Evan Urquhart is an American journalist who specializes in covering gender identity and expression.
Background
Evan Urquhart was born in March 1978. Urquhart earned a bachelor’s degree from Clark University in 2000.
Urquhart began freelancing after graduation, publishing under a previous name in Politico, NewNowNext, Truthout, Autostraddle, and Slate. Urquhart began a medical transition in 2015 at age 37.
In 2022 Urquhart founded Assigned Media and assisted the Mastodon forum journa.host with building moderation policies.
On May 4, 2024. Urquhart was arrested in Charlottesville, Virginia while covering a Virginia State Police operation to clear pro-Palestinian protesters from the campus of University of Virginia. The charges and a trespassing order were dropped May 15.
In 2025, Urquhart completed a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT.
Transgender coverage
Urquhart was one of four writers who responded in The Atlantic to Jesse Singal’s 2018 anti-trans cover story, “When a Child Say’s She’s Trans.”
Urquhart has gone on to be a prominent critic of The New York Times’ campaign to shut down gender-affirming care for minors.
References
Zhao, Celina (April 16, 2025). Evan Urquhart Wanted Better Trans Coverage—So He Made It Himself. https://ksj.mit.edu/news/2025/04/16/better-trans-coverage/
Staff report (July 23, 2024). Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT announces 2024-25 fellows. https://news.mit.edu/2024/knight-science-journalism-program-mit-announces-fellows-0723
Molloy, Parker and Long Lead (November 13, 2024). Truth telling in trans coverage: Inside Assigned Media with Evan Urquhart. Depth Perception https://depthperceptionbyll.substack.com/p/evan-urquhart-assigned-media-interview
Staff report (May 4, 2024). Journalist arrested while covering Virginia campus protest. Press Freedom Tracker https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/journalist-arrested-while-covering-virginia-campus-protest/
Selected publications by Urquhart
Urquhart, Evan (August 22, 2024). How Conservative Officials Are Using Private Medical Records For Their Anti-Trans Agenda. them https://www.them.us/story/trans-patients-medical-records-anti-trans-agenda
Urquhart, Evan (April 30, 2021). The Particular Bravery of Elliot Page’s Oprah Interview. Vanity Fair https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/04/the-particular-bravery-of-elliot-pages-oprah-interview
Urquhart, Evan (July 4, 2018). My Parents Still Struggle to Know Me After I Transitioned Late. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/07/transition-parents/564008/
Media
Simon, Mark (April 14, 2025). 220. Evan Urquhart, Founder: Assigned Media; Community Manager: Slate. https://thejournalismsalute.org/2025/04/14/220-evan-urquhart-founder-assigned-media-community-manager-slate/
The Letterhack (January 3, 2025). Interview w/ Assigned Media’s Evan Urquhart! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeAsX-xgeJY
What The Trans? with Ashleigh Talbot and Alyx Bedwell (January 22, 2024). EP97 – Catching Up With the USA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWeny7HmIgM
Dwight Hurst (Mar 8, 2022). Treatment of Transgender Youth with Journalist Evan Urquhart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjqXLO1kXqI
TransLash with Imara Jones (June 10, 2020). Evan Urquhart: My Trans Life Is Worth Saving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k4G3zJPt8Q
Resources
Assigned Media (assignedmedia.org)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Bluesky (bsky.app)
X/Twitter (x.com)
- assignedmedia
- e_urq [deleted]
Mastodon: journa.host (journa.host)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
Slate (slate.com)