Andrew Sullivan is a conservative gay cultural critic and anti-transgender activist. Sullivan says Catholic upbringing and values inform this conservatism. Sullivan’s gender critical views include:
- Criticizing legal protections based on gender identity
- Criticizing affirmative care for gender diverse youth
- Promoting the ex-transgender movement
- Stating that trans youth should wait until 16 for health services
- Citing anti-trans research like Lisa Littman’s “rapid onset gender dysphoria“
Background
In 1986, Sullivan took a role at The New Republic, rising to editor in 1991 before leaving in 1996.
Sullivan wrote for The New York Times Magazine from 1998 until getting fired in 2002. During that time Sullivan started a blog called The Dish that ran until 2015. From 2016 to 2020 Sullivan wrote for New York magazine, then moved to Substack.
Anti-trans activism
Sullivan frequently appears in the media to attack trans people, especially gender diverse children.
Sullivan has collaborated with anti-trans activists, including Katie Herzog, Megyn Kelly, Bill Maher, Konstantin Kisin, and Francis Foster.
References
Schindler, Paul (February 1, 2018). The Trouble With Andrew Sullivan. Gay City News https://gaycitynews.com/the-trouble-with-andrew-sullivan/
Marr, Rhuaridh (December 30, 2020). Gay conservative Andrew Sullivan complains about lesbians ‘becoming men’ in anti-trans column. Sullivan’s complaints about lesbian women not tending to him while sick led to confusion on Twitter. Metro Weekly https://www.metroweekly.com/2020/12/gay-conservative-andrew-sullivan-complains-about-lesbians-becoming-men-in-anti-trans-column/
Finke, Leigh (April 28, 2021). From Andrew Sullivan to Terry Schilling: Framing Transition as Evil. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2021/4/28/andrew-sullivan-terry-schilling-framing-transition-evil
Belonsky, Andrew (October 12, 2007). Andrew Sullivan Supports Barney Frank. Queerty http://www.queerty.com/andrew-sullivan-supports-barney-frank-20071012/
Selected anti-trans writing by Sullivan
Sullivan, Andrew (June 2, 2014). Engaging The T. The Dish https://dish.andrewsullivan.com/threads/engaging-the-t/
Sullivan, Andrew (February 1, 2019). The Nature of Sex. Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/andrew-sullivan-the-nature-of-sex.html
Sullivan, Andrew (September 20, 2019). When the Ideologues Come for the Kids. Intelligencer https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/andrew-sullivan-when-the-ideologues-come-for-the-kids.html
Sullivan, Andrew (November 1, 2019). The Hard Questions About Young People and Gender Transitions. Intelligencer http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/11/andrew-sullivan-hard-questions-gender-transitions-for-young.html
Sullivan, Andrew (April 9, 2021). A Truce Proposal in the Trans Wars. Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-truce-proposal-in-the-trans-wars-c49
Sullivan, Andrew (April 8, 2022). Who Is Looking Out For Gay Kids? Substack https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/who-is-looking-out-for-gay-kids-a19
Media
Megyn Kelly (October 10, 2022). The Lies of “Gender Affirming Care” Grow More Extreme, with Andrew Sullivan. The Megyn Kelly Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c87CuvD5j24
(June 29, 2022) Andrew Sullivan: “Leave Kids the F*ck Alone!” TRIGGERnometry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8f_f-lhuUw
Resources
Andrew Sullivan (andrewsullivan.com)
Twitter (twitter.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)