Andrew Conru is a conservative American entrepreneur and “autogynephilia” activist. Conru is heavily involved in funding right-wing extremism around race science and sex science:
- Conru has funded “autogynephilia” publications by Kevin Hsu, James Morandini, “Phil Illy,” and “S. Rudd.”
- Conru donated $1 million to the far-right eugenics nonprofit Human Diversity Foundation.
- Conru is a donor to anti-trans group FIRE.
- Conru gave $150,000 to Turning Point USA between 2019 and 2021. It’s run by Charlie Kirk, who has said the LGBT pride flag is âan insult to all of us.â
- In 2020, Conru sent $5,000 to the Unz Review. Ron Unz was involved in the Human Biodiversity Institute and is best known for writing that âthe standard Holocaust narrative is at least substantially false, and quite possibly, almost entirely so.â
- Far right commentator Simon Webb acknowledged a âgenerous grantâ from the Conru Foundation in the 2021 book The Equalitarian Dogma: Why Ideology and not Science Dominates Debate on Ethnicity and Race in the Modern World.
- Conru is a backer of Richard Hanania’s Center for the Study of Partisanship & Ideology (CSPI).
- Conru also reportedly funds white nationalist Jared Taylor, founder of American Renaissance,
Conru is also opposed to gender-affirming care for minors.
Background
Andrew Bryan Conru was born on February 3, 1968 to Reva Joyce and Worth Conru and grew up in Michigan City, Indiana with two siblings. Conru earned a bachelor’s degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1990. Conru earned a doctorate from Stanford in 1997.
Conru founded W3.com, which created tracking software, including PWS, PWS-Lite, Adknowledge, and AdOptimizer. In 1994, Conru founded WebPersonals.com and sold it the following year. In 1996, Conru launched social network FriendFinder.com, then created several niche sites, including Adult FriendFinder, Amigos.com, BigChurch.com, and Alt.com. In 2007, Conru sold the network to Penthouse Media Group, then regained control in 2013 following bankruptcy. In 2010, Conru founded the non-profit incubator Compute.org.
Conru is married to librarian Nonie Xue Conru, who serves as vice president of Conru Art Foundation “Her 11 years previously serving the Seattle community in various roles at the Seattle Public Library have provided a strong community connection. She is a great organizer and a crucial support for the team, helping to keep everyone aligned with our core mission.”
“Autogynephilia” activism
In 2021, anti-trans psychologist Kevin Hsu announced a “sissy” survey. The projectâs consent for research states at item 9: âFunds from the Conru Foundation will be used to support this research.â
Conru’s limited social media presence includes primarily interacting with people associated with the intellectual dark web and with signers of the Harper’s letter, including Dave Rubin, Eric Weinstein, James Lindsay, Tim Pool, and Katie Herzog (quoting Benjamin Boyce).
Conru is thanked in the 2023 book Autoheterosexual: Attracted to Being the Other Sex by “autogynephilia” activist “Phil Illy.” Conru also wrote the foreword:
As the founder of the adult dating website, AdultFriendFinder.com, Iâve seen a sizable percentage of men join as their feminine sides to socialize and explore their sexuality. Although some of them are full-time transwomen, most, like me, are not.
When I finally encountered the concept of autogynephilia, I was relieved that this phenomenon had a name. But I was also struck by how little formal academic research had been done on the matter: there were a few papers and studies, but there was practically nothing out there.
To combat this dearth of material, I started contacting academic researchers who were interested in the topic. Through this, I met Kevin Hsu, assistant professor of clinical psychology at Penn State University. I decided to join his research and fund an autogynephilia study that, when completed, will be the largest of its kind to date.
Through that sexology work, I was introduced to Phil Illy, who was researching autogynephilia and autoandrophilia for this book. Sharp and methodical, I recognized that he was the ideal person to explain both of these orientations to a wider audience. It is my pleasure to work with Phil in this endeavor.
I want autogynephilic men to know they arenât crazy or perverse, or destined to live a lonely, isolated life. I want them to know that itâs completely acceptable to be agp, and that itâs even possible to continue their relationships with their wives or girlfriends without denying who they are. By fostering mutual understanding, this book can help autogynephilic men and their partners adapt to their unique circumstances or even thrive in them.
Through regular contemplation of a womanâs perspective, autogynephilic men can develop greater empathy for women. With this enhanced empathy, they can be more thoughtful partners and build stronger relationships with the women they love. Seen in this light, autogynephilia isnât something to be ashamed of. Instead, it can be a personal superpower.
Lastly, I want autogynephilic men to understand that while hormones and surgeries are options, they arenât the only ones. With a vivid imagination and open mind, they can embrace their inner duality in ways that bring greater meaning to their lives and authenticity in their relationships, yet donât rely upon permanent medical interventions.
This book clearly explains what autogynephilia and autoandrophilia are, but it doesnât prescribe a specific course of action. Autoheterosexuals must make these decisions for themselves.
I hope the knowledge in this book steers you toward decisions that bring you greater joy and meaning on your gender path, wherever it leads.
Vabrita Love allegations
In 2023, a banned member of Adult Friend Finder made allegations that Conru posts online as an “autogynephilia” activist named Vabrita Love. Vabrita’s profile on X identifies the user as a “married male autogynephilic (AGP) crossdresser.” Vabrita’s first post said: “Setting up a place for crossdressers and Autogynephiles, like me, who enjoy the experience of imagining themselves as women. Don’t feel ashamed about how you feel or your desires. You’re not alone! Embrace your true identities and discover the joy of your superpower.” Vabrita followed up with “Hello, I’m Vabrita, my femme side. Just setup this account to share thoughts with others and make it easier to network. I’m an autogynephilic transperson – a guy who enjoys the experience of being a ‘woman’.” Vabrita expressed concern about “sissy” hypno porn, writing, “No one seems to be talking about the growing sophistication and use of sissy hypno and how it changes people over time. Why not? Any idea how prevalent it is?”
Vabrita reportedly attended The Puzzle of Sexual Orientation, an anti-trans meeting that happens every five years. Other attendees include many of the “autogynephilia” activists whom Conru has funded. On August 23, 2023, Vabrita Love posted:
What a pleasure to meet some of the who’s who in (controversial) AGP research at the #Puzzles2023 conference last week. Phil Illy @autogynephilic, James Morandini, Ray Blanchard @BlanchardPhD, Kevin Hsu @kevinjhsu, and Michael Bailey @profjmb + host Paul L. Vasey @Vaseylab
An article about the event includes a group photo that includes Conru.
An account on Adult Friend Finder / Swinger World named vabrita posted a photo of Joe Rogan and wrote:
Ideas for an upcoming podcast request â Iâve been ask by a well known podcaster to be on his show to talk about Autogynephilia (AGP), AFF, and related experiences. Happy to get your ideas on what I could talk about? …
On August 20, 2023, Vabrita responded to Elon Musk’s complaint that “there are no great ‘social networks’ right now,” saying “What about Adult Friend Finder? https://adultfriendfinder.com”
In 2024, a reviewer on SiteJabber said: Originally started by a crossdresser, Andrew. You can imagine the deception was baked in. He sold way back and it has gotten somewhat worse. It’s more broken and JANKY after they invited Andrew back to improve the site.
References
Morandini JS, Hsu KJ, “Rudd S” (2025). Autogynephilia in Some Bisexual Cisgender Men. Arch Sex Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03166-7
Pegg, David; Burgis, Tom; Devlin, Hannah; Wilson, Jason (October 16, 2024). Revealed: International ‘race science’ network secretly funded by US tech boss. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/16/revealed-international-race-science-network-secretly-funded-by-us-tech-boss
Vansynghel, Margo (October 22, 2024). Seattle arts funder, after Guardian report, disavows âhateful ideologyâ. Seattle Times https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/seattle-arts-funder-after-guardian-report-disavows-hateful-ideology/
Shukman, Harry; Hermansson, Patrik (October 16, 2024). Who is Andrew Conru? The tech tycoon who funded the Human Diversity Foundation. HOPE not hate https://investigations.hopenothate.org.uk/andrew-conru/
Dio Unleashed (July 10, 2024). Have I Got a Deal For You ⊠https://afftaboo.com/2024/07/10/have-i-got-a-deal-for-you/
Staff (September 1, 2023). Puzzle of Sexual Orientation conference brings world-class researchers to the University of Lethbridge. Lethbridge UNews https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/puzzle-sexual-orientation-conference-brings-world-class-researchers-university-lethbridge
Dio Unleashed (March 10, 2023). Calling All Sleuths ⊠https://afftaboo.com/2023/03/10/calling-all-sleuths/
Dio Unleashed (June 25, 2023). What AI Can Do For You ⊠https://afftaboo.com/2023/06/25/what-ai-can-do-for-you/
Boguslaw, Daniel (June 8, 2023). Funded by Dark Money, Chris Rufoâs Nonprofit Stokes the Far Rightâs Culture War. The Intercept_ https://theintercept.com/2023/06/08/christopher-rufo-nonprofit-dark-money/
Dio Unleashed (April 24, 2023). Confirmed!!! https://afftaboo.com/2023/04/24/confirmed/
Kushner, David (August 23, 2010). The Engineer of Love : Andrew Conru built the Web’s first online personals site into one of the biggest–and raciest. IEEE Spectrum https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-engineer-of-love
Resources
Andrew Conru (conru.com)
Conru Foundation (conru.org)
W3.com (w3.com) [archive]
AdultFriendFinder (adultfriendfinder.com)
Alt.com (alt.com)
FriendFinder (friendfinder.com) [closed]
Amigos (amigos.com) [closed]
BigChurch (bigchurch.com) [closed]
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
YouTube (youtube.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)