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Doug VanderLaan and transgender people

Doug VanderLaan is an evolutionary psychologist who frequently publishes about gender identity with anti-trans psychologists, most notably Paul Vasey, J. Michael Bailey, and Kenneth Zucker. VanderLaan has been affiliated with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, once home to one of the most notorious anti-trans gender clinics in history.

VanderLaan’s work is generally supportive, though VanderLaan promotes several harmful ideas about trans and gender diverse people. VanderLaan is co-editor of the 2022 book Gender and Sexuality: Development Contemporary Theory and Research. That book includes a chapter by anti-trans activists Kevin Hsu and J. Michael Bailey about “erotic target identity inversions.”

Background

VanderLaan earned a doctorate at University of Lethbridge, then did a postdoctoral fellowship at CAMH. VanderLaan’s dissertation was supervised by Paul Vasey, with committee members Martin Lalumiere, Sergio Pellis, and Scott Allen and J. Michael Bailey as external examiner: “I also thank J. Michael Bailey for his support as my external committee member as well as Nancy Bartlett and Ray Blanchard for their support.”

VanderLaan holds an appointment at University of Toronto Mississauga, and is director of the BIG (Biopsychosocial Investigations of Gender) Lab there. VanderLaan is also affiliated with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. According to a biography, VanderLaan “uses a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach to increase our understanding of gender expression and identity development, sexual orientation, sexual desire, and psychological functioning.”

References

Furfaro, Hannah (28 January 2019). Study strengthens autism’s curious link to gender variance. The Transmitter https://www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/study-strengthens-autisms-curious-link-gender-variance/

Eligh, Blake (January 19, 2016). From Japan to Samoa: UTM prof traces origins of sexual behaviour. https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/main-news/japan-samoa-utm-prof-traces-origins-sexual-behaviour

Staff report (February 4, 2010). Study Reveals Potential Evolutionary Role for Same-Sex Attraction. Association for Psychological Science https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/study-reveals-potential-evolutionary-role-for-same-sex-attraction.html

Selected publications by VanderLaan

VanderLaan, D. P., Skorska, M. N., Peragine, D. E., & Coome, L. A. (2022). Carving the biodevelopment of same-sex sexual orientation at its joints. In D. P. VanderLaan & W. I. Wong (Eds.), Gender and sexuality development: Contemporary theory and research (pp. 491–537). Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84273-4_17

Nabbijohn, A. N., van der Miesen, A. I. R., Santarossa, A., Peragine, D., de Vries, A. L. C., Popma, A., Lai, M.-C., & VanderLaan, D. P. (2018). Gender Variance and the Autism Spectrum: An Examination of Children Ages 6–12 Years. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(4), 1570–1585. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3843-z

de Graaf NM, Steensma TD, Carmichael P, VanderLaan DP, Aitken M, Cohen-Kettenis PT, de Vries ALC, Kreukels BPC, Wasserman L, Wood H, Zucker KJ (2020). Suicidality in clinic-referred transgender adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01663-9

Vasey PL, VanderLaan DP (2014). Evolving research on the evolution of male androphilia. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 23(3), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjhs.23.3-co1

VanderLaan DP (2011). The development and evolution of male androphilia in Samoan fa’afine. https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item?id=NR88388&op=pdf&app=Library&oclc_number=869038110

Resources

University of Toronto (utoronto.ca)