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Frank Furedi vs. transgender people

Frank Furedi (aka Frank Richards) is a libertarian Hungarian-Canadian sociologist and anti-transgender activist based in the UK. Furedi is associated with anti-trans hate group Genspect.

Furedi’s spouse Ann Furedi is also an anti-transgender activist.

Background

FĂĽredi Ferenc was born on May 3, 1947 in Budapest, Hungary. Furedi’s family fled to Canada following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a failed uprising against the Soviet Union.

Furedi earned a bachelor’s degree from McGill University in 1969. That year, Furedi moved to the UK, later earning a master’s degree from SOAS University of London in 1970. Furedi had been a student radical throughout school, and after SOAS was a member of the International Socialists until being expelled in 1973. Furedi and other expelled members then formed the Revolutionary Communist Group until being expelled in 1976. They then formed the Revolutionary Communist Tendency, renamed in 1978 as the Revolutionary Communist Party. The group founded Living Marxism (later renamed LM) to promote their libertarian and contrarian views. In 1997, Living Marxism published an article that claimed ITN had misrepresented the Bosnian war in its coverage in 1992. ITN sued and won the case in 2000, forcing Living Marxism to close. Many staff and contributors moved to Spiked, a libertarian group blog founded in 2001.

Furedi taught at University of Kent beginning in 1976 and earned a doctorate there in 1987. Furedi’s academic work focuses on the sociology of fear and risk, the sociology of knowledge, and criticisms of therapy culture and modern parenting styles.

In 2021, Furedi was named director of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium’s MCC Brussels center. The center is funded by Hungary’s conservative nationalist Fidesz party as a counter to think tanks that support the European Union.

Anti-trans activism

Furedi began getting involved in anti-trans activism around 2019.

Selected anti-trans writing by Furedi

Furedi, Frank (May 7, 2023). The making of an identity crisis: The rise of gender-confused children is nothing to celebrate. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/05/07/the-making-of-an-identity-crisis/

Furedi, Frank (August 14, 2022). Germany has succumbed to trans mania: The supposedly sensible nation is ushering in gender self-ID for teenagers. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/08/14/germany-has-succumbed-to-trans-mania/

Furedi, Frank (February 2022). Danger: semantic engineers at work. The institutionalisation of gender-neutral language is designed to change how we think, feel and act. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/february-2022/danger-semantic-engineers-at-work/

Furedi, Frank (January 5, 2022). The elite war on biological sex: Transgender ideology is relentlessly promoted by the elites – despite huge opposition from ordinary people. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/01/05/the-elite-war-on-biological-sex/

Furedi, Frank (October 25, 2021). Netflix and the woke power play: Millennial creatives are using identity politics to rise up the corporate ladder. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/10/25/netflix-and-the-woke-power-play/

Furedi, Frank (October 22, 2021). The trans assault on freedom: Gender ideology is not about liberation – it is about coercion and control. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/10/22/the-trans-assault-on-freedom/

Furedi, Frank (October 2021). The classroom culture war: Saving education from the forces that wish to politicise it is one the most important cultural challenges of our time. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/october-2021/the-classroom-culture-war/

Furedi, Frank (December 26, 2019). In 2020, we need to fight the new thoughtpolice: Speech, thought and culture are being policed on a terrifying scale. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/12/26/in-2020-we-need-to-fight-the-new-thoughtpolice/

Furedi, Frank (October 1, 2019). The gender-neutral attack on motherhood: There is a biological basis to bearing children that no amount of trans activism can erase. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/10/01/the-gender-neutral-attack-on-motherhood/

Furedi, Frank (November 23, 2015). Microaggression theory: an assault on everyday life: This crusade against unwitting racism is deeply divisive. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2015/11/23/microaggression-theory-an-assault-on-everyday-life

Books

  • Furedi, Frank (2024). The War Against the Past: Why the West Must Fight for Its History, Polity Press, ISBN 978-1509561254
  • Furedi, Frank (2021). 100 Years of Identity Crisis: Culture War Over Socialisation, de Gruyter, ISBN 978-3110705577
  • Furedi, Frank (2020). Why Borders Matter: Why Humanity Must Relearn the Art of Drawing Boundaries, Routledge, ISBN 978-0367416812
  • Furedi, Frank (2018). How Fear Works: Culture of Fear in the Twenty-First Century, Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-1472947727
  • Furedi, Frank (2017). Populism and the European Culture Wars: The Conflict of Values between Hungary and the EU, Routledge, ISBN 978-1138097407
  • Furedi, Frank (2015). Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter, Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-1472914774
  • Furedi, Frank (2014). First World War: Still No End in Sight, Bloomsbury USA, ISBN 978-1441125101
  • Furedi, Frank (2013). Authority: A Sociological Introduction, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1139026338
  • Furedi, Frank (2013). Moral Crusades in an Age of Mistrust: The Jimmy Savile Scandal, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-1137338013
  • Furedi, Frank (2011). On Tolerance: A Defence of Moral Independence, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1441120106
  • Furedi, Frank (2009). Wasted: Why Education Isn’t Educating, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1847064165
  • Furedi, Frank (2008). Licensed to Hug: How Child Protection Policies Are Poisoning the Relationship Between the Generations and Damaging the Voluntary Sector (with Jennie Bristow), Civitas, ISBN  978-1906837167
  • Furedi, Frank (2007). Invitation to Terror: The Expanding Empire of the Unknown, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0826499578
  • Furedi, Frank (2005). The Politics of Fear: Beyond Left and Right, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 9978-0826487285
  • Furedi, Frank (2004). Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone?: Confronting Twenty-First Century Philistinism, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN  978-0826467690
  • Furedi, Frank (2003). Therapy Culture: Cultivating Vulnerability in an Uncertain Age, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415321600
  • Furedi, Frank (2001). Paranoid Parenting: Abandon Your Anxieties and Be a Good Parent, Allen Lane, ISBN 978-0713994889
  • Furedi, Frank (1998). The Silent War: Imperialism and the Changing Perception of Race, Pluto Press, ISBN 978-0813526119
  • Furedi, Frank (1997). Culture of Fear: Risk Taking and the Morality of Low Expectation, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0826459299
  • Furedi, Frank (1997). Population and Development: A Critical Introduction, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-0745615370
  • Furedi, Frank (1994). The New Ideology of Imperialism: Renewing the Moral Imperative, Pluto Press, ISBN 978-0745308463
  • Furedi, Frank (1994). Colonial Wars and the Politics of Third World Nationalism, I.B. Tauris, ISBN 978-1850437840
  • Furedi, Frank (1991). Mythical Past, Elusive Future: History and Society in an Anxious Age, Pluto Press, ISBN 978-0745305318
  • Furedi, Frank (1989). The Mau Mau War in Perspective, James Currey Publishers, ISBN 978-0821409404
  • Furedi, Frank (1986,). The Soviet Union Demystified: A Materialist Analysis, Junius Publications, ISBN 978-0948392030

Media

Beyond Gender with Stella O’Malley, Mia Hughes, and Frank Furedi (May 8, 2025). How They’ve Turned a Generation Into Medical Conformists – Frank Furedi (#12). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLsbe9MPxrg

Genspect (January 7, 2025). Vox Pop Conference Interview with Frank Furedi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhTmWiMFkHQ

Genspect (January 4, 2025). Turning Three and Four Year Olds Into Little Adults – Frank Furedi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvpxDIHsIeM

TRIGGERnometry with Konstantin Kisin, Francis Foster, and Frank Furedi (October 16, 2022). “The West Has Lost Its Confidence” – Frank Furedi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uamzYPkJqkw

GBNews with and Frank Furedi (September 29, 2022). Frank Furedi reacts as airline Virgin Atlantic has scrapped its gendered uniforms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2mZ48lNDgY

John Andersen with Frank Furedi (November 5, 2021). Frank Furedi | ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S0hIB6D29c

Intelligence Squared (October 28, 2011). Frank Furedi: The younger generation has been infantilised by the baby boomers – IQ2 debates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c53Udp-cDgc

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Frank Furedi (frankfuredi.org)

  • original url: frankfuredi.com [2004 on – archive]

Living Marxism (lm.net) [archive]

Spiked (spiked-online.com)

The Critic (thecritic.co.uk)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Substack (substack.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Aeon (aeon.co)

The Guardian (theguardian.com)

MCC Brussels (brussels.mcc.hu)

Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

  • Frank Furedi
  • scholar.google.com/citations?user=wfJKVisAAAAJ

Compact (compactmag.com)

Battle of Ideas Festival (battleofideas.org.uk)

  • Frank Furedi
  • battleofideas.org.uk/speaker/professor-frank-furedi