Meghan Daum is an American anti-transgender activist who got involved through the intellectual dark web.
Background
Daum was born February 13, 1970 in California. Daum earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree from Columbia University.
The Unspeakeasy
Daum founded The Unspeakeasy in 2022 and is host of The Unspeakable podcast. Guests have included:
- “Austin” a member of the “ex-trans” movement
- “Jolene” and “Marie,” anti-trans parents
- Laura Edwards-Leeper
- Christine Emba
- Libby Emmons
- Diana Fleischman
- David Fuller
- Sarah Haider
- Jonathan Haidt
- Sam Harris
- Andrew Hartz
- Rob Henderson
- Katie Herzog
- Heather Heying
- Carole Hooven
- Emily Jashinsky
- Ana Kasparian
- Jonathan Kay
- Olga Khazan
- Aaron Kimberly
- Lisa Marchiano
- Maud Maron
- John McWhorter
- Jeren Montgomery
- Yascha Mounk
- Meghan Murphy
- Sally Satel
- Michael Shermer
- Abigail Shrier
- Lionel Shriver
- Jesse Singal
- Erec Smith
- Debra Soh
- Leigh Stein
- Bret Stephens
- Kathleen Stock
- Ethan Strauss
- Nadine Strossen
- Andrew Sullivan
- Josh Szeps
- Kat Timpf
- Jean Twenge
- Katya Ungerman [as “Katherine Dee”]
- Chloé Valdary
Daum co-hosts the podcast A Special Place In Hell with Sarah Haider.
Daum published the essay collections My Misspent Youth and The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion. Daum’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Vogue, GQ, and Harper’s.
Daum authored the book The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars.
Comments on Leelah Alcorn’s suicide
In 2018, Daum expressed what many felt was more sympathy for Leelah Alcorn’s unsupportive parents than for the dead teen.
“There’s no question that Leelah’s death and the circumstances leading to it are worthy of—and, in fact, demand— public rage. But along with that rage should come compassion, not just for the Alcorns but for anyone who’s ever been slow to reach acceptance, or whose circumscribed worldview has clouded their understanding of somebody else’s experience.”
References
Witt, Emily (November 1, 2019). Meghan Daum to Millennials: Get Off My Lawn. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/meghan-daum-to-millennials-get-off-my-lawn
Schares, Evan Mitchell (2019-02-01). The Suicide of Leelah Alcorn: Whiteness in the Cultural Wake of Dying Queers. QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking. 6 (1): 1–25. doi:10.14321/qed.6.1.0001.
Selected writing by Daum
Daum, Meghan (August 24, 2018). Nuance: A Love Story. GEN https://gen.medium.com/nuance-a-love-story-ae6a14991059
Daum, Meghan (2015-01-15). Op-Ed: Why blaming Leelah Alcorn’s parents only compounds the bigotry. Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-daum-alcorn-transparent-suicide-20150115-story.html
Daum, Meghan (January 5, 2023). Why Do I Talk So Much About Trans Stuff? Because I Have Nothing To Lose.
The Unspeakable with Meghan Daum https://meghandaum.substack.com/p/why-do-i-talk-so-much-about-trans
Resources
Meghan Daum (meghandaum.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
- Meghan Daum
- facebook.com/profile.php?id=100058067949052
Substack (substack.com)
- meghandaum
- The Unspeakeasy with Meghan Daum
- meghandaum.substack.com
- The Unspeakeasy Podcast
- theunspeakablepodcast.com
- A Special Place in Hell
- aspecialplace.substack.com
YouTube (youtube.com)
The Unspeakeasy (theunspeakeasy.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)