The New Yorker is an American media organization. Its coverage of trans topics has been generally nuanced and balanced.
Background
The New Yorker was founded in 1925. It primarily covers culture and profiles figures in the news.
Trans and gender diverse coverage
Trans and gender diverse people they have covered or who have bylines include:
- Jane Schoenbrun
- Lucy Sante
- Paul B. Preciado
- Masha Gessen
- MĂłnica Taboada-Tapia
- Greek Lankton
- Elliot Page
- Imogen Binnie
- Lia Thomas
- Maia Kobabe
- Caitlyn Jenner
- Candy Darling
- Judith Butler
- Torrey Peters
- Joey Soloway
- Christine Hallquist
- Peppermint
- T Cooper
- Janet Mock
- Michelle Ainsworth and Jennifer Lee
- Gavin Grimm
- Jordy Rosenberg
The magazine has also profiled people who work closely with trans and gender diverse people, including photographers Ethan James Green and Melody Melamed, and plastic surgeon Jordan Deschamps-Braly.
What Is a Woman? (2014)
In 2014, The New Yorker tackled the conflict between “radical feminism vs. transgenderism” on their podcast, discussing a piece by Michelle Goldberg that sympathetically profiled gender critical activists. The full title of Goldberg’s piece is “What is a Woman? The dispute between radical feminism and transgenderism.”
Goldberg outlines the 1973 controversy around attacks on trans singer Beth Elliott at the West Coast Lesbian Conference, as well as the attacks on artist Sandy Stone in the late 1970s.
Goldberg interviews Lierre Keith at a Radfems Respond event in Portland, Oregon, and name-drops several others:
- ex-trans activist Heath Atom Russell
- conservative trans blogger “Snowflake Especial”
- a conservative trans “thirty-five-year-old software engineer from California”
- Sheila Jeffreys
- Julie Bindel
- Lorene Gottschalk
- Ray Blanchard
- J. Michael Bailey
- Janice Raymond
- Mary Daly
- Thomas Szasz
- Rachel Ivey
- Sara St. Martin Lynne
- Lisa Vogel
- Forbidden Discourse group letter
Goldberg also interviewed biologist Julia Serano for the piece. Serano wrote several critical responses, sharing all email correspondence with Goldberg. Serano was concerned about how Sheila Jeffreys misused passages from Serano’s autobiography to claim Serano was “autogynephilic.” Although Goldberg removed some of the passages in the draft after Serano objected, Serano wrote that Goldberg “casually mentions that Jeffreys (who is depicted as a sympathetic, if eccentric, character in the article) considers me to be an ‘autogynephile’ without mentioning any of my arguments against the theory and Jeffreys’s hypocritical appropriation of it.”
In Columbia Journalism Review, Jos Truitt sharply criticized Goldberg’s framing:
To any observer aware of the conflict, the article reads like a push piece for Jeffreysâ book: It accepts her framing on a number of issues, and the only trans woman voices, included at the end of the article, are women trans-exclusionary radical feminists have attempted to discredit, quoted using trans-exclusionary feministsâ framing. Goldberg establishes that trans identities should be up for debate by first quoting a trans-exclusionary radical feminist using male pronouns to refer to trans women, and then using male pronouns herself.
A Club for the Cancelled (2023)
Emma Green’s profile of the “Gathering of Thought Criminals” gives a glimpse into one reactionary network that was part of the burgeoning anti-trans movement. People mentioned include:
- Pamela Paresky
- Bari Weiss
- Nick Gillespie
- Michael Thad Allen and Samantha Harris
- Joshua Katz and Solveig Gold
- Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
- FIRE
- Sarah Rose Siskind
- Noam Dworman
- Intellectual Dark Web
- Ben Appel
- Rikki Schlott
- Tyler Fischer
- anonymous ex-trans activists: “a couple of attendees had detransitioned“
- Kim Jones of ICONS
- Corinna Cohn (mentions Nina Paley)
- Stephen Elliott
Is It Possible to Be Both Moderate and Anti-Woke? (2023)
Emma Green’s profile of “anti-woke nonprofits” chronicles how Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism was founded and mismanaged. People mentioned include many leading lights in anti-transgender activism:
- Bion Bartning
- Bari Weiss
- Melissa Chen
- Ideas Beyond Borders
- Peter Boghossian
- Niall Ferguson
- Hoover Institution
- Jodi Shaw
- Megyn Kelly
- Andrew Sullivan
- Christopher Rufo
- Angel Eduardo
- Daryl Davis
- Parents Defending Education
- Free Black Thought
- Institute for Liberal Values
- Moms for Liberty
- Ron DeSantis
- Ken Schwartz
- Harlan Crow
- Suzy Edelman
- Adam Seagrave
- Sodexo
- Rob SchlÀpfer
- Glenn Loury
- Substack
- Jason Littlefield
- Paul Rossi
- Karlyn Borysenko
- Kmele Foster
- Abigail Shrier
- Colin Wright
- âChristina Buttonsâ
- Luke Rosiak
- Lory Warren
- Lulu Cheng Meservey
- Letitia Kim
- Meg Smaker
- Myles Mendoza
- United Charitable
- Michael Trollan
- Brian Kors
- Dana Stangel-Plowe
- Maud Maron
Christopher Rufo profile (2023)
Emma Green’s brief profile of anti-trans extremist Christopher Rufo’s 2023 book tour for Americaâs Cultural Revolution mentions Manhattan Institute president Reihan Salam and Rufo’s chief of staff Armen Tooloee:
As the waitstaff packed up the booze, Rufo reminisced with Armen Tooloee, his chief of staff. âWe got surrounded by a mob of angry non-binaries in Florida,â Rufo said. Tooloee âwalks in with the biggest smile on his face, like yea-a-ah. Thereâs cops everywhere. And Armen is in a state of bliss. Heâs like a Buddha!â Tooloee, who has a groomed beard, said that heâd had a lot of practice dealing with progressive protesters as an undergraduate, when he ran a College Republicansâ âaffirmative-action bake sale.â (Black students got cheaper cookies than white students, for example.)
Selected articles
Thomas, Louisa (January 19, 2025). Whatâs Really Behind the House Bill to Ban Transgender Athletes from School Sports? The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/whats-really-behind-the-house-bill-to-ban-transgender-athletes-from-school-sports
Seidlitz, Holden (June 10, 2024). Jane Schoenbrun Finds Horror Close to Home. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/jane-schoenbrun-finds-horror-close-to-home
Brody, Richard (May 3, 2024). âI Saw the TV Glowâ Is a Profound Vision of the Trans Experience. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/i-saw-the-tv-glow-is-a-profound-vision-of-the-trans-experience
Witt, Emily (March 21, 2024). How Lucy Sante Became the Person She Feared. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/how-lucy-sante-became-the-person-she-feared
Brody, Richard (November 10, 2023). A Philosopher-Filmmakerâs Polyphonic Perspective on Trans Experience. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/a-philosopher-filmmakers-polyphonic-perspective-on-trans-experience
Green, Emma (August 14, 2023). Conservative Pirates Take Park Avenue. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/21/conservative-pirates-take-the-mondrian-hotel [later retitled Counterprogramming]
Green, Emma (June 5, 2023). Is It Possible to Be Both Moderate and Anti-Woke? The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-activism/is-it-possible-to-be-both-moderate-and-anti-woke
Remmick, David (March 11, 2023). What We Talk About When We Talk About Trans Rights. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-trans-rights
Mackey, Danielle (December 21, 2022). Isolation and Belonging in âTwo-Spirit.â The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/isolation-and-belonging-in-two-spirit
Fateman, Johanna (November 28, 2022). Greer Lanktonâs Lonely Dolls. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/greer-lanktons-lonely-dolls
Long, Crispin (July 12, 2022). Elliot Page Brings His Misfit Characters to Life. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/elliot-page-brings-his-misfit-characters-to-life
Burt, Stephanie (June 20, 2022). The Invention of the Trans Novel. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/27/the-invention-of-the-trans-novel-imogen-binnie-nevada
Gessen, Masha (June 14, 2022). How Kyivâs L.G.B.T.Q. Community Found Shelter from the Russian Invasion. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/how-kyivs-lgbtq-community-found-shelter-from-the-russian-invasion
Thomas, Louisa (March 17, 2022). How One Swimmer Became the Focus of a Debate About Trans Athletes. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/how-one-swimmer-became-the-focus-of-a-debate-about-trans-athletes
Long, Crispin (January 31, 2021). The Insider Insights of âDetransition, Baby.â The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-insider-insights-of-detransition-baby
Kobabe, Maia (December 18, 2020). The Best Gifts I Received Before Top Surgery. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/best-gifts-i-received-before-top-surgery
Editors (June 9, 2019). Sunday Reading: Pride & the Fiftieth Anniversary of Stonewall. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-pride-and-the-fiftieth-anniversary-of-stonewall
Als, Hilton (March 24, 2019). âTo Live in the World, and Not to Hideâ: An Interview with Janet Mock. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/to-live-in-the-world-and-not-to-hide-an-interview-with-janet-mock
Schulman, Michael (March 12, 2019). A Counterculture Portraitistâs Chronicle of New Yorkâs Youth. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-counterculture-portraitists-chronicle-of-new-yorks-youth
Lipstein, Ray (November 26, 2018). âMan Made,â a Film About Transgender Bodybuilders, Upends the Traditional Documentary Gaze. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/man-made-a-film-about-transgender-bodybuilders-upends-the-traditional-documentary-gaze
Solowat, [Joey] (October 7, 2018), [Joey] Soloway Tells the Personal Story Behind âTransparent.â The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/are-you-sitting-down
Gessen, Masha (August 16, 2018). Christine Hallquistâs Vermont Win and the Emergence of Transgender Politicians. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/christine-hallquists-vermont-win-and-the-emergence-of-transgender-politicians
Schulman, Michael (July 27, 2018). âHead Over Heels,â Reviewed: A Trans-Positive Spin on a Sixteenth-Century Romance, with Help from the Go-Goâs. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/head-over-heels-reviewed-a-trans-positive-spin-on-a-sixteenth-century-romance-with-help-from-the-go-gos
Waldman, Katy (June 27, 2018). âConfessions of the Foxâ Is a Cunning Metafiction of Vulpine Versatility. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/confessions-of-the-fox-is-a-cunning-metafiction-of-vulpine-versatility
Mead, Rebecca (March 12, 2018). The Story of a Trans Womanâs Face. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/the-story-of-a-trans-womans-face
Goetsch, Diana (March 6, 2018). Teaching William Zinsser to Write Poetry. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/teaching-william-zinsser-to-write-poetry
Hart, Michelle (July 16, 2017). Portrait of a Couple in Love and in Transition. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-portrait-of-a-middle-aged-couple-in-transition
Bridy, Richard (April 7, 2017). A Film Series Explores the Crossing of Gender Lines. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/17/a-film-series-explores-the-crossing-of-gender-lines
Gersen, Jeannie Suk (December 6, 2016). Gavin Grimmâs Transgender-Rights Case and the Problem with Informal Executive Action. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/gavin-grimms-transgender-rights-case-and-the-problem-with-informal-executive-action
Seliger, Mark (July 25, 2016). The Trans Community of Christopher Street. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/01/the-trans-community-of-christopher-street
Alford, Henry (June 13, 2016). North Carolina Police Blotter. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/20/north-carolina-police-blotter-by-henry-alford
Socarides, Richard (March 28, 2016). North Carolina and the Gay-Rights Backlash. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/north-carolina-and-the-gay-rights-backlash
Dunham, Cyrus Grace (February 8, 2016). The Forgotten Ones: Queer and Trans Lives in the Prison System. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-forgotten-ones-queer-and-trans-lives-in-the-prison-system
Gersen, Jeannie Suk (January 25, 2016). Whoâs Afraid of Gender-Neutral Bathrooms? The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/whos-afraid-of-same-sex-bathrooms
Dunham, Cyrus Grace (November 19, 2015). Stuck in Stonewall. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stuck-in-stonewall
Weinstein, Michael M. (November 17, 2015). Transgender Portraits and the Things a Body Wonât Tell. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/transgender-portraits-and-the-things-a-body-wont-tell
Burt, Stephanie (July 27, 2015). Kim, Caitlyn, and the People We Want to See. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/kim-caitlyn-and-the-people-we-want-to-see
Mead, Rebecca (June 2, 2015). Caitlyn Jennerâs Big DĂ©but. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/caitlyn-jenners-big-debut
Scott, Andrea K. (May 8, 2015). Zanele Muholi. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/18/out-look
La Force, Thessaly (April 26, 2015). Bruce Jenner and the Modern American Family. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/bruce-jenner-and-the-modern-american-family
Goldberg, Michelle (July 28, 2014). What Is a Woman? The dispute between radical feminism and transgenderism. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/04/woman-2
- See also
- Letters from readers (August 25, 2014). https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/mail-7 [archive]
- Serano, Julia (August 5, 2014). Op-ed: An Open Letter to The New Yorker. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/08/05/op-ed-open-letter-new-yorker
- Serano, Julia (Jul 28, 2014). two articles (plus thoughts on autogynephilia as the transgender equivalent of slut-shaming). Whipping Girl https://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2014/07/two-articles-related-to-femininity-and.html
- Serano, Julia (August 8, 2014). Final thoughts on that Michelle Goldberg article, faux journalism, and recognizing bias. Whipping Girl https://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2014/08/final-thoughts-on-that-michelle.html
- Brighe, Mari (July 29, 2014). The New Yorkerâs Skewed History of Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism Ignores Actual Trans Women. Autostraddle https://www.autostraddle.com/the-new-yorkers-skewed-history-of-trans-exclusionary-radical-feminism-ignores-actual-trans-women-247642/
- Tannehill, Brynn (July 29, 2014). New Yorker Shamefully Cites Anti-LGBT ‘Researcher.’ The Bilerico Project http://www.bilerico.com/2014/07/new_yorker_shamefully_cites_anti-lgbt_researcher.php [archive]
- Ginelle, Leela (August 4, 2014). TERF War: The New Yorker’s One-Sided Article Undermines Transgender Identity. Bitch Media https://bitchmedia.org/post/terf-war-the-new-yorkers-one-sided-article-undermines-transgender-identity [archive]
- Jacques, Juliet (August 6, 2014). On the âdisputeâ between radical feminism and trans people. New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/08/dispute-between-radical-feminism-and-trans-people
- Truitt, Jos (August 6, 2014). Why The New Yorkerâs radical feminism and transgenderism piece was one-sided. Columbia Journalism Review https://www.cjr.org/minority_reports/new_yorker_feminism_transgenderism_jos_truitt.php
- Kennedy, Natacha (August 14, 2014). Making trans-hate sound reasonable. TransAdvocate https://www.transadvocate.com/making-trans-hate-sound-reasonable_n_14336.htm
Editors (July 28, 2014). Out Loud: Radical Feminism Vs. Transgenderism. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/loud-radical-feminism-vs-transgenderism
Als, Hilton (April 18, 2011). Self-Made Woman. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/04/25/self-made-woman
Levy, Ariel (November 19, 2009). Either/Or. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/11/30/caster-semenya-profile-either-or
Als, Hilton (July 13, 2009). Diva Deconstructed. The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/20/diva-deconstructed
Media
(May 31, 2024). The Trans Athletes Who Changed the Olympicsâin 1936 https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/the-trans-athletes-who-changed-the-olympics-in-1936
(March 15, 2024). Judith Butler Canât âTake Credit or Blameâ for Gender Furor. https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/judith-butler-cant-take-credit-or-blame-for-gender-furor
(June 9, 2023). At an Embattled Moment, the New York Timesâ Publisher Makes a Stand https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/at-an-embattled-moment-the-new-york-timess-publisher-makes-a-stand
(March 13, 2023). Masha Gessen on the War Against Trans Rights https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/masha-gessen-on-the-war-against-trans-rights
(November 4, 2022). Confronting Harassment in âNight Rideâ https://www.newyorker.com/culture/screening-room/confronting-harassment-in-night-ride
(June 1, 2022). Rethinking Identity and Testosterone in âImagine a Bodyâ https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/rethinking-identity-and-testosterone-in-imagine-a-body
(May 20, 2022). The Attack on Gender-Affirming Medical Care https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/the-attack-on-gender-affirming-medical-care
(October 27, 2021). A Texan Housepainterâs Journey to Gender Confidence https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/a-texan-housepainters-journey-to-gender-confidence
Long, Crispin (June 24, 2020). âRaising Baby Greyâ Explores the World of Gender-Neutral Parenting https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/raising-baby-grey-explores-the-world-of-gender-neutral-parenting
Als, Hilton (January 7, 2019). Janet Mock Finds Her Voice. https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/janet-mock-finds-her-voice
Sasha Weiss, Margaret Talbot, and Michelle Goldberg (July 28, 2014). Out Loud: Radical Feminism Vs. Transgenderism. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/loud-radical-feminism-vs-transgenderism
Resources
The New Yorker (newyorker.com)
- Transgender
- newyorker.com/tag/transgender