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Espen Goffeng vs. transgender people

Espen Goffeng is a Norwegian author and anti-transgender activist. Goffeng appeared on the anti-trans podcast Blocked and Reported with Jesse Singal and has written anti-trans pieces in the Norwegian press.

Background

Espen Goffeng was born in 1971 and grew up in Oslo. Goffeng worked at Merkantildata, Slightly Animated, and Dinamo, then at Ship to Gaza Norway. In 2010 Goffeng published Dødelig farvann [Deadly Waters] about personal experiences with peace flotillas like Ship to Gaza Norway.

Goffeng earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Oslo in 2014, and taught there from 2012 to 2019. Goffeng began the blog På Leting [The Hunt] in 2012.

In 2017 Goffeng published Vikeplikt for høyre [Right-of-way], about shifting to the right politically:

There is a growing perception in the West that the left has lost its way on some of its most important traditional issues. What happened? This is not a book for the academic or the book reviewer. It is an argumentative, assertive, unbalanced collection of arguments that reflect the author’s frustration. A chronicle on steroids. The author has always identified with the left, but is now one of many who find themselves without obvious political alternatives to align with.

Goffeng began hosting the podcast Goffeng på leting [Goffeng on the Hunt] in 2019.

Goffeng is married to Camilla Aspenes Goffeng and lives in Helen.

Anti-transgender activism

Goffeng promotes the “social contagion” disease model as a reason for more trans and gender diverse people coming out.

In February 2021, Goffeng appeared on the podcast Wolfgang Wee Uncut to discuss Kjønnsdebatten [“the gender debate”].

In December 2021, Goffeng appeared again on Wolfgang Wee Uncut to discuss trans issues in the context of “woke.” Topics included:

  • Transactivism and Gender Confusion
  • Gender Confusion of Children
  • Limited View of Gender
  • Transactivists vs. Lesbians in the UK
  • “Sexual Racism”

References

Goffeng, Espen (May 8, 2024). Uttalelsene til Aleksander Schau i OL-studio på NRK skaper reaksjoner. [Aleksander Schau: NRK itself has reached rock bottom.] Nettavisen https://www.nettavisen.no/norsk-debatt/uttalelsene-til-aleksander-schau-i-ol-studio-pa-nrk-skaper-reaksjoner/o/5-95-1943856

Goffeng, Espen (May 3, 2024). Medisin vinner terreng mot ideologi i transdebatten. [Medicine gains ground against ideology in the trans debate] Nettavisen https://www.nettavisen.no/norsk-debatt/medisin-vinner-terreng-mot-ideologi-i-transdebatten/o/5-95-1680661

Goffeng, Espen (October 10, 2023). Vi har et nytt problem for vår tid: Sosial smitte. [We have a new problem for our time: Social contagion] Nettavisen https://www.nettavisen.no/norsk-debatt/vi-har-et-nytt-problem-for-var-tid-sosial-smitte/o/5-95-1382684

Goffeng, Espen (April 2, 2023). Voldtektsmenn kan bli symboler for transfolk. [Rapists can become symbols for trans people.] Nettavisen https://www.nettavisen.no/norsk-debatt/voldtektsmenn-kan-bli-symboler-for-transfolk/o/5-95-893014

Goffeng, Espen (March 25, 2024). Goffengs epidemier: Transeksplosjonen. Det kan være stigmatiserende å forklare økning i kjønnsinkongruens med sosial smitte. Det kan likevel være verre å se bort fra muligheten. [Goffeng’s Epidemics: The Trans Explosion. It may be stigmatizing to attribute the increase in gender incongruence to social contagion. However, it may be worse to ignore the possibility.] Minerva https://www.minerva.no/goffengs-epidemier-helse-kjonn/goffengs-epidemier-transeksplosjonen/444240

Goffeng, Espen (January 21, 2020). Identitetspolitikkens farer [The dangers of identity politics]. Agenda https://agendamagasin.no/debatt/identitetspolitikkens-farer/

Steinhovden, Thor (June 13, 2019). New podcast: Goffeng på leting. Tankesmien Agenda. https://tankesmienagenda.no/post/nypodcast-goffeng-paa-leting/details [archive]

Svensson, Trygve; Fjeldavli, Axel (April 28, 2019). Norsk identitetspolitikk. [Norwegian identity politics] Agenda https://agendamagasin.no/artikler/norsk-identitetspolitikk/

Books

Goffeng, Espen (2017). Vikeplikt for høyre. [Right-of-way] Kolofon, ISBN 9788230016275

Goffeng, Espen (2010). Dødelig farvann: øyevitne til Israels angrep på fredsflåten. [Deadly Waters: Eyewitness to Israel’s Attack on the Peace Flotilla] Manifest, ISBN 9788292866283

Media

Singal, Jesse (March 29, 2025). Episode 254: The Unbelievable Heroism Of Nikita Amber Abbas (With Espen Goffeng). Blocked and Reported https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-254-the-unbelievable-heroism

MOKOS (January 13, 2022). Espen Goffeng og Wolfgang Wee Misrepresenterer Trans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vBtD1mmmAw

Wee, Wolfgang (Dec 28, 2021). 402: Espen Goffeng – Woke, Toleranse, Kjøtt, Kjønnsforvirring og Transaktivisme, Moralvurderinger, Den Norske Kirke. Wolfgang Wee Uncut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn1y0gWn5l0

Sagen, Tore (March 5, 2020). “The Left is Failing Itself.” [interview with Espen Goffeng] NRK https://radio.nrk.no/podkast/tore_sagens_podkast/l_59acf8b0-8be7-411d-acf8-b08be7811d92

Resources

Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Muck Rack (muckrack.com)

Blogspot (blogspot.com)