Harriet Hall / “SkepDoc” vs. transgender people
Harriet Hall was an American family physician, Air Force flight surgeon, author, science communicator, and skeptic. Hall was a founding editor of Science-Based Medicine. Hall sometimes published under the pen name “SkepDoc.”
Late in life, Hall came under the sway of anti-trans activists and became a skeptic of trans healthcare for minors.
Background
Harriet Anne Hoag was born on July 2, 1945, in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Seattle. Hoag attended University of Washington, earning a bachelor’s degree and a medical degree. In 1969, Hoag joined the Air Force, rising to the rank of Colonel prior to discharge in 1989. Hoag trained as a flight surgeon and family physician. While serving, Hoag met and married Kirk Albert Hall, Jr. and took the name Harriet Hall.
Hall died in Puyallup, Washington on January 11, 2023.
Anti-trans activism
Hall became a skeptic of transgender healthcare after being influenced by several anti-trans authors.
On February 16, 2016, Hall promoted the anti-trans book Galileo’s Middle Finger by Alice Dreger.
On September 11, 2018, Hall published an overview on trans healthcare for minors that was clearly influenced by anti-trans activists. Hall wrote: “The problem with diagnosing early onset gender dysphoria is that some children will feel differently when they grow older.” Hall then refers to work by Jo Bartosch, James Cantor, Richard Green, Walt Heyer, Paul McHugh, John Whitehall, and the DSM criteria for “gender dysphoria” co-authored by Ray Blanchard and Kenneth Zucker. Hall only presents Kelley Winters as having differing views.
On September 18, 2018, Hall criticized a disputed study on the proposed disease “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” (ROGD) by Lisa Littman. ROGD was workshopped and developed on forums for unaccepting parents of gender diverse children. Hall also criticized Brown University for choosing not to promote it, writing, “I don’t think evidence should ever be suppressed because of fears that some people might mis-use it.”
On June 15, 2021, Hall published a glowing review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. The review stated that the book raised legitimate concerns about the science behind drug treatments for gender dysphoria in children and highlighted a lack of high-quality studies. Days later, Novella and Gorski replaced the review with a retraction notice and published a response—the first of six SBM posts rejecting Shrier’s claims and explaining the retraction. Hall’s review was later published by anti-trans activist Michael Shermer on Shermer’s Skeptic blog.
References
Gerbic, Susan (May/June 2023). Harriet Hall Stepped Up. Skeptical Inquirer https://skepticalinquirer.org/2023/05/harriet-hall-stepped-up/
Novella, Steven (January 15, 2023). In Memoriam – Dr. Harriet Hall. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/in-memoriam-dr-harriet-hall/
hjhornbeck (June 30, 2021). Lies, Damn Lies, and Harriet Hall. Reprobate Spreadsheet https://freethoughtblogs.com/reprobate/2021/06/30/lies-damn-lies-and-harriet-hall/
hjhornbeck (September 12, 2018). Don’t Do This, Skeptics. Reprobate Spreadsheet https://freethoughtblogs.com/reprobate/2018/09/12/dont-do-this-skeptics/
Anti-trans coverage
Singal, Jesse (September 25, 2021). An Emeritus Editor At Science-Based Medicine Just Sent This Letter To Steven Novella Criticizing The Site’s Recent Turn Away From Rigorous Science. Singal-Minded https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/an-emeritus-editor-at-science-based
Williams, Nathan (August 23, 2021). Ideology-based medicine: How the ”Science-Based Medicine” blog succumbed to the pressure of trans ideology. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/ideology-based-medicine/
Singal, Jesse (July 19, 2021). Science-Based Medicine’s Coverage Of “Irreversible Damage” Included About 19 Errors, False Claims About Three Sex Researchers, Made-Up Quotes, And Endless Misinformation. Singal-Minded https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/science-based-medicines-coverage
Singal, Jesse (July 10, 2021). How Science-Based Medicine Botched Its Coverage Of The Youth Gender Medicine Debate. Singal-Minded https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/how-science-based-medicine-botched
Selected writing by Hall
Hall, Harriet (June 15, 2021). [Retracted]: Book Review: Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, by Abigail Shrier. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-the-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters/ republished as Hall, Harriet (June 17, 2021). Trans Science: A review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Skeptic https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/trans-science-review-of-abigail-shier-irreversible-damage-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters/
Hall, Harriet (September 18, 2018). Rapid-onset Gender Dysphoria and Squelching Controversial Evidence. Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-and-squelching-controversial-evidence/
Hall, Harriet (September 11, 2018). Gender Dysphoria in Children: Gender transitions are becoming more and more common. Adults can make informed decisions about hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgeries, but what about children? Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/gender-dysphoria-in-children/
Media
JamesRandiFoundation (2015). [Playlist]: Harriet Hall: Science Based Medicine. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8MfjLNsf_miVcNu6eJMNigAMNwQkk_B9
Resources
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Freedom from Religion Foundation (ffrf.org)
- Harriet Hall
- ffrf.org/publications/day/harriet-hall
Jefferson Center for Mental Health (jcmh.org)
- Diamond Anniversary Celebration: Honoring Dr. Harriet Hall
- jcmh.org/honoring-dr-harriet-hall
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