Cathy “Bug” Brennan is an American lawyer and anti-transgender extremist. Brennan is a prominent and strident member of the movement’s gender critical faction.
In a 2011 letter to the United Nations, Brennan argued against certain legal protections based on gender identity and expression, claiming that “the proliferation of legislation designed to protect ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ undermines legal protections for females vis-à-vis sex segregated spaces.”
Brennan claims that eschewing the term lesbian for more inclusive alternatives is “catering” to trans people that will lead to “lesbian annihilation.”
Background
Catherine Margaret “Cathy” Brennan was born in The Bronx, New York on December 30, 1970 and lived there until 1976. Brennan graduated from Pine Bush High School in Pine Bush, New York in 1988. Brennan then earned a bachelor’s degree in 1992 from Fordham University, followed by a law degree from University at Buffalo in 1995. Brennan is admitted to practice law in Maryland (1996), New York (1996), Pennsylvania (2006), and Oregon (2017).
After briefly working as a reporter at Baltimore’s The Daily Record, Brennan then held advocacy and enforcement roles at Bar Association of Baltimore, The Women’s Law Center of Maryland, Advocates for Children and Youth, and the City of Baltimore. Since 2004 Brennan has worked at Hudson Cook LLP, becoming a partner in 2008.
Anti-transgender activism
In 2011, Brennan and Elizabeth Hungerford sent a letter to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women with their concerns about legal protections based on gender identity and expression, claiming such protections undermine legal protections based on sex.
Brennan became infamous in the mid-2010s for anti-trans trolling and verbal abuse on social media, particularly on Tumblr and Twitter. Brennan ran a site called Gender Identity Watch that documented trans people and their supporters, usually in disparaging terms. The anti-trans site was eventually suspended by WordPress for violations of their terms of use.
Brennan also allegedly contacted the Canadian caregivers of Emily Horsman (suspended user derpemily on Twitter) to complain about Horsman’s online activity.
The tone and tactics used, which included contacting people’s employers and doctors, made Brennan the most notorious trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) of the time:
The chief TERF figurehead is a Maryland attorney named Catherine Brennan who once served as a liaison on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. In July of 2012, a petition circulated to have Brennan removed from that position because, to put it mildly, she flatly rejected the “Gender Identity” half of her job description.
Apart from a sordid internet history of harassing, misgendering, and mocking trans* people, Brennan co-authored a letter with Elizabeth Hungerford to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, to argue against — yes, against — legal protections based on “gender identity or expression.” In so doing, Brennan has effectively allied herself with those on the Right who viciously deter trans* folks’ attempts to secure employment, housing and safe public spaces.
Since vacating the American Bar Association liaison position, Brennan has continued to spread her anti-trans* viewpoints at the annual Radfem conference.
Allen, 2013
Brennan was also involved in Radfem Hub, a group blog and forum with a substantial anti-trans focus. In 2011, a Radfem Hub contributor named “Agent Orange” was revealed to be a men’s rights activist named James Huff. Huff then released a data dump from their forum that had a significant impact on members.
Brennan was involved in organizing the annual Radfem Conference. As the group began to have a harder time operating, including last-minute cancellation of their 2013 conference venue, Brennan made a legal claim to the Radfem Hub site. The content was then archived at other domains.
As of 2018, Brennan was no longer interested in running the Gender Identity Watch website. Anti-trans group Women’s Liberation Front then volunteered to maintain it. WordPress suspended Gender Identity Watch, GenderTrender, and a number of other virulently anti-trans sites in November 2018. Gender Identity Watch went offline in 2023.
References
Note: This site regrets previously misstating Brennan’s early childhood place of residence.
[Shanko, Linda] (January 29, 2015). Cathy Brennan files legal copyright claim over ownership of RadFem Hub. GenderTrender https://gendertrender.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/cathy-brennan-files-legal-copyright-claim-over-ownership-of-radfem-hub/ [archive]
Wiesel, George (April 11, 2014). Petition: Remove ‘Gender Identity Watch.’ https://www.change.org/p/facebook-remove-gender-identity-watch
Reilly, Peter J. (June 20, 2013). Cathy Brennan On Radfem 2013. Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2013/06/15/cathy-brennan-on-radfem-2013/
Brown, Elizabeth Nolan (October 21, 2013). Cathy Brennan Speaks on Trans Women. Bustle https://www.bustle.com/articles/7277-cathy-brennan-speaks-to-bustle-about-her-stance-on-transgender-people
Taylor, Dana Lane (February 25, 2014). Cathy Brennan Contacted My Doctor. http://danalanetaylor.com/2014/02/25/cathy-brennan-contacted-my-doctor
Taylor, Dana Lane (February 14, 2014). My “Harassment” of Cathy Brennan – The Real Truth. http://danalanetaylor.com/2014/02/14/my-harassment-of-cathy-brennan-the-real-truth/
Taylor, Dana Lane (October 19, 2013). Jancie Raymond [sic] and Cathy Brennan contacted my employer. http://dana.stopabuseonline.org/2013/10/19/jancie-raymond-and-cathy-brennan-contacted-my-employer/ [archive]
Allen, Samantha (July 10, 2013). Counterpunch and the War on the Transgendered. Jacobin http://jacobinmag.com/2013/07/counterpunch-and-the-war-on-the-transgendered/
Admin (May 18, 2013). Radfem Hub is now an archives. https://radicalhubarchives.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/radfem-hub-is-now-an-archives/
Busey, Kelli (July 30, 2012). Remove Cathy Brennan as liaison To ABA’s Commission on LGBT. https://www.change.org/p/linda-rusch-gonzaga-univ-school-of-law-remove-cathy-brennan-as-liaison-to-aba-s-commission-on-lgbt
Busey, Kelli (July 29, 2012). Catherine Brennan’s “Sorry about Your Dick” TweetPic Ignites Trans Firestorm. Planet Transgender https://www.planetrans.org/2012/07/catherine-brennans-sorry-for-you-dick.html original URL: http://planetransgender.blogspot.com/2012/07/catherine-brennans-sorry-for-you-dick.html [archive]
[Busey, Kelli] (June 11, 2012). RadFem Cathey Brennan [sic], Lawyer, Maliciously OUTS 17 Y.O. Transgender Youth To His High School. Planet Transgender https://www.planetrans.org/2012/06/cathey-brennan-laywer-maliciously-outs.html original URL: http://planetransgender.blogspot.com/2012/06/cathey-brennan-laywer-maliciously-outs.html
Sandeen, Autumn (May 24, 2012). The Bittersweet “Change Of Gender” Court Ruling: It Came With Cyberbulling [sic]. Pam’s House Blend http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2012/05/24/the-bittersweet-change-of-gender-court-ruling-it-came-with-cyberbulling/ [archive]
Reed, Natalie (May 7, 2012). The “Gender Atheist” vs. The Transgender Atheist. Freethought Blogs https://freethoughtblogs.com/nataliereed/2012/05/07/the-gender-atheist-vs-the-transgender-atheist/
Brennan, Cathy (June 2013). Ladybug’s Political Smackdown: Pride in the Name of Lesbians. Baltimore OUTloud https://www.baltimoreoutloud.com/thinking-outloud/equality/ladybugs-political-smackdown/item/1358-pride-in-the-name-of-lesbians [archive]
Ramseyer, Laurel (August 10, 2011). Cathy Brennan & Elizabeth Hungerford take their anti-trans activism to the UN. Pam’s House Blend http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2011/08/10/cathy-brennan-elizabeth-hungerford-take-their-anti-trans-activism-to-the-un/ [archive]
Allen, Mercedes (August 4, 2011). Less Than Woman, Less Than Human. The Billerico Project http://www.bilerico.com/2011/08/less_than_woman_less_than_human.php [archive]
Brennan, Cathy; Hungerford, Elizabeth (August 1, 2011). [Response to United Nations] via Sex Matters https://sexnotgender.com/gender-identity-legislation-and-the-erosion-of-sex-based-legal-protections-for-females/ PDF available at https://radicalhubarchives.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/communication_csw_un_brennanhungerford_08012011_.pdf
Resources about Brennan
RationalWiki (rationalwiki.org)
WordPress (wordpress.com)
- Radfem Hub Archives
- radicalhub.com [archive]
- radicalhubarchives.wordpress.com
Maryland Courts (mdcourts.gov)
- Maryland Attorney Listing
- https://www.mdcourts.gov/attysearch
Oregon State Bar (osbar.org)
- Catherine M. Brennan
- https://www.osbar.org/members/membersearch_display.asp?b=175804&s=1
Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board (padisciplinaryboard.org)
- Catherine Margaret Brennan, PA ID 201956
- https://www.padisciplinaryboard.org/for-the-public/find-attorney/attorney-detail/201956
Resources associated with Brennan
Cathy Brennan (cathy-brennan.com)
Bug Brennan (bugbrennan.com) [archive]
Gender Identity Watch (genderidentitywatch.com) [archive]
Pretendbian (pretendbian.com) [archive] / pretendbian.wordpress.com
Pretendbians (pretendbians.com) [archive]
Name the Problem (nametheproblem.com) [archive]
You Are a Special Butterfly (youareasplendidbutterfly.com) [archive]
Gender Fatigue (genderfatigue.com) [archive]
This is Not The Transgender Day of Remembrance (transgenderdayofremembrance.wordpress.com)
Hudson Cook (hudsoncook.com)
- Catherine M. “Cathy” Brennan
- Previous URL: hudco.com
- hudco.com/profile.cfm?section_id=2&attorney_id=51
CounselorLibrary (counselorlibrary.com)
- Catherine M. Brennan – Editor in Chief, InstallmentLaw
- https://www.counselorlibrary.com/public/staff.cfm
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Tumblr (tumblr.com)
- bugbrennan.tumblr.com [archive]
Facebook (facebook.com)
- facebook.com/pages/Gender-Identity-Watch
- facebook.com/RadicalFeminismByTheSea
- facebook.com/OrganizingForWomensLiberation
- facebook.com/ActualDykes
Substack (substack.com)
Tumblr (tumblr.com)
Medium (medium.com)
WordPress (wordpress.com)
- genderidentitywatch.wordpress.com [suspended – archive]
- pretendbian.wordpress.com
Academia.edu (academia.edu)
X/Twitter (x.com)
- FinTechEsq
- bugbrennan (suspended in 2013, reinstated in 2022 by Elon Musk)
- Alleged accounts documented by RationalWiki:
- BadhbhCatha
- PegasusBug
- Unicornbug
- orgwomenslib
- RadfemsRespond
- SisterTrinity
- ActualDykez
- NameTheProblem (suspended)
- GIDWatch (suspended)
- JenderFatigue (removed)
- BossAssBomb (removed)
Instagram (instagram.com)