The Jesse Singal treatment

Why trans activists break out the torches and pitchforks for science reporter Jesse Singal

My theory of why trans activists break out the torches and pitchforks for reporter Jesse Singal, as he weathers yet another onslaught of unsubstantiated, defamatory, and unhinged accusations...

If you listen to trans activists, Jesse Singal is a "professionally anti-trans" bigot spewing "dangerous misinformation."

But what is it that makes Jesse such a "threat" to the trans community? Reading his work, you'd be hard-pressed to justify these libels. He's a careful reporter who consistently takes a moderate and frankly deferential stance toward trans ideology. Remember that Atlantic piece on detransitioners that launched a years-long harassment campaign by trans activists? He never questions the underlying ideology. He fully accepts that there are "trans kids" who should transition as children. He's not questioning the framework under which kids are medicalized—he’s just asking whether a medical pathway is right for every kid who comes out as trans. He's asking, in effect: can't it be more complicated in some cases? To which the answer is an obvious yes!

He defends himself against accusations that he wants to keep bathrooms single-sex. He deploys the language of gender ideology when he talks about "trans people using the bathrooms that match up with their gender identities."

Honestly, his moderation on this issue frustrates many of us who appreciate his reporting but want him to go further, to see the full picture and ask tough questions about medicalizing kids and hollowing out women's sex-based rights. That's just not what he does.

And this is why trans activists hate Jesse Singal so much: If you don't already know who Jesse is and you read his work, there's nothing he says that would alienate a casual reader or even an uninitiated trans ally. He makes good points and backs up his arguments. He speaks their language! He observes their elaborate codes—and apologizes when he slips up! He buys into enough of their belief system (some kids are really trans and so should transition as minors, transwomen are in some sense or for some purposes women), even if he has some reservations.

In other words, he's too close to the party line. Too cautious. Too compassionate. Too reasonable. He's not asking big thorny questions in a confrontational way. He's asking the obvious ones that anyone exposed to trans ideology will inevitably find themselves wondering about. Questions like: what about that huge spike in kids—especially girls—identifying as trans? Why do people detransition and what does that say about affirmation-only as the standard of care? What about this study and its inconvenient findings?

That's why trans activists want to poison Jesse Singal's name before anybody reads a word he says. This is a clear case of trans activists going absolutely nuclear on the mildest possible ideological infractions to discourage anybody from budging so much as an inch. Trans activists' campaign to destroy Jesse Singal is a campaign to keep everybody else—anyone who might share his questions and concerns—in line, or at least quiet and scared. Don't question any of it, or you'll get the Jesse Singal treatment.

It’s worth pointing out that the Jesse Singal treatment works. Look how few journalists are willing to raise any questions whatsoever about the subject of gender identity—besides the question of how many positive adjectives are too many positive adjectives in your gushing human-interest story. Trans activists have raised the cost of scrutinizing any aspect of this issue so high that almost no journalist is willing to pay it. Why invite years of harassment and baseless accusations when you could just write about something—anything!—else?

We could call it the Scientology playbook—unleashing a campaign bent on personal destruction for anyone who inquires into the movement's claims and demands, no matter how reasonably or responsibly.