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Devita Singh vs. transgender people

Devita Singh is a Canadian evolutionary psychologist and anti-transgender activist. While in graduate school, Singh co-authored a series of papers with Susan Bradley, Kenneth Zucker, Ray Blanchard, and others affiliated with the CAMH Gender Identity Clinic (GIC). The GIC was shut down and Zucker was fired in 2015.

Do not go to Singh for gender-related therapy. If you are a trans or gender diverse minor, find a supportive local alternative.

Background

Devita Singh was born to Barbara Singh (1943–2022) and anti-trans evolutionary psychologist Devendra Singh (1938–2010). Devita Singh has two siblings.

Devita Singh attended University of Toronto, earning a master’s degree in 2008 and a doctorate in 2012. Singh’s dissertation thanks supervisor Kenneth Zucker as well as Susan Bradley, Ray Blanchard, James Cantor, Michele Peterson-Badali, Katreena Scott, Lana Stermac, and external examiner J. Michael Bailey.

Singh is registered as a psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario and a member of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Ontario Psychological Association. Singh has held Adjunct positions at Western University. Singh’s website states “I regularly provide consultation to professionals across multiple fields of clinical practice on topics related to gender identity development, an area in which I have extensive academic, research, and clinical experience. I have also participated in documentaries aimed at understanding the experiences of children with gender dysphoria.”

Singh has provided psychological services at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), school boards, the Child & Parent Resource Institute, Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre and McKenzie Psychology. In 2023, Lambeth opened a private practice at Lambeth Psychology in London, Ontario.

Anti-trans activism

Singh is frequently cited by anti-trans activists for reporting one of the highest rates of “desistance” among gender diverse young people ever reported. Singh’s dissertation claimed, “of the 139 participants, 17 (12.2%) were classified as persisters and the remaining 122 (87.8%) were classified as desisters.”

In a 2016 defense of Kenneth Zucker by Jesse Singal, Singh suggested that psychologists telling parents to set limits on gender expression in their children is like setting limits on screen time:

Naturally, former GIC clinicians dispute the idea that they were harming their clients. “A child not wanting something nice to end is not the same as being traumatized by it,” wrote Dr. Devita Singh, a clinical psychologist whose dissertation (PDF) was based on her time at the GIC and tracked the long-term outcomes of former patients there, in an email. “A parent would not simply extend the amount of time a child spends watching TV simply because the child is upset, especially if the parent is making that decision in the best developmental interest of the child.”

In the book Irreversible Damage, anti-trans activist Abigail Shrier outlined Zucker and Singh’s gender identity change efforts:

Until transgender activists rallied against him, most health professionals practicing in this area regarded Dr. Zucker as an international authority on what “gender dysphoria” was. […] The goal of [Zucker’s] questioning was often to challenge the notion that biological sex was the source of the patient’s problem and, wherever possible, to alleviate the dysphoria. He was stunningly successful. Zucker’s colleague Devita Singh examined the outcomes in the cases of more than one hundred boys who had been seen by Dr. Zucker at his clinic. In cases in which a child had not been socially transitioned by parents, she found that 88 percent outgrew their dysphoria.

References

Schoenike, C. (2024). A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing: K. J. Zucker and Cisgenderist Research Literature. Journal of Applied Transgender Studies https://doi.org/10.57814/A028-X357

Reed, Erin (December 15, 2023). Fact Check: WSJ Publishes False Article Claiming Trans Kids Are “Actually Just Gay.” Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/fact-check-wsj-publishes-false-article

Ashley, F. (2022). The clinical irrelevance of “desistance” research for transgender and gender creative youth. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 9(4), 387–397. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000504

Jones, Zinnia (November 30, 2017). Why the “youth transition as anti-gay conversion therapy” myth doesn’t add up. Gender Analysis https://genderanalysis.net/2017/11/why-the-youth-transition-as-anti-gay-conversion-therapy-myth-doesnt-add-up/

Anderssen, Erin (February 14, 2016). Gender identity debate swirls over CAMH psychologist, transgender program The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/gender-identity-debate-swirls-over-camh-psychologist-transgender-program/article28758828/

Anti-trans coverage

Eappen, Roy (December 14, 2023). Most ‘Transgender’ Kids Turn Out to Be Gay. Subjecting them to medical interventions is the modern-day version of â€˜conversion therapy.’ Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/opinion/most-transgender-kids-turn-out-to-be-gay-gender-affirming-care-conversion-therapy-58111b2e

Lane, Bernard (April 30, 2023). Time’s cure: How many of today’s young patients will simply outgrow the distress of gender dysphoria? Gender Clinic News https://www.genderclinicnews.com/p/times-cure

Foran, Michael (August 23, 2023). A bill must be a scalpel: The new “Conversion Therapy Bill” must be precise and accurate. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/a-bill-must-be-a-scalpel/

Cretella, Michelle (June 9, 2017). If you don’t like the message, you can always shoot the messenger. Mercator https://www.mercatornet.com/if-you-dont-like-the-message-you-can-always-thump-the-messenger

Singal, Jesse (February 7, 2016). How the Fight Over Transgender Kids Got a Leading Sex Researcher Fired. The Cut https://www.thecut.com/2016/02/fight-over-trans-kids-got-a-researcher-fired.html

Davies-Arai, Stephanie (2015, updated since). ‘Is my child trans?’ Research says probably not. Transgender Trend https://www.transgendertrend.com/is-my-child-trans/

Selected writing by Singh

Singh, D., Zucker, K.J. (2021). Gender Dysphoria. In: Shackelford, T.K., Weekes-Shackelford, V.A. [editors] Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19650-3_3398

Singh D, Bradley SJ, Zucker KJ (2021). A Follow-Up Study of Boys With Gender Identity Disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry, Volume 12 – 28 March 2021 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.632784

VanderLaan, D. P., Postema, L., Wood, H., Singh, D., Fantus, S., Hyun, J., Leef, J., Bradley, S. J., Zucker, K. J. (2014). Do Children With Gender Dysphoria Have Intense/Obsessional Interests? The Journal of Sex Research, 52(2), 213–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2013.860073

Zucker. Kenneth J.; Wood. Hayley, Singh, Devita; Bradley, Susan J. (2013). A Developmental, Biopsychosocial Model for the Treatment of Children with Gender Identity Disorder. In Drescher, Jack; Byne, William [editors].Treating Transgender Children and Adolescents. Routledge, ISBN 978-1315873060 https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315873060

Wood, H., Sasaki, S., Bradley, S. J., Singh, D., Fantus, S., Owen-Anderson, A., Di Giacomo, A., Bain, J., Zucker, K. J. (2013). Patterns of Referral to a Gender Identity Service for Children and Adolescents (1976–2011): Age, Sex Ratio, and Sexual Orientation. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 39(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2012.675022

Singh, Devita (2012). A follow-up study of boys with gender identity disorder [doctoral thesis]. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/34926/1/Singh_Devita_201211_PhD_Thesis.pdf

Zucker, K. J., Bradley, S. J., Owen-Anderson, A., Kibblewhite, S. J., Wood, H., Singh, D., & Choi, K. (2012). Demographics, Behavior Problems, and Psychosexual Characteristics of Adolescents with Gender Identity Disorder or Transvestic Fetishism. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 38(2), 151–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2011.611219

Singh, D., McMain, S., & Zucker, K. J. (2011). Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Women with Borderline Personality Disorder. The Journal of Sexual Medicine 8(2), 447–454. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02086.x

Singh, D., Bradley, S. J., Zucker, K. J. (2011). Commentary on “An Affirmative Intervention for Families with Gender Variant Children: Parental Ratings of Child Mental Health and Gender” by Hill, Menvielle, Sica, and Johnson (2010). Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 37(2), 151–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623x.2011.547362

  • comment on Hill, D. B., Menvielle, E., Sica, K. M., & Johnson, A. (2010). An Affirmative Intervention for Families With Gender Variant Children: Parental Ratings of Child Mental Health and Gender. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 36(1), 6–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926230903375560

Singh, D., Deogracias, J. J., Johnson, L. L., Bradley, S. J., Kibblewhite, S. J., Owen-Anderson, A., Peterson-Badali, M., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., Zucker, K. J. (2010). The Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults: Further Validity Evidence. Journal of Sex Research, 47(1), 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490902898728

Zucker, K. J., Bradley, S. J., Owen-Anderson, A., Singh, D., Blanchard, R., & Bain, J. (2010). Puberty-Blocking Hormonal Therapy for Adolescents with Gender Identity Disorder: A Descriptive Clinical Study. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 15(1), 58–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2011.530574

Wallien, M. S. C., Quilty, L. C., Steensma, T. D., Singh, D., Lambert, S. L., Leroux, A., Owen-Anderson, A., Kibblewhite, S. J., Bradley, S. J., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Zucker, K. J. (2009). Cross-National Replication of the Gender Identity Interview for Children. Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(6), 545–552. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890903228463

Wallien, M. S. C., Quilty, L. C., Steensma, T. D., Singh, D., Lambert, S. L., Leroux, A., Owen-Anderson, A., Kibblewhite, S. J., Bradley, S. J., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., & Zucker, K. J. (2009). Gender Identity Interview for Children [Dataset]. In PsycTESTS Dataset. American Psychological Association (APA). https://doi.org/10.1037/t01604-000

Singh, Devita (2008). psychometric assessment of gender identity/gender dysphoria and recalled sex-typed behaviour in childhood: a comparison of adolescents and adults with gender identity disorder and clinical controls [master’s thesis]. https://utoronto.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/ed9726a0-9098-4144-8d35-4203b49ef29e/content

Resources

Lambeth Psychology (lambethpsychology.ca)

ResearchGate (researchgate.net)

IMDb (imdb.com)