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J.D. Haltigan vs. transgender people

J.D. Haltigan is a psychologist and anti-transgender activist. Haltigan is a key promoter of the disputed diagnosis “rapid onset gender dysphoria.” Haltigan is associated with anti-trans hate group Genspect and the anti-trans Centre for Heterodox Social Science led by Eric Kaufmann.

Background

John David Haltigan was born on June 26, 1977. Haltigan earned a bachelor’s degree from Mercyhurst University in 1999, followed by a master’s degree from Castleton University in 2002. Haltigan then attended University of Miami, earning another master’s degree and a doctorate in 2009. Haltigan then did postdoctoral research at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2010 to 2011.

In 2016, Haltigan became a research associate at CAMH and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. From 2017 to 2023, Haltigan was an assistant professor at University of Toronto.

In 2023, Haltigan filed a lawsuit in US District Court against people associated with UC Santa Cruz after refusing to sign a statement supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of the interview process. In January 2024, the judge dismissed Haltigan’s lawsuit because Haltigan did not adequately show how the claim had standing.

Since the lawsuit, Haltigan has been self-employed. In 2025 Haltigan was named an honorary research fellow at University of Buckingham Centre for Heterodox Social Science.

The Multilevel Mailer

Haltigan maintains a group blog on Substack titled The Multilevel Mailer. Collaborators include:

  • “a licensed psychologist”
  • “Gerodoc”
  • “Katherine Dee”
  • “Hollie”
  • “Pairodocs” / Chris Milburn and Dave Wiseman 
  • Awais Aftab
  • Arnold CantĂș
  • Jake Hull
  • Peter Jenkins
  • Zachary McClanahan
  • Ryan Rogers
  • Grant Smith
  • Mark Travis
  • Eddie Waldrep
  • Colin Wright

References

Sleeper, Aric (May 19, 2023). Scientist sues UCSC over diversity statement requirement. Santa Cruz Sentinel https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2023/05/19/scientist-sues-ucsc-over-diversity-statement-requirement/

Haltigan v. Drake et al. (2023), Case No. 5:23-cv-2437 https://pacificlegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-05-18-JD-Haltigan-v-michael-drake-stamped-Complaint.pdf

Coverage in anti-trans press

Young, Cathy (April 21, 2025). The Bizarre Right-Wing War on
Empathy? The Bulwark https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bizarre-right-wing-war-empathy-misogynistic-abrego-garcia-suicidal-civilizational-musk-barrett-gad-saad

Friedersdorf, Conor (July 3, 2023). The Hypocrisy of Mandatory Diversity Statements. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/hypocrisy-mandatory-diversity-statements/674611/

Rodriguez Poleo, Germania (May 23, 2023). Scientist sues University of California Santa-Cruz officials for forcing job applicants to submit ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ statement and claims it breaches First Amendment. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12115141/Scientist-sues-University-California-Santa-Cruz-officials-DEI-statement.html

Selected writing by Haltigan and collaborators

Jenkins, Peter (September 23, 2025). ‘Hopper’ no more? The bizarre case of the self-amputating surgeon and the implications for a eunuch gender identity: A descent into the world of fetishism. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/hopper-no-more-the-bizarre-case-of

Haltigan, J.D. (September 9, 2025). Retrospect & Prospect: A Post-Progressive Developmental Psychopathology [Part Two]. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/retrospect-and-prospect-a-post-progressive-441

Haltigan, J.D. (September 4, 2025). Retrospect & Prospect: A Post-Progressive Developmental Psychopathology [Part One]. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/retrospect-and-prospect-a-post-progressive

Jenkins, Peter; Haltigan, J.D. (May 13, 2025). UK Supreme Court Calls Time on Trans Rights, Returns to Sex Binary in Law. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/uk-supreme-court-calls-time-on-trans

CantĂș, Arnoldo (April 1, 2025). Cultish Occurrences: When Critical Social Justice Goes Too Far. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/cultish-occurrences-when-critical

McClanahan, Zachary; Haltigan, J.D. (January 16, 2025). Colleges & Universities Produce Left-Wing Ideologues, Not Educated Students. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/colleges-and-universities-produce

Jenkins, Peter; Haltigan, J.D. (December 26, 2024). Gender Identity Ideology and how It Damages UK healthcare. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/gender-identity-ideology-and-how

Rogers, Ryan (November 15, 2024). How Mental Health Therapy became Fluff and Wokeness. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/how-mental-health-therapy-became

“Hollie” (August 11, 2024). Social Contagion and Circular Reasoning in the Academy. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/social-contagion-and-circular-reasoning

Travis, Mark (July 25, 2024). Angel Funder Sought To Help Defeat Gender Ideology In California. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/angel-funder-sought-to-help-defeat

“a licensed psychologist” (July 18, 2024). Gender > Biology: A Societal Sham. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/gender-biology-a-societal-sham

Haltigan, J.D.; “Gerodoc”; Waldrep, Eddie (June 23, 2024). The Perversion of Mental Health Practice: Woke Capture of Clinical & Counseling Psychology. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/the-perversion-of-mental-health-practice

Haltigan, J.D.; Jenkins, Peter (May 25, 2024). Surviving as an exploratory therapist in a hostile environment. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/surviving-as-an-exploratory-therapist

Haltigan, J.D.; Aftab, Awais (May 21, 2024). Psychiatry, Psychology, and Society: Multilevel Conversations at the Margins. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/psychiatry-psychology-and-society

Smith, Grant; Haltigan, J.D. (March 08, 2024). Trans Colonel Has Many Opinions: None supported by facts or reason. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/trans-colonel-has-many-opinions

Hull, Jake (February 18, 2024). Paging Dr. Lysenko: The Pronoun and Gender Police Enter the Telemedicine Space. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/paging-dr-lysenko

Haltigan, J.D.; Wright, Colin (January 09, 2024). A Confetti of Identities: The Role of Social Media in Gender Ideology and Mental Health Discourse. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/a-confetti-of-identities-the-role

Haltigan, J.D. (December 31, 2023). The Caricature of Love: Cleckley’s lesser-known and more provocative treatise on sexuality and sexual deviance provides a good deal of insight into contemporary sexual decadence and anti-psychiatry. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/the-caricature-of-love

Haltigan, J.D.; “Dee, Katherine” (December 23, 2023). Tumblr, TikTok, & Psychopathology: The Technomediation of Identity-Based Peri-Psychopathology. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/tumblr-tiktok-and-psychopathology

[guest post by “a licensed psychologist”] (October 2, 2023). Pressing the easy button: A Guest Post from a Licensed Psychologist Navigating the Thick Fog of Gender Ideology. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/pressing-the-easy-button

Haltigan, J.D. (February 6, 2023). Post-competition Perils: Hyperphagia, Adipose Overshoot, & Dysphoria. The Multilevel Mailer https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/post-competition-perils-hyperphagia

Rajkumar, Gayathiri; Haltigan, J.D. (January 16, 2023). Social Media and the Rise of Performative Mental Illness. Reality’s Last Stand https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/social-media-and-the-rise-of-performative

Haltigan, J. D., Pringsheim, T. M., & Rajkumar, G. (2023). Social media as an incubator of personality and behavioral psychopathology: Symptom and disorder authenticity or psychosomatic social contagion? Comprehensive Psychiatry, 121, 152362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2022.152362

Media

Genspect with J.D. Haltigan (October 18, 2025). The Unstable Self: Fractured Identities in the Digital Age | Dr J.D. Haltigan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkZLMowgxf0

Pairodocs’ Collection of Heresy with “Pairodocs” and J.D. Haltigan (September 9, 2025). Are we being killed with kindness? JD Haltigan on cluster B disorders, misplaced maternal instinct, and modern society. https://pairodocs.substack.com/p/are-we-being-killed-with-kindness

Psychobabble with Hannah Spier and J.D. Haltigan (August 27, 2025). How Cluster B Traits Took Over Our Culture. https://hannahspier.substack.com/p/how-cluster-b-traits-took-over-our

Psychobabble with Hannah Spier and J.D. Haltigan (August 27, 2025). Psychology’s Leftward Drift with Dr. J.D. Haltigan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-EY93pdDZE alt url: https://hannahspier.substack.com/p/psychologys-leftward-drift-with-dr

The Multilevel Mailer with J.D. Haltigan (July 24, 2025). My Talk at the Heterodox Social Science Conference. https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/my-talk-at-the-heterodox-social-science

Beyond Gender with Stella O’Malley, Bret Alderman, and J.D. Haltigan (March 27, 2025). How Activism Is Replacing Clinical Judgment in Psychology – JD Haltigan (#6). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT1EkY8_Ahc

Tammy Peterson with J.D. Haltigan (July 23, 2024). The Impact of Cell Phones on Depression | J.D. Haltigan | EP 97. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTz6CnN1WYc

Jordan B Peterson with J.D. Hatligan (July 15, 2024). The Psychology of Human Aggression | J. D. Haltigan | EP 464. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUqZZcQPu2U

Alex Kaschuta with J.D. Haltigan (October 4, 2023). J.D. Haltigan – Nature & Nurture in our First Years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZXnJfvLaUo

The Reason We Learn with Deb Fillman and J.D. Haltigan (October 4, 2023). The High Cost of Pathological Empathy with Dr. J.D. Haltigan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAFdP9y1DYc

MindMatters with Harrison Koehli, Elan Martin, Adam Daniels, and J.D. Haltigan (July 21, 2023). Cold-blooded Kindness: The Longhouse Mentality and Psychopathology – with Dr. J.D. Haltigan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW83LTWoyqM

The Multilevel Mailer / Callin with J.D. Haltigan, Michael Shellenberger, Emment Penney, Shant Mesrobian, Leighton Woodhouse, and Anna Khachiyan (October 9, 2022). Woke Narcissism. https://www.jdhaltigan.com/p/woke-narcissism

Calmversations with Benjamin Boyce and J.D. Haltigan (December 16, 2021). Developmental Psych & The Downfall of Academia | with JD Haltigan, PhD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_0e7DaOmhY

Resources

Centre for Heterodox Social Science (heterodoxcentre.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)