab https://thetab.com/uk/edinburgh/2022/06/16/edinburgh-lgbtq-officer-claims-university-hosted-highly-transphobic-seminar-77705
Staff report (3 June 2022). Anti-Trans Group Founder Stephanie Davies-Ara Awarded ‘British Empire Medal’ In Queen’s Birthday Honours. Star Observer https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/anti-trans-group-founder-stephanie-davies-ara-awarded-british-empire-medal-in-queens-birthday-honours/213480
Hansford, Amelia (2 June 2022). Founder of notorious anti-trans pressure group named in Queen’s birthday honours. i https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/groomer-new-lgbt-slur-incite-hatred-spark-violence-1585179
The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022. GOV.UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1080317/birthday-honours-list-2022.csv/preview
Strudwick, Patrick (May 22, 2022). ‘Shocked and scared’: Trans man speaks out over reporting psychiatrist for ‘conversion therapy’. I News https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/trans-conversion-therapy-patient-speaks-out-psychiatrist-reported-1641330
Strudwick, Patrick (April 26, 2022). How ‘groomer’, the dangerous new anti-LGBT slur from America, is taking hold in Britain. i News https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/groomer-new-lgbt-slur-incite-hatred-spark-violence-1585179
Ferreira, Lou (March 22, 2022). NHS invited speakers with ‘anti-trans’ links to trans event. Open Democracy https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/nhs-pulls-trans-conference-after-speakers-links-exposed/
Norris, Sian (30 September 2021). The Far-Right Co-Option of the Transgender Rights Issue. Byline Times https://bylinetimes.com/2021/09/30/the-far-right-co-option-of-the-transgender-rights-issue/
Greenesmith, Heron (28 February 2021). Health Care for Trans Youth Is Under Attack in UK — and It’s Impacting the US. Truthout https://truthout.org/articles/health-care-for-trans-youth-is-under-attack-in-uk-and-its-impacting-the-us/
McLean, Craig (2021). The Growth of the Anti-Transgender Movement in the United Kingdom: The Silent Radicalization of the British Electorate. International Journal of Sociology. 51 (6): 473â482. https://doio.org/10.1080/00207659.2021.1939946
Savage, Rachel (4 December 2020). British LGBT+ groups see surge in calls after UK court ruling on trans teens. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-lgbt-health-idUSKBN28E2UF
Duffy, Nick (June 17, 2020). Thousands of cisgender women sign letter urging Liz Truss to shelve ‘disturbing’ rollback of trans rights. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/17/liz-truss-gender-recognition-act-reform-cis-women-open-letter-trans-equality/
John, Tara (April 4, 2020). The quest for trans rights has exposed a deep divide in the UK. Scotland may show a way forward. CNN https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/uk/trans-rights-reforms-scotland-gbr-intl/index.html
Wakefield, Lily (March 11, 2020). Anti-LGBT+ priest tells MPs that sex education leads to sex abuse and anal cancer, and no one stopped her. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/03/11/anglican-priest-lynda-rose-lgbt-inclusive-sex-education-house-of-commons-anal-cancer-abuse/
Andersson, Jasmine (January 10, 2020). The medical, ethical, and legal complications surrounding the puberty blockers case. i https://inews.co.uk/news/puberty-blockers-legal-case-experts-transgender-382047
Duffy, Nick (October 7, 2019). Someone is trolling anti-trans group Transgender Trend in the most perfect way. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/10/07/someone-trolling-anti-trans-group-most-perfect-way/
Duffy, Nick (May 11, 2019). Education magazine TES loses star columnist over transphobia row. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/05/11/education-magazine-tes-loses-star-columnist-transphobia-row/
Keating, Shannon (22 April 2019). Gender Dysphoria Isn’t A “Social Contagion,” According To A New Study. BuzzFeed News https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/shannonkeating/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-flawed-methods-transgender
Duffy, Nick (September 28, 2018). Gender-neutral toilets in Canada targeted with anti-trans ‘penis’ stickers. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/09/28/gender-neutral-toilets-targeted-with-anti-transgender-penis-stickers-canada/
Strudwick, Patrick (September 12, 2018). A Leading Trans-Critical Group Said Schools Should Out Trans Pupils To Their Parents. BuzzFeed News https://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/trans-kids-should-be-outed-to-their-parents-says-a-group
Robertson, Alix (September 10, 2018). Schools warned over new ‘harmful’ Transgender Trend stickers. schoolsweek.co.uk https://schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-warned-over-new-harmful-transgender-trend-stickers/
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
Page, Morgan M. (9 July 2018). Why Are Some Feminists In The UK Freaking Out About Trans Rights?. BuzzFeed News https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/morganmpage/why-are-some-feminists-in-the-uk-freaking-out-about-trans
Glass, Jess (April 25, 2018). Exclusive: Anti-trans meeting sparks mass criticism and counter-protests from university groups. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/04/25/university-of-oxford-protest-transgender-feminism-womans-place/
Whittaker, Freddie (February 15, 2018). Schools urged to ignore ‘dangerous’ gender guidance. schoolsweek.co.uk https://schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-urged-to-ignore-dangerous-gender-guidance/
Anti-trans coverage
Rayner, Gordon (June 1, 2022). Vindication for ‘transphobic’ gender-critical campaigner named in Queen’s Birthday Honours list. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/06/01/vindication-transphobic-gender-critical-campaigner-named-queens/
Turner, Camilla; Somerville, Ewan (January 1, 2022). Group of girls’ schools says they will not accept transgender pupils and “jeopardise” their status as single-sex institutions. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/01/group-girls-schools-says-will-not-accept-transgender-pupils/
Somerville, Ewan (May 9, 2021). Transgender guidelines for girls schools quietly scrapped by the equalities watchdog. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/09/transgender-guidelines-girls-schools-quietly-scrapped-equalities/
Thomas, Kim (29 September 2020). What are the new rules for teaching identity in schools? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2020/09/29/new-rules-teaching-identity-schools/
“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.”
Mohdin, Aamna (September 25, 2020). Government issues gender identity guidance for teachers in England. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/sep/25/government-issues-gender-identity-guidance-for-teachers-in-england
Selected writing by Davies-Arai
Davies-Arai, Stephanie (July 7, 2021). Teachers are powerless to resist trans activism in schools. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/07/teachers-powerless-resist-trans-activism-schools/
Resources
Trans Data Library (transdatalibrary.org)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Transgender Trend (transgendertrend.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Magdalen Berns was a British anti-transgender extremist. Berns was a co-founder of anti-trans group For Women Scotland and was a prominent figure in the early days of the UK’s surge in anti-transgender extremism in the 2010s.
Background
Berns was born May 8, 1983 in London to parents who were involved in communist activism. They split up soon after Berns was born.
Berns attended Hampstead School in Camden, London. After working as a sound engineer and computer programmer as a young adult, Berns returned to college, making early forays into anti-drag and anti-trans activism. Berns earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Edinburgh in 2016.
Berns died from brain cancer on September 13, 2019 at age 36 in Edinburgh.
Anti-transgender activism
Berns was a sex segregationist and a trans-exclusionary lesbian. Berns was involved in the so-called “cotton ceiling” controversy involving trans women dating women who dated self-identified lesbians. Berns was opposed to the idea that a lesbian can date a trans woman who had not had bottom surgery, saying “There is no such thing as a lesbian with a penis.” Berns also opposed gender self-identification and worked to change Scotland’s laws around it. Berns also opposed value-neutral terms like sex assigned at birth:
“You don’t get ‘assigned’ reproductive organs … males are defined by their biological sex organs. Likewise, homosexuals are people who are attracted to the same biological sex.”
Berns compared trans women to “blackface actors.” Berns often said, “Trans women are men” and described trans activism as a “men’s rights movement.” Berns attacked a number of trans inclusive organizations, including LGBT charity Stonewall.
Berns co-founded the non-profit organization For Women Scotland in 2018. Their goal was to advocate for sex-based rights, maintaining the remaining sex-segregated institutions like bathrooms, sports, children’s organizations, and prisons.
In 2019, British author and anti-trans activist J.K. Rowling helped raise Berns’ profile. After Berns died, Rowling revealed that they had spoken directly. Rowling called Berns “an immensely brave young feminist and lesbian” and “a great believer in the importance of biological sex [who] didn’t believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises.”
References
Joaquina (January 2, 2021). Transphobia and Antisemitism. The Social Review https://www.thesocialreview.co.uk/2021/01/02/transphobia-and-antisemitism/
Andrews, Penny (November 20, 2020). Choose your fighter: Loyalty and fandom in the free speech culture wars. Manchester University Press. p. 259. ISBN 978-1-5261-5255-8
Staff report (July 3, 2020). Permanently suspended: How Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has become the ‘most hated man’ on the internet. Irish Independent. https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/permanently-suspended-how-father-ted-co-creator-graham-linehan-has-become-the-most-hated-man-on-the-internet-39336272.html
Yasharoff, Hannah (June 10, 2020). J.K. Rowling reveals she’s a sexual assault survivor; Emma Watson reacts to trans comments. USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/06/07/j-k-rowling-harry-potter-author-slammed-transphobic-comments/3169833001/
Aberle, Connor (November 15, 2018). YouTube loves to hate me. The Wesleyan Argus http://wesleyanargus.com/2018/11/15/youtube-loves-to-hate-me/
Flaherty, Colleen (September 3, 2019). College supports trans scholar under fire. Inside Higher Ed https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/09/03/college-supports-trans-scholar-under-fire
Smith-Engelhardt, Joe (June 28, 2019). J.K. Rowling faces backlash for allegedly displaying transphobic behaviour. Alternative Press https://www.altpress.com/news/j-k-rowling-transphobic-behavior/
Maurice, Emma (June 25, 2019). JK Rowling under fire for following a ‘proud transphobe’ on Twitter. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/06/25/jk-rowling-under-fire-following-transphobe-twitter/
Mitchell, Hilary (October 5, 2018). “Hateful” anti-trans stickers have been spotted in toilets and in public spaces around Edinburgh. Edinburgh Live https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/hateful-anti-trans-stickers-been-15242299
Anti-trans coverage
Carr, Stewart (January 21, 2023). The lesbian who launched 1,000 feminists: Story of same sex rights campaigner whose work inspired JK Rowling’s activism. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11568569/Tragic-story-feminist-campaigner-work-inspired-JK-Rowlings-activism.html
McGowan, Michael (April 14, 2022). NSW Liberal candidate likens anti-trans activism to opposing the Holocaust. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/14/nsw-liberal-candidate-likens-anti-trans-activism-to-opposing-the-holocaust
Bindel, Julie (2021). Feminism for Women: The Real Route to Liberation. Hachette UK. p. 177. ISBN 978-1-4721-3260-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=py6cDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT177
Mos-Shogbamimu, Shola (2021). This is Why I Resist: Don’t Define My Black Identity. Headline Publishing Group. pp. 140â141. ISBN 978-1-4722-8079-4.
Hyland, Jennifer (September 6, 2020). Women’s rights campaigners ‘living in fear of trans attack’ after vile abuse directed at group. Daily Record https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/womens-rights-campaigners-living-fear-22635235
Fordy, Tom (June 29, 2020). How did Graham Linehan, the creator of Father Ted, become the most hated man on the internet? The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/did-father-ted-creator-graham-linehan-become-hated-man-internet/
Jack, Malvern (June 11, 2020). JK Rowling details ‘scars of abuse’ in heartfelt riposte to activists. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jk-rowling-details-scars-of-abuse-in-heartfelt-riposte-to-activists-lcrp96q6j
Licea, Melkorka (10 June 2020). J.K. Rowling defends controversial trans comments in lengthy essay. New York Post https://nypost.com/2020/06/10/j-k-rowling-defends-her-controversial-trans-comments-in-lengthy-essay/amp/
Rowling, J.K. (June 10, 2020). J.K. Rowling writes about her reasons for speaking out on sex and gender issues. JKRowling.com https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/
Ahsan, Sadaf (December 19, 2019). J.K. Rowling sparks major backlash by supporting a researcher fired for transphobic tweets. The Guardian (Charlottetown, P.E.I. Canada). https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/lifestyles/entertainment/jk-rowling-sparks-major-backlash-by-supporting-a-researcher-fired-for-transphobic-tweets-390185/
Robertson, Julia Diana (October 13, 2019). Mourning the loss of lesbian feminist leader Magdalen Berns. The Velvet Chronicle https://thevelvetchronicle.com/mourning-loss-of-lesbian-feminist-magdalen-berns/
McCarty, Meghan (September 13, 2019). What’s Current: Lesbian feminist shero Magdalen Berns passes away at 36. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/09/13/whats-current-lesbian-feminist-shero-magdalen-berns-passes-away-at-36/
Linehan, Graham (September 13, 2019). Magdalen Berns 1983â2019. Women Are Important https://glinner.co.uk/stunning-and-brave-magdalen-berns-1983-2019/
Kearns, Madeleine (September 4, 2019). Magdalen Berns, a ‘shero’ among women. National Review https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/magdalen-berns-a-shero-among-women/
Davidson, Gina (September 1, 2019). Mixed sex loos in Scottish schools break regulations, warn campaigners. The Scotsman https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/mixed-sex-loos-in-scottish-schools-break-regulations-warn-campaigners-1-4995254
Staff report (September 1, 2019). Transgender professor defends celebrating deaths of those deemed ‘transphobic’. The College Fix https://www.thecollegefix.com/transgender-professor-defends-celebrating-the-death-of-those-deemed-transphobic/
Schiferl, Jenna (August 29, 2019). The tweet heard ’round the world: Charleston professor sparks global Twitter debate. The Post and Courier https://www.postandcourier.com/news/the-tweet-heard-round-the-world-charleston-professor-sparks-global/article_4a462cda-c9c7-11e9-8134-d32dc721835d.html
Rhodes, Mandy (August 26, 2019). The Scottish Government’s clumsy attempts to reform the Gender Recognition Act have inadvertently opened a hornet’s nest. Holyrood https://www.holyrood.com/editors-column/view,the-scottish-governments-clumsy-attempts-to-reform-the-gender-recognition-a_10717.htm
Murphy, Meghan (September 27, 2016). ‘We need to be braver’ â women challenge ‘gender identity’ and the silencing of feminist discourse. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2016/09/27/need-braver-feminists-challenge-silencing/
Singleton, Mary Lou (July 25, 2016). Thinking Differently conference. Women’s Liberation Front http://womensliberationfront.org/thinking-differently-conference/
Blunden, Mark (July 14, 2016). ‘Medical threat’ to transgender children on puberty-blocking drugs. Evening Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/medical-threat-to-transgender-children-on-pubertyblocking-drugs-a3296471.html
Benson, Ophelia (October 12, 2015). How to know what is “whorephobic”. Butterflies and Wheels http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2015/how-to-know-what-is-whorephobic/
Selected writing by Berns
Berns, Magdalen; et al. (April 15, 2018). Allowing boys to be Guides is wrong. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/allowing-boys-to-be-guides-is-wrong-v0dngnvjp
Berns, Magdalen (January 9, 2016). Let them call me whorephobic. Butterflies and Wheels http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2016/guest-post-let-them-call-me-whorephobic/
Media
Respect The Dead with Caelan Conrad and Amanda Hootman (July 30, 2024). Magdalen Berns: Your Favorite TERFâs Favorite TERF. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bc9jkJU96Q
The Lesbian Project Podcast with Kathleen Stock and Julie Bindel (February 2, 2024). Episode 12 FREE: being a young gender-critical feminist. https://www.thelesbianprojectpod.com/p/episode-12-free-being-a-young-gender
Blood and Terf Podcast wth “E” and “M” (1 March 2021). Ep12: A Magdalen Berns Night Supper- Transphobia in Scotland. https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/blood-and-terf-podcast-3599665/episodes/ep12-a-magdalen-berns-night-su-133312180
The Speak Up For Women Podcast Ani O’Brien and Daphna Whitmore (September 25, 2020). 9. Well, what a week – Dedicated to Magdalen Berns. https://www.listennotes.com/et/podcasts/the-speak-up-for/9-well-what-a-week-dedicated-9GpL6IcaZPD/?srsltid=AfmBOop8CSGi5D5wGU9NLDAgklFyXwwJ_YvBO1R5mObkbF1uqRDECRn7
Graham Linehan with Elizabeth Berns (September 13, 2020). Remembering Magdalen with Elizabeth Berns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrrsxbwyvdU
The State Media with Nicole Jones, Kathleen Stock, and Julie Bindel (September 10, 2020). Gender Ideology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zkc4P0rpI4
Julia Long (September 21, 2016). Thinking Differently – 09 Magdalen Berns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWSjAFYiF9U
Resources
For Women Scotland (forwomen.scot)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
YouTube (youtube.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Patreon (patreon.com)
- patreon.com/Magdalen [removed – archive]
PayPal (paypal.com)
Minds (minds.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Frieda Klotz is an Irish-American writer and anti-transgender activist. Klotz launders anti-trans extremism about gender diverse youth into mainstream media outlets. Klotz has been cited by American anti-trans organizations supporting legislation harming our children.
Background
Frieda Marie Klotz was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1977 to Margaret Klotz and Frederick S. “Fred” Klotz, an American mathematician who died when Frieda was a child in an April 1988 Dublin cycle accident.
Klotz studied ancient Greek, earning a bachelor’s degree from Fred Klotz’s former employer Trinity College, Dublin, in 2000. Klotz then continued at University of Oxford, earning a master’s degree in 2001 and a doctorate in 2005. From 2005 to 2007 Klotz taught at King’s College London.
In 2007 Klotz began a long string of reviewing, editing, writing, fact-checking, and researching roles for Daily Telegraph, Euromoney, New York Times Syndicate, Irishcentral, journalism professor Susie Linfield, Salon, and New York Times Digital.
In 2011 Klotz co-edited The Philosopher’s Banquet with Katerina Oikonomopoulou. Klotz was then a contributor for The Chronicle Review, Forbes, Shimon Dotan at Roam Films, Irish Times, Prospect, The Guardian, Irish Echo, Irish Voice, the Irish Times, The Economist, MIT Sloan Management Review, Ireland’s Sunday Independent, and Diplomacy Dojo. Klotz has also written several white papers for the British government and the New York Times Company.
Klotz began attacking healthcare for transgender children while based in Brussels.
2022 Undark article
In 2022, Klotz began writing the first of many versions of the same article about gender diverse youth. These “cisgender person under siege” articles typically center a cisgender person as a hero facing assaults from “both sides.” For Klotz, the cis hero is Annelou de Vries and colleagues, and the two sides are:
- Right-wing politicians, religious conservatives, and some health care associations are calling for medical treatment of teens to be banned or avoided if at all possible
- Some activists and physicians say the protocol is too slow.
Klotz’s false equivalence between executing eliminationist policies and removing barriers to care is a hallmark of what biologist Julia Serano calls trans-suspicious reporting.
Klotz continues The Atlantic’s shameful leading role in “just asking questions.” This cognitive bias is called a framing effect. Here are Klotz’s questions:
But pediatric transgender medicine is a new field with a lot of questions yet to be answered by science. What is the long-term impact of blocking puberty on a young personâs health? Can practitioners correctly determine which youngsters will still identify as trans when they are adults? Do the psychological assessments contribute to childrenâs suffering by delaying access to puberty blockers and hormones? Why has the number of teens coming forward to receive transgender medical care, particularly those assigned female at birth, risen so dramatically in recent years?
Klotz then rattles off the litany of risks and complications recited by conservatives:
- “desistance”
- bone loss
- brain development
- genital atrophy (with an assumption of vaginoplasty)
- medical consent
- reproductive viability
For the “right-wing politicians, religious conservatives, and some health care associations” engaged in an assault on trans rights and autonomy we have a couple of sentences about:
All the usual suspects advocating “careful therapeutic assessments” and banning informed consent before age 26 are presented as the centrist position:
For the “some activists and physicians” side, we have:
2023 Atlantic article
Klotz wrote the same article for The Atlantic the following year, but with Finland and Norway added as countries with concerns. This article tries to shore up an alleged clinical distinction between young children and “adolescent-onset gender dysphoria,” a euphemism for the fake disease “rapid-onset gender dysphoria.”
New clinicians
New journalists
- Jan Kuitenbrouwer
- Peter Vasterman
- Kaya Bouma
- Ellen de Visser
New activists and politicians
- Michiel Verkoulen
- Sam van den Berg
Response by Marieke Kuypers
A group of journalists have been hitting the same talking points as their English-speaking counterparts. As trans journalists and researchers work to stay on top of the flood of anti-transgender propaganda being being laundered into “centrist” publications, journalist Marieke Kuypers gave a first-blush overview of the Dutch political situation in 2023:
- A quick thread for any English speakers about something I’ve been afraid of ever since the publication of a Dutch article about the Dutch Approach that was heavily biased. It’s been used as more evidence of this “increasing” concern in an Atlantic piece
- Because I’ve been looking into anti-trans targeting of The Dutch Approach, I recognize the author. Frieda Klotz’s article on the same topic from last year was published on GLP, which is a Monsanto front – the article https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/06/27/transitioning-transgender-teenagers-are-not-new-this-dutch-clinic-has-been-doing-it-for-decades/âŠâŠ- GLP: https://sourcewatch.org/index.php/Genetic_Literacy_Project
- The same article by Klotz on Undark, a website tied to GLP: https://undark.org/2022/04/06/the-evolution-of-pediatric-transgender-medicine/âŠâŠAbout the link between Undark and GLP:
- Kuitenbrouwer and Vasterman are not qualified to judge gender care. One is a media sociologist, the other a columnist. Kuitenbrouwer is rabidly transphobic, calling the “trans-movement bloodthirsty”. They were also on a Genspect sponsored podcast
- For some of Kuitenbrouwer’s massively transphobic work, check out these articles:
- Vasterman shared the Undark article by the same author as the Atlantic piece, Frieda Klotz in april last year
- Uitstekend gedocumenteerd overzichtsverhaal over de oorsprong van the Dutch approach, wereldwijd overgenomen maar nu onder vuur: âA Dutch clinic pioneered transgender medical care for kids, shaping decades of research amid criticism from all sides.â https://undark.org/2022/04/06/the-evolution-of-pediatric-transgender-medicine/
- To make the connection even more complete, Kuitenbrouwer apparently knew about the Volkskrant article before it was published, according to this tweet in which he says there’s an article coming about the Dutch approach. Did he influence the article? https://twitter.com/kuitenbrouwer/status/1627664286280519682?s=20
- I also spoke to someone who was interviewed for the article and retracted their story once they read the article. The told me and I have evidence that the authors spoke to anti-trans activist Michael Biggs. How much influence did he have?
- The influence of anti-trans groups does seem obvious, they even link to one in the Volkskrant article referencing SEGM as a “group of 120 doctors”. It does not have 120 members who are doctors, but about a dozen, amongst them Michael Biggs
- âSEGM is an ideological organization without apparent ties to mainstream scientific organizations. Its 14 core members are a small group of repeat players in anti-trans activities – a fact that the SEGM website does not discloseâ Volkskrant ook niet
- The Volkskrant also talks to dr. Kaltiala who spread the debunked social contagion (ROGD) story and was a witness in Florida, and is linked to SEGM as well https://genderanalysis.net/entity/riittakerttu-kaltiala-heino/
- Furthermore, the detransitioner in the story matches (same process, ages of treatment, same very specific story about a back surgery and the account proudly retweeted the article) the Twitter account of someone who was invited by anti-trans group Genspect to a detrans house
- Iâm rushing the analysis I was already writing about the Volkskrant article and how it was influenced by anti-trans groups and will try to publish a translated version as soon as possible and add it to this thread once itâs finished.
- Want to know what dr. De Vries thinks? Here are her own words in the book about the Dutch Approach by Alex Bakker:
- This is a critical response to the article by the Dutch Transgender Network. They link to a pdf with extensive references, you can throw that in Google translate as well using the documents tab âŠhttps://www-transgendernetwerk-nl.translate.goog/belangenorganisaties-trekken-aan-de-bel-over-onzorgvuldige-journalistiek/?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=wapp
- Oh look Kuitenbrouwer seems to admit he âcrossed pathsâ with the Dutch journalists. (I wasnât sacked by the way, shows how reliable this guyâs info is)
- Ahw I think he doesnât like me so he blocked me. Hereâs a screenshot
- So apart from Vasterman &Kuitenbrouwer being unqualified & transphobic, Frieda Klotz fails to mention that contrary to the moral panic about the increase in âgirlsâ (trans boys) in the most recent Dutch research (2022) the ratio has actually reversed to more trans women
- You can find this recent research (in Dutch) here. Another interesting finding in light of the moral panic: years long waiting lists are causing mental distress (mostly in the form of depressive or suicidal feelings) for 70% of the group that was surveyed https://zorgvuldigadvies.nl/wp-content/upl
References
Transgender Netwerk Nederland (March 10, 2023). Belangenorganisaties Trekken Aan De Bel Over Onzorgvuldige Journalistiek [Interest groups are sounding the alarm about careless journalism] https://www.transgendernetwerk.nl/belangenorganisaties-trekken-aan-de-bel-over-onzorgvuldige-journalistiek/
Irish Mathematical Society Bulletin 21 (December 1988), p. 6.
Selected writing by Klotz
Klotz, Frieda (April 28, 2023). A teen gender-care debate is spreading across Europe. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2023/04/gender-affirming-care-debate-europe-dutch-protocol/673890/
Klotz, Frieda (March 24, 2023). Book review: Behind the demise of the Tavistock Gender Clinic. Undark https://undark.org/2023/03/24/book-review-time-to-think/
Klotz, Frieda (June 27, 2022). Transitioning transgender teenagers are not new. This Dutch clinic has been helping them for decades. Genetic Literacy Project https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/06/27/transitioning-transgender-teenagers-are-not-new-this-dutch-clinic-has-been-doing-it-for-decades/
Klotz, Frieda (April 6, 2022). The fractious evolution of pediatric transgender medicine. Undark https://undark.org/2022/04/06/the-evolution-of-pediatric-transgender-medicine/
Resources
Frieda Klotz (friedaklotz.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Genetic Literacy Project (geneticliteracyproject.org)
WordPress (wordpress.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
Maya Forstater is a British anti-transgender activist and sex segregationist. Forstater brought the case Forstater v Centre for Global Development Europe, which established that “gender critical” views are protected as a belief under the UK’s Equality Act 2010.
Background
Maya Forstater was born on July 3, 1973 in London. Forstater’s parent is film producer Mark Forstater. Forstater earned a degree from Newcastle University. Forstater has published work for the United Nations on corporate social responsibility and economic development.
Anti-transgender activism
Forstater made a number of anti-transgender statements on social media that resulted in a UN contract not being renewed in 2019.
In 2020, Forstater created a list of “people who can help you make sense of all of this”
Forstater filed a lawsuit claiming “gender critical” views are protected under the Equality Act 2010. Forstater lost the initial case, which was then appealed to a tribunal. Forstater won the appeal in 2021, and the tribunal found in 2022 Forstater had suffered direct discrimination for holding anti-transgender views.
In 2020, Forstater co-founded anti-trans group Sex Matters and serves as Executive Director.
Litigation
Forstater v CGD Europe & Ors [2021] UKEAT 0105_20_1006 IRLR 706, [2022] ICR 1 https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2021/0105_20_1006.html
Maya Forstater v CGD Europe and others: Appeal No. UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ (PDF). GOV.UK. [archive] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60c1cce1d3bf7f4bd9814e39/Maya_Forstater_v_CGD_Europe_and_others_UKEAT0105_20_JOJ.pdf#page55
Forstater v CGD Europe & Anor (Religion or Belief Discrimination, Sex Discrimination l) [2019] UKET 2200909/2019 (18 December 2019) https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKET/2019/2200909_2019.html
References
Moss, Lauren (July 6, 2022). Maya Forstater: Woman discriminated against over trans tweets, tribunal rules. BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62061929
Faulkner, Doug (June 10, 2021). Maya Forstater: Woman wins tribunal appeal over transgender tweets. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57426579
Benn, Alex; Devlin Cormac (March 22, 2020). The Maya Forstater case and so-called ‘gender critical’ feminism: what was actually decided and what does it reveal about UK discrimination law?. Oxford Human Rights Hub https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/the-maya-forstater-case-and-so-called-gender-critical-feminism-what-was-actually-decided-and-what-does-it-reveal-about-uk-discrimination-law/
Pedersen, Sarah (2020). The Politicization of Mumsnet. Bingley: Emerald Publishing. ISBN 978-1-83909-471-2.
Anti-trans coverage
Gordon, Tom (June 10, 2021). Maya Forstater wins landmark employment case on gender critical beliefs. The Herald (Glasgow) https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19362788.maya-forstater-wins-landmark-employment-case-gender-critical-beliefs/
Siddique, Haroon (June 10, 2021). Gender-critical views are a protected belief, appeal tribunal rules. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/jun/10/gender-critical-views-protected-belief-appeal-tribunal-rules-maya-forstater
Wright, Oliver (May 15, 2021). Women must be heard on transgender identity, says new equalities chief. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/women-must-be-heard-on-transgender-identity-says-new-equalities-chief-kqttljxmd
Hancock, Sam (April 27, 2021). Maya Forstater: Who is woman in employment tribunal over transgender comments?. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/maya-forstater-transgender-twitter-jk-rowling-b1838151.html
Smith, Helen-Ann (April 24, 2021). Maya Forstater: Woman who lost job over transgender views warns of ‘scary’ precedent if her tribunal appeal fails. Sky News https://news.sky.com/story/maya-forstater-woman-who-lost-job-over-transgender-views-warns-of-scary-precedent-if-her-tribunal-appeal-fails-12285218
Gordon, Jane (April 23, 2021). ‘I am fighting for the right to say men can never be women.’ The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/amfightingfor-therightto-saymen-cannever-bewomen//
Suissa, Judith; Sullivan, Alice (2021). The Gender Wars, Academic Freedom and Education. Journal of Philosophy of Education. 55 (1): 55â82. https://doi.org/10.1111%2F1467-9752.12549
Selected writing by Forstater
Forstater, Maya; Joyce, Helen (April 20, 2022). Why gender identity should be left out of the ‘conversion therapy’ ban. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/20/why-gender-identity-should-be-left-out-of-the-conversion-therapy-ban
Forstater, Maya (May 5, 2019). I lost my job for talking about women’s rights. Crowd Justice https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/lost-job-speaking-out/
Forstater, Maya (March 27, 2019). Has Penny Mordaunt got away with the worst Mumsnet performance ever? The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/penny-mourdant-mumsnet-gender-recognition-act-a8835621.html
Forstater, Maya (October 27, 2020). There used to be a word for us⊠Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/there-used-to-be-a-word-for-us-927740ce615b [archive]
Forstater, Maya (August 14, 2020). Careless words. Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/careless-words-3c018c06d0d9 [archive]
Forstater, Maya (August 12 ). Dear Rebecca Hilsenrath⊠Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/dear-rebecca-hilsenrath-8bee857068f5 [archive]
Forstater, Maya (July 29, 2020). How Action Aid UK erased sex. Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/how-action-aid-uk-erased-sex-ad626a7bcd64 [archive]
Forstater, Maya (July 15, 2020). Action Aidâs Policy Goes Right to The Top. Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/action-aids-policy-goes-right-to-the-top-323e1b4ab38 [archive]
Forstater, Maya (July 9, 2020). What reforms of the gender recognition regime could work? Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/what-reforms-of-the-gender-recognition-act-would-work-a6f30dc6aa6c [archive]
Forstater, Maya (July 7, 2020). Five myths and truths about my case. Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/five-myths-and-truths-about-my-case-8466d69f9489 [archive]
Forstater, Maya (June 18, 2020). Standing with JK Rowling: what can you do? Medium https://mforstater.medium.com/standing-with-jk-rowling-what-can-you-do-b341b324a4b9 [archive]
Resources
Maya Forstater (forstater.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Medium (medium.com)
Elon Musk is an entrepreneur, investor, and one of the world’s most prominent anti-transgender extremists. Musk’s adult trans child Vivian Wilson filed legal papers to end being “related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”
Since then. Musk has made many anti-trans comments, has led several anti-trans initiatives, and has supported other anti-trans extremists and their positions.
Examples include:
- “Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life.”
- “Every child goes through an identity crisis before their personality/identity crystallizes. Therefore, we shouldnât allow severe, irreversible surgery or sterilizing drugs that they may regret until at least age 18.”
- Platformed anti-trans propaganda piece What Is a Woman? on Twitter, saying “Every parent should watch this.”
- “I will be actively lobbying to criminalize making severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent.”
- Altering chatbot Grok to deliver anti-trans responses after early versions gave fair and accurate information about transgender people.
Background
Elon Reeve Musk was born June 28, 1971 into a wealthy South African family that supported apartheid. In 1989 Musk moved to Canada as part of a plan to obtain American citizenship.
After studying in Canada, Musk transferred to University of Pennsylvania. Musk’s year of undergraduate degree date is a matter of dispute. Musk claimed a graduation date on 1995 on several occasions. According to Snopes, the University of Pennsylvania released this statement: “Elon Musk earned a B.A. in physics and a B.S. in economics (concentrations: finance and entrepreneurial management) from the University of Pennsylvania. The degrees were awarded on May 19, 1997.” This discrepancy is connected to the legal status of Musk’s early time in the United States.
In 1995, Musk co-founded city guide Zip2. In 1999, Musk co-founded online payment company X.com, which through mergers became PayPal, which then sold to eBay. Musk used the earnings to found SpaceX in 2002. In 2004 Musk became the major shareholder in Tesla Motors. In 2006 Musk provided seed funding for SolarCity, which was later acquired by Tesla. In 2015 Musk founded satellite ISP Starlink, and in 2016 Musk co-founded Neuralink. Musk founded The Boring Company in 2017.
Trans child
In June 2022, Musk’s child Vivian Jenna Wilson legally changed name and gender, to end being “related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”
Musk has a dystopian view of the leftâs influence on America, which helps explain his wild pursuit of Twitter to liberate free speech. He blames the fact that his teenage daughter no longer wants to be associated with him on the supposed takeover of elite schools and universities by neo-Marxists. âItâs full-on communismâ.â.â.âand a general sentiment that if youâre rich, youâre evil,â says Musk. âIt [the relationship] may change, but I have very good relationships with all the others [children]. Canât win them all.â
Khalaf (2022)
Grimes and Chelsea Manning
Around the same time, the parent of two of Musk’s children, singer Grimes, was reportedly dating trans whistleblower Chelsea Manning after Grimes and Musk split up.
Twitter
In 2022, Musk purchased Twitter for about $44 billion and quickly began rolling back policies that protected trans and gender diverse people from abuse on the platform. Musk also began unbanning nearly all users suspended for anti-transgender activity.
Musk has made a number of anti-transgender statements, claiming that gender diverse youth are “fed propaganda by adults,” stating “we shouldnât allow severe, irreversible surgery or sterilizing drugs that they may regret until at least age 18.”
Musk has also stated, “Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life.”
In April 2023, Musk followed the anti-trans account Libs of TikTok, referred to anti-trans activist Matt Walsh’s work in asking “Whatâs a woman?” and said “Any parent or doctor who sterilizes a child before they are a consenting adult should go to prison for life.”
X
After Musk purchased Twitter and renamed it X, it became the service of choice for right-wing extremists and anti-trans extremists. In 2023, Musk launched a chatbot called Grok and embedded it in X. Grok initially gave neutral answers to prompts about transgender topics, but following right-wing criticism, its algorith was tweaked to delive anti-trans responses.
References
Gallagher, John (December 31, 2025). Elon Musk is giving legal help to an activist who posted a photo of a trans woman in a bathroom. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/12/elon-musk-is-giving-legal-help-to-an-activist-who-posted-a-photo-of-a-trans-woman-in-a-bathroom/
Rascius, Brendan (December 14, 2025). Elon Musk sparks controversy with post about womanhood. The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/elon-musk-woman-womb-post-x-b2884111.html
Staff report (October 31, 2025). Elon Musk on Joe Rogan: Spike in Trans Kids Dropped After I Bought Twitter. TMZ https://www.tmz.com/2025/10/31/elon-musk-twitter-trans-joe-rogan-x-civilization/
Bergeson, Samantha (October 3, 2025). Elon Musk Vows to âCancelâ Netflix Over Transgender Representation. Musk has accused the streaming titan of âgroomingâ children with âsexualized contentâ in series such as CoComelon and Strawberry Shortcake. Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/netflix-elon-musk-transgender-representation
Evans, Greg (October 2, 2025). Elon Musk Doubles Down On Netflix-Bashing Over Trans Character On Animated âDead End: Paranormal Parkâ Even As Show Creator Flooded With âExtremely Nastyâ Messages. Deadline https://deadline.com/2025/10/elon-musk-netflix-dead-end-paranormal-park-1236568763/
Villareal, Daniel (October 2, 2025). Elon Muskâs campaign against trans-inclusive cartoon inspires âscaryâ threats against creator. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/elon-musks-campaign-against-trans-inclusive-cartoon-inspires-scary-threats-against-creator/
Reed, Erin (October 2, 2025). Elon Musk Leads Campaign To Force Netflix To Remove Shows With Trans Characters. Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/elon-musk-leads-campaign-to-force
Sharf, Zack (October 1, 2025). âDead End: Paranormal Parkâ Creator Receiving âHomophobic and Antisemitic Emailsâ After Elon Musk Says âCancel Netflixâ Due to Showâs Trans Character. Variety https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/elon-musk-cancel-netflix-dead-end-paranormal-park-trans-story-1236536129/
Riley, John (September 28, 2025). Elon Musk Wades Into Virginia Governorâs Race on Trans Issues. Metro Weekly https://www.metroweekly.com/2025/09/elon-musk-spanberger-transgender/
Bollinger, Alex (September 3, 2025. Elon Musk says hatred of âwhite malesâ is turning people transgender. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/09/elon-musk-says-hatred-of-white-males-is-turning-people-transgender/
Weaber, Robert (August 10, 2025). How Elon Musk turned his pain into policyâand targeted the trans community. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/voices/elon-musk-daughter-vivian
Riedel, Samantha (March 21, 2025). Elon Musk Is Trying to Blame Tesla Vandalism on âTrans Violence.â them https://www.them.us/story/elon-musk-blame-tesla-vandalism-trans-violence-twitter-misinformation
Sprayregen, Molly (October 10, 2022). Elon Musk says communists made his trans daughter hate him. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/10/elon-musk-says-communists-made-trans-daughter-hate/
Cardoza, Riley (October 10, 2022). Elon Musk addresses estrangement from daughter Vivian: âCanât win them all.â Page Six https://pagesix.com/2022/10/10/elon-musk-talks-daughter-vivians-estrangement-cant-win-them-all/
Hartmans, Avery (October 7, 2022). Elon Musk says his teenage daughter doesn’t want to be associated with him because of what he calls ‘full-on communism’ taught in schools and widespread hatred of the wealthy. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-blames-communism-hatred-of-wealthy-for-daughters-estrangement-2022-10
Khalaf, Roula (October 7, 2022). Elon Musk: âArenât you entertained?â Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/5ef14997-982e-4f03-8548-b5d67202623a
Anti-trans coverage
Wolf, Rachel (December 13, 2025). Elon Musk blasts Newsomâs office, says his son is battling mental illness due to âevil woke mind virus.â Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/politics/elon-musk-blasts-newsoms-office-says-his-son-battling-mental-illness-due-evil-woke-mind-virus
Reilly, Patrick (December 12, 2025). Elon Musk fires back at Gavin Newsom for gloating that his estranged transgender daughter âhatesâ him. New York Post https://nypost.com/2025/12/12/us-news/elon-musk-responds-to-gavin-newsom-after-comment-about-transgender-daughter/
Resources
Britannica (britannica.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Jazz Jennings is an American media personality and transgender activist. Jennings is one of the most notable transgender youth to make a gender transition as a minor.
Background
Jennings was born October 6, 2000 in Florida. Parents Jeanette and Greg have four children in total. The surname Jennings is a pseudonym they chose to help protect their family’s privacy.
In 2007, Jennings was interviewed on 20/20 by Barbara Walters, leading to national recognition and additional appearances. From 2015 to 2023, Jennings was the subject of the reality show I Am Jazz.
Jennings graduated from Broward Virtual School in 2019. Jennings was accepted to Harvard University, but deferred enrollment until 2023 to deal with “mental health setbacks.” Jennings earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 2025.
Jennings is involved in TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation, an organization the family founded to support trans youth.
References
Reischel, Julia (May 30, 2006). See Tom Be Jane. Village Voice https://www.villagevoice.com/see-tom-be-jane/
Goldberg, Alan B.; Adriano, Joneil (April 27, 2007). I’m a Girl: Understanding Transgender Children”. ABC News https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3088298
Menendez, Alicia; Redman, Meagan; Effron, Lauren (July 14, 2015). ‘I Am Jazz’: Transgender Teen on Grappling with High School, Puberty. ABC News
Mendenhall, Christina (June 25, 2015). Growing Up Transgender: Jazz Jennings. Miami Herald
Diaz, Johnny (October 2, 2019). South Florida trans teen Jazz Jennings delays start at Harvard University. Sun Sentinel
Galehouse, Maggie (September 15, 2014). Jazz Jennings shares story of her triumphs, struggles as a transgender child in ‘I Am Jazz’. Houston Chronicle
Rothaus, Steve (June 25, 2014). Jazz Jennings, a 13-year-old trans girl, reads from her upcoming children’s book (with video). Miami Herald
Feeney, Nolan (October 13, 2014). The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014. Time
Silver, Marc (July 13, 2015). ‘I Am Jazz’ is the latest in this summer’s transgender reality show boom. The Washington Post
Jensen, Erin (June 29, 2018). Jazz Jennings is all smiles after gender confirmation surgery. USA Today. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
Migdon, Brooke (November 3, 2021). Reality star Jazz Jennings opens up about mental health and weight gain in new season. The Hill
Resources
TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation (transkidspurplerainbow.org)
Purple Rainbow Tails (jazzmergirl.wix.com/purplerainbowtails) [archive]
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
IMDb (imdb.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
YouTube (youtube.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 anti-transgender activists for supporting gender recognition reform.
Background
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon was born on July 19, 1970 in Irvine. Sturgeon joined the SNP in 1986.
Sturgeon earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Glasgow School of Law in 1992, then began working as a solicitor and holding leadership roles within SNP. Sturgeon served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 under Alex Salmond, during which time Sturgeon also served as Health Secretary. Sturgeon was a key leader in SNP’s unsuccessful 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign. Sturgeon was sworn in a First Minister later that year.
Sturgeon 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. They were released without charge pending further investigation. In 2024 Murrell was re-arrested and charged with embezzlement of party funds. In 2025 Police Scotland cleared Sturgeon of wrongdoing and confirmed Sturgeon was no longer under investigation. Sturgeon announced plans to retire.
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. Critics attacked Sturgeon’s response to the Isla Bryson case involving transgender prisoner housing.
References
Merson, Adele (June 30, 2021). Trans rights: How gender recognition reform became one of Scotland’s most heated debates. The Press and Journal (Scotland) https://news.stv.tv/politics/transgender-reforms-shelved-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic
Staff report (April 1, 2020). Transgender reforms shelved due to coronavirus pandemic. STV News https://news.stv.tv/politics/transgender-reforms-shelved-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic
Staff report (April 1, 2016). Nicola Sturgeon makes gender recognition pledge. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2016-scotland-35945543
Staff report (June 20, 2019). Scottish transgender reforms put on hold. BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48702946
Anti-trans coverage
Sanderson, Daniel (February 1, 2021). SNP civil war deepens as leading Sturgeon critic Joanna Cherry purged from Westminster team. The Telegraph https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/02/01/snp-civil-war-deepens-leading-sturgeon-critic-purged-westminster/
Johnson, Simon (August 23, 2021). Nicola Sturgeon facing backlash over proposed gender legislation. The Telegraph 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 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 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 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 News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-64647907
Resources
Scottish Parliament (parliament.scot)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)