Debra Soh

Last updated

Debra Soh
Dr. Debra Soh.jpg
Soh on JRE Podcast
NationalityCanadian
Education Ryerson University (BSc)
York University (MSc, PhD)
Known for
Scientific career
Thesis Functional and Structural Neuroimaging of Paraphilic Hypersexuality in Men
Doctoral advisor Keith Schneider [1]
Website drdebrasoh.com

Debra W. Soh is a Canadian columnist, author, and former academic sex researcher. [2]

Contents

Soh received her Ph.D. from York University in Toronto. She has extensively researched paraphilias, suggesting they are neurological conditions rather than learned behaviors. Soh has written articles for various publications, and she once hosted Quillette's Wrongspeak podcast with Jonathan Kay. She identifies as a former feminist who became disillusioned with the term.

Soh has criticized childhood gender transitions, arguing for waiting until a child reaches cognitive maturity. She has also written against anti-conversion therapy laws that include both sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2020, she published her first book, "The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society".

Education and research

Soh holds a Ph.D. degree in psychology from York University in Toronto. [3] [4] [5] Her dissertation was titled Functional and Structural Neuroimaging of Paraphilic Hypersexuality in Men, and her committee included Keith Schneider of York University and James Cantor of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. [5] During her graduate studies, Soh received the Michael Smith Foreign Research Award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and York's Provost Dissertation Scholarship. [6]

While at York, she studied paraphilias. Her research indicates that these are neurological conditions rather than learned behaviours. [7]

Career

Soh has written articles for Quillette , The Globe and Mail , New York magazine, Playboy , Los Angeles Times , and The Wall Street Journal . [6] [8] She began hosting Quillette's Wrongspeak podcast with Jonathan Kay in May 2018. [2] Soh describes herself as a former feminist who later became disillusioned with the term. [9]

A 2016 Cosmopolitan article highlighted some of Soh's former research findings and their implications for determining which men are likely to commit rape. [10] A 2015 article she wrote for Salon.com spoke of how she studied a pedophile named Jacob who had come to her office after being arrested for luring what he thought was a 10-year-old minor but was actually an undercover police officer, recommended Germany's Prevention Project Dunkelfeld as a solution, and gave sympathy to Todd Nickerson, who wrote two articles for the same magazine about his experiences as a non-offending pedophile, stating "The backlash that Todd Nickerson faced upon publicly writing about his personal struggle with pedophilia is a reminder that we, as a society, have far to go in challenging the way we think about this emotionally charged subject. But our current approach is not working." [11]

In a 2015 editorial, Soh criticized the prevalence of childhood gender transitions, advising parents and doctors to wait "until a child has reached cognitive maturity." [12] Soh's essay, which referenced gender non-conforming aspects of her own childhood, argued that "a social transition back to one's original gender role can be an emotionally difficult experience." David A. French characterized this as "an understatement." [13] Soh has also written against anti-conversion therapy laws that include both sexual orientation and gender identity, believing that such laws conflate the two and prevent legitimate therapeutic counselling for individuals with gender dysphoria. [14] Fellow Canadian academics Florence Ashley and Alexandre Baril disputed Soh's interpretation of these studies. [15] Psychologists Kristina Olson and Lily Durwood called Soh's research "alarmist". [16]

Soh opposed the 2015 decision to close Toronto's gender identity clinic, which was known for beginning treatment after or during puberty in most cases. [17] [ failed verification ] A previous inquiry had put the clinic's chief physician, Kenneth Zucker, at odds with other gender dysphoria specialists who provide support for patients who have not yet gone through puberty. [18] [ failed verification ] Psychiatrist Jack Turban criticized Soh, stating that hormones are prescribed during puberty according to the Endocrine Society guidelines, adding that "As Soh notes in her article, gender identity is fixed at this time." [19] The following year, Soh wrote an editorial which criticized CBC News for cancelling its airing of a British documentary that featured Zucker. [20]

In 2016, Soh spent a weekend documenting the furry fandom in order to dispel myths about the subculture being primarily sexual in nature. [21] The following year she publicly defended James Damore's "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber" letter, popularly referred to as the Google memo. [22]

In 2018, Soh was described as a member of the "intellectual dark web" by New York Times opinion editor Bari Weiss. [23]

Soh left Wrongspeak at the end of 2018.[ citation needed ]

In April 2019, Soh supported a lawsuit by Nova Scotia resident Lorne Grabher against the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. The suit was filed to reinstate a license plate bearing Grabher's last name whose similarity to the phrase "grab her" had made it the subject of a complaint. Soh testified that the plate would not encourage any socially adjusted person to commit a violent act and opined that the government was "overreaching." [24] [25]

On 4 August 2020, Soh published her first book, The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society. [26]

In 2021, Soh started her own podcast, "The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast".[ citation needed ]

Personal life

Soh is of Malaysian-Chinese descent. [27]

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. The International Classification of Diseases uses the term gender incongruence instead of gender dysphoria, defined as a marked and persistent mismatch between gender identity and assigned gender, regardless of distress or impairment.

Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the individual's gender identity. Gender expression typically reflects a person's gender identity, but this is not always the case. While a person may express behaviors, attitudes, and appearances consistent with a particular gender role, such expression may not necessarily reflect their gender identity. The term gender identity was coined by psychiatry professor Robert J. Stoller in 1964 and popularized by psychologist John Money.

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.

Gender transition is the process of affirming and expressing one's internal sense of gender, rather than the gender assigned to them at birth. It is the recommended course of treatment for individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, providing improved mental health outcomes in the majority of 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 distress caused by incongruence between assigned sex and gender identity in some pre-pubescent transgender and gender diverse children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender</span> Gender identity other than sex assigned at birth

A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transsexual</span> People experiencing a gender identity inconsistent with their assigned sex

A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance to help them align their body with their identified sex or gender.

In the United States, the rights of transgender people vary considerably by jurisdiction. In recent decades, there has been an expansion of federal, state, and local laws and rulings to protect transgender Americans; however, many rights remain unprotected, and some rights are being eroded. Since 2020, there has been a national movement by conservative/right-wing politicians and organizations to target transgender rights. There has been a steady increase in the number of anti-transgender bills introduced each year, especially in Republican-led states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender youth</span> Children and adolescents who are transgender

Transgender youth are children or adolescents who do not identify with their natural sex. Because transgender youth are usually dependent on their parents for care, shelter, financial support, and other needs, they face different challenges compared to adults. According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, appropriate care for transgender youth may include supportive mental health care, social transition, and/or puberty blockers, which delay puberty and the development of secondary sex characteristics to allow children more time to explore their gender identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cantor</span> American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist

James M. Cantor is an American-Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist specializing in hypersexuality and paraphilias.

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:

Anne Alexandra Lawrence is an American psychologist, sexologist, and physician who has published extensively on gender dysphoria, transgender people, and paraphilias. Lawrence is a transgender woman and self-identifies as autogynephilic. She is best known for her 2013 book on autogynephilia, Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism, which has been regarded by Ray Blanchard as the definitive text on the subject. Lawrence is one of the major researchers in the area of Blanchard's etiological typology of transgender women and has been one of the most major proponents of the theory. While Blanchard's typology and autogynephilia are highly controversial subjects and are not accepted by many transgender women and academics, some, such as Lawrence, identify with autogynephilia. Lawrence's work also extends beyond Blanchard's typology, to transgender women and to transition more generally.

Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions for transgender individuals. A major component of transgender health care is gender-affirming care, the medical aspect of gender transition. Questions implicated in transgender health care include gender variance, sex reassignment therapy, health risks, and access to healthcare for trans people in different countries around the world. Gender affirming health care can include psychological, medical, physical, and social behavioral care. The purpose of gender affirming care is to help a transgender individual conform to their desired gender identity.

Transgender rights in Australia have legal protection under federal and state/territory laws, but the requirements for gender recognition vary depending on the jurisdiction. For example, birth certificates, recognised details certificates, and driver licences are regulated by the states and territories, while Medicare and passports are matters for the Commonwealth.

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.

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) was a nationally operated health clinic in the United Kingdom that specialised in working with children with gender identity issues, including gender dysphoria. The service closed on 28 March 2024 after serious concerns were repeatedly raised over a number of years by several independent NHS whistleblowers.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ "Keith A. Schneider CV" (PDF). Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 Herzog, Katie (31 May 2018). "Wrongspeak Is a Safe Space for Dangerous Ideas". The Stranger. Seattle, Wa.
  3. ↑ Soh, Debra (2020). The end of gender: debunking the myths about sex and identity in our society (First ed.). New York: Threshold Editions. ISBN   978-1-9821-3251-4. OCLC   1154855706.
  4. ↑ "York University Faculty of Health Media Report April 2019" (PDF). April 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Past Oral Defences". Graduate Program in Psychology, York University. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018.
  6. 1 2 Aaron, Michael (25 September 2017). "Sex Researcher Turned Journalist Challenges Sexual Dogmas: Sexologist Debra Soh's work challenges sexual dogmas and political correctness". Psychology Today.
  7. ↑ Rense, Sarah (26 January 2017). "Why It's So Hard to Figure Out How Our Brains Process Sex: From excessive masturbation to gender equality". Esquire . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Soh, Debra (4 January 2016). "The Transgender Battle Line: Childhood". The Wall Street Journal.
  9. ↑ Thobo-Carlsen, Jesper (8 March 2017). "Derfor har Debra Soh vendt feminismen ryggen". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  10. ↑ Smothers, Hannah (31 March 2016). "5 Warning Signs He'll Be Dangerous in Bed: This is a good case against dating 'bad boys.'". Cosmopolitan . Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Soh, Debra W. (27 October 2015). "The pedophile I could not help: He was not a monster or a molester. The system destroyed him anyway". Salon. Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  12. ↑ Soh, Debra (1 September 2015). "Why Transgender Kids Should Wait to Transition". Pacific Standard .
  13. ↑ French, David (2 September 2015). "Not every sex researcher thinks young kids should 'transition'". National Review . Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  14. ↑ Soh, Debra (17 June 2017). "Why bans on conversion therapy are misguided". Newsday .
  15. ↑ Ashley, Florence; Baril, Alexandre (23 March 2018). "Why 'rapid onset gender dysphoria' is bad science". The National Post. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  16. ↑ Olson, Kristina; Durwood, Lily (14 January 2016). "What Alarmist Articles About Transgender Children Get Wrong". Slate.
  17. ↑ Levenson, Claire (15 October 2018). "Transition des jeunes trans*, quand science et militants divergent". Slate. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  18. ↑ Reynolds, Christopher (14 February 2016). "Closing of CAMH clinic fans controversy over gender-questioning children". The Toronto Star . Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  19. ↑ Turban, Jack (16 February 2017). "No, it isn't 'undermining science' to say gender identity is influenced by culture". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  20. ↑ Soh, Debra (18 December 2017). "CBC's decision against airing Transgender Kids doc should leave everyone unsettled". CBC News . Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  21. ↑ Connor, Kevin (19 March 2016). "No sex in suits and other facts about Furries". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "Googler fired for diversity memo had legit points on gender". USA Today .
  23. ↑ Weiss, Bari (8 May 2018). "Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018.
  24. ↑ "'Grabher' license plate not dangerous, former sex researcher tells N.S. court". The Canadian Press. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  25. ↑ MacDonald, Michael (24 April 2019). "Personalized 'Grabher' licence plate won't incite sexual violence, former researcher tells Nova Scotia Supreme Court". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  26. ↑ Soh, Debra (August 2020). The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and Identity in Our Society. Threshold Editions. p. 336. ISBN   978-1982132514.
  27. ↑ Soh, Debra (22 February 2021). "Attacks on Asian-Americans reveal a strange racial double standard". The Globe and Mail . Toronto, Ontario . Retrieved 23 July 2021.
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