Informed Dissent

This week, we break down The New York Times’ recent coverage of the trans debate, and the market and technological forces that transformed the journalism industry. We wonder and worry about which kids will continue to identify as trans after the trend has gone from cool to… whatever the complete opposite of cool is. Speaking of cool: Did you know that conservative is the new punk?

Also: a trip to a lesbian speed-dating comedy show! Guess how many of the lesbians were female?

Our recommendations this week:

Pretzel salt!The new Heterodorx episode on Emilia Perez!Needle felting! It’s the best!

New York Times articles:

How Trump Uses Language to Attack the Idea of Transgender Identity

Trump’s Shameful Campaign Against Transgender Americans

Trump Signs Order Barring Transgender Student-Athletes From Women’s Sports

N.C.A.A., Following Trump’s Order, Excludes Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports

Transgender Americans Challenge Trump’s Passport Policy in Court

I’m a Transgender Woman. This Is Not the Metamorphosis I Was Expecting

Transgender Americans say Trump’s orders are even worse than feared

Trump Bars Transgender Women From U.S. Prisons for Female Inmates

N.Y. Attorney General Warns Hospitals Against Canceling Transgender Care

‘A Bounty on My Head’: Congress’s First Transgender Member Faces the Trump Era

New Hampshire High School Trans Athletes Take Their Fight to Trump

This week, Lisa, Eliza, Ben, and Cori discuss the current state of things, now that the American public has had some time to digest Trump’s executive orders on gender. We talk about the schools, the hospitals, the protests, and the media’s dogged insistence on reporting inaccurately about this topic. Finally, we brainstorm ways to talk to those who are dismayed and/or confused by recent developments.

* NYU Langone protest

* Cynthia Nixon’s speech

* Tiffany Cabán’s speech

* Sports executive order

* New York Times coverage of sports EO

* NYC Prop 1

* Leticia James ‘Dear Colleague’ letter

* Lisa’s Broadview piece on school curriculum

* Courage Coalition

* Ben’s piece on the suicide myth

* South Africa/USAID piece

* Mushroom therapy

* Informed Dissent’s Weekly News Roundup

This week, we discuss Jamie’s trip to Kansas, where she testified in support of ban on blockers, hormones, and surgeries for minors; and the implications of Trump’s executive order on “gender-affirming care”/“chemical and surgical mutilation”/pediatric sex trait modification.

* Jamie’s testimony

* Kansas Senate bill

* Kansas House bill

* Executive order “chemical and surgical mutilation”

* Executive order on “military excellence and readiness”

* Executive order on “radical indoctrination”

* Planned Parenthood video

* Amaze video

* Nonbinary mom video

* Trans prayer circle video

* Lisa’s Broadview piece

* Jennifer Block on Planned Parenthood

* Erin Reed’s Bluesky

* Some hospitals pause GAC

* Alex Capo/Charlton School

* Matthew McConaughey’s tuna salad

* The Magic Flute

* ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer

* The Diplomat on Netflix

* Informed Dissent’s weekly newsletter:

Thank you all for listening, reading, and subscribing!

This week, we break down Trump’s Executive Order on “gender ideology extremism,” weigh the benefits of conformity versus nonconformity, discuss the ongoing prison controversy, and much more.

* “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”

* New York Times article about transwomen in female prisons

* Hannah Barnes’s piece for The New Statesman

* Time to Think

* KJK talks “purity”

* Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All and What to Do Instead

* Biden's old EO

* Conclave

* Lisa’s song recommendation: Chuck Prophet, "A Good Day to Be Alive"

* Females-to-males “had a higher risk for criminal convictions than their respective birth sex controls.”

Cecilia Dhejne et al., “Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden,” PLoS ONE 6, no. 2 (February 22, 2011): e16885, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016885.

This week, the whole crew is back to discuss a recent NYC Community Education Council meeting, where Lisa, Cori, and Ben spoke with Maud Maron (and some hostile audience members) about gender identity ideology in public schools. Then it’s on to AOC’s nonsensical argument against a bill to protect women’s sports, plus some disappointing news about The Free Press. With a whole lot of stuff in between!

* NYC CEC District 2 meeting on gender ideology in schools

* Resolution #248

* CEC D2 business meeting, January 15

* An activist’s instructions:

* Some of those jazzy tactics

* The humming

* The sports bill

* AOC’s stupid/crazy talk

* Bari and the Wu

* Dear Fellow Gays and Lesbians

* Also this:

* And this:

This week, Cori, Eliza, Jamie, and Lisa discuss strange bedfellows, political realignments, and Lisa's readiness to accept any and all prayers. Ben put the finishing touches on his manuscript as we were recording!

* The New York Times frames judge's rejection of Title IX changes as "scrapping protections for trans students"

* Janice Raymond's The Transsexual Empire (1979)

* Sandy Stone's The Empire Strikes Back (1987)

* Michelle Goldberg's 2014 New Yorker article: What is a woman? The dispute between radical feminism and transgenderism.

Ben is off crafting his masterpiece memoir this week. In the meantime, Cori, Eliza, Jamie and Lisa dig into a troubling new article from the Amsterdam gender clinic that lays out a survival strategy for the embattled field of youth gender medicine.

Show notes:

* Gender-affirming medical treatment for adolescents: a critical reflection on “effective” treatment outcomes (open access)

Background on the Dutch protocol:

* Gender: A Wider Lens episode with Annelou De Vries and Thomas Steensma

* The Dutch Protocol for Juvenile Transsexuals: Origins and Evidence by Michael Biggs (open access)

* The Myth of "Reliable Research" in Pediatric Gender Medicine: A critical evaluation of the Dutch Studies-and research that has followed by Zhenya Abbruzzese, Stephen Levine, and Julia Mason (open access)

* Eliza's 2023 article reporting from inside gender conferences

* Alex Bakker's 2021 book, The Dutch Approach: Fifty years of transgender health care at the VU Amsterdam gender clinic

Our non-gender recs for the week:

* Saki's The Unrest-Cure

* The Unspeakeasy online community

This week, Ben, Cori, Eliza, Jamie, and Lisa discuss their theories about gender dysphoria and why the concept of gender identity speaks so deeply to many lesbian and gay people. Plus, Jamie shares her origin story, and Lisa tries not to get eaten by a lion (really!).

Notes:

Jamie's February 2023 piece in The Free Press: “I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids. Now I’m Blowing the Whistle.”

Jamie's tweet about gender as a "ruminating death trap for gay people."

Cori's working definition of gender identity: "Gender identity is a phenomenon arising from an individual's personal experience of feeling estranged from members of their own biological category, which can lead to psychological distress, and may involve the belief that changing their biological category could provide relief."

Cori's tweet about the motivations of adult male transitioners: "I really wish I could make everyone understand that adult males who transition have persistent fantasies that they’d transitioned as children, and that the strain of activism aimed at boys is to experience this fantasy vicariously."

Those who want to read ahead for next week might want to check out Annelou De Vries' latest article: Gender-affirming medical treatment for adolescents: a critical reflection on “effective” treatment outcomes

Eliza watches old home videos and realizes she's always been fidgety on camera, so it's fine, actually:

A favorite chili recipe of Ben’s

And Lisa keeps sending unsolicited dik-dik pics:

We also wanted to wish you all a happy new year! See you in 2025!

This week, Lisa, Ben, Eliza, and Jamie chat about the Washington Post editorial board’s about-face on the science behind “gender-affirming care,” Helen Lewis’s Atlantic piece on puberty blockers, and Disney’s axing of a trans storyline from an upcoming Pixar series. Plus, Ben shares how he stumbled down the gender rabbit hole!

* The Washington Post op-ed

* Helen Lewis’s piece for The Atlantic

* The Hollywood Reporter’s take on Disney’s controversial decision

* HBO’s Somebody Somewhere

* Ben and his BFF’s baby, Ruth:

Episode 2On this week’s episode of Informed Dissent: The gender heretics discuss this week's big news and a few of them share how they fell down the gender rabbit hole. Also:

* Dark skies for our friend Jesse Singal on Bluesky.

* The UK’s makes its ban on puberty blockers “indefinite.”

* How pediatric gender medicine began.

* The House passes a defense bill that bars the military’s healthcare plan, TRICARE, from covering blockers, hormones, and surgeries for minors.

Then, Lisa, Eliza, and Cori tell their origin stories—i.e., when and how they fell down the gender rabbit hole. (Ben and Jamie will share their stories next week!)

Show notes:

* Jesse Singal responds to the petition to have his head.

* NY Times article about the UK’s blocker ban.

* The Times UK article about the ban.

* “The Dutch Protocol for Juvenile Transsexuals: Origins and Evidence,” by Michael Biggs

* Puberty blocker trials

* Jamie’s whistleblowing account for The Free Press/

* Lisa’s latest piece for Broadview: “Don’t Let Gender-Affirming Care Be the New Abortion/”

* NY Times article about the House defense bill.

* Cori’s 2020 article for Quilette: “For 30 Years, I've Tried to Become a Woman. Here’s What I Learned Along the Way.” Cori’s piece in The Washington Post.

* Cori on Gender: A Wider Lens podcast

* Ask a Jew podcast. Have a party!

* Ben’s favorite pot roast recipe.

* Tell us which podcast name you prefer—Informed Dissent or Gender Home Companion?