Sasha Ayad is a conservative American psychologist and a key figure in anti-transgender extremism. Ayad and collaborator Stella O’Malley are world leaders in the gender critical movement attacking transgender people, especially children.
They promote
- disease models of gender identity
- strict conservative gatekeeping models of care
- “rapid onset gender dysphoria“
- the ex-transgender movement
- trans-exclusionary queers (the LGB movement)
- anti-trans front group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM)
Do not under any circumstances go to Ayad for any counseling of any kind. If you are a minor forced to see Ayad, do everything in your power to end the sessions and find a supportive local therapist instead.
Background
Sasha Ayad was born February 1, 1982 and attended University of Houston, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology.
Anti-trans activism
Ayad is connected to a number of anti-trans organizations, most of which are just part of a web farm with reciprocal links to make Ayad’s allies and their fringe ideologies seem more numerous and influential than they are.
These fringe front groups include:
- Genspect
- Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM)
- International Association of Therapists for Desisters and Detransitioners (IATDD)
- Rethink Identity Medicine Ethics (ReIME)
- Gender Exploratory Therapy Association (GETA)
- Sex Matters
- Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research (ICGDR)
- Pediatric and Adolescent Gender Dysphoria Working Group (PAGDWG)
- Gender Dysphoria Support Network (GDSN)
- Gender: A Wider Lens
- Beyond WPATH
- Stats for Gender
- Wider Lens Consulting
- Thoughtful Therapists
- Critical Therapy Antidote
In 2023 Ayad co-authored the anti-trans book When Kids Say They’re Trans: A Guide for Parents with Stella O’Malley and Lisa Marchiano.
Gender: A Wider Lens
Ayad and O’Malley host the podcast Gender: A Wider Lens. The guests include many global leaders in modern conservative and anti-transgender activism.
The Metaphor of Gender
In 2025, Ayad started the YouTube channel The Metaphor of Gender. The early videos are solo presentations of Ayad’s views on gender.
Resources
Wider Lens Consulting (widerlens.consulting)
Inspired Teen Therapy (inspiredteentherapy.com)
Substack (substack.com)
- sashaayad
- Sane Parenting in a Gender-Crazy World: Sasha’s Therapy Note
- sashaayad.substack.com
YouTube (youtube.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
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