Skip to content
Transgender Map by Andrea James

Translate

Choose a language to read this site translated by Google. Translations are automatic, so some wording will be imperfect.

Julia Beck vs. transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed September 28, 2026 8 min read

Julia Beck is an American writer, organizer, and anti-transgender activist. Beck is a member of Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF), contributed to anti-trans group blog 4W, and has worked with the anti-feminist Heritage Foundation.

Background

Julia Anne Beck was born on March 21, 1992. Beck earned a bachelor’s degree from Towson State University in 2015. Beck worked as a claims analyst at Armada Administrators from 2016 to 2018 and as an administrator at law firm West & West starting from 2018 to 2020. Beck then moved to Berlin, Germany. There, Beck worked as a senior communications manager at Büropartner GmbH from 2021 to 2024.

Beck has been involved with RadFem Kollektiv Berlin.

Anti-trans activism

Beck joined Twitter in January 2017. In an October 2017 post, Beck promoted the site radfem.org: “Read up! http://radfem.org You might hit #peaktrans sooner than you think!”

Beck is a proponent of the “LGB erasure” conspiracy theory:

“Homosexuality is not a quirky lifestyle. It’s not an identity you can opt into on a whim. It’s just a term to describe same-sex attraction. Lesbians are female homosexuals, women who love women, but our spaces, resources and communities are on the verge of extinction. And now our very definition is co-opted and rendered meaningless by people who call themselves queer. Don’t believe me? Here’s a fun game you can play: go to any neighborhood coffee shop or underground basement venue and ask, “What is a woman?” This year I did that, and more. But the reactions I got were harsher than I expected. I became the most hated lesbian in Baltimore.

Backlash is nothing new to me. After college, I was ostracized from more social circles than my rapist. My crime was asking questions like, “Why is a man named ‘Woman of the Year?’” I lost my best friend after refusing to call myself “cisgender.” Members of my co-ed fraternity called me “dangerous” and encouraged new initiates to avoid me at all costs. People I trusted told me to die in a fire for naming male people men.”

In May 2018, Beck was selected as a representative for the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

In June, Beck and friends Kacie Mills and Laura Brewer marched with other anti-trans activists in protest of “lesbian erasure” at the 2018 Baltimore Pride Parade: Beck wrote: “Our signs read, ‘Lesbian NOT Queer,’ and ‘Violence Against Lesbians is an Epidemic,’ among other slogans.” Those other slogans (photographed by Katie Watkins by request of Beck) were explicitly anti-trans and included:

  • “Women are oppressed because of biology not identity”
  • “Change our society not your body”
  • “Woman is not a feeling”
  • “Dykes don’t like dick” [the sign Beck held]

Beck was criticized by many in the LGBTQ community at the parade and after, including by anti-trans Baltimore lawyer Cathy Brennan.

On October 29, 2018, Beck was appointed to the Baltimore City LGBTQ Commission for a term scheduled to end December 4, 2020. Beck quickly got into a dispute with a trans member of the Law and Policy committee, telling the colleague “You’re male.” Beck reported feeling threatened: “As the only female in the room on an isolated floor, I was filled with dread and had flashbacks of being raped by men.”

According to a profile submitted to Congress, Beck represented Women’s Liberation Radio News at the December 6, 2018 Montreal massacre memorial, organized by the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter.

According to a history compiled by the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs:

“In February 2019, a lesbian radical feminist from Baltimore named Julia Beck was removed from Mayor Catherine Pugh’s LGBTQ Commission due to her belief that “People who call themselves transgender women are male.” Her decision to forgo use of preferred gender pronouns rankled other members of the commission.”

In 2019, Beck collaborated with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group known for:

  • Opposing abortion rights and supporting Roe‘s reversal
  • Seeking to restrict or reverse FDA approval of mifepristone
  • Enforcing the Comstock Act against mailing abortion pills
  • Removing “reproductive health” language from federal programs
  • Shifting family-planning funding away from Planned Parenthood
  • Opposing the Paycheck Fairness Act
  • Downplaying discrimination as a cause of the gender pay gap
  • Opposing federal paid-leave mandates
  • Opposing the Equal Rights Amendment
  • Objecting to parts of Violence Against Women Act reauthorizations
  • Removing “gender equality” from federal documents
  • Emphasizing traditional married-family structures in policy
  • Opposing same-sex marriage and Obergefell
  • Supporting religious exemptions to decline same-sex weddings
  • Opposing the Equality Act
  • Removing sexual orientation and gender identity terms from federal rules and data

The reason Beck is willing to overlook all of this is that Heritage Foundation shares Beck’s unremitting contempt for trans and gender diverse people. Their shared goals include:

  • Defining sex as biological in law, including Title IX
  • Opposing gender-transition care for minors
  • Opposing transgender women in women’s sports
  • Opposing transgender military service
  • Describing “transgender ideology” as pornography that should be outlawed (Project 2025 foreword)

Beck appeared on the Heritage Foundation panel with moderator Ryan T. Anderson, fellow WoLF members Jennifer Chavez and Kara Dansky, and ex-trans extremist Hacsi Horváth.

In 2019, Beck reportedly protested along with Kellie-Jay Keen, Julia Long, and Venice Allan at the Twitter headquarters in Washington D.C. over the company’s alleged “silencing of women.”

In 2021, Beck participated in a Lesbian Day of Visibility panel held by Lesbian Strength. Beck also participated in Lesbenfrühlingstreffen [Lesbian Spring Gathering], an event in Germany criticized for for its stance on queer and trans topics.

In December 2022, Beck attended Fachtagung Frauenrechte [Women’s Rights Conference] in Berlin and reported on it for 4W.

In 2025, Beck was disinvited from speaking at a meeting by anti-trans group FiLiA for previously working with the Heritage Foundation. Beck stated in a reflection that this was not the first time that had happened:

“I figured the controversy of a radical lesbian feminist speaking at a platform so diametrically opposed to both lesbianism and feminism would bring an immeasurable surge of attention to the problems of sex denialism: erosion of women’s legal rights, destruction of single sex spaces, medical abuse of children, the list goes on. I saw my speaking at Heritage as taking a bullet for women and girls. I had the false hope that feminists would see it that way, too. I hoped that feminists would give me the benefit of the doubt and understand that I had good intentions, that my decision was based on frustration and desperation, influenced by my religious-female socialization to honor sacrifice. Ah, ah, naivety.”

References

Staff report (2026). Defining Moments in LGBTQ History. Baltimore Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs https://www.baltimorecity.gov/lgbtq/history

Reyes, Gabriella (May 10, 2025). How Julia Beck Aligns with the Far-Right to Attack Trans Women. Medium https://medium.com/@therealmija777/how-julia-beck-aligns-with-the-far-right-to-attack-trans-women-83a3f3c38ca9

Wang, Esther (July 8, 2020). Inside the Fight Tearing TERFs Apart. Jezebel https://www.jezebel.com/inside-the-fight-tearing-terfs-apart-1841676144

Souza, Luísa (October 30, 2019). Understanding TERF’s: Their history, thought and “activism.” Medium https://luisa29.medium.com/understanding-terfs-their-history-thought-and-activism-896cbebc3e25

US House Committee on the Judiciary (April 2, 2019). H.R. 5, the “Equality Act.” https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hr-5-the-equality-act

Greenesmith, Heron (March 12, 2019). House Republicans Use “Lesbian Radical Feminist” to Advance Anti-Trans Rhetoric. Truthout / Rewire News https://truthout.org/articles/house-republicans-use-lesbian-radical-feminist-to-advance-anti-trans-rhetoric/

McKinless, Thomas (March 7, 2019). Violence Against Women Act witness: Title IX is moot ‘because men can be women.’ Roll Call https://rollcall.com/2019/03/07/violence-against-women-act-witness-title-ix-is-moot-because-men-can-be-women/

Gilchrist, Tracy E. (February 15, 2019). Lesbian TERF Spreads Anti-Trans Agenda on Fox News. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2019/2/15/lesbian-terf-spreads-anti-trans-agenda-fox-news

Bollinger, Alex (February 14, 2019). A lesbian appeared on Fox News & was praised as ‘brave’ for attacking trans people. LGBTQ Nation https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/02/lesbian-appeared-fox-news-praised-brave-attacking-trans-people/

Marbella, Jean (February 14, 2019). Baltimore lesbian’s view on transgender women gets her kicked off LGBTQ panel – and onto Tucker Carlson show. Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/2019/02/14/baltimore-lesbians-view-on-transgender-women-gets-her-kicked-off-lgbtq-panel-and-onto-tucker-carlson-show/

Anti-trans coverage

Brennan, Cathy (June 17, 2020). Julia Beck is a massive fraud. You Think I Just Don’t Understand, But I Don’t Believe You https://cathy-brennan.com/2020/06/17/julia-beck-is-a-massive-fraud/

Murphy, Meghan (September 24, 2019). INTERVIEW: Julia Beck on the Equality Act, sex self-identification, and why she perseveres in the face of controversy. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/09/24/interview-julia-beck-on-the-equality-act-sex-self-identification-and-why-she-perseveres-in-the-face-of-controversy/

Selected writing by Beck

Beck, Julia (January 22, 2026). Heterosexuality: a Lesbian Feminist Approach. RadFem Kollektiv Berlin https://radfemkollektivberlin.net/events/heterosexuality-a-lesbian-feminist-approach/

Beck, Julia (August 31, 2025). Public Statement on working with the right, part 2: Critique and analysis. Substack / Julia Beck https://hellojuliabeck.substack.com/p/public-statement-part-2-critique

Beck, Julia (August 31, 2025). Public Statement on working with the right, part 1: Thoughts and reflections. Substack / Julia Beck https://hellojuliabeck.substack.com/p/public-statement-part-1

E., Güleren; Beck, Julia (March 22, 2024). The Wish for a Baby Comes with a Price. RadFem Kollektiv Berlin https://radfemkollektivberlin.net/2024/03/22/the-wish-for-a-baby-comes-with-a-price/

Beck, Julia (February 7, 2023). Berlin Conference Celebrates a Brand New Feminist Wave. 4W https://4w.pub/berlin-conference/

Beck, Julia (February 17, 2022). Real-life TRA Silently Detransitions after Harming Lesbians. 4W https://4w.pub/detransition-after-harming-lesbians/

Beck, Julia (June 2, 2021). The Failed Attempt to Cancel Lesbian Spring Fest. 4W https://4w.pub/lesbian-spring-fest/

Beck, Julia (December 10, 2018). How I became the most hated lesbian in Baltimore. AfterEllen https://afterellen.com/general-news/568221-how-i-became-the-most-hated-lesbian-in-baltimore

Beck, Julia (December 4, 2018). [letter to Baltimore LGBTQ Commission Law and Policy Committee]. https://baltimorelgbtqcommissionexcludeslesbians.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/statement-on-lesbian-inclusion.pdf

Media

Whose Body Is It? with Isabella Malbin and Julia Beck (March 9, 2023). 72.  Sexual Politics for Women with Julia Beck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akJBShyS74E

Women’s Liberation Radio News with Thistle Pettersen and Julia Beck (July 10, 2021). Julia Beck–WLRN Extended Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GRU0t1IjpE

House Committee on the Judiciary (April 2, 2019). Full Committee Hearing on H.R. 5, the “Equality Act.” https://www.youtube.com/live/UOOF6GJl8A0?si=aen5kJ_uc-Xi8A4d&t=3545

Roll Call (March 7, 2019). Violence Against Women Act witness: Title IX is moot ‘because men can be women’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEudmS7DMBs

Fox News / Tucker Carlson Tonight with Tucker Carlson and Julia Beck (February 12, 2019). Feminist speaks out against trans movement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQns3VsYdd4 alt source Feminist: I’m the most hated lesbian in Baltimore due to my views on trans debate. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6001444494001

The Heritage Foundation with Ryan T. Anderson, Julia Beck, Jennifer Chavez, Kara Dansky, and Hacsi Horváth (January 28, 2019). The Inequality of the Equality Act: Concerns from the Left. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMj9MOuRswc

Resources

X/Twitter (x.com)

  • womandefy (joined January 2017)
  • profile linked to radfem.org

WordPress (wordpress.com)

  • Baltimore LGBTQ Commission Excludes Lesbians
  • baltimorelgbtqcommissionexcludeslesbians.wordpress.com/ [archive]

Substack (substack.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

4W (4w.pub)

Baltimore Mayor’s Office (mayor.baltimorecity.gov)

  • Baltimore City LGBTQ Comission
  • mayor.baltimorecity.gov/bc/boards/baltimore-city-lgbtq-commission [archive– 2019]

Was this helpful?

Support my work!