Billy Binion is a writer and anti-transgender activist. Binion subscribes to the “gay erasure” conspiracy theory that “we are transifying what is probably a lot of young gay boys and girls that would grow up to be gay.”
Background
William E. “Billy” Binion was born in August of 1991 and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. Binion earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia in 2013. After graduating, Binion performed at Virginia Museum Theatre, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, and Garland Summer Musicals while working as a contractor at NATO,
Binion began freelancing in 2016. Binion was editorial director of AllSides from 2017 to 2019, then joined the staff of Reason.
Anti-transgender activism
Binion has gained a reputation for “questioning the progressive narrative within the LGBT community.” Binion has stated: “Trans people deserve to be treated with respect. That shouldn’t come at the expense of biological females.”
Binion was one of several people who defended the New York Times coverage of trans issues, focusing on the response by Times contributors in the wake of Emily Bazelon’s widely criticized piece.
Binion criticized James Madison University students who protested a planned Young Americans for Freedom event featuring Liz Wheeler discussing “the ideology of transgenderism.” Bionion said, “My argument is that pitching a fit like this one only backfires: It makes that speaker a martyr and gets them even more attention. If you don’t like someone who is coming to a venue near you, then you should ignore them.”
Ina 2023 interview with Brad Polumbo, Binion and Polumbo agreed about the “gay erasure” conspiracy theory, saying that adolescents cannot make big life decisions. Binion cited an interview considervative trans man Buck Angel did with an ex-trans activist who had regret.
References
Binion, Billy (February 17, 2023). ‘Patient Zero’ Is Not Hate Speech. Reason https://reason.com/2023/02/17/patient-zero-is-not-hate-speech/
Binion, Billy (February 17, 2023). 980 New York Times Contributors Want To Sacrifice Free Inquiry to Ideology. Reason https://reason.com/2023/02/16/980-new-york-times-contributors-want-to-sacrifice-free-inquiry-to-ideology/
TFAS (July 21, 2022). TFAS Announces Recipients of 2022-23 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship. https://tfas.org/news/tfas-announces-recipients-of-2022-23-robert-novak-journalism-fellowship/
Camp, Emma (April 20, 2023). College Debate Team Comes Out Against Debate. Reason https://reason.com/2023/04/20/college-debate-team-comes-out-against-debate/
Media
Blocked & Reported (April 20, 2024). Episode 212: A Very Messy Breakup (with Billy Binion). https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-212-a-very-mess-breakup
Brad Polumbo (November 19, 2023). A gay journalist on breaking with the Left (ft. Billy Binion). Damage Control https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgBHuT3whig
Resources
X/Twitter (x.com)
Reason (reason.com)
- Billy Binion
- reason.com/people/billy-binion/
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
About the Artists (abouttheartists.com)
- Billy Binion
- abouttheartists.com/artists/704750-billy-binion