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Rod Dreher vs. transgender people

Rod Dreher is a conservative American author who frequently publishes anti-transgender articles. The Guardian writer Jason Wilson stated that Dreher “appears to view fomenting transgender panic more as a vocation than a job.”

Background

Raymond Oliver Dreher, Jr. was born February 14, 1967 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dreher’s eponymous parent was a leader in the Ku Klux Klan and was involved in local politics through those connections.

The younger Dreher earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 1989. Dreher was a media critic for The Washington Times and New York Post before becoming an editor for the National Review. Dreher has also written for, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Weekly Standard, and the Wall Street Journal. Dreher has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Court TV.

Dreher married Julie Harris Dreher in 1997. They began divorce procedings in 2022, and Dreher moved to Budapest, Hungary.

The American Conservative

Dreher was a contributor to the American Conservative from 2008 to 2023. Dreher’s salary was covered by Howard Ahmanson, Jr., and Dreher’s work had no editorial oversight.

According to Vanity Fair, the arrangement began to unravel in 2021, when Dreher published a vivid description of a black elementary school classmate’s uncircumcised penis: “All us boys wanted to stare at his primitive root wiener when we were at the urinal during recess, because it was monstrous.” Two years later, Ahmanson had enough:

Some of Dreher’s commentary on the gay and transgender communities also proved off-putting to Ahmanson, such as his lurid musings on anal sex, rectal bleeding, and the “partially rotted off” nose of a gay man who contracted monkeypox. “At some point, he basically decided, ‘This is too weird,’” the source, paraphrasing Ahmanson, explained to me. “‘I don’t want to read this or pay for this anymore.’”

Dreher advocates for the “Benedict Option,” where conservative Christians segregate from sex and gender minorities via intentional communities.

References

Ecarma, Caleb (March 10, 2023). How Rod Dreher’s blog got a little “too weird” for The American Conservative. Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/rod-dreher-blog-weird-american-conservative

Wilson, Jason (July 28, 2017). ‘Biology is not bigotry’: conservative writers react to ban on trans troops. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/28/conservative-writers-trump-transgender-troops-ban-military-writing

Rothman, Joshua (April 24, 2017). Rod Dreher’s Monastic Vision. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/01/rod-drehers-monastic-vision

Green, Emma (February 22, 2017). The Christian Retreat From Public Life. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/benedict-option/517290/

Selected writing by Dreher

Dreher, Rod (January 6, 2023). How GOP Helped Big Trans Conquer South Dakota. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-gop-helped-big-trans-conquer-south-dakota/

Dreher, Rod (November 5, 2022). The Coming Storm Over Trans ‘Tuskegee Experiment.’ The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-coming-storm-over-trans-tuskegee-experiment/

Dreher, Rod (October 28, 2022). The Cost Of Waging World War Trans. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-cost-of-waging-world-war-trans/

Dreher, Rod (October 18, 2022). Trans Propaganda, Blue And Red. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trans-propaganda-blue-and-red/

Dreher, Rod (October 4, 2022). Trans Tyranny: The Dangerous New Phase. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trans-tyranny-the-dangerous-new-phase/

Dreher, Rod (August 16, 2022). Trans Totalitarianism: Time For Moral Panic. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trans-totalitarianism-time-for-moral-panic/

Dreher, Rod (April 13, 2022). Building Trans America. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/building-trans-america-children-transgender/

Dreher, Rod (March 11, 2022). This Diabolical Moment. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/this-diabolical-moment-cbdc-transgender/

Dreher, Rod (October 4, 2021). Gary Shteyngart’s ‘gentile region.’ https://www.theamericanconservative.com/gary-shteyngart-circumcision-gentile-region/

Dreher, Rod (January 27, 2021). The Tyranny Of Tech & Trans. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/tyranny-of-tech-and-trans/

Dreher, Rod (December 18, 2019). The Trojan Horse Of Gender Ideology. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trojan-horse-gender-ideology/

Dreher, Rod (March 1, 2019). Trans Through A Teacher’s Eyes. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/trans-through-a-teachers-eyes/

Dreher, Rod (July 11, 2018). Truscum, Tucutes, and Kelpselves. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/transgender-truscum-tucutes-kelpselves/

Dreher, Rod (March 19, 2018). Peak Trans, Part II. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/peak-trans-part-ii/

Dreher, Rod (March 7, 2018). ‘Peak Trans’ Turned Her Rightward. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/peak-trans-turned-her-rightward/

Dreher, Rod (November 8, 2017). Leaving The Trans Cult. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/leaving-the-transgender-cult/

Dreher, Rod (August 26, 2016). How To Fight The Trans Cult. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-to-fight-the-trans-cult/

Dreher, Rod (August 10, 2016). The Cult Of Transgender. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-cult-of-transgender/

Dreher, Rod (May 11, 2016). Texas Schools Go Trans. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/texas-schools-go-trans/

Dreher, Rod (March 18, 2016). Transgenderism Hurts Children. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/transgenderism-hurts-children/

Books

Dreher, Rod (2020). Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents

Dreher, Rod (2017). The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation

Dreher, Rod (2015). How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History’s Greatest Poem

Dreher, Rod (2013). The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life

Dreher, Rod (2006). Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (Or at Least the Republican Party)

Media

The Free Press with Bari Weiss and Rod Dreher (Jun 5, 2025). The Radical Right Is Coming for Your Sons | Bari Weiss & Rod Dreher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxQ3QqAQ3Uw

Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry and Rod Dreher (Apr 23, 2025). The Dark Re-Enchantment – Rod Dreher | Maiden Mother Matriarch Episode 134. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNIzo0vDoRs

Releatable with Allie Beth Stuckey and Rod Dreger (October 28, 2024). Demonic Possession & the Occult: Gen Z’s Battle with Darkness | Guest: Rod Dreher | Ep 1090. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXdH3IS4ReQ

Intercolegiate Studies Institute (May 17, 2024). We Are Creeping Toward Totalitarianism | Rod Dreher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXdj1_X49vc

Chapo Trap House (August 30, 2023). The Complete Rod Dreher Saga | Chapo Trap House. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjQOTDlw4Qg

The Rubin Report with Dave Rubin and Rod Dreher (June 18, 2023). The Exact Formula That Helped Hungary Beat ‘Wokeness’ | Rod Dreher | INTERNATIONAL | Rubin Report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akqXITpRyFE

Jordan B Peterson with Rod Dreher (July 7, 2022). Live Not By Lies | Rod Dreher | EP 268. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1JuWVeJS-E

Peter Boghossian with Rod Dreher (March 9, 2022). Fireside Chat: Cancellation of the Russian Culture | Peter Boghossian & Rod Dreher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HifaXIWdYWA

nicobasjh (June 13, 2018). Chapo Trap House Episode 18 – The Upset Guv’ner: De Crecio’s Brexit Bungle – Rod Dreher’s Trans Obsession. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BFDjBrS4Zo

Resources

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

The American Conservative (theamericanconservative.com)

  • Rod Dreher
  • theamericanconservative.com/author/rod-dreher

Substack (substack.com)

LinkediIn (linkedin.com)

The Free Press (thefp.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Hungarian Conservative (hungarianconservative.com)

  • Rod Dreher
  • hungarianconservative.com/articles/author/rod-dreher

Hudson Institute (hudson.org)

IMDb (imdb.com)

Focus on the Family (focusonthefamily.com)

  • Rod Dreher
  • focusonthefamily.com/contributors/rod-dreher/