James Kirchick is a conservative American writer and anti-transgender activist. Kirchick is part of the LGB separatist movement of anti-trans activists who believe that trans and queer people are undermining the rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. Kirchick has collaborated with other LGB separatists, including Andrew Sullivan and Katie Herzog.
Kirchick is a senior fellow with the anti-trans group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and has written for anti-trans publications, including The Free Press, UnHerd, Tablet, The Dispatch, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
Background
James R. “Jamie” Kirchick was born on December 22, 1983 to lawyers William Dean Kirchick and Carol Rudnick Kirchick, who works at Roxbury Latin School.
James Kirchick attended Roxbury Latin School, a sex-segregated private preparatory school in Boston, graduating in 2002. Kirchick then earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 2006.
Kirchick was an assistant editor at New Republic from 2007 to 2009 and a writer at large at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 2010 to 2011. Kirchick lived in Germany in 2012 on a one year Robert Bosch fellowship. Kirchick began writing for Tablet magazine in 2013.
Kirchick was a fellow at Foreign Policy Initiative from 2013 to 2017. While there, Kirchick published the 2014 book Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. in 2014. Kirchick was a visiting fellow at The Brookings Institution from 2017 to 2021. Kirchick began writing for Air Mail in 2021.
Kirchick then held a nonresident senior fellow role at the Atlantic Council from 2022 to 2025, simultaneously holding a senior fellow position at Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. While in those roles, Kirchick began contributing to the New York Times in 2024, the Axel Springer Global Reporters Project in 2025, as well as The Dispatch in 2025.
References
Collington, Faefyx (August 19, 2024). Hereâs everything wrong with that James Kirchick Atlantic piece. Into https://www.intomore.com/culture/heres-everything-wrong-with-that-james-kirchick-atlantic-piece/
Steinsiek, Alyssa (August 14, 2024). Queer Liberation Isnât Over, James Kirchick. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/queer-liberation-isnt-over
Burns, Katelyn (July 17, 2019). The LGBTQ civil rights fight is far from over. Vox https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/7/17/20697174/lgbtq-civil-rights-fight-not-over
West, TJ (July 15, 2019). No, James Kirchick, The Gay Rights Movement Isnât Over. Medium https://tjwest3.medium.com/no-james-kirchick-the-gay-rights-movement-isnt-over-fc104c79d15
Kerri, Amanda (July 2, 2019). The Atlantic, James Kirchick Dishonor Pride With a Serving of Crap. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/7/02/atlantic-james-kirchick-dishonor-pride-serving-crap
Selected anti-trans writing by Kirchick
Kirchick, James (August 12, 2024). How the Gay-Rights Movement Lost its Way. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/08/glaad-hrc-gay-rights-movement-obsolescence/679402/
Kirchick, James (March 23, 2024). All That Is Solid Melts into Theory How did a once obscure academic notion called âgender identityâ triumph over material reality? Creditâor blameâJudith Butler. Air Mail https://airmail.news/issues/2024-3-23/all-that-is-solid-melts-into-theory
Kirchick, James (Spring 2023). From Queer to Gay to Queer. Liberties https://libertiesjournal.com/articles/from-queer-to-gay-to-queer/
Kirchick, James(August 13, 2023). Pinkwashing the Thought Police: A movement devoted to equal rights for gays has been overtaken by âqueersâ championing a censorship regime. Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/pinkwashing-thought-police
Kirchick, James (November 10, 2022). Norah Vincentâs Gender Trouble. Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/norah-vincent-gender-trouble-jamie-kirchick
Kirchick, James (May 31, 2022). ‘The First Amendment Created Gay America.’ The Free Press https://www.thefp.com/p/the-first-amendment-created-gay-america
Donnelly, Giselle; Kirchick, James (November 30, 2020). The increase in LGBTQ support for Trump has a silver lining. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/30/trump-lgbtq-voters-support-silver-lining/
Kirchick, James (February 22, 2020). Et Tu, A.C.L.U.? Air Mail https://airmail.news/issues/2020-2-22/et-tu-a-c-l-u
Kirchick, James (June 28, 2019). The Struggle for Gay Rights Is Over. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/06/battle-gay-rights-over/592645/
Kirchick, James (August 29, 2017). When Transgender Trumps Treachery. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/opinion/transgender-trump-chelsea-manning.html
Kirchick, James (January 22, 2014). Pressuring Journalists Wonât Protect Transgender People. Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/pressuring-journalists-wont-protect-transgender-people/
Kirchick, James (3 May 2013). How GLAAD Won the Culture War and Lost Its Reason to Exist. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/how-glaad-won-the-culture-war-and-lost-its-reason-to-exist/275533/
Coverage in anti-trans press
Hookstead, David (April 2, 2023). Bill Maher And Gay Panelist Call Out ‘Trendy’ Push To Convince Kids They’re Transgender. Outkick https://www.outkick.com/culture/bill-maher-and-gay-panelist-call-out-trendy-push-to-convince-kids-theyre-transgender
Books
Kirchick, James (2022). Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 9781627792325.
Kirchick, James (2017). The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues, and the Coming Dark Age. Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0300218312
Media
The Free Press with Bari Weiss, Matt Taibbi, Bret Stephens, Lee Fang, James Kirchick (Oct 28, 2024). Should the U.S. Still Police the World? with Matt Taibbi, Bret Stephens, Lee Fang & James Kirchick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJPg_6kWXg
Comedy Cellar USA with Noam Dworman and James Kirchick (Jun 21, 2024). Live from the Table: Trump, Tariffs and Israel with James Kirchick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFy9rYVjfuY
Give Them An Argument w/ Ben Burgis, David Griscom, and Matthew Whalan (May 31, 2024). DEBATE: Ben Burgis vs. Jamie Kirchick on the Campus Palestine Protests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i28eqduyh8U
Give Them An Argument w/ Ben Burgis, David Griscom, and Matthew Whalan (May 20, 2024). Season 6 Episode 18: Ben’s Munk Debate w/Jamie Kirchick (ft. David Griscom & Matthew Whalan). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz0WEWI7CgA
The Dispatch with Jonah Goldberg and Jamie Kirchick (Feb 28, 2024). Hidden History of Gay Washington. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4AKNeoXaM
Eminent Americans with Daniel Oppenheimer, Blake Smith, and James Kirchick (May 30, 2023). The Fall of the White American Gay. https://substack.com/@jameskirchick/p-124624042
Rancho Mirage Writers Festival with Adam Nagourney and James Kirchicj (Mar 14, 2023). James KirchickâSecret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqR9CUnhXjs
Twenty Summers with Andrew Sullivan and James Kirchick (Nov 30, 2022). Secret City: James Kirchick and Andrew Sullivan in Conversation | Twenty Summers 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCpidae2y6Y
Walk-Ins Welcome with Bridget Phetasy and James Kirchick (Aug 25, 2022). James Kirchick On The Hidden History of Gay Washington. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bX4M9Vh0eQ
Skeptic with Michael Shermer and James Kirchick (Jul 26, 2022). Ronald Reaganâs Surprising Attitude Toward Homosexuality (James Kirchick). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SdjS7CFhMU
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover and James Kirchick (July 8, 2022). James Kirchick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7hwUteM1gU alt url https://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/james-kirchick-laipj7/
Ashton Cohen with James Kirchick (Nov 1, 2021). The Decline of Liberalism on the Left. Guest: James Kirchick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2x9uZrVybc
The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan, Jamie Kirchick, and Katie Herzog (July 2, 2021). Katie Herzog & Jamie Kirchick On Pride And The Alphabet People. https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/transcript-katie-herzog-and-jamie
TEDx Talks with James Kirchick (March 20, 2018). Free speech | James Kirchick | TEDxYale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUTdvvSkmPE
Michelangelo Signorile with James Kirchick (Oct 24, 2008). James Kirchick interview, part 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcgNCOEk37o
Resources
James Kirchick (jameskirchick.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
New York Times (nytimes.com)
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- nytimes.com/by/james-kirchick
Atlantic Council (atlanticcouncil.org)
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- atlanticcouncil.org/expert/james-kirchick
Tablet (tabletmag.com)
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- tabletmag.com/contributors/james-kirchick
Facebook (facebook.com)
Aspen Institute (aspeninstitute.org)
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- aspeninstitute.org/people/james-kirchick
The Atlantic (theatlantic.com)
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- theatlantic.com/author/james-kirchick
Substack (substack.com)
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- Jamie’s Substack
- jameskirchick.substack.com
The Free Press (thefp.com)
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Air Mail (airmail.news)
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- airmail.news/james-kirchick
UnHerd (unherd.com)
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- unherd.com/author/jameskirchick
The New Republic (newrepublic.com)
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- newrepublic.com/authors/james-kirchick
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)