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Areo magazine vs. transgender people

Areo magazine was an anti-transgender publication active from 2016 to 2023. Areo contributors included Iona Italia, Helen Pluckrose, Richard Dawkins, Alex Byrne, Petra Bueskens, Louise Perry, Holly Lawford-Smith, Claire Lehmann, and Lisa Marchiano.

Background

Areo was founded in November 2016 by Malhar Mali, who ran it until June 2018. Areo Magazine Ltd. was founded in January 2019 by Helen Pluckrose, who later appointed Gauri Hopkins (July 2019) and Iona Italia (February 2021).

Editors

  • Malhar Mali (founder and editor 2016–2018)
  • Helen Pluckrose (editor-in-chief 2018–2021)
  • Iona Italia (editor-in-chief 2021–2023)

Iona Italia claimed, “we have published gender critical stuff in @AreoMagazine. I have interviewed @SwipeWright. Helen has engaged in a public letter conversation with Kathleen Stock.we have published a number of articles on trans issues, both from a trans rights AND from a gender critical perspective (including two defences of J. K. Rowling).”

It’s not clear which articles are from a “trans rights” perspective.

Selected contributors

note: This is not exhaustive and focuses on sex and gender.

References

Staff (April 5, 2019). Areo Magazine, Quillette’s slightly more subtle twin sister. Pinkerite https://www.pinkerite.com/2019/04/areo-magazine-quillettes-slightly-more.html

Prince, Erich J. (January 22, 2019). Helen Pluckrose Joins Erich Prince to Tell Areo’s Story. MerionWest https://merionwest.com/2019/01/22/helen-pluckrose-joins-erich-prince-to-tell-areos-story/

Companies House UK (2019). AREO MAGAZINE LTD. Company number 11782240, Incorporated 23 Jan 2019, struck 5 Nov 2024 https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11782240/officers

Selected anti-trans articles

Alex Byrne, Holly Lawford-Smith, John McLaughlin (September 12, 2023). Gender-critical philosophy: a defence. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2023/09/12/gender-critical-philosophy-a-defence/ [archive]

Ralph Leonard (June 6, 2023). A Feminist Against Modernity [review of Mary Harrington, Feminism Against Progress] Areo https://areomagazine.com/2023/06/06/a-feminist-against-modernity/ [archive]

Claire Lehmann and Iona Italia (May 5, 2023). Claire Lehmann: Riding Out the Media Storm. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2023/05/05/claire-lehmann-riding-out-the-media-storm/ [archive]

Kaylee Walker (February 10, 2023). Queer Majority: Sex versus Gender. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2023/02/10/sex-versus-gender/ [archive]

Kaylee Walker (November 11, 2022). Gender Policing on the Left. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2022/11/11/gender-policing-on-the-left/ [archive]

Alan Sokol (September 26, 2022). The Bad-Faith Use of Words. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2022/09/26/the-bad-faith-use-of-words [archive]

Richard Dawkins (January 5, 2022). Race Is a Spectrum. Sex Is Pretty Damn Binary. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2022/01/05/race-is-a-spectrum-sex-is-pretty-damn-binary/ [archive]

David J. Ferrero (April 5, 2021). [review of What Should Schools Teach?: Disciplines, Subjects and the Pursuit of Truth, Alka Sehgal Cuthbert and Alex Standish]. https://areomagazine.com/2021/04/05/what-should-school-teach-by-alka-sehgal-cuthbert-and-alex-standish/ [archive]

Banjamin Morse (October 12, 2021). William Wanted a Doll: Not All Gender-Nonconforming Kids Are Trans. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2021/10/12/william-wanted-a-doll-not-all-gender-nonconforming-kids-are-trans/ [archive]

James Nikopoulos (November 17, 2021). The Persecutor Complex. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2021/11/17/the-persecutor-complex/ [archive]

Izabella Tabarovksy (May 21, 2021). What My Soviet Life Has Taught Me About Censorship and Why It Makes Us Dumb. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2021/05/21/why-censorship-makes-us-dumb-in-soviet-russia-then-and-in-america-today/ [archive]

Holly Lawford-Smith (November 23, 2020). The Digital Deplatforming of a Gender-Critical Feminist. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2020/11/23/the-digital-deplatforming-of-a-gender-critical-feminist/ [archive]

Petra Bueskens (June 23, 2020). An Apology to JK Rowling. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2020/06/23/an-apology-to-jk-rowling/ [archive]

Louise Perry (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/ [archive]

Gerfried Ambrosch (September 13, 2019). From Satire to Reality: Monty Python Predicts Woke Culture. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2019/09/13/from-satire-to-reality-monty-python-predicts-woke-culture/ [archive]

Travis Clark (August 12, 2019). In Defence of the “Adversity Score”. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2019/08/12/in-defence-of-the-adversity-score/ [archive]

Aoife Assumpta Hart (April 11, 2019). The Beauvoir Bluff: What Gender Idealists Keep Getting Wrong about “The Second Sex”. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2019/04/11/the-beauvoir-bluff-what-gender-idealists-keep-getting-wrong-about-the-second-sex/ [archive]

John Iceland and Ilana Redstone Akresh (February 5, 2019). All or Nothing: Why Our Discussions Over Inequality Go Nowhere. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2019/02/05/all-or-nothing-why-our-discussions-over-inequality-go-nowhere [archive]

Cody Moser (November 26, 2018). Alice Dreger’s Middle Finger: Sex, Gender and Unhelpful Hair-Splitting. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2018/11/26/alice-dregers-middle-finger-sex-gender-and-unhelpful-hair-splitting/ [archive]

“Anonymous Physicist” (October 31, 2018). Gender Controversy Comes to Physics: A Response to the Statement Against Alessandro Strumia. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2018/10/31/gender-controversy-comes-to-physics-a-response-to-the-statement-against-alessandro-strumia/ [archive]

Lisa Marchiano (July 8, 2018). No, You Don’t Have a Disorder. You Have Feelings Areo https://medium.com/areo-magazine/no-you-dont-have-a-disorder-you-have-feelings-174f335ab5ef

Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay (June 19, 2018). The Pendulum Need Not Swing: Why Gender Roles are Not the Answer to Blank Slatism. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2018/06/19/the-pendulum-need-not-swing-why-gender-roles-are-not-the-answer-to-blank-slatism/ [archive]

David P. Schmitt (August 9, 2017). Assessing Female Mate Preferences: Answers to Ten Common Criticisms of Evolutionary Psychology. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/08/09/assessing-female-mate-preferences-answers-to-ten-common-criticisms-of-evolutionary-psychology/ [archive]

Helen Pluckrose (March 27, 2017). How French “Intellectuals” Ruined the West: Postmodernism and Its Impact, Explained. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/03/27/how-french-intellectuals-ruined-the-west-postmodernism-and-its-impact-explained/ [archive]

AR Devine (November 5, 2017). Time to Call a Truce in the Gender Wars. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/11/05/time-to-call-a-truce-in-the-gender-wars/ [archive]

Helen Pluckrose (September 27, 2017). An Argument for a Liberal and Rational Approach to Transgender Rights and Inclusion. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/09/27/an-argument-for-a-liberal-and-rational-approach-to-transgender-rights-and-inclusion/ [archive]

David P. Schmitt (August 1, 2017). Sex and Gender Are Dials (Not Switches). Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/08/01/sex-and-gender-are-dials-not-switches/ [archive]

Gregory Hickok (July 29. 2017). What Science Has to Say About Gender Identity. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/07/29/what-science-has-to-say-about-gender-identity [archive]

Malhar Mali (May 31, 2017). Skepticism, Salon, and Gender Studies. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/05/31/skepticism-salon-and-gender-studies/ [archive]

Malhar Mali (March 16, 2017). Gender Trouble: Gender Feminism and the Blank Slate. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/03/16/gender-trouble-gender-feminism-and-the-blank-slate/ [archive]

Zak Kroger (February 1, 2017). The Problem with Gender Neutral Pronoun.s Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/02/01/the-problem-with-gender-neutral-pronouns/ [archive] republished from https://stateofmyignorance.blogspot.com/2014/11/ [archive]

Joe Herbert (January 26, 2017). Would gender differences exist if we treated all people the same from birth? Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/01/26/would-gender-differences-exist-if-we-treated-all-people-the-same-from-birth [archive]

Rob Brooks (January 16, 2017). Gender Equity can cause Sex Differences to Grow Bigger Areo https://areomagazine.com/2017/01/16/gender-equity-can-cause-sex-differences-to-grow-bigger [archive]

Helen Pluckrose (December 29, 2016). Why I NO Longer Identify As a Feminist. Areo https://areomagazine.com/2016/12/29/why-i-no-longer-identify-as-a-feminist. Areo [archive]

Resources

RationalWiki (rationalwiki.org)

Areo Magazine (areomagazine.com) [set to private – archive]

Medium (medium.com)

  • Areo
  • medium.com/areo-magazine/

X/Twitter (x.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Patreon (patreon.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Quillette (quillette.com)