I’m SO GRATEFUL, Dashka. What a rich collection of sources you’ve collected for us. It will be energizing to dive into these instead of energy-sucking. Thank you!
Dashka, thank you so much for staying curious—curiosity plus compassion is what led me to start recognizing that some things I thought were facts about gender, were actually beliefs about gender.
(I even hesitate to use the term “gender” because it can obscure distinctions between things we’re actually discussing—sex, identity, nonconformity, sexuality—and clear language is key.)
I’m listening to gays and lesbians who are speaking up. Worth reading is “How the Gay Rights Movement Radicalized, and Lost Its Way” by Andrew Sullivan in the NYT this week. Gift link:
And please don’t miss liberal MIT philosopher Alex Byrne’s piece, published this week in the Washington Post, “I co-wrote the anonymous HHS report on pediatric gender medicine” (archive link:
Thank you. I see you as someone who, like me, cares about evidence, and speaks up about injustice. I practice kindness, and compassion, and epistemic humility too. I recognize that I could be wrong, and I’m open to updating my views.
I’m SO GRATEFUL, Dashka. What a rich collection of sources you’ve collected for us. It will be energizing to dive into these instead of energy-sucking. Thank you!
Dashka, thank you so much for staying curious—curiosity plus compassion is what led me to start recognizing that some things I thought were facts about gender, were actually beliefs about gender.
(I even hesitate to use the term “gender” because it can obscure distinctions between things we’re actually discussing—sex, identity, nonconformity, sexuality—and clear language is key.)
I’m listening to gays and lesbians who are speaking up. Worth reading is “How the Gay Rights Movement Radicalized, and Lost Its Way” by Andrew Sullivan in the NYT this week. Gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/opinion/gay-lesbian-trans-rights.html?unlocked_article_code=1.R08.n-Ey.6oV9ryueYobG&smid=url-share
New Hampshire Democratic State Rep Jonah Wheeler gave a short speech this week that I appreciated: https://x.com/lgbcourage/status/1938324865444147258?
And please don’t miss liberal MIT philosopher Alex Byrne’s piece, published this week in the Washington Post, “I co-wrote the anonymous HHS report on pediatric gender medicine” (archive link:
https://t.co/tFTU5rtagv)
Thank you. I see you as someone who, like me, cares about evidence, and speaks up about injustice. I practice kindness, and compassion, and epistemic humility too. I recognize that I could be wrong, and I’m open to updating my views.
P.S. About sports, have you seen Cori Cohn’s take on this? (Mariah Burton Nelson wrote it up in this post:
https://open.substack.com/pub/strongerwomen/p/will-male-athletes-welcome-girly?)
Cohn (who had genital surgery at 19, now accepts it didn’t change his sex) says, “Men's sport needs to be more accepting of gender diversity.”
P.P.S. I just read this 2020 essay by Cohn. What an insightful memoir: https://quillette.com/2020/06/22/for-30-years-ive-tried-to-become-a-woman-heres-what-i-learned-along-the-way/