202: Steve Hassan and the Trans Cult Conspiracy Theory
“Cult expert” Steve Hassan has been publicly concerned with the complex sociology of trans youth since 2020. We track that interest back to his communications with gender critical activists in 2017, who reached out to him because they believed that his cult theory could shed light on what they believed were nefarious aspects of the trans awareness movement. In the spirit of helpfulness, but without any chops in the subject, he stepped up to the plate and started swinging.
Regardless of how earnest or paranoid his concern is, his access to this landscape has been bought with his intellectual legacy, and been filtered through networks that question trans identity altogether. His most inflammatory (but also silly) claim is that many young people are being hypnotized by online pornography and influenced by social media groups to the extent they inexorably choose medical transition. We investigate and analyze this unfortunate skid into the culture war mud.
Hassan has stated at length his opposition to the “cancel culture” he believes is directed at Rowling and himself. This episode is not that. It’s a sober evaluation of legacy, disciplinary overreach, and what better public intellectual engagement would look like.
Show Notes
Full article: The Cass Review: Cis-supremacy in the UK’s approach to healthcare for trans children
The Cass Report – A Briefing | TransActual
A Teen Gender-Care Debate Is Spreading Across Europe
Ethical concerns raised on Steven Hassan’s book on cults
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: Robert Jay Lifton and Bill Moyers on “A Duty to Warn”
"Conversion Therapy" is Dangerous and Abusive - Freedom of Mind Resource Center
Unveiling Scientology: Insights from Denise Brennan
Lisa M. Marchiano, LCSW | Gender Analysis
Full article: Outbreak: On Transgender Teens and Psychic Epidemics
Full article: Transgender Children: The Making of a Modern Hysteria
Gender detransition: a case study - Marchiano - 2021 - Journal of Analytical Psychology
Lobotomy: The rise and fall of a miracle cure | 4thWaveNow (TW: transphobia)
Rapid onset gender dysphoria: what we know about the term amid JK Rowling trans row
ROGD Statement — Coalition for the Advancement & Application of Psychological Science
Evidence Undermines 'Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria' Claims | Scientific American
Steven Hassan Twitter thread 2
Elisa Shupe: Setting the Record Straight
The making of a detransitioner | Xtra Magazine
Foundations of the Contemporary Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience Network
Detransition needs further understanding, not controversy | The BMJ
Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care — Reuters
Anti-trans activist Posie Parker says women who stand in her way will be 'annihilated'
Posie Parker departs New Zealand; JK Rowling blasts protest as 'repellent' | RNZ News
JK Rowling's New Friends — Shaun
“Transgenderism must be eradicated” — Knowles
Andrea Long Chu on Desire, Weak Love, and Modern Trans Identity ‹ Literary Hub
