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Archives of Sexual Behavior vs. transgender people

The Archives of Sexual Behavior is an academic sexology publication that is a key historical source of anti-transgender beliefs and practices. It was founded in 1971 with a major goal: “the prevention of transsexualism.” In addition to promoting anti-gay and anti-trans conversion therapy, early every anti-trans concept and disease created since 1971 has been workshopped, developed, and promoted in this journal.

Background

Archives of Sexual Behavior (ASB) was founded by Richard Green in 1971. Green authored the 1987 book The “Sissy Boy Syndrome” and controlled access to health services at Britain’s Gender Identity Clinic at Charing Cross Hospital.

ASB is the publication of International Academy of Sex Research (IASR), an academic trade group.

Green chose Kenneth J. Zucker to take over the journal in 2001. Zucker uses it as a bully pulpit to promote harmful theories and practices that emanated from former employer CAMH. Zucker was fired from CAMH in 2015 and their children’s gender clinic was closed after Zucker’s “therapy” for gender diverse children was outlawed in Canada.

ASB’s editorial board is packed with Zucker cronies, and sexologists critical of Zucker and friends often do so anonymously out of fear of retribution that could damage their careers.

Zucker runs ASB the way anti-trans colleague J. Michael Bailey runs the SEXNET discussion group for sexologists: as a way to shore up support for one point of view and as a way to exclude critical viewpoints.

2003 conversion therapy paper

In 2003, ASB published a paper by Robert Spitzer that claimed anti-gay conversion therapy worked: “There is evidence that change in sexual orientation following some form of reparative therapy does occur in some gay men and lesbians.” In 2012, Spitzer asked Zucker to retract it, and Zucker refused.

2008 defamation of trans academics and activists

In 2008, Archives of Sexual Behavior published an entire issue dedicated to attacking critics of J. Michael Bailey and the 2003 book The Man Who Would Be Queen. That book promoted the beliefs and practices of many people deeply involved with Archives of Sexual Behavior. Centered around a “target article” by anti-trans historian Alice Dreger, it attempted:

Dreger was enraged in 2006 after failing to stop Andrea James from speaking at Northwestern University, where Bailey and Dreger both worked at the time, and spent the next year writing the target article after James made jokes about Dreger’s attempts to stop the speech. Dreger claimed that academic freedom should not apply to James.

Dreger claimed the response was an attempt by a few activists to suppress “academic freedom,” particularly research into “autogynephilia,” which contradicts what Dreger calls the “feminine essence narrative.” Dreger attacked many prominent trans scientists and academics, including Lynn Conway, Joan Roughgarden, Deirdre McCloskey, Barbara Nash, Julia Serano. and Ben Barres. Dreger also promoted trans “autogynephilia” activists, including Anne Lawrence, Willow Arune, Anjelica Kieltyka, and “Kiira Triea,” aka Denise Magner.

In 2007, Dreger gave an advance copy to Benedict Carey at the New York Times, who presented Bailey as a “scientist under siege,” an early example of the genre.

Zucker published a number of “peer commentaries,” which were summarized by Lynn Conway. Most commentaries argue Dreger’s account is:

  • Too sympathetic to Bailey
  • Insufficiently engaged with trans history, oppression, and gatekeeping
  • Overly focused on a few activists rather than widespread community objection

Artiles and commentaries

2023 “ROGD” investigation and protests

In 2023, the Archives of Sexual Behavior published the latest in its 50 years of academic attacks on trans and gender diverse youth, again involving J. Michael Bailey as well as “Suzanna Diaz” (aka Monica Hegmann). “Diaz” is the unaccepting parent of a transgender child and is a leader of Parents of ROGD Kids, a parent group that opposes trans healthcare for minors. Bailey and “Diaz” presented a paper about disputed disease “rapid onset gender dysphoria,” which Bailey helped develop and promote on anti-trans parent forums run by Denise Caignon (4thWaveNow) Lisa Marchiano (Youth Trans Critical Professionals), and Stephanie Davies-Arai (Transgender Trend).

On May 5, hundreds of professionals, including academics and researchers who had published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, signed an open letter saying “we will no longer submit to the journal, act as peer reviewers, or serve in an editorial capacity until Dr Zucker is replaced with an editor who has a demonstrated record of integrity on LGBTQ+ matters and, especially, trans matters.” In response, anti-trans organization Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR) published its own open letter supporting Zucker, “Diaz,” and Bailey. It was signed by many leading lights of the modern anti-transgender movement.

Meredith Chivers, head of IASR, announced an investigation into how this article was published. The paper was later retracted by the publisher Springer.

2025 SEGM-McMaster attacks on care for minors

In 2025, Archives of Sexual Behavior was a key source for disseminating research funded by anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine and laundered through McMaster University. That research was created as part of a campaign to ban trans healthcare for minors in the United States and elsewhere. Lead researcher Gordon Guyatt later cut ties with SEGM.

2025 peer commentary issue on sex and gender

In November 2025, Archives of Sexual Behavior published Volume 54, Issue 10 that was largely devoted to a collection of commentaries on the subject of “How Many Sexes Are There? How Many Genders Are There?” Many prominent anti-trans activists submitted articles outlining their points of view, including Sallie Baxendale, S. Marc Breedlove, Alex Byrne, Karleen D. Gribble, and Colin M. Wright.

People

Below is a list of editors from the masthead before Zucker was fired from CAMH. It includes many key historical figures in anti-trans activism.

Editors

  • Editor:  Kenneth J. Zucker: CAMH
  • Managing Editor:  Allison Owen-Anderson: CAMH
  • Former Managing Editor:  Laurel L. Johnson: CAMH

Editorial Board:

  • Gerianne M. Alexander, Texas A & M University
  • J. Michael Bailey, Northwestern University
  • Michael J. Baum, Boston University
  • Peter M. Bentler, University of California at Los Angeles
  • Yitzchak M. Binik, McGill University
  • Ray Blanchard, CAMH
  • Anthony F. Bogaert, Brock University
  • Lori A. Brotto, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • E. Sandra Byers, University of New Brunswick
  • James M. Cantor, CAMH
  • Michael P. Carey, Syracuse University
  • Meredith L. Chivers, CAMH
  • Peggy T. Cohen-Kettenis, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam
  • Aaron H. Devor, University of Victoria
  • Lisa M. Diamond, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
  • Alan F. Dixson, Zoological Society of San Diego
  • Jennifer I. Downey, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
  • Michael Dunne, Queensland University of Technology
  • Richard C. Friedman, Cornell University Medical College
  • Alain J. Giami, Institut National de la SantĂ© et de la Recherche MĂ©dicale
  • Brian A. Gladue, University of Cincinnati
  • Cynthia A.M. Graham, Indiana University, Bloomington
  • Julia R. Heiman, University of Washington, Seattle
  • Melissa Hines, City University, London
  • Elaine M. Hull, The University at Buffalo
  • Erick Janssen, Indiana University, Bloomington
  • Ellen Laan, University of Amsterdam
  • Martin L. Lalumière, CAMH
  • Stephen B. Levine, Center for Marital and Sexual Health
  • Richard A. Lippa, California State University, Fullerton
  • Marta Meana, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Cindy M. Meston, University of Texas at Austin
  • Heino F.L. Meyer-Bahlburg, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  • Lin S. Myers, California State University – Stanislaus
  • Lucia F. O’Sullivan, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  • Richard G. Parker, Columbia University
  • Friedemann Pfäfflin, University of Ulm, Germany
  • Raymond C. Rosen, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  • David L. Rowland, Valparaiso University
  • Paula C. Rodriguez Rust, Hamilton College
  • Geoff Sanders, London Metropolitan University
  • Theo G.M. Sandfort, New York State Psychiatric Institute
  • Ritch C. Savin-Williams, Cornell University
  • Michael C. Seto, CAMH
  • Donald S. Strassberg, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
  • Aleksandar Stulhofer, University of Zagreb
  • Leonore Tiefer, New York University School of Medicine
  • John M. Townsend, Syracuse University
  • Ine Vanwesenbeeck, Rutgers Nisso Groep, Utrecht
  • Kim Wallen, Emory University
  • Martin S. Weinberg, Indiana University, Bloomington

References

FAIR in Medicine (2023). Open Letter in Support of Dr. Kenneth Zucker and the Need to Promote Robust Scientific Debate. https://www.fairforall.org/open-letters/archives-of-sexual-behavior/

300+ signatories (May 5, 2023) Open Letter re: Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://asbopenletter.com [archive]

Green R (1971). Diagnosis and treatment of gender identity disorders during childhood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1(2), 167–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541061

Resources

Springer (springer.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Springer Link (link.springer.com)