Carey Callahan is an American therapist and a key historical figure in the ex-transgender movement. Callahan’s activism helped unleash a wave of anti-trans legislation targeting healthcare for transgender youth and adolescents. Callahan has written for anti-trans publications 4thWaveNow and The Economist and has appeared on anti-trans podcasts Calmversations and Blocked and Reported.
Callahan is featured in several anti-trans publications, including in the 2018 book When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation and in the 2018 Atlantic article “When a Child Says She’s Trans” by Jesse Singal.
Callahan is a founder of the Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN), a group of activists with regrets about aspects of their gender transitions. GCCAN campaigned against current trans healthcare protocols, demanding more gatekeeping from therapists.
Callahan has used a number of names and aliases, including:
- “Maria Catt”
- “mariacatt42”
- “CareyCallsBS”
- “catt_bear”
- Carey Callahan
- Carrie Maria Callahan
- Carrie English
- Carrie Callahan-English
Background
Carrie Maria Callahan was born May 1, 1982. Callahan earned a bachelor’s degree from the The Ohio State University in 2004. After college, Callahan worked as a union field organizer, then as a counselor and educator at Marilyn G. Rabb Foundation, Lyon-Martin Health Services, and The Emily Program.
In June 2012, at age 30, Callahan came out as genderqueer and began therapy. In October 2012 Callahan began a course of bimonthly intramuscular testosterone injections. In March 2013, Callahan moved to San Francisco, but had trouble finding work. Callahan soon decided that the issue was “not a trans thing, but a trauma thing” related to past trauma, including a sexual assault in college. Callahan stopped testosterone in June 2013 and socially transitioned again about a year after that in 2014.
Callahan moved back to Ohio, earned a Master’s degree from the University of Akron in 2018, then worked at OhioGuidestone as a therapist from 2018 until May 2021. Callahan is married to lawyer James P. English (born 1977), and they are raising their child (born 2021).
In 2022 Callahan stated via email: “I sought out an affirming therapist when I should have been much more responsible about investigating the symptoms I was experiencing before seeking testosterone.”
Ex-trans activism
Callahan was a key early organizer in the ex-trans movement.
Despite being 30 years old when deciding to take hormones for nine months before stopping, Callahan was extensively featured in the 2018 Atlantic article, “When a Child Says She’s Trans” by Jesse Singal and an accompanying video.
Callahan previously collaborated with Ky Schevers, another ex-trans activist who later left the movement because of “the role transphobic detrans communities play in organized transphobia.” In 2019 Callahan helped create Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (GCCAN). In 2022, Callahan stated via email in part:
My focus when organizing GCCAN was on democratic decision making within the group and I wasn’t careful like I should have been about making sure Ky’s partner understood I was passing information on to the board for transparency’s sake, not trying to steer the group into supporting harmful legislation. I thought when we got the chance to vote against working with a ROGD parents group our decision making process was working. While I believe my intent and work was misunderstood, I can see how I was creating that risk.
In March 2019 Callahan spoke on a panel organized by anti-trans extremist organization Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF). The panel also included moderator Traci Nally and gender critical panelists Corinna Cohn and Nina Paley. Callahan discussed a 2017 USPATH presentation and a similar canceled presentation on “detransition” at Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference. Callahan criticized informed consent and pediatric transition, promoted ex-trans media like Pique Resilience Project, and directed attendees to a since-deleted article titled “Advice for gender dysphoric teens” that contained links to other recommended ex-trans resources.
When it became clear that Callahan’s efforts were having their desired effect, Callahan started to have some misgivings about being the face of the American ex-trans movement. Callahan stated via email, “It’s very sad to me that I wasn’t able to do more to steer detrans people away from being used as pawns.” Callahan’s goal is now reportedly “greater emphasis on and programming for those of us who explore but do not arrive at a trans identity.”
In 2023 Callahan testified in opposition to Ohio House Bill 68, a proposed law banning gender affirming healthcare for minors (the “Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act”) and banning transgender athletes competing in sex-segregated sports in Ohio high schools, colleges, and universities (the “Save Women’s Sports Act”). Callahan’s testimony concluded:
“I am begging you to stop attacking trans healthcare and trans people. I am begging you to stop referencing detransitioners such as myself as a justification for attacking trans healthcare and trans people. You aren’t protecting children from becoming a detransitioner like me. You are exiling good people from our state, traumatizing kids and families, and working hard to make Ohio a less safe place to raise kids. You are doing real harm to me personally, to my neighbors who live a cul de sac up, to the lovely trans kids I know, to the lovely discerning kids I know, to the doctors and therapists who have put in the years of education and experience to improve people’s quality of life. Please drop this misguided experiment and use your elected positions to help Ohioans live good lives. Thank you.”
By then the damage was already done, and Callahan’s earlier ex-trans activism reached its inevitable outcome. Ohio House Bill 68 passed in 2024, banning trans healthcare for minors and curtailing other civil rights for trans children and adults.
References
Urquhart, Evan (December 27, 2023). Washington Post Reports on Detransitioner Opposition to Care Bans. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/washington-post-carey-callahan
Urquhart, Evan (December 13, 2023). Detransitioners Oppose Ohio’s Gender Affirming Care Ban. Assigned Media https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/detransitioners-among-opponents-of-ohio-plan-to-ban-gender-affirming-care
Urquhart, Evan (January 21, 2023). The Trans “Detransition” Wars. Slate https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/01/trans-detransition-facts-research-study-atlantic.html
Slothouber, V. (2020). (De)trans visibility: moral panic in mainstream media reports on de/retransition. European Journal of English Studies, 24(1), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825577.2020.1730052
Ford, Zack (February 7, 2018). ‘I was enraged to see my story distorted and used’: Detransitioners object to anti-transgender book. ThinkProgress https://archive.thinkprogress.org/detransitioner-ryan-anderson-transgender-25fad9803c2e/
Bigley, James II (October 19, 2012). Feast for Your Eyes. Cleveland Magazine https://clevelandmagazine.com/articles/feast-for-your-eyes/
Anti-trans coverage
Parks, Casey (December 27, 2023). Her story fueled anti-trans bills. Now, she’s fighting them. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/27/ohio-transgender-carey-callahan-detransitioner/
Astor, Maggie (May 16, 2023). How a Few Stories of Regret Fuel the Push to Restrict Gender Transition Care. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/us/politics/transgender-care-detransitioners.html
Dreher, Rod (October 24, 2019). When They Come For Your Kid. The American Conservative https://www.theamericanconservative.com/transgender-when-they-come-for-your-kid/
Murphy, Meghan (June 19, 2018). Why must trans activists smear those who put forth inconvenient narratives about ‘gender identity’? Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2018/06/19/must-trans-activists-smear-put-forth-inconvenient-narratives-gender-identity/
Singal, Jesse (June 18, 2018). When a Child Says She’s Trans. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/
Selected writing by Callahan
Callahan, Carey (December 15, 2023). By vetoing HB 68, Gov. DeWine will keep our state’s exemplary gender-affirming health care as a national model: Carey Callahan. Cleveland Plain Dealer / Cleveland.com https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2023/12/by-vetoing-hb-68-gov-dewine-will-keep-our-states-exemplary-gender-affirming-health-care-as-a-national-model-carey-callahan.html
Callahan, Carey (December 14, 2023). An URGENT plea for my nuanced friends. Medium https://mariacatt42.medium.com/an-urgent-plea-for-my-nuanced-friends-72cb516fa8e8
Callahan, Carey (May 24, 2023). Witness Testimony of Carey Callahan (Opponent). House Bill 68 Committee Activity (PDF) https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/cm_pub_api/api/unwrap/general_assembly_135/chamber/135th_ga/ready_for_publication/committee_docs/cmte_h_pub_health_policy_1/testimony/cmte_h_pub_health_policy_1_2023-05-24-0930_557/hb68_callahan_opponent.pdf
Callahan, Carey (December 3, 2019). Gender identity is hard but jumping to medical solutions is worse. The Economist https://www.economist.com/open-future/2019/12/03/gender-identity-is-hard-but-jumping-to-medical-solutions-is-worse
Callahan, Carey (October 21, 2019). What you can do for your kid: Series intro. 4thWaveNow https://4thwavenow.com/2019/10/21/what-you-can-do-for-your-kid-series-intro/
Callahan, Carey (December 18, 2018). Advice for gender dysphoric teens. [deleted – archive] https://mariacatt42.medium.com/advice-for-gender-dysphoric-teens-9a3e34a2e5ba Resources recommended:
- Crash (crashchaoscats.wordpress.com) [deleted – archive] aka ex-trans whistleblower Ky Schevers
- 23 (twentythreetimes.tumblr.com) [deleted – archive]
- Detransition Sister (detransitionsister.com) [deleted – archive]
- Butch Coming Home (butchcominghome.wordpress.com) [deleted – archive]
- Retransition / Joel Nowak (retransition.org) [abandoned – excluded from archives] [archive]
- Detransition Info (detransinfo.tumblr.com) [inactive – archive]
- Cari (guideonragingstars.tumblr.com) [inactive – archive]
- Permutational (permutational.tumblr.com) [inactive – archive]
- New Thought Crime (newthoughtcrime.com) [inactive – archive]
- Redress (redressalert.tumblr.com) [private – archive]
- Max (b0rnwr0ng.wordpress.com) [private, directs to gumroad.com/wearethecatfish]
- Tejuina (tejuina.tumblr.com) [private – archive]
Media
NPR Here & Now Anytime with Scott Tong (January 3, 2024). Why one Ohio therapist changed her mind about gender-affirming care for kids. https://www.npr.org/2024/01/03/1196978922/here-now-anytime-draft-01-03-2024
People Who Read People with Zachary Elwood and Carey Callahan (December 23, 2021). Could gender identity theory itself be creating more gender dysphoria?, with Carey Callahan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqabc-1VVPM
Blocked and Reported with Jesse SingalJesse Singal vs. transgender people, Katie Herzog, and Carey Callahan (). Episode 50: Could Detransitioners Be Any More Bigoted? https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-50-could-detransitioners-a6e
WoLF with Carey Callahan, Traci Nally, Corinna Cohn, and Nina Paley (March 26, 2019). Does sex matter? Gender Identity vs Material Reality. WLRN Live Stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RguD61siLB8
Nicolas Pollock, Brian Jimenez, Ashley Bloom Kenny, Kasia Ciepak-Mayr von Baldegg (2018). Detransitioned: The Lives of Carey Callahan. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/562988/detransitioned-film/ alt url https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6V0p3_bd6w
- [alt title] Reversing a Gender Transition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6V0p3_bd6w
- [alt title] ‘I Wanted to Take My Body Off’: Detransitioned
Calmversations with Benjamin Boyce and Carey Callahan (December 2, 2018). On Transition, Activism, & Therapy, with Carey Callahan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XJAyUiY_tM
Bawdy Storytelling with Carey Callahan (June 6, 2013). Carey Callahan: Wanderlust. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tS6sYGmkzQ
Resources
Gender Care Consumer Advocacy Network (gccan.org) [archive]
- Who We Are [archive]
- gccan.org/who-we-are
Carey Callahan (careycallahan.com) [archive]
Maria Catt (mariacatt.com) [archive]
X/Twitter (x.com)
- CareyCallsBS [deleted]
- catt_bear [deleted]
Medium (medium.com)
- mariacatt42 [articles prior to 2022 have been deleted]
SlideShare (slideshare.net)
reddit (reddit.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
4thWaveNow (4thwavenow.com)
- Carey Callahan
- 4thwavenow.com/tag/carey-callahan/
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