Ethan WattersĀ is an American author whose work is often cited by anti-transgender activists who think transgender people are a fad or social contagion.
Watters is author of the 2010 bookĀ Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche and appeared on anti-trans podcast Blocked and Reported to draw parallels between youth gender dysphoria and recovered memories:
The hosts and Watters also discuss certain arguable therapeutic parallels between the recovered-memory movement and treatment for youth gender dysphoria, as well as the general tendency of liberals to violate their “We <3 Science” stance fairly regulary when moral outrage is afoot.
Background
Ethan Watters was born on July 1, 1964. Watters earned a bachelor’s degree from University of California Davis in 1987.
Watters, Po Bronson and Ethan Canin founded The Writers Grotto in 1994.
Along with the image of its founding team of three white men ā Ethan Canin, Ethan Watters and Po Bronson ā and the idea of a members-only club, word on the street among writers of lesser means whispered that the Grotto was run like a fraternity.
Watters married psychiatrist Rebecca Wendell Watters of Baywell Psychiatry Group. They had three children together: Cora, Tobias, and Penelope. Rebecca filed for divorce in 2020, and it was finalized in 2021.
Anti-transgender activism
Anti-trans extremists Sasha Ayad, Lisa Marchiano, and Stella O’Malley are big fans of Watters, writing:
“Journalist Ethan Watters has studied the recovered memory trend extensively, and he theorizes how itās possible that intelligent, educated and competent therapists contributed to its growth: āThis was a group of healers who believed that they not only had discovered the key to their patientsā suffering but also were exposing a hidden evil across society. The therapists, in short, were as caught up in the cultural currents as their patients.ā1 Similarly, if a clinician truly believes that they can save a closeted ātransgender childā from unsupportive parents, this powerful motivation serves as the precursor for bizarre and unethical behavior not seen in other realms of youth mental health services.”
Watters approvingly cited the borderline regret narrative of conservative trans activist Aaron Kimberly.
References
Rebecca Watters v. Ethan Watters (2020). https://trellis.law/case/fdi20793267/rebecca-watters-vs-ethan-watters
Sullivan, Denise (June 1, 2020). The Writers Grotto carves out new paths to survive. San Francisco Chronicle https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/the-writers-grotto-carves-out-new-paths-to-survive
Guthrie, Julian (February 8, 2010). Ethan Watters on America’s crazy exports. SFGate https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/ethan-watters-on-america-s-crazy-exports-3201083.php Entertainment
Sullivan, James (October 10, 2003). Generation X is in no hurry to settle down, says Ethan Watters, who charts their social meandering in ‘Urban Tribes.’ SFGate https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Generation-X-is-in-no-hurry-to-settle-down-says-2583128.php
Selected writing by Watters
Watters, Ethan (Septembe 27, 2022). The forgotten lessons of the recovered memory movement. New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/27/opinion/recovered-memory-therapy-mental-health.html
Media
Jesse Singal and Katie Herzog (January 22, 2021). Episode 48: Ethan Watters On The Latest Skirmish In The Never-Ending Memory Wars. Blocked and Reported https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-48-ethan-watters-on-the-latest-c1b
Books
Watters, Ethan (2010). Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche. Free Press, ISBN 978-1416587088.
Watters, Ethan (2003). Urban Tribes: Are Friends the New Family? Bloomsbury USA, ISBN 978 1582344418.
Richard OfsheĀ andĀ Ethan Watters (1999). Therapy’s Delusions: The Myth of the Unconscious and the Exploitation of Today’s Walking Worried. Scribner. 1999. ISBN 987-0684835843.
Richard OfsheĀ andĀ Ethan Watters (1996). Making Monsters: False Memories, Psychotherapy, And Sexual Hysteria. University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520205839.
Resources
Crazy Like Us (crazylikeus.com)
Simon & Schuster (simonandschuster.com)
- Ethan Watters
- simonandschuster.com/authors/Ethan-Watters/1070600
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
X/Twitter (x.com)
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)
Facebook (facebook.com)
Academia (academia.edu)
- Ethan Watters
- ucdavis.academia.edu/EthanWatters
The Writers Grotto (writersgrotto.org)