Evan Urquhart
(He/Him)
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My focus is providing daily coverage of anti-trans propaganda in US right wing media. Assigned is the only place for daily coverage of this topic. Have covered: gaming, culture, media, books, LGBTQ+
# DU BIST NICHT ALLEIN!
Articles by Evan Urquhart
The Only People Talking to Missouri Voters About Trans Kids are Conservatives—and These LGBTQ+ Canvassers
This story was originally published by Assigned Media and was edited by Billie Jean Sweeney. Paul Wissner said he “doesn’t have a dog in that fight” over transgender youth healthcare, but he did like the canvasser who talked to him about it at his home in Richmond Heights, Missouri, one fall afternoon. He remembered her name too: Brittany.
Wall Street Journal shirks apology for anti-trans misinformation
Just hours after Christian nationalist and conservative podcast host Charlie Kirk was shot, far-right online spaces were consumed by one prevailing question: Could the shooter be linked to trans people? “I don’t think it was a coincidence that the shot rang out when you have a question about transgender mass shootings,” hinted Jason Chaffetz on Fox News shortly after witnessing Kirk’s death.
NY Times cited 29 times to justify decision limiting trans healthcare
New York Times stories were cited 29 times in amicus briefs supporting Tennessee’s ban on youth gender-affirming care — a ban upheld in the U.S. v. Skrmetti decision on June 18. The decision leaves in place bans that have forced families of some trans kids to leave their homes to maintain access to the necessary treatments.
'The Protocol', New York Times podcast on youth trans care, leaves out patients
This story was copublished with Assigned Media. The Protocol, the New York Times’ new podcast on the history of gender-affirming care for youth, largely excludes the voices of trans youth receiving that care. The narrative, as in previous Times coverage, is that something has gone wrong with youth gender care in the United States. The podcast’s creators continue to create smoke around gender-affirming care while suggesting there must be fire, a pattern consistent in Times coverage.
The Skrmetti Case Could End Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth. These Families Explain Why They Sought It
Content warning: This article includes descriptions of self-harm and suicide. Resources are listed at the bottom of the story. Eleven days before the state of Missouri ended healthcare for young people with gender dysphoria, then-15-year-old Kai came out to her parents as transgender. Checking on her new daughter that night before bed, her mom Esther told Teen Vogue, was the first time she’d seen her child truly happy.
Mom of trans girl accuses NYT's 'Protocol' podcast of exploitation
This story was copublished with Assigned Media. A New York Times podcast on transgender youth health care, released June 5, features the mother of a trans girl against her will after producers caught a vulnerable moment on tape. The teaser for the podcast, The Protocol, says that it will examine the history and politicization of gender-affirming care for youth.
New York Times podcast doubles down on harming trans people
This story was copublished with Assigned Media. A New York Times podcast on transgender youth health care, released June 5, features the mother of a trans girl against her will after producers caught a vulnerable moment on tape. The teaser for the podcast, The Protocol, says that it will examine the history and politicization of gender-affirming care for youth.
Bias at NYT: Trans Former Employee Speaks Out — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart Disclaimer: Billie Jean Sweeney has been assisting Assigned Media as a volunteer editor since November 2024. In November 2021, Billie Jean Sweeney’s life was good. She adored her job, and her team at the New York Times international desk, where she’d just been promoted from working nights to day assignment editor. Over time, however, Sweeney became concerned at the bias shown in coverage of the trans community. Her community.
How Conservative Officials Are Using Private Medical Records For Their Anti-Trans Agenda
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How Conservative Officials Are Using Private Medical Records For Their Anti-Trans Agenda Original
On February 7, 2023, a former case manager at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital provided a sworn affidavit to the state's attorney general Andrew Bailey claiming that the clinic was rushing children into transition-related care and hiding possible side effects from parents.
Fifteen-Year Old Assigned Masturbation as "Homework" in Finland Transgender Clinic — Assigned
Many thanks to Alyssa Steinsiek, Cassandra Urquhart, Geoff Vitiello, and Laura Braza for providing feedback on early drafts of this piece. In the car one week on a trip to the grocery store with his grandmother, 13-year-old Mikael began crying. When his grandmother asked him what was wrong, a secret he’d been keeping for two years finally tumbled out. “Would you be angry if I was a boy?” he asked. Mikael’s grandmother, who had raised him since he was five, was not angry.
NYT Removes Superfluous Reference to Trans Woman’s Gender Inserted by Cis-Identified Science Reporter — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart The New York Times reported yesterday on discussions between Biden administration officials and members of WPATH, the world professional standards organization overseeing transgender healthcare.
Multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate in Victoria, Australia; unintended consequences of changing Medicare Benefits Schedule access
References 1 Xiang J, Yan H, Li J, Wang X, Chen H, Zheng X. Transperineal versus transrectal prostate biopsy in the diagnosis of prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Surg Oncol 2019; 17(1): 31. | Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed | 2 Ahmed HU, El-Shater Bosaily A, Brown LC, Gabe R, Kaplan R, Parmar MK, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of multi-parametric MRI and TRUS biopsy in prostate cancer (PROMIS): a paired validating confirmatory study. Lancet 2017; 389(10071): 815-22.
Uh Oh! Conservative Brits Take EIC Roles at Two Major US News Orgs — Assigned
The New York Post, a right-leaning tabloid, is little better, though its obsession with trans issues has cooled somewhat from a peak last year). For example, a recent NY Post story uncritically featured a claim by the unsupportive family of a trans boy (who is misgendered throughout the NY Post’s story) who was removed by child welfare services in Montana. The story centers around the notion that Montana CPS never sought “a warrant” before their removal of the boy.
Biden Condemns Trans Healthcare Bans in Pride Declaration — Assigned
For the mainstream and LGBTQ+ media, apparently, this was a yawn. Where were these statements covered? Oh, just the Daily Wire, the viciously anti-trans home of Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles, and Ben Shapiro. The Daily Wire story described Biden’s condemnation of healthcare bans targeting trans youth “defending child mutilation” but in mainstream and LGBTQ+ media he might as well have remained silent.
Undark Examination of SEGM Includes Errors and Misinfo — Assigned
In addition to these two pieces of false information, Klotz’s story includes highly misleading phrasing of the sort SEGM traffics in, phrasing that often misleads and confuses readers new to the topic of gender-affirming healthcare. Specifically, Klotz exaggerates the frequency of medical treatments for gender dysphoria and downplays the use of talk therapy with no medical treatment in mainstream gender clinics.
WPATH and USPATH Trash Talk the Cass Review — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart The main professional bodies overseeing the standards for treatment of gender diverse people, WPATH and USPATH, have issued a joint response to the Cass Review, saying they are “extremely concerned” that the Review will serve as a barrier to necessary healthcare for transgender youth. The Review itself, which was published over one month ago, was billed as an independent look at the state of transgender healthcare in England.
The Buried Trans Youth Perspectives of the Cass Review — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart England’s Cass Review was commissioned to examine the provision of gender-affirming healthcare in England and provide suggestions on improving the service.
Detransitioner Soren Aldaco Must Pay $40,000 for Frivolous Lawsuit — Assigned
Orders to pay the opposing side’s attorney fees are typically used to discourage the filing of frivolous lawsuits as well as to limit the financial damage to people who are forced to defend against meritless lawsuits. As with other similar suits, the argument of Aldaco’s lawsuit wasn’t that her providers had engaged in malpractice by diverging from ethical standards for gender-affirming treatment, but instead mounted a broad-based attack against gender-affirming care as a discipline.
NYT Won’t Be Correcting the Name of Deceased Trans Conjoined Twin — Assigned
All female pronouns outside of quotes, as well as the use of “sisters,” quietly disappeared from the obituary on April 23rd, at or around the same time as an acknowledged correction dealing with the misspelling of a name. However, despite the efforts by advocates at GLAAD, the NYT declined to update the repeated uses of George’s previous name.
Misinformation Rampant in Press Coverage of Cass Review — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart Right-wing media has unleashed a wave of misinformation about trans healthcare in the wake of the Final Report of the Cass Review, which investigated gender-affirming care for youth in the UK. Despite numerous false claims about the contents of the Report, few or no attempts have been made to correct the record, either by journalists or Dr. Cass herself.
What’s in the Cass Report? — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart In 2020, in the UK, in an atmosphere of increasing political anger and animosity directed at the transgender community, pediatrician Hilary Cass was tasked with reviewing the state of gender-affirming care for youth by the NHS. The Final Report of the Cass Review, released on April 9th, is a 388-page document that almost immediately became the center of gravity in the ongoing political debate about how and whether to treat young people with gender dysphoria.
Catholic Church declares transgender identity a threat to the natural order. So be it.
Skip to the content Life This article has been adapted from Assigned. As police ransacked our house, piling phones and laptops on the kitchen table to be taken to the precinct and never returned, my family and I craned our necks to see what was happening from where we sat, watched by an officer. We chattered nervously; mostly we waited. I was afraid, but I was also very angry.
The Catholic Church Has Declared My Existence a Threat to the Natural Order. So Be It.
This article has been adapted from Assigned. As police ransacked our house, piling phones and laptops on the kitchen table to be taken to the precinct and never returned, my family and I craned our necks to see what was happening from where we sat, watched by an officer. We chattered nervously; mostly we waited. I was afraid, but I was also very angry.
The Catholic Church Has Declared My Existence a Threat to the Natural Order. So Be It.
This article has been adapted from Assigned. As police ransacked our house, piling phones and laptops on the kitchen table to be taken to the precinct and never returned, my family and I craned our necks to see what was happening from where we sat, watched by an officer. We chattered nervously; mostly we waited. I was afraid, but I was also very angry.
The Infinite Dignity of Transgender Existence — Assigned
Opinion, by Evan Urquhart As local police ransacked our rented house in Lakeport, California, piling phones and laptops on the kitchen table to be taken to the precinct never to be returned, my family craned our necks to see what was happening from where we sat, watched by an officer. We chattered nervously, mostly we waited. I was afraid, but mostly I was very angry. The person named on the search warrant was a youth who had lived with us, we were foster parents.
No One Ever Said J. K. Rowling Might Be Jailed for Misgendering — Assigned
Here is our full transcript of the portion of the April 1 BBC Radio 4 Interview with minister Siobhian Brown concerning whether misgendering will be a crime under the new Scottish hate crime legislation Q: Is misgendering a crime under this act? A: No. Not misgendering. Not at all. Justin, if I may, we respect everybody’s freedom of expression and nobody in our society should live in fear or be made to feel like they don’t belong.
Jonathan Haidt Promoted a Fringe Theory on Trans Youth — Assigned
by Evan Urquhart A new pop-psychology book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” is causing quite a stir amongst anxiety-prone parents of late. The main thesis of the author, Jonathan Haidt of New York University’s Stern School of Business, is that smartphones are greatly detrimental to adolescent mental health.
Glowing Review of Matt Walsh Doc Honored by Oldest Press Club in US — Assigned
This would appear to refer to the story of a Canadian man who repeatedly violated a court order to protect his transgender daughter’s privacy. The man was jailed after a judge ruled that there was a “virtual certainty” that he would continue violating the order if allowed to remain free.
A Trans Teen Died After Being Bullied. This Is Why I Can’t Look Away. Original
Skip to the content Life In police body cam footage recorded in the hospital on the day before his death, Nex Benedict reaches out to shake the officer’s hand. His legs are spread casually on the exam bed, his other hand resting on his thigh—no obvious nerves, keeping things chill. He’s dressed in black, hair well above his shoulders and pushed back.
A Texas Democrat Who Turned on Trans Community Is Finding Out — Assigned
Despite a massive propaganda push to distort the science and inflame fear and hatred towards the transgender community, most Democratic politicians have stood firm. In some cases this is no doubt due to their genuinely held convictions, but it hasn’t hurt that anti-trans messaging has turned out to be something of a political dud for Republicans.
Aaron or LillyAnarKitty? The Complicated Identity of Aaron Bushnell — Assigned
Assigned: So, we know that when Bushnell died, in using that Twitch account, Bushnell wasn’t exactly trying to hide that Lilly persona, right? IM: Yes. In her final communique, during what a friend of mine called revolutionary suicide, she told the world “I want to be identified as Aaron Bushnell” but from the LillyAnarKitty Twitch account. I think it’s still ambiguous what those motives were. A few of us thought, you know, maybe this is strategic.
The British Prime Minister Is Under Fire for a Transphobic Gibe. What’s Different This Time? Original
Life If you live in the United States, you’re probably familiar with our homegrown culture war over trans issues, pushed primarily by Christian activists of the far right, which has resulted in a slew of anti-trans laws in various GOP-controlled states, with hundreds of further bills under consideration already this year. Across the pond, the U.K. has had its own version of this anti-trans “backlash,” characterized by constant discussion of, and attacks on, the trans community in its news media.
Downplaying a Teen’s Death, Chaiya Raichik Explains Her “Mission” — Assigned
“The mission is to protect children and to expose the grooming and sexualization of kids,” explained Chaiya Raichik in a Spaces appearance on Twitter, hosted by conservative activist Josie Glabach, who goes by The Red Headed Libertarian. This is the same mission that has been linked to more than twenty bomb threats across the country, according to reporting earlier this month by NBC.
Readers deserve better than misinformation about trans care; a response to Pamela Paul
This story was originally published on Erin In The Morning.Author’s note (Erin Reed): A copy of this article was submitted to the New York Times for publication in response to Pamela Paul. It was rejected, citing an internal policy on opinion pieces responding to New York Times columnists. Journalist Evan Urquhart and I have thus decided to make it freely available on our own platforms.
Readers Deserve Better Than Misinformation About Trans Care: A Response to Pamela Paul — Assigned
On Saturday, opinion columnist Pamela Paul published a deeply misleading 4,500-word article on gender-affirming care and detransitioners in the New York Times. While readers may be excused for taking her article as a fair representation of the science surrounding that care, transgender journalists like us immediately recognized the hallmarks of misinformation we routinely hear from right-wing groups whose mission is to oppose care for transgender people.
UT: Cisgender Student Under Police Protection as Trans Panic Rages On — Assigned
The Salt Lake Tribune’s story explicitly notes that this cisgender girl who has been subject to violent threats after her appearance didn’t pass muster with the anti-trans hate mob is different from the cisgender basketball player who was subject to unfounded accusations of being trans by an irate parent in late January, whose story the paper also covered in depth. The fear and humiliation these cisgender girls are being subjected to is real, and deserves to be addressed.
UT: Teen Harassed, Accused of Being Trans at JV HS Basketball Game — Assigned
Cisgender girls are being falsely accused of being transgender by irate transphobic parents, an outcome that opponents of bans on transgender participation in athletics predicted was inevitable. In Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reported the details of one recent confrontation where an irate parent demanded that a cisgender girl playing junior varsity basketball be disqualified, insisting that she was a boy.
Your Bad Faith Questions About Gender Identity, Answered! — Assigned
Clearly, the letter writer intended these as points of argument, not as actual questions. But they’re also not difficult to answer. So, without further ado, let’s get to answering! How is gender dysphoria diagnosed?
The Anti-Trans Crusade Was Supposed to Make DeSantis President. What Happens Now He’s Gone? — Assigned
How did attacking a harmless minority, one few Americans care about or even really understand, become the top policy priority of one of the two major political parties in the US? The answer isn’t complicated, and it has nothing to do with trans people at all. The anti-trans moral panic was manufactured to sell Ron DeSantis as the savior of the Republican party after Trump. Everything else ultimately stems from the miscalculation that tried, and failed, to bring us President Meatball Ron.
Racist, Nazi Trans Woman Arrested After Trans Facebook Group Raised Alarms — Assigned
Could this be the first ever documented case of conservatives approving of police intervening to prevent a Nazi with an arsenal of firearms from acting on their violent social media posts?
Dr. Phil Teams Up With Christian Media to Promote Leaker Who Exposed Trans Children’s Private Health Records — Assigned
Last December, Phil McGraw, better known as television’s “Dr. Phil” (though he is not a medical doctor), announced that he would be launching his own cable channel in partnership with Trinity Broadcasting Network, according to Variety.
The Suicide of an Alabama Mayor Shows That Pre-Stonewall Horrors Aren’t Just Coming Back. They’re Here.
Skip to the content Outward Imagine if, whenever you went to your favorite bar, you ran the risk of your photo winding up plastered all over local media. Because of the type of bar in which you were spotted—because of the types of people it served—from that moment forward, your ordinary, anonymous life would cease. You’d lose your job, your family would disown you, you’d be an outcast and a laughingstock. How would the disgrace, however undeserved, make you feel?
The Suicide of an Alabama Mayor Shows That Pre-Stonewall Horrors Aren’t Just Coming Back. They’re Here.
Imagine if, whenever you went to your favorite bar, you ran the risk of your photo winding up plastered all over local media. Because of the type of bar in which you were spotted—because of the types of people it served—from that moment forward, your ordinary, anonymous life would cease. You’d lose your job, your family would disown you, you’d be an outcast and a laughingstock. How would the disgrace, however undeserved, make you feel?
Ohio’s Republican Governor Seeks Harsh New Restrictions on Adult Transition — Assigned
These regulations are concerning to members of the trans community in Ohio and beyond because they represent a much higher set of requirements for treating gender dysphoria than exists for other treatments, and many clinics where patients access affordable care would not currently meet these standards. In addition, there’s no evidence that requiring two different doctors with two completely different specialties is necessary for the vast majority of patients.
ROGD Proponents Now Wish Littman Had "Spared Us the Headache" of Claiming a Rapid-Onset — Assigned
This is a neat trick! All gender dysphoria that appears later than early childhood has now been retconned to fit the ROGD rubric. Apparently, what distinguishes ROGD is no longer that, unlike other adolescent-onset gender dysphoria it comes on completely out of the blue, but that it has a different etiology (or cause). They claim this difference in cause is the most important thing, but conveniently it’s also difficult, perhaps impossible, to prove.
Detransitioners Oppose Ohio’s Gender Affirming Care Ban — Assigned
The inconvenient truth is even people who have detransitioned do not generally agree with attempts to ban gender affirming care for everyone. by Evan Urquhart The Ohio legislature is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would ban gender affirming care for youth, as well as the participation of trans girls in girls athletics.
What It Actually Means to Listen to Detransitioners
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Detransitioners Had an Idea for Improving Trans Health Care That’s Actually Really Good
Medical Examiner For most people, a gender transition is permanent. While the specific needs of individual trans people are diverse, changes to our appearance and/or bodies bring us into better harmony with how we want to be seen, and how we see ourselves. To reverse a transition would be incredibly unpleasant. There are exceptions to this, as there are always exceptions to anything.
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