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Kathleen McDeavitt vs. transgender people

Kathleen McDeavitt is an American psychiatrist and anti-transgender activist.

McDeavitt has co-authored papers with other anti-trans activists, including “J. Cohn,” Stephen Levine, Kristopher Kaliebe, and Chan Kulatunga-Moruzi.

Background

Kathleen McDeavitt was born in November 1989. McDeavitt earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 2012 and a medical degree from University of North Carolina in 2016. McDeavitt completed a psychiatric residency at Baylor College of Medicine in 2020.

Selected anti-trans writing by McDeavitt

McDeavitt K, Levine SB, Kaliebe K (May 18, 2025 ). Comparison of Clinical Guidelines for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: What Is the Role of Systematic Evidence Reviews? American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting. Christian S. Monsalve (Chair), Michael Myers (moderator). https://s7.goeshow.com/apa/annual/2025/session_search.cfm?session_key=51B6A7C1-90B1-1C06-DFD2-92F4ADC0FFB1&session_date=Sunday,%20May%2018,%202025

Rafferty, J., Yogman, M., Baum, R., Gambon, T. B., Lavin, A., Mattson, G., Wissow, L. S., Breuner, C., Alderman, E. M., Grubb, L. K., Powers, M. E., Upadhya, K., Wallace, S. B., Hunt, L., Gearhart, A. T., Harris, C., … Sherer, I. M. (2018). Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 142(4). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2162

van der Meulen, I. S., Bungener, S. L., van der Miesen, A. I. R., Hannema, S. E., Kreukels, B. P. C., Steensma, T. D., Bouman, M.-B., & de Vries, A. L. C. (2024). Timing of puberty suppression in transgender adolescents and sexual functioning after vaginoplasty. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 22(1), 196–204. https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdae152

  • Clayton A, Smids J, McDeavitt K (2025). Letter to the Editor on “Timing of puberty suppression in transgender adolescents and sexual functioning after vaginoplasty (Van der Meulen et al., 2024).” The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 22(5), 982–983. https://doi.org/10.1093/jsxmed/qdaf030

“Cohn J,” McDeavitt K (2025). Debating the Evidence for Gender-Affirming Care. (2025). Psychiatric News, 60(7). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2025.07.7.23.a

McDeavitt K, “Cohn J,” Levine SB (2025). Critiques of the Cass Review: Fact-Checking the Peer-Reviewed and Grey Literature. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 51(2), 175–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2025.2455133

McDeavitt K, “Cohn J,” Kulatunga-Moruzi C (2025). Pediatric Gender Affirming Care is Not Evidence-based. Curr Sex Health Rep 17, 12 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-025-00404-w

Georges E, Brown ECB, Cohen RS (2023). Prohibition of Gender-Affirming Care as a Form of Child Maltreatment: Reframing the Discussion. Pediatrics, 153(1). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-064292

McDeavitt K (2024). Further Considerations on Gender-Affirming Care. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(8), 841. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.1863

McDeavitt K (2024). Paediatric gender medicine: Longitudinal studies have not consistently shown improvement in depression or suicidality. Acta Paediatrica, 113(8), 1757–1771. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.17309

McDeavitt K (October 11, 2023). First Do No Harm: Current Issues and Controversies in Pediatric Gender Medicine. https://clinicianresources.bcm.edu/learning/menninger-department-of-psychiatry-and-behavioral-sciences-grand-rounds/101123/

Resources

Baylor College of Medicine (bcm.edu/)