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Ben Appel vs. transgender people

Ben Appel is an American author and anti-transgender activist. Appel is a regular contributor to Queer Majority and other anti-trans publications.

Background

Bennjamin John “Ben” Appel was born in February 1983 to Nancy Sue (Lipman) Gunzelman (born 1954) and Randy Appel (1949-2019). Appel grew up in Catonsville and Ellicott City, Maryland in a Catholic household with three siblings: Erin, Jessica, and Bret.

In 2015 Appel married attorney Andrew Charles “Drew” Leaser (born 1976). They live in New York.

Appel worked as a hairdresser in Maryland for ten years before earning a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.

Anti-transgender activism

Appel’s forthcoming memoir from Post Hill Press is titled Cis White Gay. The book was pitched as:

about growing up in a Christian fundamentalist cult before becoming a gay rights activist while a student at Columbia University, only to encounter there a cultural landscape ruled by gender ideology and a puritanical cult of social justice resembling The Handmaid’s Tale dystopia of his childhood

In 2023, Appel was announced as a participant in an anti-trans conference by Genspect.

References

Appel, Ben (May 14, 2023). Homophobia in drag: Transgender ideology has breathed new life into a dark, old prejudice. Spiked https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/05/14/the-new-homophobia/

Appel, Ben (April 21, 2022 ). The New Homophobia | Opinion. Newsweek https://www.newsweek.com/new-homophobia-opinion-1698969

Appel, Ben (January 13, 2022). The stifling conformity of campus sexual politics. Washington Examiner https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-stifling-conformity-of-campus-sexual-politics

Appel, Ben (September 2, 2022). Victimhood is one helluva drug. [alternate title: “Chase Strangio, you can have ‘fa**ot’ if you want it.”] Queer Majority https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/victimhood-is-one-helluva-drug

Iacia, Samantha (January 14, 2015). Wedded: Ben Appel and Drew Leaser. Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bs-lt-wedded-0118-20150114-story.html

Adler, Dahlia (February 25, 2022). February 2022 deal announcements. LGBTQ Reads https://lgbtqreads.com/2022/02/25/february-2022-deal-announcements/

Resources

Ben Appel (benappelwrites.com)

Twitter (twitter.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

Substack (substack.com)

Queer Majority (queermajority.com)

  • Ben Appel
  • https://www.queermajority.com/contributors-1/ben-appel