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Meghan Daum vs. transgender people

Meghan Daum is an American anti-transgender activist who got involved through the intellectual dark web.

Background

Daum was born February 13, 1970 in California. Daum earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

Daum founded The Unspeakeasy in 2022 and is host of The Unspeakable podcast. Guests have included:

2021

2020

Daum co-hosts the podcast A Special Place In Hell with Sarah Haider.

Daum published the essay collections My Misspent Youth and The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion. Daum’s work has appeared in The New YorkerThe New York Times MagazineThe AtlanticVogueGQ, and Harper’s.

Daum authored the book The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars.

Comments on Leelah Alcorn’s suicide

In 2018, Daum expressed what many felt was more sympathy for Leelah Alcorn’s unsupportive parents than for the dead teen.

“There’s no question that Leelah’s death and the circumstances leading to it are worthy of—and, in fact, demand— public rage. But along with that rage should come compassion, not just for the Alcorns but for anyone who’s ever been slow to reach acceptance, or whose circumscribed worldview has clouded their understanding of somebody else’s experience.”

References

Daum, Meghan (August 24, 2018) Nuance: A Love Story. GEN https://gen.medium.com/nuance-a-love-story-ae6a14991059

Daum, Meghan (2015-01-15). Op-Ed: Why blaming Leelah Alcorn’s parents only compounds the bigotry. Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-daum-alcorn-transparent-suicide-20150115-story.html

Schares, Evan Mitchell (2019-02-01). The Suicide of Leelah Alcorn: Whiteness in the Cultural Wake of Dying QueersQED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking6 (1): 1–25. doi:10.14321/qed.6.1.0001

Daum, Meghan (January 5, 2023). Why Do I Talk So Much About Trans Stuff? Because I Have Nothing To Lose.
The Unspeakable with Meghan Daum https://meghandaum.substack.com/p/why-do-i-talk-so-much-about-trans

Resources

Substack (substack.com)

The Unspeakeasy (theunspeakeasy.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)