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Peter Vasterman vs. transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed September 2, 2026 2 min read

Peter Vasterman is a Dutch sociologist, media critic, and anti-transgender activist. Vasterman collaborates with other anti-trans activists, including Jan Kuitenbrouwer and Jilles Smids.

Background

Peter L.M. Vasterman was born in 1951. Vasterman’s early career was in journalism education before moving into academic research. During the 1980s and 1990s Vasterman taught at the School voor Journalistiek (School of Journalism) in Utrecht. In 2004, Vasterman earned a doctorate from University of Amsterdam, with a dissertation titled Mediahype, later published as a book.

Vasterman joined the Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam as an assistant professor of Media and Journalism. In 2018, Vasterman edited the book From Media Hype to Twitter Storm: News Explosions and Their Impact on Issues, Crises and Public Opinion.

Anti-trans activism

Starting around 2021, Vasterman began writing about how Dutch media report on transgender medicine, especially for young people, and public debate about the topic.

In 2021, NRC declined to publish Vasterman’s article “De strijd tussen sekse en gender [The struggle between sex and gender].” Vasterman then self-published the piece.

Selected writing by Vasterman

Kuitenbrouwer, Jan; Vasterman, Peter (April 28, 2026). Opinie | Dutch protocol in transgenderzorg is onhoudbaar [Opinion | Dutch protocol in transgender care is untenable]. NRC https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/04/28/dutch-protocol-in-transgenderzorg-is-onhoudbaar-a4197339 alt url https://vasterman.blogspot.com/2024/04/nrc-opinie-dutch-protocol-in.html

Smids, J.; Vasterman, P. (2025). From transsexuality to gender diversity. Filosofie & Praktijk, 46(1), 42–68. https://doi.org/10.5117/fep.2025.1.004.smid

Kuitenbrouwer, Jan; Vasterman, Peter (December 19, 2022). Ook transzorg moet aan medisch-wetenschappelijke standaarden voldoen [Transgender care must also meet medical-scientific standards]. NRC https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2022/12/30/ook-transzorg-moet-aan-medisch-wetenschappelijke-standaarden-voldoen-a4152945

Vasterman, Peter (May 17, 2021). Opinie | Berichtgeving over gender-ingrepen bij tieners is te weinig kritisch [Opinion | Media coverage of gender-related interventions for teenagers lacks sufficient critical scrutiny]. NRC https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2021/05/17/berichtgeving-over-gender-ingreep-bij-tieners-is-te-weinig-kritisch-a4043829

Media

Gender: A Wider Lens with Stella O’Malley, Sasha Ayad, Peter Vasterman, and Jan Kuitenbrouwer (February 17, 2023). EPISODE 102: Dutch Journalists: Words Matter… The Media’s Influence to Share or to Silence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFDtTP35o7E

Argos Medialogica (December 25, 2021). Medialogica: De strijd om transgenderzorg [Medialogica: The Battle for Transgender Care]. https://www.nporadio1.nl/fragmenten/argos/e10f99b7-7050-4079-84bf-f830b4a5b7b1/2021-12-24-medialogica-de-strijd-om-transgenderzorg

Dit Is de Dag (May 19, 2021). Moeten media kritischer zijn op genderingrepen bij tieners, of is dat ‘transfoob’? [Should the media be more critical of gender reassignment surgery on teenagers, or is that ‘transphobic’?]. https://www.nporadio1.nl/nieuws/binnenland/1b26a0f2-b80c-4557-8562-fad79cf8095a/tammie-schoots-en-peter-vastermans-in-dit-is-de-dag

Resources

Peter Vasterman (vasterman.nl) [archive]

X/Twitter (x.com)

Blogspot (blogspot.com)

ResearchGate (researchgate.net)

NRC (nrc.nl)

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