Ben Appel is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Appel is a regular contributor to Queer Majority, UnHerd, Quillette, and other anti-trans publications.
Background
Benjamin John “Ben” Appel was born in February 1983 to Nancy Sue (Lipman) Gunzelman (born 1954) and Randy Appel (1949â2019). Appel grew up in Catonsville and Ellicott City, Maryland in a “fundamentalist” Catholic household with three siblings: Erin, Jessica, and Bret.
Appel had many “feminine” interests as a child (particularly My Pretty Pony) and has concerns that children like him are now encouraged to make a gender transition:
“I, like a lot of other LGB (and some trans) people, believe that many children and some adolescents presenting at gender clinics today would likely desist and grow up to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual if they were given proper emotional support. In other words, in many cases, the medicalization of âtrans kidsâ might actually be the medicalization of homosexuality.”
In 2015 Appel married attorney Andrew Charles “Drew” Leaser (born 1976). They live in New York.
Appel worked as a hairdresser in Maryland for ten years before earning a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 2020.
Appel has written about getting sober and has criticized Alcoholics Anonymous for working toward inclusivity:
“IÂ was finishing my last year of study at Columbia University. Having entered the university in 2017 as a self-described radical progressive planning a career in LGBT activism, I was graduating an exile. I had become disillusioned with, and spoken out against, my fellow progressivesâ tactics: suppressing free speech, purity policing and reducing every individual to his or her skin colour, gender and sexual orientation. During my last semester, which was moved online due to the pandemic, Iâd sign on to virtual AA meetings after class, and immediately be struck by how similar the two spaces had become. Pronouns lit up the screen. Whereas opening readings once consisted of the AA preamble, the 12 Steps and 12 traditions, and details about the meeting, now some groups chose to add a thinly veiled threat: ‘We will not tolerate racist, homophobic, sexist or transphobic rhetoric in this space.’â
Appel was also upset that AA revised its language to be more gender-inclusive.
Anti-transgender activism
Appel’s forthcoming memoir from Post Hill Press is titled Cis White Gay. The book was pitched as:
about growing up in a Christian fundamentalist cult before becoming a gay rights activist while a student at Columbia University, only to encounter there a cultural landscape ruled by gender ideology and a puritanical cult of social justice resembling The Handmaidâs Tale dystopia of his childhood
In 2023, Appel was announced as a participant in an anti-trans conference by SPLC-designated hate group Genspect.
Appel is an “autogynephilia” activist and frequently criticizes “gender ideology.”
Appel co-hosts the Informed Dissent podcast with Corinna Cohn, Lisa Selin Davis, “Eliza Mondegreen,” and Jamie Reed. The podcast debuted in December 2024.
References
Appel, Ben (March 2, 2025). ‘Conclave’ Isn’t The Pro-Trans Film People Think It Is. Rather, it illustrates the insanity of the trans/queer movement. Ben Appel’s Newsletter https://benappel.substack.com/p/conclave-isnt-the-pro-trans-film
Appel, Ben (February 2, 2025). Enough With Their Lies: LGBT organizations and mainstream news outlets do more to contribute to the youth mental health crisis than the Trump Administration ever could. Ben Appel’s Newsletter https://benappel.substack.com/p/enough-with-their-lies
Appel, Ben (January 19, 2025). Itâs Time for This Madness to End. Ben Appel’s Newsletter https://benappel.substack.com/p/perhaps-its-time-we-went-scorched
Appel, Ben (December 14, 2024). That Which Must Not Be Named. Ben Appel’s Newsletter https://benappel.substack.com/p/that-which-must-not-be-named
Appel, Ben (December 26, 2023). The Re-deminzation of the Gay Male. Queer Majority https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/the-re-demonization-of-the-gay-male
Appel, Ben (May 14, 2023). Homophobia in drag: Transgender ideology has breathed new life into a dark, old prejudice. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/05/14/the-new-homophobia/
Appel, Ben (September 2, 2022). Victimhood is one helluva drug. [alternate title: âChase Strangio, you can have âfa**otâ if you want it.â] Queer Majority https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/victimhood-is-one-helluva-drug
Apprl, Ben (May 12, 2023). How Alcoholics Anonymous lost its way Addicts with the ‘wrong opinions’ no longer fit in. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/05/how-alcoholics-anonymous-lost-its-way/
Appel, Ben (April 21, 2022). The New Homophobia | Opinion. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/new-homophobia-opinion-1698969
Adler, Dahlia (February 25, 2022). February 2022 deal announcements. LGBTQ Reads https://lgbtqreads.com/2022/02/25/february-2022-deal-announcements/
Appel, Ben (January 13, 2022). The stifling conformity of campus sexual politics. Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-stifling-conformity-of-campus-sexual-politics
Appel, Ben (July 8, 2021). As a Gay Child in a Christian Cult, I Was Taught to Hate Myself. Then I Joined the Church of Social Justiceâand Nothing Changed, Quillette https://quillette.com/2021/07/08/as-a-gay-child-in-a-christian-cult-i-was-taught-to-hate-myself-then-i-joined-the-church-of-social-justice-and-nothing-changed/
Appel, Ben (January 17, 2018). How to Be Cisgender. Quarto https://quartomagazine.com/nonfiction/how-to-be-cisgender
Iacia, Samantha (January 14, 2015). Wedded: Ben Appel and Drew Leaser. Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-lt-wedded-0118-20150114-story.html
Resources
Ben Appel (benappelwrites.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
Substack (substack.com)
Queer Majority (queermajority.com)
- Ben Appel
- queermajority.com/contributors-1/ben-appel
“Tish Still” is the pen name of Tish Naughton, a British anti-transgender activist. Naughton is an unaccepting parent of a transgender child.
Background
Patricia “Tish” Naughton identifies as “a proud radical feminist mum” who is “spreading awareness about the impact of gender ideology on womenâs rights.”
Naughton identified in UnHerd as “the mother of a son who identifies as part of the transgender community.”
Anti-transgender activism
Naughton runs a website called Gender Critical Woman Blog. Naughton has done interviews with Erin Brewer, James of @HumanGayMale, Graham Linehan, Isla Macy of Parents Against Gender Ideology in Schools, Woman’s Place UK, and Women’s Declaration International (WDI). Naughton is a contributor to anti-trans blog Reduxx.
Naughton has signed several open letters and petitions, including
- an open letter in Feminist Current supporting anti-trans extremist Graham Linehan (2019)
- a petition supporting anti-trans extremist J.K. Rowling (2020)
- a letter to the editor of The Times prepared by LGB Alliance characterizing gender affirming care for minors as “conversion therapy.” (2021)
- support for anti-trans activist Allison Bailey “[in] the name of parents whose Gay Offspring are once again believing they are #BornWrong thanks to all the teaching materials supplied by Stonewall or with their endorsement.” (2021)
- a petition titled Beyond WPATH attacking WPATH (2022)
- an open letter fo United Nations commissioners supporting anti-trans activist Reem Alalem’s criticisms of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (2022)
- an open letter to Liz Truss and Boris Johnson claiming a Truss letter to the Equality and Human Rights Commission “undermines” EHRC’s upcoming guidance on single-sex services (2022)
- an open letter by Sex Matters supporting anti-transgender activist Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls (2023)
- an open letter critical of a Maternity Gender Inclusion Programme for midwives with information on trans people who give birth (2023)
- the WHO Decides petition targeting trans-supportive experts convened by the World Health Organization (2024)
References
“Still, Tish” (April 12, 2022). Trans BDSM Fetishist Is Advising UK Hospitals to Ignore Single-Sex Wards Law. Reduxx https://reduxx.info/trans-bdsm-fetishist-is-advising-uk-hospitals-to-ignore-single-sex-wards-law/
“Still, Tish” (January 11, 2022). The truth about trans murders. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/01/the-truth-about-trans-murders/
Naughton, Tish et al. (March 13, 2021). Trans Controversy: Support is needed for gender non-conforming children, who are now getting the impression that the answer to their problems is a lifetime of medication. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/comment/letters-to-editor/article/times-letters-sarah-everard-and-womens-fear-on-the-streets-h2zd3sqsb?region=global
Naughton, Tish et al. (June 2, 2019). Trans ideology is damaging children. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/trans-ideology-is-damaging-children-k5nlhwmc8?region=global
Naughton, Tish et al. (June 2, 2019). Open letter in support of Graham Linehanâs challenges to gender identity ideology. Feminist Current https://www.feministcurrent.com/2019/02/28/open-letter-in-support-of-graham-linehans-challenges-to-gender-identity-ideology/
LGB Alliance (2020 ff). FOI result: commincation between LGB Alliance and office of Liz Truss. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_with_lgb_alliance_4/response/1848146/attach/html/6/ANNEX%201%20Emails%20and%20Agenda%20Redacted.pdf.html
Naughton, Patricia (2018). Written submission from Patricia Naughton (EEA0181). https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/95803/pdf/
Resources
Gender Critical Woman Blog (gendercriticalwoman.blog)
Substack (substack.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Joan Smith is a British writer, sex segregationist, and anti-transgender activist from the movement’s gender critical faction.
Background
Joan Alison Smith was born August 27, 1953. Smith attended University of Reading. Smith was on staff at The Sunday Times from 1979 to 1984.
Smith is author of the Loretta Lawson series of crime novels. Smith’s nonfiction books include Misogynies (1989), Different for Girls: How Culture Creates Women (1998), and Home Grown: How Domestic Violence Turns Men Into Terrorists (2019).
In 2015, Smith was elected chair of Labour Humanists, a group promoting secularist policies and humanist values within the Labour party.
Smith was married to journalist Francis Wheen from 1985 to 1993 and was partners with politician Denis MacShane from 2003 to 2010.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2021, Smith was fired as Co-Chair of the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls Board, a volunteer role held since 2013. The decision came after a governance review. Officials denied Smith’s claims that it was because of anti-trans activities.
Smith frequently writes anti-trans articles for UnHerd. Smith is a member of Sex Matters Advisory Group.
References
Brook, Libby (August 19, 2021). The Guardian London mayorâs office denies feminist activistâs claims over sacking https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/aug/19/london-mayors-office-denies-feminist-activists-claims-over-sacking
Smith Joan (August 20, 2021). Why did Sadiq Khanâs office fire me? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/08/why-did-sadiq-khans-office-fire-me/
Resources
UnHerd (unherd.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Giles Fraser is a British journalist, broadcaster and clergymember. Initially trans-supportive, Fraser says he became a TERF in response to tactics used against supporters of anti-transgender activist J.K. Rowling.
Background
Giles Anthony Fraser was born November 27, 1964 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. Fraser studied at Newcastle University and Ripon College Cuddesdon, then earned a doctorate at University of Lancaster.
Fraser was ordained as a deacon in 1993 and as a priest in 1994. Fraser taught at Wadham College, Oxford, and Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral. Fraser is the author of Redeeming Nietzsche: On the Piety of Unbelief, How to Believe: Investigating Wittgenstein, and Christianity with Attitude.
Fraser hosts The Moral Maze and Thought for the Day on Radio 4. Fraser is a Vicar of St Anne’s, Kew, part of the Church of England.
Fraser has been married twice and has three children.
Anti-trans views
In 2015 Fraser wrote a column about how the church needs to welcome trans people. When interacting with trans people, Fraser uses their names and pronouns because “my default response is to affirm these decisions.”
Fraser’s opinion shifted in 2023. After anti-trans activist Suzanne Moore introduced Fraser to J.K. Rowling at an event at Italian restaurant Pino, the restaurant was vandalized and review-bombed online.
Fraser reportedly became a TERF after that. Fraser also revealed several anti-trans views:
I believe in limits, in the givenness of some things. And, it seems to me, biological sex is one of them. I find the use of medical technology to transgress these limits to be Faustian in its hubris.Â
Because some transactivists now behave as though anything they can do for the cause is justified, however cruel: get people sacked, ruin their businesses, be vile to others online. The public sphere is becoming so unpleasant, so full of vitriol and accusation, that many of us just put on our tin hats and retreat from the conversation. To be honest, I have been quite content that my privilege has, until now, encouraged me to think that the best thing for me to do is to sit this one out and say nothing. I have been hiding behind this terribly convenient self-denying ordinance, leaving the likes of J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Moore to take all the heat, my courage being a few pathetic âlikesâ on Twitter.
References
Fraser, Giles (May 22, 2015). Why the church needs welcome services for people transitioning gender. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/may/22/why-church-needs-welcome-services-people-transitioning-gender
Fraser, Giles (June 9, 2022). How pasta made me a Terf. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/06/how-pasta-made-me-a-terf/
Resources
X/Twitter (x.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Timandra Harkness is a writer and comedian who has some gender critical positions about transgender youth and anti-transgender activists.
Background
Harkness presents the BBC Radio 4 series, FutureProofing and How To Disagree. Harkness is author of Big Data: Does Size Matter?
In the show Brainsex, Harkness came to the correct conclusion that “brain sex” is one of many ways sex science is similar to race science: a misuse of science to justify oppression.
Anti-trans statements
Harkness has written in anti-trans publication UnHerd about supporting anti-trans activist Kathleen Stock.
Harkness also stated opposition to gender affirming healthcare for transgender youth:
I support the rights of trans people to equal treatment. I don’t support encouraging teenagers into irreversible medical interventions by telling them they’re in the “wrong body” because they don’t fit narrow gender stereotypes. So I won’t sign this letter.
References
Harkness, Timandra (October 13, 2021). The hounding of Kathleen Stock. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/10/the-hounding-of-kathleen-stock/
worldwrite (November 12, 2011). Sex in the brain: do men and women think differently? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ6ygnNsH8o
Resources
Timandra Harkness (timandraharkness.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Mary Harrington is a British author and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Mary E. Harrington grew up in Kings Langley and graduated from Oxford in 2002.
“In 2005, I changed my name to Sebastian, because the internet told me to. That was a fairly eccentric thing to do 15 years ago. Now, it seems like everyoneâs at it.”
Harrington worked in marketing from 2006 to 2020, specializing in marketing for the shipping industry. Harrington is a contributing editor at anti-trans publication UnHerd.
Harrington is author of the 2023 book Feminism Against Progress.
References
Trinko, Katrina (April 30, 2023) Did the Pill and the Digital World Fuel Transgenderism? The Daily Signal https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/04/30/mary-harrington-feminism-against-progress-author-talks-transgenderism/
McBain, Sophie (March 8, 2023). Mary Harrington: “Make sex consequential again.” The journalist and author on what liberal feminism gets wrong. New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/encounter/2023/03/mary-harrington-interview-make-sex-consequential
Selected anti-trans writing by Harrington
Harrington, Mary (February 19, 2024). New study: trans youth not at elevated risk of suicide. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/new-study-trans-youth-not-at-elevated-risk-of-suicide/
Harrington, Mary (December 1, 2023). Ultra-Processed People. Reactionary Feminist https://reactionaryfeminist.substack.com/p/ultra-processed-people
Harrington, Mary (September 14, 2023). The Statistic No One’s Allowed To Study: Why are so many transgender prisoners sex offenders? Reactionary Feminist
Harrington, Mary (July 17, 2023). NHS mental health app âKoothâ is a danger to girls. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/nhs-mental-health-app-kooth-is-a-danger-to-girls/
Harrington, Mary (July 23, 2023). Which orifice? What organs? Who cares? Reactionary Feminist https://reactionaryfeminist.substack.com/p/which-orifice-what-organs-who-cares
Harrington, Mary (June 12, 2023). California laws fundamentally redefine the family. UnHerd https://unherd.com/newsroom/california-laws-fundamentally-redefine-the-family/
Harrington, Mary (May 12, 2023). The Hyperpalatable Human What AI-generated burger adverts tell us about male-to-male transsexuals. Reactionary Feminist https://reactionaryfeminist.substack.com/p/the-hyperpalatable-human
Harrington, Mary (April 17, 2023). From the UN to SNL, how institutions fall to trans activism. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/from-the-un-to-snl-how-institutions-fall-to-transactivism/
Harrington, Mary (April 3, 2023). New laws confirm the sacred principle of bodily self-creation UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/new-laws-confirm-the-sacred-principle-of-bodily-self-creation/
Harrington, Mary (March 29, 2023). What Posie Parker learnt from Brexit: Every campaign needs its shock troops. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/03/what-posie-parker-learnt-from-brexit/
Harrington, Mary (March 2, 2023). Why Progress isnât feminist. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2023/03/why-progress-isnt-feminist/
Harrington, Mary (March 2, 2023). Dylan Mulvaneyâs new face is only the beginning UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/dylan-mulvaneys-new-face-is-only-the-beginning/
Harrington, Mary (January 5, 2023). Why are incels turning themselves into girls? UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/why-are-incels-turning-themselves-into-girls/
Harrington, Mary (October 28, 2022). Scotlandâs new gender bill imperils the Union. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/scotlands-new-gender-bill-imperils-the-union/
Harrington, Mary (October 28, 2022). Can you really be non-binary? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/08/what-does-it-mean-to-be-non-binary/
Harrington, Mary (May 30, 2022). Landmark trans cases show who the men really are. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/landmark-trans-cases-show-who-the-men-really-are/
Harrington, Mary (October 20, 2021). Welcome to Team TERF, Margaret Atwood UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/welcome-to-the-team-margaret-atwood/
Harrington, Mary (September 14, 2021). The Gender Resistance. First Things https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2021/09/the-gender-resistance
Harrington, Mary (September 1, 2021). Trans activism has mummy issues. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/09/the-trans-war-on-motherhood/
Harrington, Mary (May 6, 2021). Nobody wins the gender wars. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/05/nobody-wins-the-gender-wars/
Harrington, Mary (May 6, 2021). The trans lobby is finally meeting resistance. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-trans-lobby-is-finally-meeting-resistance/
Harrington, Mary (December 9, 2020). For me, self-identification was a con. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2020/12/for-me-self-identification-was-a-con/
Resources
Reactionary Feminist (reactionaryfeminist.com)
Substack (substack.com)
UnHerd (unherd.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Jacob Siegel is an American writer and critic of gender affirming healthcare.
Background
Jacob Rosenberg “Jake” Siegel was born November 13, 1980 to sociologist Jan Rosenberg Siegel and academic Frederick Fein “Fred” Siegel, (1945â2023), a progressive turned senior fellow at conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute.
Siegel served in the US Army, then commanded the New York Army National Guard Alpha Company, 1st Battalion 69th Infantry.
Siegel worked at The Daily Beast, where sibling Harry served as a senior editor. Siegel is an author and co-editor with Roy Scranton of Fire and Forget: Short Stories From the Long War, by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Siegel has written for The New York Times, Tablet, Politico, the New York Daily News, The Baffler, Vice, and the National Endowment for the Humanities
Siegel is senior editor of News and The Scroll, Tabletâs daily afternoon news digest.
References
Siegel, Jacob (May 6, 2022). Did hipsters start the gender wars? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/05/how-hipsters-started-the-gender-wars/
Siegel, Jacob (June 15, 2022). The Evil of Banality. The Scroll https://thedailyscroll.substack.com/p/the-evil-of-banality
Moulton, David (March 9, 2023). The Great Transitioning. Tablet https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/great-transitioning [Moulton thanked Siegel for his help with this]
Siegel, Harry; Siegel, Jacob (May 13, 2023). Pop: The private life of the public intellectual: Memories of Fred Siegelâs loving legacy from his sons Harry and Jacob. New York Daily News https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-fred-siegel-harry-jacob-sons-20230513-x75suvkdbjasvd2zhlnlufl5su-story.html
Roberts, Sam (May 11, 2023). Fred Siegel, Urban Historian and a Former Liberal, Is Dead at 78. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/11/nyregion/fred-siegel-dead.html
Resources
X/Twitter (x.com)
Patreon (patreon.com)
Daily Beast (thedailybeast.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Gareth Roberts is a gay British writer and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Gareth John Pritchard Roberts was born June 5, 1968. Roberts attended King Alfred’s College (now the University of Winchester) and Liverpool Polytechnic (now Liverpool John Moores University).
Roberts published the 1997 gay erotic novel The Velvet Web under the pseudonym Christopher Summerisle. Roberts wrote for British soap operas Brookside, Coronation Street, and Emmerdale. Roberts also wrote several books and episodes within the Doctor Who franchise and a number of sitcoms.
Anti-transgender activism
On September 3, 2017, Roberts posted to Twitter, “I â€ïž how trannies choose names like Munroe, Paris and Chelsea. It’s never Julie or Bev is it?” Later Roberts added, “It’s almost like a clueless gayboy’s idea of a glamorous lady. But of course it’s definitely not that.”
In 2019 Roberts was dropped from a Doctor Who project due to the 2017 comments and released a statement. Roberts described the 2017 tweets as “cheerful vulgarity” and laid out various “opinions on transgenderism”:
I donât believe in gender identity. It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex. I donât believe anybody is born in the wrong body.
I think itâs wrong to â write a falsehood into law; compel people by law to speak words they do not believe; rewrite the law to remove womenâs biological sex-based rights and protections; reinforce gender stereotypes; medicalise children who donât conform to gender stereotypes. Thatâs it.
Roberts then began litigating these anti-transgender views on UnHerd and other anti-trans platforms.
References
Gunz, Rafaella (September 17, 2017). Doctor Who writer Tweeted a transphobic comment and the internet is not having it. Gay Star News https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/doctor-writer-tweeted-transphobic-comment-internet-not/
Jusino, Teresa (September 5, 2017). Doctor Who Writer Gareth Roberts Talks Vile, Ignorant Trash About Trans Women. The Mary Sue https://www.themarysue.com/doctor-who-writer-gareth-roberts-talks-vile-ignorant-trash-about-trans-women/
Farrow, Max (September 4, 2017). ‘Doctor Who’ Writer Gareth Roberts Tweets Controversial Comments Online. geeks.media https://geeks.media/doctor-who-writer-gareth-roberts-tweets-controversial-comments-online
Flood, Alison (June 5, 2019). Doctor Who anthology drops writer over transgender remarks. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/05/doctor-who-anthology-writer-transgender-tweets-gareth-roberts
Selected writing by Roberts
Roberts, Gareth (May 19, 2022). After 12 long hours, I have been freed from Twitter prison. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/after-12-long-hours-i-have-been-freed-from-twitter-jail/
Roberts, Gareth (October 27, 2021). Is the BBC finally standing up to gender ideologues? UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/is-the-bbc-finally-standing-up-to-gender-ideologues/
Roberts, Gareth (October 15, 2021). Stephen Nolanâs Stonewall documentary is unmissable. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/stephen-nolans-stonewall-documentary-is-unmissable/
Roberts, Gareth (September 10, 2021). Judith Butlerâs toxic nonsense. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/09/judith-butlers-toxic-nonsense/
Roberts, Gareth (August 13, 2021). The BBC erases homosexuality with the stroke of a pen. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/the-bbc-erases-homosexuality-at-the-stroke-of-a-pen/
Roberts, Gareth (June 17, 2021). So youâve been cancelled? Hereâs what to expect. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/so-youve-been-cancelled-heres-what-to-expect/
Roberts, Gareth (June 14, 2019). How I was cancelled by Doctor Who. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2019/06/how-dr-who-fans-became-its-overlords/
Roberts, Gareth (June 4, 2019). Statement on BBC Books and Transgenderism. Medium [archive] https://web.archive.org/web/20190604101854/https://medium.com/@zmangareth/statement-on-bbc-books-and-transgenderism-dd7ad0c9231a
Resources
X/Twitter (x.com)
Spectator (spectator.co.uk)
Medium (medium.com)
Ellen Pasternack is a British biologist, sex segregationist, science communicator, and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Ellen Pasternack attended University of Oxford, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2016, a master’s degree in 2017, and a doctorate in 2023. Pasternack’s birthing parent’s background is German and Ashkenazi.
Pasternack has written for The Critic, UnHerd, New Statesman, The Specator, The Telegraph, CapX, and Works in Progress.
Anti-transgender activism
Pasternack’s activism around trans people emerged in 2018, when Pasternack was upset that the Oxford University Student Union uninvited Jenni Murray in the wake of Murray’s 2017 anti-trans column, “Be trans, be proud â but donât call yourself a âreal woman.â
In 2022 Fiona MacKenzie, Louise Perry, Olivia Robey, and Pasternack joined forces for The OH Research Ltd d/b/a The Other Half, a UK nonprofit researching “practical, workable policy in the interests of women.”
References
Pasternack, Ellen (May 5, 2022). You canât be born in the wrong body. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2022/05/you-cant-be-born-in-the-wrong-body/
Pasternack, Ellen (May 3, 2023). Hereâs why human sex is binary. UnHerd https://unherd.com/thepost/heres-why-human-sex-is-binary/
Pasternack, Ellen (June 14, 2022). Being âintersexâ isnât that common. https://unherd.com/thepost/is-the-trans-lobby-manipulating-science/
Wheater, Emily; Pasternack, Ellen (November 2020). Transitioning to a medical scandal. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2020/transitioning-to-a-medical-scandal/
Pasternack, Ellen (22 September, 2021). âNo debateâ no longer an option. The Critic https://thecritic.co.uk/no-debate-no-longer-an-option/
Pasternack, Ellen (November 2020). Written evidence submitted by Ms Ellen Pasternack (GRA1406) https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/17525/pdf/
Pasternack, Ellen (February 28, 2023). The uncomfortable truths of Hag feminism. The New Statesman https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2023/02/uncomfortable-truths-hag-feminism
Resources
Weebly (weebly.com)
Substack (substack.com)
The Other Half (theotherhalf.uk)
Muck Rack (muckrack.com)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Medium (medium.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Douglas Murray is a conservative British author and anti-transgender activist.
Background
Douglas Kear Murray was born July 16, 1979 in London. Murray graduated from Oxford. In 2006 Murray wrote a book defending neoconservatism. Murray was director of Centre for Social Cohesion, but conflicts about their anti-immigration and anti-Islamist stances forced the organization to merge into the Henry Jackson Society after Murray left.
Murray has written for most major anti-trans publications, including The Spectator, The Daily Telegraph, National Review, The Wall Street Journal, UnHerd, and the New York Post. In February 2022, Murray became a Fox News contributor. Murray is a fellow at the National Review Institute.
Anti-transgender activism
Murray identifies as gay and aligns with the faction of anti-trans queer conservatives.
Murray has said that it is a lie that a man can become a woman. In September 2020, during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Murray compared accepting trans people to “late-empire sign of things falling apart”. Murray believes there is no such thing as non-binary gender.
Murray’s 2019 book The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity has a section called Trans. Murray believes that identity politics are a threat to Western civilization.
References
Murray, Douglas (November 22, 2019). Has trans activism gone too far? UnHerd https://unherd.com/2019/11/has-trans-activism-gone-too-far/
Murray, Douglas (November 22, 2019). Can we ever be woke enough for the trans extremists? New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/07/14/can-we-ever-be-woke-enough-for-the-trans-extremists/
Murray, Douglas (May 26, 2021). How Stonewall sacrificed gay rights. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/05/how-stonewall-sacrificed-gay-rights/
Murray, Douglas (October 22, 2021). How Stonewall was exposed. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/10/how-stonewall-was-exposed/
Murray, Douglas (June 16, 2022 ). Trans surgery for children is not a ârightâ to be fought for. New York Post https://nypost.com/2022/06/16/trans-surgery-for-children-is-not-a-right-to-be-fought-for/
Murray, Douglas (May 7, 2021). Publishing is now a Left-wing bubble. UnHerd https://unherd.com/2021/05/publishing-is-now-a-leftist-bubble/
Dori, Roni (July 29, 2021). Douglas Murray: ‘What I Mind Is the Lie That a Man Can Become a Woman’. Haaretz https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-07-29/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/what-i-mind-is-the-lie-that-a-man-can-become-a-woman/0000017f-e3f4-d568-ad7f-f3ff39520000
January, Brianna (September 18, 2020). Joe Rogan and guest discuss whether trans people are a sign of “the end of America”. Media Matters for America https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/joe-rogan-and-guest-discuss-whether-trans-people-are-sign-end-america
Reynolds, Daniel (September 17, 2019). Right-Wing U.K. Writer Epically Schooled for Misgendering Sam Smith. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/people/2019/9/17/right-wing-uk-writer-epically-schooled-misgendering-sam-smith
Media
Michael Shermer -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWjugMlQ_54
Lawrence Krauss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKNzcX-6vYs
Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster of Triggernometry -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1FxfJr6Bik
Jesse Watters – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6megJ0FbpU
Rita Panahi – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-kXxCotNXk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRePOQqWKmk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYR4QvOuAP8
John Anderson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntX0xWvjGrI
Peter Tatchell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtoHDp3LpzQ
Brian Rose / London Real https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0tMT76EgNk
Rod Liddle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3nLx_sAgE0
Alex J. O’Connor Cosmic Skeptic -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCtBUvFL-QQ
Resources
Douglas Murray (douglasmurray.net)
Gatestone Institute (gatestoneinstitute.org)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Instagram (instagram.com)
The Spectator (spectator.co.uk)
The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)
UnHerd (unherd.com)