The “gender critical” movement is a politically diverse alliance of people critical of gender identity and expression as it pertains to the transgender community.
Note: this is under development.
- trans-exclusionary feminism (TERF)
- trans-exclusionary sexual minorities (the GLB movement)
- conservative and exclusionary transitioners (transmedicalists/transsexuals)
- ethical objections (against some or all trans healthcare)
- moral or spiritual objections (opposing “gender ideology”)
- medical objections (“drugging,” “mutilating,” “sterilizing”)
- political and legal objections (opposing trans rights through laws)
- objections based on academic training
- sexology
- philosophy/ethics
- psychology
- sex segregationists
- sports
- incarceration
- public accommodations
- reproductive rights (opposing bodily autonomy)
- age of consent (claiming minors or people under age 26 can’t give informed consent)
- the “parental rights” movement
- aesthetic objections
- objections around attraction to transgender people
- the “super straight” movement
- exclusionary queer people (“cotton ceiling” etc.)
- theoretical objections
- appropriation objections
- racial and ethnic objections
- linguistic objections (especially gendered language like pronoun use)
- free speech objections
- art
- comedy
- journalism
- criminological objections
- regret objections (the “ex-trans” movement)
- cisgender supremacists
Gender critical resources
Books
- The Transsexual Empire by Janice Raymond
- Gender Hurts by Sheila Jeffreys
- Unpacking Queer Politics: A Lesbian Feminist Perspective by Sheila Jeffreys
- Galileo’s Middle Finger by Alice Dreger
- The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society by Debra Soh
- Transgender Body Politics by Heather Brunskell-Evans
- Transgender Children and Young People: Born in Your Own Body by Heather Brunskell-Evans
- Inventing Transgender Children and Young People by Heather Brunskell-Evans
- The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey
- Sex Scandal: The Drive to Abolish Male and Female by Ashley McGuire
- Female Erasure: What You Need To Know About Gender Politics’ War on Women, the Female Sex and Human Rights by Ruth Barrett
- Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism by Mary Daly
- What Is a Woman? by Matt Walsh
- Blood and Visions: Womyn Reconciling with Being Female by Autotomous Womyn’s Press
- Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
- When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan T. Anderson
- The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men by Robert Jensen
- Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism by Kathleen Stock
- Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality by Helen Joyce
- The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity by Douglas Murray
- Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose
- My Sister, Daisy by Adria Karlsson
- Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism by Anne A. Lawrence
- The Corrosive Impact of Transgender Ideology by Joanna Williams
- Re-Sisters: Stories of Desistance from Transgender Identification by Hailey Mangelsdorf
- Desist, Detrans, & Detox: Getting Your Child Out of the Gender Cult by Maria Keffler
Websites
Quillette (quillette.com)
- One of the most consistently gender critical outlets.
UnHerd (unherd.com)
- One of the most consistently gender critical outlets.
Heterodox Academy
- Part of the “intellectual dark web,” a gateway to the far right.
Sex and Gender: A Beginner’s Guide (sexandgenderintro.com)
Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (segm.org)
- Sasha Ayad (counselor)
- Michael Biggs (sociologist)
- Richard Byng (primary care)
- Roberto D’Angelo (psychiatrist)
- Marcus Evans (psychoanalyst)
- John Higgon (clinical psychologist)
- J. Edward Les (pediatrician)
- William Malone (endocrinologist)
- Lisa Marchiano (social worker)
- Julia W. Mason (pediatrician)
- Stella O’Malley (psychotherapist)
- Avi Ring (physiologist)
- Sven Román (psychiatrist)
- Catherine Williamson (occupational therapist)
- Colin Wright (Quillette editor)
LGB Alliance (lgballiance.org.uk)
- Bev Jackson
- Kate Harris
- Malcolm Clark
- Ann Marie Sinnott
- Eileen Rosie Gallagher
- Dermot Kehoe
- Conrad Roeber
- Robert Warren Wintemute
- Lord Anthony Ian Young
- Allison Bailey
- Kater Barker
- Az Hakeem
- Richard Kirker
- Alison Clara Williams
- Simon Fanshawe
- Charlie Evans
- Miranda Yardley
- Twitter: @AllianceLGB
4thWaveNow (4thwavenow.com)
- Denise Caignon aka Marie Verite / Denise Canaan
- Twitter: @4th_WaveNow
Genspect (genspect.org)
- Stella O’Malley
- Pamela Buffone
- Kathleen H. Dooley
- Claire Graham
- Julia W. Mason
- Avi Ring
- Marit Rønstad
- Sasha Ayad
- Roberto D’Angelo
- Stephanie Davies-Arai
- Marcus Evans
- Susan Evans
- Az Hakeem
- Aaron Kimberly
- Stephen Levine
- Lisa Littman
- Lisa Marchiano
- Abigail Shrier
- Sinéad Watson
- Jane Wheeler
Partners for Ethical Care (partnersforethicalcare.com)
- Alix Aharon
- Maria Keffler
- Martha Shoultz
- Jennifer Krohn
- Erin Brewer
- Jeannette Cooper
- Sheri Throckmorton
Whose Body Is It (whosebodyisit.com)
Gender Identity Watch (genderidentitywatch.com)
- Cathy Brennan
- active 2012–2018 [archive]
GenderTrender (gendertrender.wordpress.com)
- Gallus Mag / Linda V. Shanko
- Created in December 2010; suspended for policy violations in November 2018 [archive]
- Restarted as gendertrending.com (active 2019–2020) [archive]
Transgender Trend (transgendertrend.com)
Women’s Human Rights Campaign (womensdeclaration.com)
- Women’s Declaration on Human Rights
Other gender critical groups (many of which are nonexistent/astroturfing)
- Independent Women’s Forum
- Woman’s Place UK
- Fair Play for Women
- Feminist Salon
- Gender Park
- Survivors With Biros
- It’s About Eve
- Women’s Guild NSW
- Looking at the big picture
- Church of All Worlds
- Coalition for a Feminist Agenda
- PBB Media
- Rethinking Eve LLC
- Fight Slavery Now!
- Make More Noise!
- Margaret Birdseye
- Australian Radical Feminists
- Birmingham ReSisters
- Critical Sisters
- Get the L Out
- End the War on Women Collective
- Leeds Spinners
- Lesbian Rights Alliance
- Mayday4Women
- South London & Kent ReSisters
- WOLF (Women’s Liberation Front)
- International Women’s Day, Brisbane Meanjin
- #OccupiedAustralia
- Standing for Women
- Erinyes Autonomous Activist Lesbians
- PDF Quebec
- Haringey ReSisters
- RadFem Collective
- DC574
- Center for Civil Courage
- Fair Go for Queensland Women
- Women’s Rights Action Group Edinburgh
- Forwomen.scot
- Canadian Women’s Declaration
- Alberta Radfems
- Edmonton Women and Allies Against the Sex Industry
- The last shall be the first
- REAL for Women
- Georgia Green Party
- Labour Women’s Declaration
- Conservative Women’s Pledge
- Liberal Democrats’ Grassroots Challenge to Policy on Women’s Sex Based Rights
- Women Uniting
- Anti Fascist Feminists
- Deep Green Resistance
- Women’s Action Group
- Women Speak Tasmania
- Feminists in Struggle
- Safe Schools Alliance UK
- WEP Women’s Sex-Based Rights Caucus
- Leeds ReSisters
- Hull and East Yorkshire ReSisters
- Campaign Against Sex Robots
- Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights – caWsbar
- Royal Berkshire ReSisters
- Transgender Trend
- Maternity Consumer Network
- Australian Feminist Lesbians for Equity
- Women’s Space Vancouver
- Radicailin
- The Countess Didn’t Fight for This
- Keep Prisons Single Sex
- Campaign4Truth
- LGB Alliance Ireland
- Merched Cymru
- Women’s Liberation Aotearoa
- Partners for Ethical Care
- Making Herstory
- CIAMS-ICASM International Coalition for the Abolition of Surrogate Motherhood
- Kerry Women’s Resource Centre
- Temple of Diana, Inc
- The Foundation for Families
- Breaking Free
- Victorian Women’s Guild
- Greater Manchester Doulas CIC
- Inga Thompson Foundation
- The Vulva Temple of Witchcraft
- Australian Lesbian Health Coalition
- women@thewell
- Stigamót
- Zonta Club of Glens Falls
- FOVAS (Female Only Violence and Abuse Survivors)
- Freedom Programme
- Shakti Moon Foundation
- Women’s Liberation Radio News
- Women’s Voices Matter
- Crones Counsel
- Edmonton Small Press Association
- Radical Womyn Film Festival
- An American Conversation Podcast
- WREE – Women for Racial and Economic Equality
- ACPicks Press
- We Need To Talk
- Ananke
- Feminist Heretic
- Radical Matriarchy
- XX-Power Nation
- Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre Ltd.
- Audacious Women Festival
- In Mothering
- LesbianMeToo
- Lesbian Echoes
Responses to the movement
Contrapoints (March 30, 2019) Gender Critical
References
Parsons, Vic (June 7, 2021). So-called ‘gender-critical’ feminists are ‘peddling the far-right agenda’, warns Institute of Race Relations. PinkNews https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/06/07/gender-critical-feminism-far-right-agenda-institute-race-relations-trans-transphobia/
Zanghellini, Aleardo (May 26, 2020). Philosophical problems with the gender-critical feminist argument against trans inclusion. SAGE Open https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020927029
(June 5, 2021). A backlash against gender ideology is starting in universities. The Economist https://www.economist.com/international/2021/06/04/a-backlash-against-gender-ideology-is-starting-in-universities