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Meredith Chivers vs. transgender people: notes

Meredith Chivers is a Canadian psychologist who researches women’s sexuality. She has also published harmful work about transgender people. This page of notes and references supplements the overview of her work and the harm she’s caused.

Coauthors

Coauthors on academic papers include:

Catherine C Classen, Meredith L Chivers, Sara Urowitz, Lisa Barbera, David Wiljer, Susan O’Rinn, Sarah E Ferguson, Saskia Poels, Jos Bloemers, Kim van Rooij, Irwin Goldstein, Jeroen Gerritsen, Diana van Ham, Frederiek van Mameren, Meredith Chivers, Walter Everaerd, Hans Koppeschaar, Berend Olivier, Adriaan Tuiten, Richard Pittini, Sophie Grigoriadis, Laura Villegas, Lori E Ross

SageLab members

  • Meredith L. Chivers
  • Anna Chouchkova
  • Kaylee Clark
  • Samantha Dawson
  • Deryn Duesbery
  • Katherine Fretz
  • Shawna Girard
  • Lucas Hildebrand
  • Jackie S. Huberman
  • Graham Hutchings
  • Matthew Kan
  • Emily McBride
  • Michelle McCowan
  • Meghan McInnis
  • Nicole Persall
  • Kelly Suschinsky
  • Amanda Timmers
  • Samuel Yoon

References

Chivers, ML (August 30, 1999). Question about porn preferences. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&edition=&selm=1.-yri-24*1%40panix.com

This week, the Kinsey Institute will play host to the 29th annual conference for the International Academy of Sex Research. […] Meredith Chivers, who studies female sexuality at Northwestern University and traveled to the conference from Toronto, said she is particularly interested in the exploration of this topic.

“What I’m most looking forward to is having an opportunity to see where research in female sexuality is in lots of disciplines,” Chivers said. “I’m interested in seeing the contributions being made in the field of female sexuality and enriching my own ideas.”

Chivers said conferences like this are important because it is a chance to come face to face with other people in the field and see who is behind the research they have been reading.

“Sitting down and shooting ideas to each other is the real exciting part of conferences,” Chivers said.

Real (2003)

Everyone else took this as an opportunity to bash me, my advisor, and the research I do. It’s really a shame. Neither I, nor Mike Bailey, has any agenda. If folks took the time to read this research without negative preconceptions, they might see this. We know so little about female sexual arousal and I hope that this project might illuminate some of the misconceptions out there. Given the hostile reception, I think I’ll stop posting on this list.

Tremmel, Pat Vaughan (June 12, 2003). Study on Differences in Female, Male Sexuality. Northwestern Press Office https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2003/06/sexuality/

Leopoldt, Jennifer and Jinna Yun (July 10, 2003). Sexuality research funding draws critics. Daily Northwestern http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/07/10/3f0cfb88ad9b7 [archive]

A Northwestern Ph.D. candidate will present results of sexual arousal research she conducted with NU Prof. J. Michael Bailey — which has drawn criticism from the Republican wing of Congress — when she speaks at a federally-funded sexuality conference next week. […] But Meredith Chivers, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at NU who will speak about sexual arousal research she conducted with Bailey, said the conference does merit funding.

“Sexuality is an intrinsic part of being human and it’s a major oversight not to encourage research in this area and to support it,” Chivers said.

Bailey, a psychology professor who teaches human sexuality at NU, also defended the need for researchers to study sexuality.

Like the conference, Bailey and Chivers’ sexual arousal study also encountered criticism for obtaining government funding. 

A $147,000 National Institutes of Health grant funded the research, which studied the effect of pornography on females to determine whether sexual arousal is as category specific for women as it is for men. […] Chivers said she was surprised at the controversy over funding for Bailey’s research and the sexuality conference. Bailey said he thought politicians singled out his and Chivers’ research because “it was easy for them to mischaracterize and make fun of.”

“They used our research to make their argument, but in fact I think our research is important and interesting, and scientists who know about the issues and what we’re doing have found it really cool,” he said.

Lawrence AA, Latty EM, Chivers ML, Bailey JM (April 2005). “Measurement of sexual arousal in postoperative male-to-female transsexuals using vaginal photoplethysmography” (PDF).

Real, Bonnie (July 17, 2003). IU’s Kinsey Institute at center of sex research in week’s conference: Annual seminar gives researchers chance to discuss face-to-face. IDS News http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=17388

Angier, Natalie (April 10, 2007). Birds do it. Bees do it. people seek the keys to it. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/science/10desi.html

O’Connor, Anahad (March 16, 2004). In sex, brain studies show, ‘la différence’ still holds. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/16/health/in-sex-brain-studies-show-la-difference-still-holds.html

Lemonick, Michael D. (January 19, 2004). Biology: The chemistry of desire. TIME 163(3):68-72, 75. https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993148,00.html

Benson, E. (April 2003). Study finds sex differences in relationship between arousal and orientation. APA Monitor, 34, p. 51. http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr03/differences.aspx

Clark-Flory, Tracy (June 2, 2013). The truth about female desire: It’s base, animalistic and ravenous. Salon. 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2019-11-23. https://www.salon.com/2013/06/02/the_truth_about_female_desire_its_base_animalistic_and_ravenous/

Carey, Benedict (2005-07-05). “Straight, Gay or Lying? Bisexuality Revisited”. The New York Times.  https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/health/straight-gay-or-lying-bisexuality-revisited.html

Denizet-Lewis, Benoit (2014-03-20). The scientific quest to prove bisexuality exists. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/magazine/the-scientific-quest-to-prove-bisexuality-exists.html

Bielski, Zosia (June 21, 2015). ‘Arousal-first’ desire may be more typical for women, and it doesn’t need a cure”. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/arousal-first-desire-may-be-more-typical-for-women-and-it-doesnt-need-a-cure/article25039091/

Mick, Hayley (January 5, 2010). Female desire more complicated. The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/conditions/study-female-desire-more-complicated/article572656/

Bergner, Daniel (2009, Jan. 25). What do women want? The New York Times Magazine, p. 28. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/magazine/25desire-t.html

McIlroy, Anne (February 27, 2009). Hot and bothered. The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/hot-and-bothered/article714183/