Pique Resilience Project vs. transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed October 26, 2026 7 min read

The Pique Resilience Project (PRP) is an “ex-transgender” organization created in 2019 by four ex-trans activists:

Chiara Caignon-Lewis (no medical transition steps)
Jesse Hinty (hormones as an adult for about 1 year, no surgical steps)
Helena Kerschner (hormones as an adult for about 1.5 years, no surgical steps)
Dagny Walton (hormones “six months before turning 18” for about 2 years, no surgical steps)

Members of PRP have spoken at anti-transgender events and maintained a website and since-deleted YouTube channel. Members also traveled to Washington, DC to lobby lawmakers and had meetings with professional associations.

After about a year of activism, PRP disbanded in 2020 after Hinty and Kerschner ended their long-term romantic relationship.

Background

Denise Caignon, owner of anti-trans group blog 4thWaveNow and parent of Chiara Caignon-Lewis, was the driving force behind the group. Several members were compulsive Tumblr users.

Ex-trans activism

The group launched a Twitter account in January 2019, then began posting videos on a YouTube channel in February 2019.

In March 2019, Kerschner, Caignon-Lewis, and Hinty were panelists at a Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) event titled “Gender Hurts: The Feminist Fight Against Gender” The panel was hosted by Natasha Chart and moderated by Sheila Jeffreys.

According to their archived website:

“In addition, we visited Congress in 2019, where we shared information about detransition/desistance with representatives and senators. We also visited other important organizations in the Washington, DC area, including: The American Psychological Association, National Institutes of Health, the National Association of Social Workers, and others. Visit the Resources section [archive] of this site to see the packet of information we provided to everyone we met during our visit to our nation’s capital.”

Resource pack

In late 2019, PRP published a “resource pack” of ex-trans and anti-trans publications. In the document’s properties, the author listed is “Ann Williams.”

The resource pack’s 33 entries are concentrated in a narrow window: all but one date from 2017 to 2019, and roughly two-thirds from 2019 alone.

The first-person detransition and desistance accounts in Part 1 appear mostly under first names or pseudonyms and were published largely on gender-critical or parent-oriented blogs and forums rather than in edited outlets: 4thWaveNow (which also hosts a Part 3 essay by J. Michael Bailey and Ray Blanchard), Feminist Current, The Velvet Chronicle, Medium, Tumblr, and Reddit. Several of these sources are closely connected; Chiara Caignon-Lewis appears twice, once with parent Denise Caignon in 4thWaveNow.
The mainstream press coverage in Part 2 comes overwhelmingly from two Murdoch-owned newspapers, The Times/Sunday Times (six entries, three by Lucy Bannerman) and The Australian (two entries, plus two more in Part 1, all by Bernard Lane). Much of it focuses on the Tavistock gender clinic and puberty blockers. Only a few US outlets appear (The Atlantic, New York magazine, and The New York Times).
Part 3 mixes a small number of peer-reviewed articles, Lisa Littman’s 2018 PLoS ONE study introducing “rapid onset gender dysphoria” and Lisa Marchiano’s 2017 article on “psychic epidemics,” with self-published or opinion-oriented material from Quillette, Areo, Substack, KevinMD, and a PDF on James Cantor’s personal website.

A recurring theme across all three sections is adolescent girls and young women, often framed in terms of social contagion or peer influence. Four people appear on the list more than once:

Bernard Lane: 4 (all in The Australian)
Lucy Bannerman: 3 (all in The Times)
Jesse Singal: 2 (The Atlantic, Substack)
Chiara Caignon-Lewis: 2 (The Velvet Chronicle, 4thWaveNow)

Part 1: Stories and information about detransitioners & desisters

Walton, Dagny [as “Dagny”] (June 4, 2019). Dagny on social media, gender dysphoria, ‘trans youth,’ and detransitioning. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/06/04/dagny-on-social-media-gender-dysphoria-trans-youth-and-detransitioning/
Caignon-Lewis, Chiara [as “Chiara Canaan”] (March 21, 2019). Girlhood interrupted—Path of desistance. The Velvet Chronicle https://thevelvetchronicle.com/path-of-desistance-childhood-interrupted/
Kerschner, Helena [as “Helena”] (March 20, 2019). Tumblr—A call-out post. 4thWaveNow https://4thwavenow.com/2019/03/20/tumblr-a-call-out-post/
Hinty, Jesse [as “Jesse”] (October 2019). My transition and detransition journey. [no link]
Evans, Charlie (September 8, 2019). The medicalization of gender nonconforming children, and the vulnerability of lesbian youth.” Charlie Evans. A speech at Leeds Lesbian Strength Rally on July 9, 2019. Medium https://medium.com/@charlie.evans/the-medicalization-of-gender-non-conforming-children-and-the-vulnerability-of-lesbian-youth-10d4ac517e8e [deleted – archive]
Caignon, Denise; Caignon-Lewis, Chiara (February 27, 2019). A grand conspiracy to tell the truth: An interview with 4thWaveNow founder & her daughter. 4thWaveNow
Singal, Jesse (July 2018). When a Child Says She’s Trans. The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/when-a-child-says-shes-trans/561749/
Herzog, Katie (June 28, 2017). The Detransitioners: They were transgender, until they weren’t. The Stranger https://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/06/28/25252342/the-detransitioners-they-were-transgender-until-they-werent
Lane, Bernard (September 21, 2019). About a girl and the decision to detransition. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/about-a-girl-and-the-decision-to-detransition/news-story/1fbe4fa35298d3a639ef8b188bf13d11
Lane, Bernard (October 14, 2019). Regretful ‘detransitioners’ on rise. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/regretful-detransitioners-on-rise/news-story/627a9cc0f42d700be7dfab435c0522a9
Staff report (October 17, 2019). From trans to detransitioner: What can we learn from this growing trend? Canadian Gender Report https://genderreport.ca/detransitioners-what-can-we-learn/
Reddit detransitioner page/subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/detrans/ “As of October 2019, this site has over 6,000 members, with many detransitioners discussing medical and psychological ramifications of transition and detransition.”
Stella, Cari (September 3, 2016) Female detransition and reidentification: Survey results and interpretation. Tumblr https://guideonragingstars.tumblr.com/post/149877706175/female-detransition-and-reidentification-survey

Part 2: Related stories in the mainstream press

[uncredited] (September 1, 2018). Why are so many teenage girls appearing in gender clinics? The Economist https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/09/01/why-are-so-many-teenage-girls-appearing-in-gender-clinics
Turner, Janice (November 11, 2017). Meet Alex Bertie, the transgender poster boy. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-alex-bertie-the-transgender-poster-boy-z88hgh8b8
Sullivan, Andrew (September 20, 2019). When the Ideologues Come for the Kids. New York magazine / Intelligencer http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/09/andrew-sullivan-when-the-ideologues-come-for-the-kids.html
Sohn, Amy (May 31, 2019). Chest binding smooths the way for transgender teens, but there may be risks. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/well/transgender-teens-binders.html
Bannerman, Lucy (April 8, 2019). Calls to end transgender ‘experiment on children’: Staff quit NHS clinic over ethics and safety fears. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/calls-to-end-transgender-experiment-on-children-k792rfj7d
Gilligan, Andrew (June 30, 2019). Tavistock clinic reveals surge in girls switching gender. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/surge-in-girls-switching-gender-pwqdtd5vk
Bannerman, Lucy (July 26, 2019). Puberty blocking drugs: ‘For the past four years I’ve been stuck as a child.’ The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/transgender-children-puberty-blocking-drugs-for-the-past-four-years-i-ve-been-stuck-as-a-child-5s6tkh7z2
Bannerman, Lucy (July 26, 2019). Use of puberty blockers on transgender children to be investigated. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/experts-investigate-use-of-puberty-blockers-on-transgender-children-6l695lflf
Lane, Bernard (August 9, 2019). Trans project ‘out of balance.’ The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/trans-project-out-of-balance/news-story/aa7e3aa89a9f42d74e76b3ef31aaa961
Lane, Bernard (October 12, 2019). Psychiatrists push for inquiry into transgender treatment. The Australian https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/psychiatrists-push-for-inquiry-into-transgender-treatment/news-story/c77ce6baf3f4857e85760b4c529e0347
Hurst, Greg (October 12, 2019). Therapist raised alert at troubling practices at Tavistock clinic. The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/therapist-raised-alert-at-troubling-practices-at-tavistock-clinic-nfhsbb76n
Perry, Louise (October 23, 2019). Culture-Bound Syndromes: Satanic Panics, Multiple Personality Disorder & ROGD. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2019/10/23/culture-bound-syndromes-satanic-panics-multiple-personality-disorder-rogd/comment-page-1/

Part 3: Other resources

Cantor, James (October 17, 2018). American Academy of Pediatrics policy and trans-kids: Fact-checking Rafferty. Sexology Today! http://www.jamescantor.org/uploads/6/2/9/3/62939641/cantor_fact-check_of_aap.pdf
Malone, William J.; Wright, Colin M.; Robertson, Julia D. (September 24, 2019). No One is Born in ‘The Wrong Body.’ Quillette https://quillette.com/2019/09/24/no-one-is-born-in-the-wrong-body/
Mason, Julia W. (October 7, 2019). A physician is worried about gender transition in pediatrics. KevinMD.com https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/10/a-physician-is-worried-about-gender-transition-in-pediatrics.html
Marchiano, Lisa (October 6, 2017). Outbreak: On Transgender Teens and Psychic Epidemics. Psychological Perspectives, 60:3, 345-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332925.2017.1350804
Singal, Jesse (June 4, 2019). Is the process of science reporting inherently transphobic? Substack / Singal-Minded https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/is-the-process-of-science-reporting
Bailey, J. Michael; Blanchard, Ray (December 7, 2017). Gender dysphoria is not one thing. 4thWaveNow https://4thwavenow.com/2017/12/07/gender-dysphoria-is-not-one-thing/
Littman, Lisa (August 16, 2018). Parent reports of adolescents and young adults perceived to show signs of a rapid onset of gender dysphoria. PLoS ONE 13(8) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202330
Jemsby, Carolina; Mattisson, Karin (2019). The Trans Train and Teenage Girls. A Swedish documentary with English subtitles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDV-ZL6-Gu0

After disbanding

Following the dissolution of the group in early 2020, Denise Caignon kept the website live as an archive. Three of the members stopped participating in public ex-trans activism. Only Helena Kerschner continued, doing extensive media appearances until getting “burned out” in early 2023.

In 2023, this site revealed the real names of Denise Caignon and Chiara Caignon-Lewis, who had each used several pseudonyms. The group then scrubbed their YouTube channel.

Media

Women’s Liberation Front with Natasha Chart, Sheila Jeffreys, Jesse Hinty, Chiara Caignon-Lewis, and Helena Kerschner (March 15, 2019; uploaded March 18, 2019). Gender Hurts: The Feminist Fight Against Gender | WLRN Live Stream. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdEVpW88A4k

Pique Resilience Project (2019). Detransitioners were NEVER trans? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnmbLufFkf8

Pique Resilience Project with Jesse Hinty and “Price” (2019). Meet Price!

Pique Resilience Project with Helena Kerschner and Dagny Walton (2019). Helena Interviews Dagny.

Pique Resilience Project with Dagny Walton and Jesse Hinty (2019). Dagny Interviews Jesse.

Pique Resilience Project with Dagny Walton and Helena Kerschner (2019). Dagny Interviews Helena.

Pique Resilience Project with Dagny Waltonn, Helena Kerschner, and Chiara Caignon-Lewis (2019). Dagny & Helena Interview Chiara

Pique Resilience Project (2019). DANGER RAMEN PODCAST #2 – Gender Dysphoria

Pique Resilience Project (February 20, 2019). DANGER RAMEN PODCAST #1 – Binding and Cosmetic Changes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQT0a8cmt7A [archive]

Pique Resilience Project with Chiara Caignon-Lewis, Jesse Hinty, Helena Kerschner, and Dagny Walton (2019). What do DETRANSITIONED WOMEN think of SOCIAL MEDIA?

Pique Resilience Project with Chiara Caignon-Lewis, Jesse Hinty, Helena Kerschner, and Dagny Walton (2019). DETRANSITION Q&A (#1).