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‘The Critic’ vs. transgender people

The Critic is a British anti-transgender group blog and a top global English-language platform for anti-transgender extremism.

Background

The Critic was founded in November 2019 financier Jeremy Hosking, previous financial to Standpoint. Standpoint’s editorial board rejected Hosking’s demand to focus on “anti-woke” and “culture war” content. Hosking named as editors Christopher Montgomery and former Standpoint editor Michael Mosbacher.

Contributors

Contributors and guests spreading anti-trans content include:

  • John Armstrong
  • Sam Ashworth-Hayes
  • “Mia Ashton” / “Mia Sedley” / Mia Hughes
  • Alessandra Asteriti
  • Freddie Attenborough
  • Theodore Dalrymple
  • Stephanie Davies-Arai
  • Katherine Deves
  • Tim Dieppe
  • Laura Dodsworth
  • Tony Dowson
  • Rod Dreher
  • Roger Kiska
  • Jill Nesbitt
  • Melanie Newman
  • Matthew Roberts
  • Denis Russell
  • Lola Salem
  • Helen Saxby
  • David Scullion
  • Octavia Sheepshanks
  • Christopher Silvester
  • Ann Sinnott
  • Ben Sixsmith
  • Karen Ingala Smith
  • Madison Smith
  • Victoria Smith
  • Alan Sokal
  • David Spencer
  • Antonia Stephens
  • Graham Stewart
  • Alice Sullivan
  • Sarah Summers
  • Kim Thomas
  • Cath Walton
  • Emily Wheater
  • Ella Whelan
  • Ursula Wide
  • Stephen Wigmore
  • Andrea Williams
  • Nathan Williams
  • Oliver Wiseman
  • Yasmin Zenith
  • Anna Zobnina

Podcast

The Critic Podcast started in 2020. It has revolving hosts, including:

  • Jo Bartosch
  • Julie Bindel
  • Olivia Hartley
  • David Scullion
  • Ben Sixsmith
  • Graham Stewart
  • Oliver Wiseman

It has featured a number of anti-trans guests, including:

  • “Emma B” [Children of Transitioners]
  • Sam Ashworth-Hayes
  • Harry Miller
  • Lord Moonie
  • Vivek Ramaswamy
  • Matthew Roberts

References

White, Josh (May 29, 2023). A Magazine for Closed Minds: The Critic Needs A New Name. The Battleground https://thebattleground.eu/2023/05/29/a-magazine-for-closed-minds/

Smith, Robbie (January 25, 2022). Londoner’s Diary: Laurie Penny drops a bomb on The Critic magazine in pronoun row. The Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/laurie-penny-the-critic-magazine-pronoun-row-b978628.html

Burrell, Ian (January 30, 2020). Does Britain need another contrarian conservative magazine? The Critic makes its case. The Drum https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/does-britain-need-another-contrarian-conservative-magazine-the-critic-makes-its

Alleaume, Claire (November 25, 2019). A critique of The Critic, the UK’s new political and cultural magazine. Medium https://medium.com/@claire.alleaume/a-critique-of-the-critic-a-new-uk-political-and-cultural-magazine-17f7c88e950e

Coverage in anti-trans press

White, Roland (11 July 2020). The Critic stands by disgraced David Starkey. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/comment/article/the-critic-stands-by-disgraced-david-starkey-p97b6c5b5

Hughes, Solomon (December 3, 2020). Standpoint, the Critic and UnHerd: who’s their daddies? Morning Star https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/standpoint-the-critic-and-unherd-whos-their-daddies

Hope, Christopher (September 14, 2019). Three intellectual magazines to launch as right and centre-left engage in battle of ideas. The Telegraph https://archive.today/20200208181603/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/09/14/three-intellectual-magazines-launch-right-centre-left-engage/

Wilby, Peter (November 13, 2019). The FT’s first female editor, the launch of the Critic, and the tuneless Welsh. New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/11/first-thoughts-ft-s-first-female-editor-launch-critic-and-tuneless-welsh

“J.C.” (November 8, 2019). Critical moment: The Critic, Graphic Proust, Rock and roll A level. Times Literary Supplement https://www.the-tls.com/regular-features/nb/critical-moment

Selected anti-trans writing

Ramsey, Eliza (September 1, 2025). The fantasy of “trans” manhood. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/the-fantasy-of-trans-manhood/

Joyce, Helen (March 28, 2025). The men making the news. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/the-men-making-the-news/

Joyce, Helen (February 7, 2025). Being cruel to women. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/february-2025/being-cruel-to-women/

Joyce, Helen (August 15, 2025). Children of the revolution. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/children-of-the-revolution/

Smith, Victoria (March 27, 2024). He’s not the messiah, he’s a transwoman. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/april-2024/hes-not-the-messiah-hes-a-transwoman/

Murray, Kath; Hunter Blackburn, Lucy; Mackenzie, Lisa (January 11, 2024). The revised Scottish Prison Service transgender prisoner policy is not fit for purpose. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/the-revised-scottish-prison-service-transgender-prisoner-policy-is-not-fit-for-purpose/

McGovern, Anna (January 10, 2023). A pantomime of womanhood. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/a-pantomime-of-womanhood/

Lampert, Nicole (May 19, 2023). The transing of Marlow Moss. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/the-transing-of-marlow-moss/

Bindel, Julie (April 13, 2022). Beware of trans affirmation therapy. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/beware-of-trans-affirmation-therapy/

Green, Dominic (November, 2020). “Trans”. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2020/trans/

Bindel, Julie (January, 2020). Triumph of the trans lobbyists. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/january-2020/triumph-of-the-trans-lobbyists/

Resources

The Critic (thecritic.co.uk)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Media Bias / Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)