Carl Skutsch vs. transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed June 13, 2026 2 min read

Carl Skutsch is an American educator who is critical of aspects of transgender rights activism, which Skutsch characterizes as a “culture war” issue.

Background

Carl W. Skutsch was born on July 6, 1963. Skutsch earned a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College and a master’s degree from CUNY Graduate Center in 1990.

Skutsch married Kristin Marting (born 1966).

Anti-trans writing

Skutsch is very interested in online “drama.” Skutsch is a Jesse Singal orbiter / reply guy on social media under the handle historyboomer. Skutsch also orbits members of the intellectual dark web (IDW) like Meghan Daum and has written for anti-trans IDW publication Quillette.

Skutsch started a Substack after becoming dissatisfied with the publication Vox: “somewhere around 2015-2016, I felt a vibe shift and not-too-biased became a heavy editorial thumb slanting articles in a direction that some folks were calling ‘woke.’” Skutsch added, “I accumulated some followers on Twitter by talking culture war nonsense and I plan to continue but I really really really don’t want to be talking about that all the time.”

Skutsch frequently expresses sympathy for anti-trans extremists like J.K. Rowling and Kathleen Stock. In a post on Substack, Skutsch wrote:

So why would anyone have a problem with Pride flags? Two answers stand out.

First, some LGBTQ people do things in the name of Pride that alienates those who might otherwise be sympathetic. When activists target JK Rowling with hateful slurs and threats or ask that Kathleen Stock’s invitation to speak at Oxford be rescinded, that upsets people. Their anger at activists spills over into hostility towards the rainbow flag.

There is also some hostility from within the gay community towards what they see as an extreme trans agenda. The LGB Alliance in Britain uses slogans like “stop transing the gay away.” Some gay folks even use the ugly slur “groomer” against trans activists.3

The same goes for trans activists attacking JK Rowling and others. Some of their words are wrong and hateful, but they don’t represent all LGBTQ people. They don’t even represent all trans people! Oppose their bad behavior but don’t shun Pride.

Skutsch joined Bluesky to criticize/troll transgender writers, including Alejandra Caraballo, Erin Reed, and Evan Urquhart, as well as to promote Bluesky griefers and trolls like Benjamin Ryan and Jesse Singal.

References

Staff report (January 31, 1993). ENGAGEMENTS; Kristin Marting, Carl Skutsch. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/31/style/engagements-kristin-marting-carl-skutsch.html