a personal statement regarding the ROGD controversy and why you probably won't be hearing from me for the next few days

This summer, in the wake of The Atlantic cover story, plus other similar recent pieces, I made the decision to dedicate most of my writing time over the rest of 2018 to challenging the current backlash against transgender children and the gender-affirming healthcare model. This has meant putting a book that I have been writing about activism (more generally) on hold, which sucks, but I feel the former is a more immediate and pressing matter at this moment in time. Behind the scenes, I have been working on a series of essays along these lines that I hope to roll out over the next 5-to-6 months, so stay tuned. And as always, if you appreciate this work, please consider supporting me on Patreon.

Anyway, one of the essays that I have been working on was about the Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria movement. Last week, when I learned the Littman paper had just been formally published (and I was already familiar with this work from the poster-version that appeared last year in the Journal of Adolescent Health), I decided to make it my top priority. And I ended it up publishing it on Medium on August 22nd (you can read it via the previous link).

My purpose in writing the essay was not to "suppress research I disagree with" or to "drag Littman's name in the mud," as some are now accusing. I was simply countering disinformation (i.e., promoted by ROGD advocates online and in recent op-eds) and a skewed research study that has potential far-reaching healthcare and social ramifications (i.e., the Littman paper). I never once resorted to ad hominem attacks in my essay, nor did I call for the paper to be investigated or retracted. I have written about other transgender-related studies and theories in the past - if you were to comb through them all, you would find lots of arguments and criticisms, but not a single instance where I have called for a paper to be investigated or retracted. I have simply participated in these debates. And they are not truly debates if you don't allow people like me to participate in them.

Buddy: the specialist bird

Buddy & me, August 2017

I usually don’t post personal stuff here, but my dear friend Buddy recently passed away on March 6, 2018. If you’ve enjoyed anything I've written over the past thirteen-plus years, Buddy was most likely perched on my shoulder for some or all of the time that I wrote it. This post commemorates her life and our time together...

The last time I wrote a post like this was way back in August 2005, when my Jenday conure Coby unexpectedly passed away—you can read all about her story via that link. I had never been so close to an animal companion before. Her passing devastated me.

My partner at the time suggested that we honor Coby (who was a rescue bird with a difficult past) by adopting another bird with a similar backstory. Along those lines, she mentioned a parrot that was up for adoption at the bird store she was working at. That bird’s name was Buddy.

my Jesse Singal story

Note added March 16, 2021:

Back in late 2017, I wrote “my Jesse Singal story,” which was a 4,000-ish word essay about my experiences with him up to that point – that post remains intact below. Since then, there have been numerous developments that support and/or dovetail with points I made in my original piece. And since Singal recently dragged my name through the mud again, I thought it best to begin by briefly summarizing everything that has happened up to this point.

For those who don’t know me, I am an author and scientist who has written extensively about transgender people and issues, including trans healthcare and children. In 2016, for reasons unbeknownst to me, Singal took an interest in these latter topics, penning a series of articles – starting with How the Fight Over Transgender Kids Got a Leading Sex Researcher Fired through 2018’s When Children Say They’re Trans – that most of us familiar with these matters felt were heavily slanted, if not intentionally biased. Those links will take you to my immediate responses to those two pieces; even more critiques of these and his other trans-related articles can be found here.

There are lots of people who disagree with me about trans issues, but I don’t go around writing “stories” about them. Singal is the sole exception to this, the reason being, he is the only journalist I’ve ever encountered who has attacked me on a personal level. Specifically, after I penned a civil blogpost critiquing his first trans-related piece, he began publicly smearing me, as documented throughout this post. For those looking for a TL;DR, the main incidents (all described in more detail below) are:

I’m discontinuing comments on my blog. Here’s why...

So as the title plainly states, I plan to deactivate the comments section of my blog posts moving forward. (Previously posted comments will remain intact.) While I don’t feel obligated to offer an explanation—after all, it is my blog, and I am free to format it any way I choose—I thought that it might be worthwhile to share my reasoning as to why.

Laura Jane Grace and coming out as trans in the public eye

So about once every year or two, somebody comes out as trans in a rather high profile way. Two years ago it was Chaz Bono. Before that there was Christine Daniels, Susan Stanton, and others before them. When this happens, I usually experience a mix of emotions.

Adjustments (a 2011 personal retrospective)

Happy new year everyone!

So back in the early fall of 2010, I set a goal for myself: I promised myself that I would finish writing my (currently untitled) second book by the end of 2011. It was a new years resolution of sorts, albeit made several months in advance of Janurary 1st. However, sometimes in life, things do not go quite as planned.

When I made that commitment, what I did not know was that the minor “scalp problem” I was dealing with would eventually blossom into my first major full-on psoriasis flare up. At the time, I was unaware that I had the condition. In fact, I did not even know what psoriasis was, although later I would find out that it was the condition that was responsible for all the scabs that covered my grandmother’s legs, which I remember from back when I was a kid. And I would later find out that several other relatives on that side of my family had it too, although they covered it up by always wearing long sleeves and long pants. Even though it ran in the family, no one ever really talked about it (or at least they did not talk about it around me).

Ten years ago today...

So I have been a bit lax with regards to blogging lately. After a bunch of September and October posts, I became swamped with a number of out-of-town university presentations and local panels & book readings. I have also been trying to focus in earnest on book number two. It had been going rather slowly, in a somewhat piecemeal fashion. So I have committed myself to waking up extra early (5 or 6am) each day to get a solid 2 or 3 hours of writing in before heading off to work (that is how I managed to write Whipping Girl). On the bright side, I have been making good progress! The downside has been less sleep and less time for blogging...

Skin

Originally posted on LJ 12-19-10

Skin
December 2010

I.

In August 2006, a friend was taking photos of me for use on my website and for promotion and such. During the photo-shoot, she asked a series of seemingly random questions that were meant to keep me relax and acting natural while I was being photographed. One of those questions was, “What is your favorite part of your body?” It really struck me, because no one had ever asked me that question before. And, almost without hesitation, I answered: “My skin.”

Way back during my physical transition, among the plethora of bodily changes that were taking place, the change in my skin was most profound for me. While some trans folks focus on some of the more prominent or symbolic changes, I marveled at my skin – the change in texture and appearance, how my face blossomed into a mess of freckles. I remember waking up mornings during that time, and my hand would just so happen to be touching my arm, or my leg, or face, and it would just feel right. I suppose that it’s a cliché to say that trans folks finally feel “comfortable in our own skins” post-transition. Well for me, I experienced that phrase quite literally.

on having fallen off the face of the earth...

Originally posted 1-4-10

This is not only my first post of 2010, but it is my first post more generally in quite some time. In my last post (way back in October), I made this vague comment to explain my lack of posting through the Fall of 2009:

“i've had four major life changes/upturnings (some good, some not so good, some a little of both) that have dominated my thoughts and time over the last two months.”

Since the start of new year is traditionally a time for recapping the previous year’s events, I thought it appropriate to be a little more explicit about some of the things that have been going on with me during the last half of 2009.

so I was assaulted last night...

Originally posted on LJ 9-6-09

so I was assaulted last night. i’m ok, but it was traumatic nonetheless.

more comedy jokes

Originally posted on LJ 4-4-09

so I recently got back from a crazy, hectic week on the road. I had three college presentations, plus the WAM! conference, all in one week. The WAM! conference was especially fun – I got to meet lots of people whose blogs I have read and/or folks I’ve corresponded with but whom I have never met face to face. It is neat to meet people that you know, but have never seen with your own eyes. It makes you realize how often we unconsciously make assumptions about people based upon their appearance in the "offline" world.

Hate Mail

Originally posted on LJ 2-27-08

So I sometimes receive disturbing emails. Sometimes they're from someone who fiercely disagrees with something I've said in my book or that I've posted on the web somewhere, and they're really mad about it. Sometimes it's a creepy webstalker who's particularly interested in/obsessed with transsexual women. But I don't receive a lot of actual hate mail. But occasionally I do. And here's one I received yesterday: