Sam Stagg is a student and anti-transgender activist. Stagg is affiliated with anti-trans organizations the Manhattan Institute and Genspect.
Background
Samuel G. “Sammy” Stagg was born March 12. Stagg earned a bachelor’s degree from University of South Wales in 2020 and a master’s degree from University of Bristol in 2021. Stagg began studying for a doctorate at University of Surrey in 2022.
“Research interests include sex differences, neuroendocrinology, genetics, and circadian rhythms” “investigating sleep, circadian rhythms, and neuroinflammation/immune function in the context of dementia. Currently looking into blood-based biomarkers and methods to analyse microglial function in whole blood.”
Anti-transgender activism
In an attack on Jennifer Finney Boylan, Stagg and anti-trans activist Colin Wright stated:
Gender ideology rests upon two main pillars. The first proposes that the two sexes are not distinct and immutable categories, but rather correspond to a collection of many traits that one can plot along a spectrum. Male and female, in this view, exist only in a statistical sense. The second asserts that every human brain contains an unchangeable “gender identity” that is knowable from a very young age, physically detectable, and may conflict with one’s biological sex. The practical aspirations of gender ideologues depend on the truth of both claims: if male and female are not arbitrary or mutable, then there would be no basis for allowing males in female sports, prisons, or female-only spaces; if sex is binary, and no innate and fixed gender identity exists, then one cannot be “mismatched” from one’s sex—and “gender affirming” treatment is unjustified. Put another way, the belief in the sex spectrum provides the assurance of the ability to materially change one’s sex, while the belief in an innate and fixed gender identity that can be “mismatched” from one’s sex (i.e., a person can be “born in the wrong body”) provides the ethical justification or even obligation for hormonal or surgical intervention.
“Wrong body” straw man
As philosopher Talia Mae Bettcher and author Janet Mock have explained, the “wrong body” metaphor has a number of versions:
- born in the wrong body
- trapped in the wrong body
- soul of a [woman] in the body of a [man] (or vice versa)
Unfortunately, many cisgender people and some trans people take these metaphors literally. They will retort “no one is born in the wrong body.” Most trans people reject all forms of the “wrong body” idea. That’s why this convenient and lazy description is mainly used by cisgender people, gender-diverse children, and low-information trans adults.
References
Wright, Colin; Stagg Samuel (May 24, 2023). Gender Ideology’s Shaky Twin Pillars. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/gender-ideologys-shaky-twin-pillars
Resources
Twitter (twitter.com)
- NeuroSGS
- SammySammyStagg [suspended]
LinkedIn (linkedin.com)