Inconvenient Truths
The Curious Case of Laura Targownik There is a curious form of intellectual dishonesty that reveals itself not in what someone says, but in the distance between what they have said and what they are doing. It is the dishonesty of someone who knows better but has decided that knowing
Satire
A recent social media exchange has brought back the arguments that "Pride isn't needed" and that it is somehow "too much" and "shoving it down our throats" again. This inspired the following satire. I am considering a series of satires for Pride
Essays
On this eve before Pride Month 2026 begins, we cannot celebrate our pride, community, equality or successes in the face of the increased oppression targeting our trans community. Yes, "pride is a protest" is a nice aphorism that simultaneously is true and de-fangs the bite that is pride.
Inconvenient Truths
An analysis and response to Brianna Wu's comment on my essay "I Will Not Make That Trade" Brianna Wu left a comment on my last essay that I want to take seriously. Not because it landed, it mostly didn't, but because buried inside the
Inconvenient Truths
Here's Why. About every ten years or so I find that this debate rears its ugly head. A little over a decade ago, some professional trans folks took up the challenge and deconstructed, debunked, and documented some of the debate and core issues. As things in the US
Essays
Transmedicalism and the Refusal of Victimhood The Harry Benjamin Syndrome (HBS) and transmedicalist [1] trap is perfectly designed because it works in two directions at once. It reaches inward and outward simultaneously, and both movements depend on the same broken premise: that victimhood is the price of legitimacy. Inward, it
A reflection on the International Day of Pink In 2007, at Central Kings Rural High School in Nova Scotia, Canada, two high school students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, witnessed a classmate being bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt to school. Shepherd and Travis Price, witnessed a classmate being
Essays
A Manifesto for Liberation Now The Fact of Our Binding James Baldwin wrote: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." But there is something else Baldwin understood, something that sits beneath every essay he wrote, every warning he
Essays
The Quiet We Refuse There is a trap built into the floorboards of being trans. You feel it every time you smile at a stranger who stares too long, every time you soften your voice to keep the peace, every time you say "it's fine" when
Essays deconstructing gender-critical ideology and the narratives that uphold it—both externally and within our own communities. Through facts, satire, and evidence-based critique.
The Cruelest Arithmetic The world is not our only oppressor. Watch what happens when oppression does its work long enough, effectively enough: you begin doing it to yourself. Not because you're weak, but because you've learned the lesson too well. You absorb the cisheteronormative logic so
A Rapid Follow-Up on Claims, Contradictions, and the Consumer Fraud Lawyer Who Can't Distinguish Between Two Simple Things Friends, sometimes the universe hands you a gift so perfectly wrapped that you would think it was staged. Do you recall my article on July 8th, 2025 entitled “Bad Facts
Hughes accuses gender-affirming medicine of operating on ideology while being blinded to the scandal. She is describing her own epistemic position. She has already committed to the conclusion before examining the data.
How Gatekeeping Becomes the Wound We Inflict on Ourselves. There exists a particular kind of cruelty that wears the face of care. It speaks in careful tones about being thoughtful and deliberate, about protecting those it is actually abandoning. It sounds nothing like oppression.
When Acceptance Means Submission The Gospel According to Conversion Therapy Meet Jesse, Sasha Ayad’s perfect trans person. Jesse accepts misgendering with a smile, treats identity as a fun metaphor, and never makes grandma uncomfortable at Thanksgiving. Jesse is the conversion therapy dream, the model minority of the gender world,
Debunking Sasha Ayad's Denial-Based Identity ⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This article analyzes harmful conversion therapy content from Sasha Ayad’s “The Metaphor of Gender” YouTube channel and podcast. While written to support and validate trans experiences, the analysis necessarily includes discussion of transphobic arguments, psychological manipulation tactics, and discriminatory frameworks
A somewhat raw and unpolished update to you all Well hello there folks. I missed last week’s publication date and did not notice it until now. Truth be told, and as I am sure you all are well aware, things have been getting particularly harsh for trans folks -
How Ayad Misrepresents Affirming Care There’s a special kind of audacity required to attack evidence-based healthcare while selling your own discredited alternative for $285 an hour. It’s the same energy as someone setting fire to a hospital while advertising their healing crystals. But that’s exactly what we
Decoding Ayad's Conversion Manifesto ⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This article contains detailed discussion of conversion therapy tactics, psychological manipulation techniques, gaslighting, and the systematic invalidation of trans identities. It includes references to mental health impacts including depression, anxiety, and suicidality. The content may be triggering for survivors of conversion therapy,
A Response to Sammy Stagg's Methodological Retreat An Author’s Response When I published my analysis of the City Journal's "Transgender Brain Studies are Fatally Flawed," I expected some pushback. What I didn't expect was such a textbook demonstration of the motte-and-bailey
Ayad's Audience Grooming Tactics ⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses psychological manipulation tactics and conversion therapy recruitment methods that may be disturbing to those who have experienced religious or therapeutic manipulation. Part 2 of the PITT Series: Debunking "The Metaphor of Gender" Here's an uncomfortable
Manufacturing Confusion from Complexity ⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This article analyzes conversion therapy rhetoric and discusses suicide risk among trans youth denied care. It also analyzes harmful conversion therapy content from Sasha Ayad's "The Metaphor of Gender" YouTube channel and podcast. This material promotes practices condemned by every
