Abigail Shrier

Last updated
Abigail Shrier
Abigail Shrier on Talking Chimps.jpg
Born
Abigail Brett Krauser [1]

Maryland, U.S.
Education Columbia University (BA)
University of Oxford (BPhil)
Yale University (JD)
Occupations
  • Author
  • journalist
Known for Irreversible Damage (2020)
Website abigailshrier.com

Abigail Shrier is an American author and former opinion columnist for the Wall Street Journal . [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Shrier is the daughter of Peter B. Krauser and Sherrie L. Krauser, both judges in the state of Maryland. She grew up in a Conservative synagogue, and was educated in a Jewish day school that was predominately Conservative. [3] She graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, and earned a Kellett Fellowship. She then attended the University of Oxford, where she received a B.Phil. in philosophy, and Yale Law School, where she was a Coker Fellow. [4] [5] [6]

Career

From 2018 through 2020, Shrier wrote opinion pieces for the Wall Street Journal . In 2020, Shrier’s book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters [7] [8] was published by Regnery Publishing. The book supports the socially mediated gender dysphoria hypothesis. [lower-alpha 1] [9] [10] :ch 2 Shrier has previously criticised individuals who use the singular they, comparing it to idol worship. [11] [12] Shrier appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience to discuss her views on transgender people. [13] Her book has proved controversial for its views about transgender issues [14] [9] and has been described by the author [15] and other commentators as subject to a campaign of censorship. [16] [17] It was first withdrawn, [18] and then reinstated, by retailer Target. The Economist has described the book as the "first book-length study of a fascinating phenomenon" but also noted that "it has been widely ignored". [19] By contrast, a reader erected a billboard in Los Angeles in support of the ideas in the book. [20] Her book has been criticized by psychiatrist Jack Turban for misinterpreting and omitting scientific evidence to support her claims. [21] It is an Economist Book of the Year, [22] and a Times of London Best Book of 2021 for its UK publication. [23]

In 2024, Shrier published Bad Therapy: Why the Kids aren't Growing Up, which details her thoughts on the origins and solution to the American mental health crisis. [2] [24] [25]

Related Research Articles

Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identity—their personal sense of their own gender—and their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender identity disorder (GID) in 2013 with the release of the diagnostic manual DSM-5. The condition was renamed to remove the stigma associated with the term disorder.

Gender-affirming surgery is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender. The phrase is most often associated with transgender health care and intersex medical interventions, although many such treatments are also pursued by cisgender and non-intersex individuals. It is also known as sex reassignment surgery, gender confirmation surgery, and several other names.

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and gender dysphoria, and creating standardized treatment for transgender and gender variant people. WPATH was founded in 1979 and named HBIGDA in honor of Harry Benjamin during a period where there was no clinical consensus on how and when to provide gender-affirming care. WPATH is mostly known for the Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (SOC).

The Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (SOC) is an international clinical protocol by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) outlining the recommended assessment and treatment for transgender and gender-diverse individuals across the lifespan including social, hormonal, or surgical transition. It often influences clinicians' decisions regarding patients' treatment. While other standards, protocols, and guidelines exist – especially outside the United States – the WPATH SOC is the most widespread protocol used by professionals working with transgender or gender-variant people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Blanchard</span> American-Canadian sexologist (born 1945)

Ray Milton Blanchard III is an American-Canadian sexologist who researches pedophilia, sexual orientation and gender identity. He has found that men with more older brothers are more likely to be gay than men with fewer older brothers, a phenomenon he attributes to the reaction of the mother's immune system to male fetuses. Blanchard has also published research studies on phallometry and several paraphilias, including autoerotic asphyxia. Blanchard also proposed a typology of transsexualism.

Gender dysphoria in children (GD), also known as gender incongruence of childhood, is a formal diagnosis for children who experience significant discontent due to a mismatch between their assigned sex and gender identity. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder in children (GIDC) was used by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until it was renamed gender dysphoria in children in 2013 with the release of the DSM-5. The diagnosis was renamed to remove the stigma associated with the term disorder.

Marci Lee Bowers is an American gynecologist and surgeon who specializes in gender-affirming surgeries. Bowers is viewed as an innovator in gender confirmation/affirmation surgery, and is the first transgender woman to perform such surgeries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Hall</span> American medical doctor and skeptic (1945–2023)

Harriet A. Hall was an American family physician, U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, author, science communicator, and skeptic. She wrote about alternative medicine and quackery for the magazines Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer and was a regular contributor and founding editor of Science-Based Medicine. She wrote under her own name or used the pseudonym "The SkepDoc". After retiring as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Hall was a frequent speaker at science and skepticism related conventions in the US and around the world.

The International Journal of Transgender Health (IJTH) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on gender dysphoria and gender incongruence, the medical treatment of transgender individuals, social and legal acceptance of gender affirming surgery, and professional and public education on transgender health. It also publishes WPATH's Standards of Care, guest editorials, policy statements, letters to the editor, and review articles. The journal aims to inform a broad audience including policy makers, practitioners, and the general public.

Puberty blockers are medicines used to postpone puberty in children. The most commonly used puberty blockers are gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, which suppress the natural production of sex hormones, such as androgens and estrogens. Puberty blockers are used to delay puberty in children with precocious puberty. They are also used to delay the development of unwanted secondary sex characteristics in transgender children, so as to allow transgender youth more time to explore their gender identity. The same drugs are also used in fertility medicine and to treat some hormone-sensitive cancers in adults.

Gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), also called hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or transgender hormone therapy, is a form of hormone therapy in which sex hormones and other hormonal medications are administered to transgender or gender nonconforming individuals for the purpose of more closely aligning their secondary sexual characteristics with their gender identity. This form of hormone therapy is given as one of two types, based on whether the goal of treatment is masculinization or feminization:

The real-life experience (RLE), sometimes called the real-life test (RLT), is a period of time or process in which transgender individuals live full-time in their identified gender role in order to be eligible to receive gender-affirming treatment. The purpose of the RLE has been to confirm that a given transgender person could function successfully as a member of said gender in society, as well as to confirm that they are sure they want to live as said gender for the rest of their life. A documented RLE was previously a requirement of many physicians before prescribing gender-affirming hormone therapy, and a requirement of most surgeons before performing gender-affirming surgery.

<i>Science-Based Medicine</i> Website covering issues in science and medicine, focusing on quackery

Science-Based Medicine is a website and blog with articles covering issues in science and medicine, especially medical scams and practices. Founded in 2008, it is owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society, and run by Steven Novella and David Gorski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Strangio</span> American lawyer and transgender rights activist

Chase Strangio is an American lawyer and transgender rights activist. He is the Deputy Director for Transgender Justice and staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Detransition is the cessation or reversal of a transgender identification or of gender transition, temporarily or permanently, through social, legal, and/or medical means. The term is distinct from the concept of 'regret', and the decision may be based on a shift in gender identity, or other reasons, such as health concerns, social or economic pressure, discrimination, stigma, political beliefs, or religious beliefs.

Rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) is a controversial, scientifically unsupported hypothesis which claims that some adolescents identify as transgender and experience gender dysphoria due to peer influence and social contagion. ROGD is not recognized as a valid mental health diagnosis by any major professional association, which discourage its use due to a lack of reputable scientific evidence for the concept, major methodological issues in existing research, and its stigmatization of gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Jack L. Turban is an American psychiatrist, writer, and commentator who researches the mental health of transgender youth. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, Scientific American, and Vox. He is an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at The University of California San Francisco and affiliate faculty in health policy at The Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies.

<i>Irreversible Damage</i> 2020 book by Abigail Shrier

Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters is a 2020 book by Abigail Shrier, published by Regnery Publishing, which endorses the controversial concept of rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD). ROGD is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by any major professional institution nor is it backed by credible scientific evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender Trend</span> British pressure group

Transgender Trend is an anti-trans British pressure group, which describes itself as a group of parents, professionals and academics who are concerned about the number of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. It was founded in 2015 by Stephanie Davies-Arai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genspect</span> Organization opposing transgender rights

Genspect is an international group founded in June 2021 by psychotherapist Stella O'Malley that has been described as gender-critical. Genspect opposes gender-affirming care, as well as social and medical transition for transgender people. Genspect opposes allowing transgender people under 25 years old to transition, and opposes laws that would ban conversion therapy on the basis of gender identity. Genspect also endorses the unproven concept of rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD), which proposes a subclass of gender dysphoria caused by peer influence and social contagion. ROGD has been rejected by major medical organisations due to its lack of evidence and likelihood to cause harm by stigmatizing gender-affirming care.

References

  1. WPATH Global Board of Directors, WPATH Position on "Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)" (4 September 2018); accessed 30 May 2019. "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD)" is not a medical entity recognized by any major professional association, nor is it listed as a subtype or classification in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Therefore, it constitutes nothing more than an acronym created to describe a proposed clinical phenomenon that may or may not warrant further peer-reviewed scientific investigation. At present, WPATH asserts that knowledge of the factors contributing to gender identity development in adolescence is still evolving and not yet fully understood by scientists, clinicians, community members, and other stakeholders in equal measure."
  1. "Achievement and Reasonable Pride". June 10, 2007 via blogs.com.
  2. 1 2 Nordberg, Anna (February 27, 2024). "Who's Making the Kids Cry?" via slate.com.
  3. Shrier, Abigail (14 November 2017). "The Hollow Promise Of Jewish Identity". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  4. "Abigail Shrier". www.writersreps.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  5. "Abigail Shrier". Regnery Publishing. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  6. Strimpel, Zoe (30 April 2022). "Abigail Shrier: Taking on the trans lobby has made me Public Enemy No 1". The Telegraph .
  7. Schuster, Allison (November 5, 2020). "Review: 'Irreversible Damage: The gender dysphoria facing our Daughters'". Hillsdale Collegian. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  8. "Our girls are being irreversibly damaged by the transgender craze: Book review". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  9. 1 2 Holve, Erin (October 11, 2020). "Abigail Shrier and the Dangers of Making Psychological Assertions from Limited Data". The Orion. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  10. Shrier, Abigail (2020). Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Blackstone Publishing.
  11. Shrier, Abigail (August 29, 2018). "The Transgender Language War". Wall Street Journal (Opinion). ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  12. Hernandez, Ellis (May 5, 2020). Pronouns, Prescriptivism, and Prejudice: Attitudes toward the Singular 'They', Prescriptive Grammar, and Nonbinary Transgender People (Thesis). Purdue University Graduate School. p. 36. doi:10.25394/PGS.12231095.v1.
  13. Steele, Anne (October 31, 2020). "Joe Rogan's Podcast Sparks Tensions Inside Spotify". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  14. "Threats over trans book" . The Australian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  15. Shrier, Abigail (November 15, 2020). "Opinion | Does the ACLU Want to Ban My Book?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  16. Zimmerman, Jonathan. "Commentary: Why efforts to censor Abigail Shrier's book will backfire and hurt transgender people". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  17. Shapiro, Ben (November 21, 2020). "Ben Shapiro: They want to shut you up". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  18. Smith, Katie (November 13, 2020). "Target Pulls Anti-Trans Book from Shelves". Book & Film Globe. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  19. Written at Washington, D.C.. "Miss gender – A book on transitioning girls is denounced as transphobic" . The Economist . London. November 28, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  20. Showalter, Brandon (October 27, 2020). "'Puberty is not a medical condition' billboard unveiled in Los Angeles; push for other cities starts". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  21. Turban, Jack (June 12, 2020). "New Book "Irreversible Damage" Is Full of Misinformation". Psychology Today. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  22. "Cold comforts – Our books of the year" . The Economist. December 5, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  23. Millen, Robbie; Holgate, Andrew (December 1, 2020). "The best books of 2021: our predictions" . The Sunday Times. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  24. "When Every Day is a Mental Health Day".
  25. "Bad Therapy — is the 'cure' for children worse than the disease?". www.ft.com.