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Benjamin Ryan vs. transgender people

Benjamin Ryan is an American writer and anti-transgender activist.

Ryan opposes US medical consensus on healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth. Ryan frequently supports other anti-trans colleagues like Dan Savage, Jesse Singal, Jon Kay, and Jennifer Block as objective experts covering trans issues.

Ryan also supports sexologist and anti-transgender activist Kenneth Zucker, believing Singal’s version of why Zucker was fired in 2015. In 2023, Ryan began pitching a piece seeking “physicians who might have misgivings about the gender-affirming care model, or who otherwise have theories about why we have seen such a recent surge in trans-identifying young people.”

Background

Benjamin R. “Ben” Ryan was born in June 1978 to Sara “Sally” Stubbs Ryan (1944–1999), an educator, and John A. Ryan, Jr. (born ~1943) a general surgeon. Ryan has two siblings. Ryan attended The Bush School, an elite private school in Seattle, graduating in 1997, then earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 2001. Ryan volunteered with the Northwest AIDS Foundation and New York’s Gay Health Advocacy Project prior to beginning a writing career.

Ryan has written for The New York Sun, The New York Observer, New York Post, Gay.com, HIV Plus, Gilt City, Smart + Strong, NBC News, Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Guardian, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, The Atlantic, New York, The Marshall project, PBS, The Village Voice, Money, Men’s Journal, City & State, Out, and The Advocate. Ryan’s work focuses on HIV, viral hepatitis, mpox, COVID-19, and cancer. Ryan wrote for Jesse Singal at New York.

Ryan has been a guest on Sirius Satellite Radio, NPR, iHeart Radio’s Daily Dive, Dan Savage’s Savage Love podcast, Owen Jones’ podcast, and NBC News Now.

2023 pitch attacking gender affirming care

On April 14, 2023, Harvard lawyer Alejandra Caraballo revealed that Ryan was working on a story attacking gender-affirming care for youth, writing:

“The New York Times and Benjamin Ryan are writing another transphobic hit piece looking for providers who “have misgivings about gender affirming care.” Providers and advocates should ignore any outreach or requests for comment from Ryan as he is another Jesse Singal.”

Caraballo (2023

Caraballo included the text of Ryan’s inquiry:

From: Benjamin Ryan
Date: Thu, Apr 6, 2023
Subject: New York Times article on how pediatricians are responding to rising rates of trans youth

I am writing an article for the New York Times about how pediatricians, family practitioners, psychologists and other front-line physicians who care for broad populations of children and adolescents are responding to the rising numbers of trans-identifying youths. What has it been like for these health care providers to care for such young people of late?

For one, I am interested in covering this subject from the perspective of a newly fractured legal landscape, in which various states have banned the treatment of gender dysphoria in minors with puberty blockers and hormones. What is it like for health care providers to care for trans-identifying kids in these states?

I am also interested in hearing from physicians who might have misgivings about the gender-affirming care treatment model, or who otherwise have theories about why we have seen such a recent surge in trans-identifying young people.

I would greatly appreciate your help in finding physicians for me to speak with. (Note that this article is not focusing on gender-care specialists.) I know this is a highly sensitive topic. So while I would prefer to get sources on the record, I am more than happy to accommodate anyone’s requests for anonymity.

Thanks very much for your help and your time.

All the best,

Ben Ryan

Benjamin Ryan
benryan.net
(917) [redacted]
Follow me on Twitter:
twitter.com/benryanwriter

Caraballo (2023) [emphasis mine]

Because the New York Times handles all transphobic content in-house now, Ryan published a different piece for NBC News instead on June 23, 2023. Ryan’s published piece has no mention of physicians who might have misgivings about the gender-affirming care treatment model.

Ryan told Jesse Singal:

“I sent that email and other versions of it to over 200 doctors and press reps at medical institutions. I asked people to send it to others and to email it to listservs. I knew very well that it would probably end up on Twitter and that Alejandra would post it. So I am fine with it being out there.”

Author and journalism professor Steven Thrasher minced no words in condemning Ryan:

  • Benjamin Ryan is a bad repoter, a bad writer and seems like a bad person and I encourage no one to cooperate with him on this, or any, story. Yesterday, there were horrific anti-trans stories in Wyoming, Nebraska and Missouri. Fuck the NYT & Ben Ryan for seeking “misgivings.”
  • I don’t like to bring up my day job bc it causes headaches but I’ll do so here bc it’s so important: as the holder of the 1st journalism professorship to focus on LGBTQ issues, much of Ben’s work—and this piece specifically—is dangerous to the wellness of LGBTQ people.
  • I have a big piece in edits now in Scientific American about this matter, which shows how bad this type of “journalism” is. The Times & Ryan have no business shaking the trees to elevate some doctor, somewhere who is opposed to scientific consensus abt the benefit of transcare.
  • It’s like the NYT looking for a physicist who doesn’t believe in gravity or a oceanographer who doesn’t believe in climate change. Such cranks or bigots ain’t news, and the Times should be ashamed of elevating lone voices out of step w medical and scientific consensus.
  • It is always mediocre, know nothing white dudes (Singal, Chait, Ryan) who NY mag and the NYT are like “Yes, YES, that’s the person! That’s the voice we NEED! No MD? No MPH? No PhD? Hated by and not a part of the community he’s writing about? But he’s white? Commission HIM!!!”
  • Same guy. And he even stole that from someone else, I believe. (He was noticed by several of us before that for his bad, dishonestly framed reporting prior to that
if I remember right he seemed to steal that joke to try to get attention, which is all he wants.)
  • A very Times-speak form or grotesque “reasoning.” I would say ignore this troll. But he’s too dangerous. He’s in the stable of big commissions and when the Times or NY mag or Guardian or whoever commission him, they put a LIBERAL stamp of approval on transphobia

  • 
much as the fucking Biden administration put a big liberal stamp of approval on transphobia
  • Benjamin Ryan is a bad repoter of HIV/AIDS, Covid, queer history, and transcare. He is not the “enfant terrible” “only person who will speak to power” crusading journalist he wants anyone to think he is.
  • He’s just a bad reporter, but one who gets commissioned bc of editors who are homophobic, transphobic and ableist.
  • Also, for all its evil, like most things, there is something to be learned in Ryan’s email. It’s a good insight into what I forbid my students to do – trying to “reverse engineer” a story.
  • Don’t go looking to find sources that will support the story you’ve already decided to tell. Or fish purposefully for a contrarian “character.” LISTEN. STUDY. And as you see patterns, let the story find you. Don’t just say “Can I find one physicist who will say gravity’s bunk?”

https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1646875700245192704

Deleted tweets

Ryan frequently defends other anti-trans writers, particularly on Twitter (now X). Some of these deleted tweets are preserved as part of this profile.

Coverage in anti-trans press

Singal, Jesse (April 25, 2023). On Alejandra Caraballo vs. Benjamin Ryan vs. Steven Thrasher. Singal-Minded https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/on-alejandra-caraballo-vs-benjamin

Selected anti-trans writing by Ryan

Ryan, Benjamin (September 3, 2025). The taming of a gender researcher: Activists targeted Gordon Guyatt’s promising field. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2025/09/the-taming-of-a-gender-researcher/

Ryan, Benjamin (June 22, 2025). Breakout New York Mayoral Contender Zohran Mamdani Wants To Spend $65 Million on Medical Gender Treatments for Minors and Adults. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/breakout-new-york-mayoral-contender-zohran-mamdani-wants-to-spend-65-million-on-medical-gender-treatments-for-minors-and-adults

Ryan, Benjamin (June 18, 2025). Supreme Court Ruling on Gender Treatments for Minors Is Major Blow to Transgender Movement, but Could Be Narrower Than Trump Administration Hopes. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/supreme-courts-decision-to-uphold-state-ban-on-medical-gender-transitions-for-minors-is-a-devastating-loss-for-transgender-people-aclu-says

Ryan, Benjamin (March 18, 2025). UK Plans Landmark Study on Puberty-Blockers’ Effect on Children With Gender Distress: Critics Express Doubt It Will Advance the Weak Evidence Base. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/uk-plans-landmark-study-on-puberty-blockers-effect-on-children-with-gender-distress-critics-express-doubt-it-will-advance-the-weak-evidence-base

Ryan, Benjamin (February 10, 2025). $544,000-a-Year, Nonbinary ACLU Executive Makes Incorrect Claims About Pediatric Gender Medicine: Will This Impact Landmark Supreme Court Case?  New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/544000-per-year-newly-nonbinary-aclu-deputy-makes-incorrect-claims-about-pediatric-gender-medicine-will-this-impact-the-landmark-supreme-court-case

Ryan, Benjamin (February 8, 2025). Trump’s Justice Department Won’t Pull Out of Supreme Court Case About Gender Treatments for Minors, Paving Way for Landmark Decision. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/trumps-justice-department-wont-pull-out-of-supreme-court-case-about-gender-treatments-for-minors-paving-way-for-landmark-decision

Ryan, Benjamin (January 23, 2025). New Research Raises More Doubts About Safety and Benefits of Gender Transition Treatments for Minors. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/new-research-raises-more-doubts-about-safety-and-benefits-of-gender-transition-treatments-for-minors

Ryan, Benjamin (December 4, 2024). Supreme Court Appears Likely To Uphold State Law Banning Gender Treatments for Minors: Ruling Would Deal a Major Blow to Transgender Activists. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/supreme-court-appears-likely-to-uphold-state-law-banning-gender-treatments-for-minors-ruling-would-deal-a-major-blow-to-transgender-activists

Ryan, Benjamin (October 31, 2024). â€˜Shocking’ and ‘Reckless’: Top Gender Clinic Assesses Children for Gender-Altering Medical Treatments in Just 2 Hours, Lawsuit Lays Bare. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/shocking-and-reckless-top-gender-clinic-assesses-children-for-gender-altering-medical-treatments-in-just-2-hours-lawsuit-lays-bare

Ryan, Benjamin (September 27, 2024). The AAP Files: Inside Feud Within American Academy of Pediatrics, Torn Over Transgender Issues, About Group’s Decision To Hold Meeting in ‘Anti-LGBTQ’ Florida of Ron DeSantis. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/the-aap-files-inside-feud-within-american-academy-of-pediatrics-torn-over-transgender-issues-about-groups-decision-to-hold-meeting-in-anti-lgbtq-florida-of-ron-desantis

Ryan, Benjamin (September 18, 2024). New Evidence Challenges Institutionalized Belief That Transgender Teens Become Transgender Adults, Undermining Core Defense of Medical Gender Transitions for Minors. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/new-evidence-challenges-institutionalized-belief-that-transgender-teens-become-transgender-adults-undermining-core-defense-of-medical-gender-transitions-for-minors

Ryan, Benjamin (August 9, 2024). Ohio Court Is Latest to Back State Bans on Gender-Transition Treatments for Minors, as Supreme Court Prepares To Hear Landmark Tennessee Case. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/ohio-court-is-latest-to-back-state-bans-on-gender-transition-treatments-for-minors-as-supreme-court-prepares-to-hear-landmark-tennessee-case

Ryan, Benjamin (August 2, 2024). From the Face of Pediatric Gender Medicine Comes a Quietly Radical Manifesto. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/from-the-face-of-pediatric-gender-medicine-comes-a-quietly-radical-manifesto

Ryan, Benjamin (July 10, 2024). â€˜Damning’ Information About Trans Medical Group Expected To Reach Supreme Court, as Justices Consider Challenge to Ban on Gender Treatments for Minors. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/damning-information-about-trans-medical-group-expected-to-reach-supreme-court-as-justices-consider-challenge-to-ban-on-gender-treatments-for-minors

Ryan, Benjamin (June 27, 2024). Claim of Suicide Surge in Youths on U.K. Wait List for Gender Care Undermined by ‘Cass Review’ New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/claim-of-suicide-surge-in-kids-on-u-k-wait-list-for-gender-care-undermined-by-cass-review

Ryan, Benjamin (April 10, 2024). Major U.K. Report Finds Pediatric Gender Medicine Is Based on ‘Remarkably Weak Evidence.’ New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/major-u-k-report-finds-pediatric-gender-medicine-is-based-on-shaky-evidence

Ryan, Benjamin (March 12, 2024). Leaked Files From Influential Transgender Medicine Group Cause Uproar, Could Imperil Liberal Efforts To Undo State Bans on Gender-Transition Treatments for Children. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/leaked-files-from-influential-transgender-medicine-group-cause-uproar-could-imperil-liberal-efforts-to-undo-state-bans-on-gender-transition-treatments-for-children

Ryan, Benjamin (February 1, 2024). Beleaguered World Health Organization Wades Into Transgender Debate and Is Met With Uproar Over Plans To Develop Guidelines on Trans Healthcare  New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/beleaguered-world-health-organization-wades-into-transgender-debate-and-is-met-with-uproar-over-plans-to-develop-guidelines-on-trans-healthcare

Ryan, Benjamin (December 21, 2023). Sued Over Policies on Transgender Children, American Academy of Pediatrics Pulls Forthcoming Book, Takes Steps To Protect Emails From Prying Eyes. New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/sued-over-policies-on-transgender-children-american-academy-of-pediatrics-pulls-forthcoming-book-takes-steps-to-protect-emails-from-prying-eyes

Ryan, Benjamin (December 26, 2023). Lawsuits by Regretful ‘Detransitioners’ Take Aim at Medical Establishment’s Support for Gender-Transition Treatments for Minors New York Sun https://www.nysun.com/article/lawsuits-by-regretful-detransitioners-take-aim-at-medical-establishments-support-for-gender-transition-treatments-for-minors

Ryan, Benjamin (June 23, 2023). The LGBTQ population is growing, but medical schools haven’t caught up. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-health-care-curriculum-medical-school-training-rcna89599

Ryan, Benjamin (February 2, 2023). How Tennessee axed millions in HIV funds amid scrutiny from far-right provocateurs. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/tennessee-axed-millions-hiv-funds-scrutiny-far-right-provocateurs-rcna67769

Ryan, Benjamin (March 16, 20223). Transgender woman, 79, can claim Maine nursing home discriminated against her. NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/transgender-woman-79-can-claim-maine-nursing-home-discriminated-rcna20314

Ryan, Benjamin (July 3, 2023). Trump vs DeSantis – where do they stand on LGBTQ+ rights? Openly http://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=954c4808-5e45-450d-b21a-4e00c0450e71

Ryan, Benjamin; Anarte, Enrique; Greenhalgh, Hugo (July 3, 2023). Trans U.S. seniors fear bleak future in residential care. Openly https://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=4ad6f631-853c-42b1-ad75-993aac2652a3

Media

Dollcast with Brianna Wu, Kelly Cadigan, Schyler Bogert, and Ben Ryan (December 18, 2024). The Plot to Destroy Ben Ryan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLVrQPMmzeM

Buck Angel with Benjamin Ryan (November 8, 2024). The big question is what’s next in pediatric gender medicine. with Ben Ryan- Buck U: LIVE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKDv1ayC5iU

Calmversations with Benjamin Boyce and Benjamin Ryan (August 30, 2024). Speaking Truth To Gender | with Benjamin Ryan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q3zzk8Y4_s

Resources

Benjamin Ryan (benryan.net)

X/Twitter (x.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)