Deirdre McCloskey and transgender people

Deirdre McCloskey is an American economist and philosopher. McCloskey made a gender transition in 1995 in the midst of a distinguished career, described in the 1999 autobiography Crossing: A Memoir.

Background

Deirdre Nansen McCloskey was born in 1942 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. McCloskey attended Harvard University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1964 and a doctorate in 1970. McCloskey has held appointments at University of Chicago, University of Iowa, and University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2015 McCloskey was named Distinguished Professor of Economics and of History, and Professor of English and of Communication, University of Illinois at Chicago, Emerita.

A central theme of McCloskey’s work is a critique of mainstream economic methodology and its heavy reliance on formal models, positivism, and narrow conceptions of “economic man” (Homo economicus), a perfectly rational, self-interested individual who consistently makes logical choices to maximize personal utility. McCloskey argues that economics should incorporate rhetoric, narrative, and humanistic insights. McCloskey champions a “humanomics” approach that places humans instead of abstract models at the center of economic inquiry.

McCloskey is known for the Bourgeois Era trilogy:

The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce (2006)
Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World (2010)
Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World (2016)

In the series, McCloskey reframes the role of the middle class and capitalism. McCloskey rejects the idea that markets inherently corrupt and argues that bourgeois virtues such as prudence, justice, courage, temperance, faith, hope, and love underpin ethical commercial life. McCloskey argues this helped drive the “great enrichment,” the significant rise in global living standards over the past two centuries.

The Man Who Would Be Queen criticism (2003)

In 2003, McCloskey helped in efforts to combat the academic exploitation of sex and gender minorities following the publication of The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey.

Writings on gender after retirement

McCloskey holds a number of views that are considered conservative within the trans community. In 2019, McCloskey chose to share reflections on gender transition in Quillette, a notoriously anti-trans publication. The since-deleted comments section is an excellent survey of anti-trans talking points from the time.

Like many people who spend their lives in academia, McCloskey has sometimes framed the academic exploitation of transgender people as an “academic freedom” or “free speech” issue.

In 2020, McCloskey signed the so-called Harper’s letter with many prominent anti-trans voices, including Meghan Daum, Caitlin Flanagan, Michelle Goldberg, Sarah Haider, Jonathan Haidt, Katie Herzog, Phoebe Maltz Bovy, Steven Pinker, Katha Pollitt, Kat Rosenfield, J. K. Rowling, Jesse Singal, Bari Weiss, Matthew Yglesias, and Cathy Young. Others who signed it who have occasionally raised eyebrows for comments about trans people include Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Finney Boylan, and Gloria Steinem. In an essay defending the decision, McCloskey wrote:

“A few weeks ago, I was asked to sign the Harper’s Magazine open letter supporting a bromidic recommendation that free speech, free of dogmatic ‘cancelling’ from left or right, is a good idea. I did sign it, as did JK Rowling … She and I disagree—but we both believe in free speech.”

In 2021, McCloskey was announced as affiliated with the “anti-woke” University of Austin, along with Bari Weiss, Steven Pinker, Kathleen Stock, Jonathan Haidt, and other anti-trans figures. In June 2022, McCloskey and Stock had a “debate” about gender in which they largely agreed with each other.

References

Wilson, Robin (February 16, 1996). Leading Economist Stuns Field By Deciding To Become a Woman. Chronicle of Higher Education https://www.chronicle.com/article/leading-economist-stuns-field-by-deciding-to-become-a-woman/ full text https://www.deirdremccloskey.com/gender/edu.php

Anti-trans coverage

Dreger, Alice (2008). The controversy surrounding “The Man Who Would Be Queen”: a case history of the politics of science, identity, and sex in the Internet age. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 37 (3): 366–421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9301-1

McCloskey, Deirdre (2008). Politics in scholarly drag: Dreger’s assault on the critics of Bailey. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37(3), 466–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9337-x PDF

Carey, Benedict (August 21, 2007). Criticism of a Gender Theory, and a Scientist Under Siege. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/health/psychology/21gender.html

Selected writing by McCloskey

McCloskey, Deirdre (August 13, 2020). I’m a transwoman who signed the Harper’s letter with JK Rowling. Here’s why. Prospect Magazine https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/im-a-transwoman-who-signed-the-harpers-letter-with-jk-rowling-heres-why

McCloskey, Deirdre and signatories (July 7, 2020). A Letter on Justice and Open Debate. Harper’s Magazine https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/

McCloskey, Deirdre (November 10, 2019). Reflections on My Decision to Change Gender. Quillette https://quillette.com/2019/11/10/reflections-on-my-decision-to-change-gender/

Comments [archive]

McCloskey, D. (2008). Politics in scholarly drag: Dreger’s assault on the critics of Bailey. original in Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37(3), 466–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9337-x PDF

McCloskey, Deirdre (2007). McCloskey’s Back-and-Forth with Seth Roberts on the Bailey Controversy. https://www.deirdremccloskey.com/gender/bailey.php

McCloskey, Deirdre (November 1, 2003). Queer Science: A data-bending psychologist confirms what he already knew about gays and transsexuals. Reason https://reason.com/2003/11/01/queer-science-2/

McCloskey, Deirdre (December 1999). From Donald to Deirdre: How a Man Became a Woman — and What It Says About Identity. Reason https://www.deirdremccloskey.com/gender/dee.php

Selected book

McCloskey, Deirdre (1999). Crossing: A Memoir. University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226556680 TransReads

Media

University of Austin with Kathleen Stock and Deirdre McCloskey (March 6, 2023). Stock & McCloskey Debate Issues of Sex, Gender, & Identity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gDIBinDN-o

Keep Talking Podcast with Dan Riley and Deirdre McCloskey (August 22, 2022). Episode 58: Deirdre McCloskey – Being Trans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSYr2MjY_TQ

Learn Liberty with Sarah Rose and Deirdre McCloskey (June 23, 2020). Transgender Rights, Ep.1: Who You Are Not Who You Love [2015]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO7wg2QypBM

(June 24, 2020). Transgender Rights, Ep.2: Changing Hearts [2015]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlO-5fwx9vc
(June 25, 2020). Transgender Rights, Ep.3: Equal Dignity, Equal Inventiveness [2015]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1btvHf4GPg

NonzeroClips / Mind-Body Problems with John Horgan and Deirdre McCloskey (January 8, 2019). Mind, Body, and Gender | John Horgan & Deirdre McCloskey [Mind Body Problems]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVt6Zxr5QXY

The Rubin Report with Dave Rubin and Deirdre McCloskey (December 30, 2016). Trans in Academia, Liberalism, Free Trade | Deirdre McCloskey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UpGbvOTlBE