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{{AfDM|page=Jesse Singal (2nd nomination)|year=2021|month=September|day=2|substed=yes|origtag=afdx}}
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{{Short description|American journalist}}
{{Short description|American journalist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
⚫
'''Jesse Singal''' is an American journalist. He has written for publications including ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine, ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Atlantic]]''. Singal also publishes a newsletter on [[Substack]] and hosts a podcast, ''Blocked and Reported'', with journalist Katie Herzog.
{{Infobox person
| name = Jesse Singal
| image = Jesse Singal on Rebel Wisdom.jpg
| caption = Singal speaks on a Rebel Wisdom video in 2021.
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1983
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| education = [[Princeton University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
| alma_mater =
| occupation = [[Journalism|Journalist]]
| years_active =
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
}}

⚫
'''Jesse Singal''' is an American journalist. He has written for publications including ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine, ''[[The New York Times]]'' and ''[[The Atlantic]]''. Singal also publishes a newsletter on [[Substack]] and hosts the [[podcast]] ''[[Blocked and Reported]]'' with journalist Katie Herzog.


Much of Singal's writing deals with the social sciences, and he previously edited ''New York'' magazine's behavioral-science vertical, "Science of Us".<ref name="about-me"/> In 2021, he published a book, ''The Quick Fix'', about the failings of popular psychology. Singal has attracted controversy for his writing on [[transgender]] issues, particularly in his 2018 cover story for ''The Atlantic'', "When Children Say They're Trans".
Much of Singal's writing deals with the social sciences, and he previously edited ''New York'' magazine's behavioral-science [[Vertical and horizontal market|vertical]], "Science of Us".<ref name="about-me"/> In 2021, he published a book, ''The Quick Fix'', about the failings of popular psychology. Singal's writing on [[transgender]] issues has attracted controversy, particularly in his 2018 cover story for ''The Atlantic'', "When Children Say They're Trans".


According to [[National Review]], writer Michael Rosen Singal's political orientation is liberal but "heterodox", though he says Singal has expressed an aversion to the latter term as a descriptor of his work.<ref name="quick-fix-national-review"/>
Singal's [[Political spectrum|political orientation]] has often been described as liberal but "[[Heterodoxy|heterodox]]", though he has expressed an aversion to the latter term as a descriptor of his work.<ref name="quick-fix-national-review"/>


==Biography==
==Biography==
Singal was born in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Singal |first1=Jesse |title=Don’t Call Me a Millennial — I’m an Old Millennial |url=https://www.thecut.com/2017/04/two-types-of-millennials.html |website=The Cut |language=en |date=24 April 2017}}</ref> He is one of three sons born to Sydney L. ({{nee|Altman}}; 1949–2021) and Bruce A. Singal.<ref>{{Cite news|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= Sydney L. Altman |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date= April 22, 2021|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/104387463/the-boston-globe/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Both of his parents were attorneys. He received a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton's [[Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs]].<ref name="about-me"/> He is of [[American Jews|Jewish]] descent<ref>{{Cite news|first1=Chait |last1=Jonathan |first2=Jesse |last2=Singal |authorlink1= Jonathan Chait |title= How Alarmed Should American Jews Be Right Now? Two Jews Kibitz |newspaper=[[New York Magazine]]|date=November 16, 2016 |url= https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/11/is-there-a-new-american-antisemitism.html |quote=Two of New York Magazine’s Jewish staffers, Jonathan Chait and Jesse Singal, decided to discuss the question.}}</ref> and lives in [[Brooklyn]].<ref name="substack-about"/>
Singal received a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton's [[Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs]].<ref name="about-me"/> He lives in [[Brooklyn]].<ref name="substack-about"/>


==Writing about transgender issues==
==Writing about transgender issues==
===2018 ''Atlantic'' article===
⚫
Singal wrote the cover story for the July/August 2018 issue of ''The Atlantic''. Originally published under the title "When a Child Says She's Trans", the online version was later retitled "When Children Say They're Trans". The [[Long-form journalism|long-form]] piece includes profiles of several adolescents who identify or previously identified as transgender, interviews with youth gender clinicians, and reviews of some of the studies, statistics, and protocols related to [[transgender youth|youth transition]]. In a follow-up, ''The Atlantic'' published four letters from parents of transgender children reacting to Singal's article with a mixture of criticism and praise.<ref name="atlantic-parents" /> Alexandria Neason, writing for the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'', stated that despite being fact-checked, the story was considered transphobic by many readers, journalists, and activists, and suggested that more diversity in editorial oversight could have averted the problem.<ref name="CJR Fact-checking" />


⚫
Among the controversial aspects of the article was the proportion of weight given to stories of adolescents who had desisted or [[detransition]]ed—that is, reverted to identifying with their genders assigned at birth, either before or after undergoing physical transition. In the article, Singal acknowledges that the stories of detransitioners are sometimes viewed with skepticism or suspicion by the transgender community, in part because they have been used by conservative media to further misleading narratives. Alex Barasch, writing in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', faulted the article for not including the story of "a single happy, well-adjusted trans teen" in its first 9,000 words.<ref name="slate-atlantic" /> However, one of the reader response letters published by ''The Atlantic'' identified in the article two stories of happily transitioned teens, though the author referred to them as being "buried deep in the article".<ref name="atlantic-parents" /> Barasch also criticized Singal for failing to include the stories of individuals who had detransitioned for reasons other than a realization that they were not trans, such as social stigma.<ref name="slate-atlantic" /> Some transgender advocates questioned whether it was appropriate for a [[cisgender]] man like Singal, rather than a transgender writer, to write on the topic.<ref name="economist-trans"/>
Singal has been described by Harron Walker and Mey Rude as one of the most prominent journalists working in the area of transgender issues,<ref name="advocate-accountability"/><ref name="jezebel-groupthink"/> though his work has sometimes been negatively received by the trans community.<ref name="advocate-atlantic"/><ref name="nyt-cancel"/> Responding to a medical journalistic dispute [[David Gorski]] physician, professor and medical journalist, referred to Singal as lacking the requisite scientific background for the subject and acting as a “hardcore advocate”. Singal would subsequently publish Gorski’s claims and allege they were unfair personal attacks to distract from his journalism.<ref name="Gorski-Statment"/><ref name="Gorski-Statment2"/> With NiemanLab publishing that his work has been “heavily criticized by journalists, medical professionals, and activists for being reductive and deceptive.”<ref name="niemanlab"/>


''The Atlantic'' also published a series of responses to Singal's article. One was a personal story of de-transition after being physically assaulted and transitioning again when it was safer to do so.<ref>{{Cite news |work=The Atlantic |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/06/i-detransitioned-but-not-because-i-wasnt-trans/563396/ |title=I Detransitioned. But Not Because I Wasn't Trans. |date=June 22, 2018|first=Robyn|last=Kanner|access-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref> Another focused on the fact that detransitioners make up a relatively small subset of those who access transition related care.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/07/desistance/564560/ |work=The Atlantic |title= The Loaded Language Shaping the Trans Conversation |date=July 10, 2018|first=Tey|last=Meadow|access-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref>


===2018 Atlantic article===
===Subsequent events===
⚫
In March 2021, Singal was listed on [[GLAAD]]'s "Accountability Project", which the organization described as serving to document "[[Anti-LGBT rhetoric|anti-LGBTQ]] words and actions from politicians, commentators, organization leaders, journalists and other public figures".<ref name="advocate-accountability"/> Among other things, GLAAD criticizes Singal for misinterpreting a study on desistance among transgender children and for promoting unsupported hypotheses that sexual trauma can cause gender dysphoria and that gender dysphoria can spread via [[social contagion]].<ref name="GLAAD-accountability"/> Singal responded on [[Substack]], stating that his inclusion on the list was based on "previously disproven internet scuttlebutt".<ref name="hill-accountability"/>
⚫
Singal wrote the cover story for the July/August 2018 issue of ''The Atlantic''. Originally published under the title "When a Child Says She's Trans", the online version was later retitled "When Children Say They're Trans". The [[Long-form journalism|long-form]] piece includes profiles of several adolescents who identify or previously identified as transgender, interviews with youth gender clinicians, and reviews of some of the studies, statistics, and protocols related to [[transgender youth|youth transition]]. In a follow-up, ''The Atlantic'' published four letters from parents of transgender children reacting to Singal's article with a mixture of criticism and praise.<ref name="atlantic-parents" /> [[Columbia Journalism Review]] noted that despite attempted editorial oversight the story was considered to be transphobic by many readers, journalists and activists. With CJR asserting more diversity in editorial oversight could have averted the problems.<ref name="CJR Fact-checking" />

⚫
Among the controversial aspects of the article was its inclusion of the stories of multiple adolescents who had desisted or [[detransition]]ed -- that is, reverted to identifying with their assigned gender at birth, either before or after undergoing physical transition. In the article, Singal acknowledges that the stories of detransitioners are sometimes viewed with skepticism or suspicion by the trans community, in part because they have been used by conservative media to further misleading narratives. Alex Barasch, writing in ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', faulted the article for not including the story of "a single happy, well-adjusted trans teen" in its first 9,000 words.<ref name="slate-atlantic" /> This complaint was echoed in one of the parent-penned letters published by ''The Atlantic'', which said that the two stories of happily-transitioned teens were "buried deep in the article".<ref name="atlantic-parents" /> Barasch also criticized Singal for failing to include the stories of individuals who had detransitioned for reasons other than a realization that they were not trans, such as social stigma.<ref name="slate-atlantic" /> Some commentators questioned whether it was appropriate for Singal, a [[cisgender]] man, to write on this topic, rather than a trans writer.<ref name="economist-trans"/>

According to Harvard University’s [[Nieman Foundation for Journalism]], Mina Brewer, the model for the story was not informed he would be on the cover of the story and alleged Mr. Singal’s cover story in “The Atlantic misgendered him” as female. With the Nieman Foundation further alleging Brewer was involuntarily [[outed]] to family and friends by the story’s choice to use his photos prominently while referring to him as trans. Regarding the reception of the article the Nieman Foundation reported “when the issue came out, author Jesse Singal and his story were heavily criticized by journalists, medical professionals, and activists for being reductive and deceptive.” <ref name="niemanlab" />

===Subsequent controversies===

⚫
In March 2021, Singal was listed on [[GLAAD]]'s "Accountability Project", which the organization described as serving to document "anti-LGBTQ words and actions from politicians, commentators, organization leaders, journalists and other public figures".<ref name="advocate-accountability"/> Singal responded on [[Substack]], stating that his inclusion on the list was based on "previously disproven internet scuttlebutt". Singal was supported by sex columnist [[Dan Savage]], who derided what he described as a "long & dishonest campaign" against Singal,<ref name="hill-accountability"/> and urged readers to listen to Singal's interview of a youth-gender clinician before judging him as transphobic.<ref name="advocate-accountability"/>


==Podcast==
==Podcast==
{{Main|Blocked and Reported}}
⚫
Since March 2020,<ref name="tribune-pod"/> Singal has hosted the podcast ''Blocked and Reported'' with Katie Herzog, a lesbian journalist based in Washington state. The podcast focuses on internet culture war controversies. Herzog and Singal have both been described as politically liberal,<ref name="tribune-pod"/> but "heterodox"<ref name="reason-pod"/> and "woke-skeptic."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=July podcast picks: online rage, taboos and obesity |magazine=[[The Week]] |date=July 23, 2021 |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/culture/music/953595/podcasts-of-the-week-online-rage-taboos-and-obesity |language=en}}</ref> Herzog was also the subject of online ostracism (characterized in the ''New York Times'' as an attempted "[[cancel culture|cancellation]]") as a result of a controversial 2017 article she wrote for Seattle weekly ''[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]]'' about people who have undergone [[detransition]], halting or reversing their gender transition.<ref name="nyt-cancel"/>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Blocked and Reported.png|thumb|The podcast cover art{{deletable file-caption|Thursday, 24 August 2023|PROD}}]] -->
⚫
Since March 2020, Singal has hosted the podcast ''[[Blocked and Reported]]'' with Katie Herzog, a journalist based in Washington state.<ref name="tribune-pod"/> The podcast's content focuses on internet controversies. Herzog and Singal have both been described as politically liberal,<ref name="tribune-pod"/> "heterodox"<ref name="reason-pod"/> and "[[woke]]-skeptic."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=July podcast picks: online rage, taboos and obesity |magazine=[[The Week]] |date=July 23, 2021 |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/culture/music/953595/podcasts-of-the-week-online-rage-taboos-and-obesity |language=en}}</ref> Herzog was also the subject of online ostracism (characterized in ''The New York Times'' as an attempted [[cancel culture|cancellation]]) as a result of a controversial 2017 article she wrote for Seattle weekly ''[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]]'' about people who have undergone [[detransition]].<ref name="nyt-cancel"/>


Within three months of the podcast's debut, it had more than 1,400 financial supporters through [[Patreon]], collectively paying more than $8,000 per month.<ref name="reason-pod"/> As of July 2021, this had increased to approximately 5,600 patrons and $37,000 per month.<ref name="bnr-patreon"/>
Within three months of the podcast's debut, it had more than 1,400 financial supporters through [[Patreon]], collectively paying more than $8,000 per month.<ref name="reason-pod"/> As of July 2021, this had increased to approximately 5,600 patrons and $37,000 per month.<ref name="bnr-patreon"/> In October 2021, the podcast's website hosting and patronage services were migrated to [[Substack]], where it has over 46,000 subscribers as of February 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singal |first=Jesse |title=Blocked and Reported {{!}} Substack |url=https://www.blockedandreported.org/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=www.blockedandreported.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name="barpod-substack">{{cite web |title=Why Blocked And Reported Moved To Substack
|url=https://www.blockedandreported.org/p/why-blocked-and-reported-moved-to |website=Blocked and Reported on Substack |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref>


==Book==
==Book==
Singal's debut book, ''The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills'', was published in April 2021. The book examines a number of popular psychology topics such as [[positive psychology]], [[power posing]], and the [[implicit-association test]] which, according to Singal, turned out to have weak empirical support or reproducibility, or which were exaggerated into stronger claims. The book examines the [[replication crisis]] in social sciences, and some of the underlying causes such as [[p-hacking|''p''-hacking]], and suggests remedies for "how both individuals and institutions can do a better job of resisting" exaggerated pop psychology.<ref name="quick-fix"/>
Singal's first book, ''The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills'', was published in April 2021. It examines a number of popular psychology [[fad]]s, such as [[positive psychology]], [[power posing]], and the [[implicit-association test]] which, according to Singal, turned out to have weak empirical support or reproducibility, or which were exaggerated into stronger claims that are "scientifically questionable but sexy and exciting". The book examines the [[replication crisis]] in social sciences and some of its underlying causes, such as [[p-hacking|''p''-hacking]], and suggests remedies for "how both individuals and institutions can do a better job of resisting" exaggerated pop psychology.<ref name="quick-fix"/>


Writing for the ''[[National Review]]'', Michael M. Rosen called the book "engaging and persuasive", and wrote that it was based on "rigorous research and thoughtful interviews".<ref name="quick-fix-national-review"/> An anonymous review in ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' called the book “An impassioned yet disappointing debut” Noting “most of the topics he addresses have already been widely debunked, and his analyses of where the science goes wrong are often too convoluted for the lay reader to follow”.<ref name="pub-weekly"/> According to [[Literary Hub]]’s Book Marks review aggregator, The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can’t Cure Our Social Ills currently holds “Mixed” reviews amongst professional critics. <ref name="Book-Marks"/>
Writing for ''[[National Review]]'', Michael M. Rosen called the book "engaging and persuasive" and said that it was based on "rigorous research and thoughtful interviews".<ref name="quick-fix-national-review"/> An anonymous review in ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' called the book "impassioned yet disappointing", complaining that its presentation of scientific details was too convoluted for lay readers.<ref name="pub-weekly"/>


==References==
==References==
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<ref name="substack-about">{{cite web|url=https://jessesingal.substack.com/about|last=Singal|first=Jesse|title=About|work=Singal-Minded}}</ref>
<ref name="substack-about">{{cite web|url=https://jessesingal.substack.com/about|last=Singal|first=Jesse|title=About|work=Singal-Minded}}</ref>
<ref name="advocate-accountability">{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2021/3/24/cis-men-jesse-singal-dan-savage-dont-decide-whats-transphobic|title=Cis Men Like Jesse Singal, Dan Savage Don't Decide What's Transphobic|last=Rude|first=Mey|date=March 24, 2021|work=The Advocate}}</ref>
<ref name="advocate-accountability">{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2021/3/24/cis-men-jesse-singal-dan-savage-dont-decide-whats-transphobic|title=Cis Men Like Jesse Singal, Dan Savage Don't Decide What's Transphobic|last=Rude|first=Mey|date=March 24, 2021|work=The Advocate}}</ref>
<ref name="GLAAD-accountability">{{cite web|url=https://glaad.org/gap/jesse-singal/|work=GLAAD Accountability Project|date=April 21, 2023|title=Jesse Singal}}</ref>
<ref name="CJR Fact-checking">{{cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/analysis/journalism-book-fact-checking-jill-abramson.php|title= The perils of publishing without a fact-checking net |last=Neason |first= Alexandria|date=January 25, 2019|work=Columbia Journalism Review}}</ref>
<ref name="CJR Fact-checking">{{cite web|url=https://www.cjr.org/analysis/journalism-book-fact-checking-jill-abramson.php|title= The perils of publishing without a fact-checking net |last=Neason |first= Alexandria|date=January 25, 2019|work=Columbia Journalism Review}}</ref>
<ref name="hill-accountability">{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/546518-backlash-from-glaads-new-accountability-project-is-proof|work=The Hill|date=April 5, 2021|title=Backlash from GLAAD's new accountability project is proof it's working, says LGBTQ+ watchdog|last=Srikanth|first=Anagha}}</ref><ref name="quick-fix">{{cite book |last=Singal |first=Jesse |title=The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills |date=2021 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |location=New York |isbn=9780374239800 |edition=First}}</ref><ref name="quick-fix-national-review">{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2021/07/01/how-flawed-social-science-leads-us-astray/|last=Rosen|first=Michael M.|work=[[National Review]]|title=How Flawed Social Science Leads Us Astray|date=July 1, 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="Book-Marks">{{cite web|url= https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/the-quick-fix-why-fad-psychology-cant-cure-our-social-ills/|title= The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills|last=Literary Hub|work=Book Marks}}</ref>
<ref name="hill-accountability">{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/546518-backlash-from-glaads-new-accountability-project-is-proof|work=The Hill|date=5 April 2021|title=Backlash from GLAAD's new accountability project is proof it's working, says LGBTQ+ watchdog|last=Srikanth|first=Anagha}}</ref>
<ref name="quick-fix">{{cite book|title=The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills|last=Singal|first=Jesse}}</ref>
<ref name="quick-fix-national-review">{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2021/07/01/how-flawed-social-science-leads-us-astray/|last=Rosen|first=Michael M.|work=National Review|title=How Flawed Social Science Leads Us Astray|date=July 1, 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="tribune-pod">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-column-two-favorite-podcasts-for-the-summer-zorn-20210521-l6jfmck7bfhjjdo6z3kf3cferu-story.html|date=May 21, 2021|last=Zorn|first=Eric|title=Two more for the road: My new favorite podcasts|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
<ref name="tribune-pod">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-column-two-favorite-podcasts-for-the-summer-zorn-20210521-l6jfmck7bfhjjdo6z3kf3cferu-story.html|date=May 21, 2021|last=Zorn|first=Eric|title=Two more for the road: My new favorite podcasts|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
<ref name="reason-pod">{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/podcast/2020/06/17/katie-herzog-and-jesse-singal-on-left-wing-cancel-culture/|title=Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on Left-Wing Cancel Culture|work=Reason|last=Gillespie|first=Nick|date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="reason-pod">{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/podcast/2020/06/17/katie-herzog-and-jesse-singal-on-left-wing-cancel-culture/|title=Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on Left-Wing Cancel Culture|work=Reason|last=Gillespie|first=Nick|date=June 17, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt-cancel">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/style/what-is-cancel-culture.html|work=The New York Times|title=Those People We Tried to Cancel? They're All Hanging Out Together|last=McDermott|first=John|date=November 2, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt-cancel">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/style/what-is-cancel-culture.html|work=The New York Times|title=Those People We Tried to Cancel? They're All Hanging Out Together|last=McDermott|first=John|date=November 2, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="bnr-patreon">{{cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/blockedandreported|title=Blocked and Reported|work=Patreon}}</ref>
<ref name="bnr-patreon">{{cite web|url=https://www.patreon.com/blockedandreported|title=Blocked and Reported|work=Patreon}}</ref>
<ref name="Gorski-Statment">{{cite web|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1424747616928161795 |title=Jessesingal|work=Twitter |last=Singal|first=Jesse}}</ref>
<ref name="Gorski-Statment2">{{cite web|url=https://mobile.twitter.com/jessesingal/status/1424747616928161795 |title=Jessesingal|work=Twitter |last=Singal|first=Jesse}}</ref>
<ref name="slate-atlantic">{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/06/desistance-and-detransitioning-stories-value-cis-anxiety-over-trans-lives.html|title=Sacred Bodies|last=Barasch|first=Alex|date=June 20, 2018|work=Slate}}</ref>
<ref name="slate-atlantic">{{cite web|url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/06/desistance-and-detransitioning-stories-value-cis-anxiety-over-trans-lives.html|title=Sacred Bodies|last=Barasch|first=Alex|date=June 20, 2018|work=Slate}}</ref>
<ref name="atlantic-parents">{{cite web|first1=Matt|last1=Peterson|first2=Caroline|last2=Kitchner|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/membership/archive/2018/06/what-do-the-parents-of-trans-kids-have-to-say/563507/|title=What Do the Parents of Trans Kids Have to Say?|work=The Atlantic|date=June 22, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="atlantic-parents">{{cite web|first1=Matt|last1=Peterson|first2=Caroline|last2=Kitchner|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/membership/archive/2018/06/what-do-the-parents-of-trans-kids-have-to-say/563507/|title=What Do the Parents of Trans Kids Have to Say?|work=The Atlantic|date=June 22, 2018}}</ref>
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<!-- <ref name="advocate-atlantic">{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/6/25/why-trans-community-hates-atlantics-cover-story|title=Why the Trans Community Hates The Atlantic's Cover Story|work=The Advocate|last=Kerri|first=Amanda|date=June 25, 2018}}</ref>-->
<ref name="niemanlab">{{cite web|last1=THE OBJECTIVE STAFF|url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/09/are-news-companies-already-putting-diversity-pledges-on-the-back-burner/|title= Are news companies already putting diversity pledges on the back burner?
⚫
<ref name="economist-trans">{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/06/i-am-neither-trans-nor-a-woman-can-i-write-about-the-issues-they-face|newspaper=The Economist|title=I am neither trans nor a woman. Can I write about the issues they face?|last=Kirkup|first=James|date=July 6, 2018|quote=Many transgender people and their advocates argued that on such a subject the voices of transgender people should be heard first, and perhaps exclusively.}}</ref>
|work= Nieman Foundation for Journalism|date=September 17, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="jezebel-groupthink">{{cite web|url=https://jezebel.com/private-messages-reveal-the-cis-journalist-groupthink-b-1827041764|title=Private Messages Reveal the Cis Journalist Groupthink Behind Trans Media Narratives|last=Walker|first=Harron|date=June 27, 2018|work=Jezebel}}</ref>
⚫
<ref name="advocate-atlantic">{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/6/25/why-trans-community-hates-atlantics-cover-story|title=Why the Trans Community Hates The Atlantic's Cover Story|work=The Advocate|last=Kerri|first=Amanda|date=June 25, 2018}}</ref>
⚫
<ref name="economist-trans">{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/open-future/2018/07/06/i-am-neither-trans-nor-a-woman-can-i-write-about-the-issues-they-face|newspaper=The Economist|title=I am neither trans nor a woman. Can I write about the issues they face?|last=Kirkup|first=James|date=July 6, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="pub-weekly">{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-23980-0|work=Publishers Weekly|title=[Review] The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills}}</ref>
<ref name="pub-weekly">{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-23980-0|work=Publishers Weekly|title=[Review] The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills}}</ref>
}}
}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.jessesingal.com/}}
* {{Official website|https://www.jessesingal.com/}}


{{authority control}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singal, Jesse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singal, Jesse}}
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[[Category:American podcasters]]
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[[Category:21st-century American journalists]]
[[Category:Princeton School of Public and International Affairs alumni]]
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[[Category:Journalists from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

Latest revision as of 21:19, 17 December 2024

Jesse Singal
Singal speaks on a Rebel Wisdom video in 2021.
Born1983
EducationPrinceton University (MA)
OccupationJournalist

Jesse Singal is an American journalist. He has written for publications including New York magazine, The New York Times and The Atlantic. Singal also publishes a newsletter on Substack and hosts the podcast Blocked and Reported with journalist Katie Herzog.

Much of Singal's writing deals with the social sciences, and he previously edited New York magazine's behavioral-science vertical, "Science of Us".[1] In 2021, he published a book, The Quick Fix, about the failings of popular psychology. Singal's writing on transgender issues has attracted controversy, particularly in his 2018 cover story for The Atlantic, "When Children Say They're Trans".

Singal's political orientation has often been described as liberal but "heterodox", though he has expressed an aversion to the latter term as a descriptor of his work.[2]

Biography

Singal was born in 1983.[3] He is one of three sons born to Sydney L. (née Altman; 1949–2021) and Bruce A. Singal.[4] Both of his parents were attorneys. He received a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.[1] He is of Jewish descent[5] and lives in Brooklyn.[6]

Writing about transgender issues

2018 Atlantic article

Singal wrote the cover story for the July/August 2018 issue of The Atlantic. Originally published under the title "When a Child Says She's Trans", the online version was later retitled "When Children Say They're Trans". The long-form piece includes profiles of several adolescents who identify or previously identified as transgender, interviews with youth gender clinicians, and reviews of some of the studies, statistics, and protocols related to youth transition. In a follow-up, The Atlantic published four letters from parents of transgender children reacting to Singal's article with a mixture of criticism and praise.[7] Alexandria Neason, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, stated that despite being fact-checked, the story was considered transphobic by many readers, journalists, and activists, and suggested that more diversity in editorial oversight could have averted the problem.[8]

Among the controversial aspects of the article was the proportion of weight given to stories of adolescents who had desisted or detransitioned—that is, reverted to identifying with their genders assigned at birth, either before or after undergoing physical transition. In the article, Singal acknowledges that the stories of detransitioners are sometimes viewed with skepticism or suspicion by the transgender community, in part because they have been used by conservative media to further misleading narratives. Alex Barasch, writing in Slate, faulted the article for not including the story of "a single happy, well-adjusted trans teen" in its first 9,000 words.[9] However, one of the reader response letters published by The Atlantic identified in the article two stories of happily transitioned teens, though the author referred to them as being "buried deep in the article".[7] Barasch also criticized Singal for failing to include the stories of individuals who had detransitioned for reasons other than a realization that they were not trans, such as social stigma.[9] Some transgender advocates questioned whether it was appropriate for a cisgender man like Singal, rather than a transgender writer, to write on the topic.[10]

The Atlantic also published a series of responses to Singal's article. One was a personal story of de-transition after being physically assaulted and transitioning again when it was safer to do so.[11] Another focused on the fact that detransitioners make up a relatively small subset of those who access transition related care.[12]

Subsequent events

In March 2021, Singal was listed on GLAAD's "Accountability Project", which the organization described as serving to document "anti-LGBTQ words and actions from politicians, commentators, organization leaders, journalists and other public figures".[13] Among other things, GLAAD criticizes Singal for misinterpreting a study on desistance among transgender children and for promoting unsupported hypotheses that sexual trauma can cause gender dysphoria and that gender dysphoria can spread via social contagion.[14] Singal responded on Substack, stating that his inclusion on the list was based on "previously disproven internet scuttlebutt".[15]

Podcast

Main article: Blocked and Reported

Since March 2020, Singal has hosted the podcast Blocked and Reported with Katie Herzog, a journalist based in Washington state.[16] The podcast's content focuses on internet controversies. Herzog and Singal have both been described as politically liberal,[16] "heterodox"[17] and "woke-skeptic."[18] Herzog was also the subject of online ostracism (characterized in The New York Times as an attempted cancellation) as a result of a controversial 2017 article she wrote for Seattle weekly The Stranger about people who have undergone detransition.[19]

Within three months of the podcast's debut, it had more than 1,400 financial supporters through Patreon, collectively paying more than $8,000 per month.[17] As of July 2021, this had increased to approximately 5,600 patrons and $37,000 per month.[20] In October 2021, the podcast's website hosting and patronage services were migrated to Substack, where it has over 46,000 subscribers as of February 2024.[21][22]

Book

Singal's first book, The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills, was published in April 2021. It examines a number of popular psychology fads, such as positive psychology, power posing, and the implicit-association test which, according to Singal, turned out to have weak empirical support or reproducibility, or which were exaggerated into stronger claims that are "scientifically questionable but sexy and exciting". The book examines the replication crisis in social sciences and some of its underlying causes, such as p-hacking, and suggests remedies for "how both individuals and institutions can do a better job of resisting" exaggerated pop psychology.[23]

Writing for National Review, Michael M. Rosen called the book "engaging and persuasive" and said that it was based on "rigorous research and thoughtful interviews".[2] An anonymous review in Publishers Weekly called the book "impassioned yet disappointing", complaining that its presentation of scientific details was too convoluted for lay readers.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Singal, Jesse. "About Me". jessesingal.com.
  2. ^ a b Rosen, Michael M. (1 July 2021). "How Flawed Social Science Leads Us Astray". National Review.
  3. ^ Singal, Jesse (24 April 2017). "Don't Call Me a Millennial — I'm an Old Millennial". The Cut.
  4. ^ "Sydney L. Altman". The Boston Globe. 22 April 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Jonathan, Chait; Singal, Jesse (16 November 2016). "How Alarmed Should American Jews Be Right Now? Two Jews Kibitz". New York Magazine. Two of New York Magazine's Jewish staffers, Jonathan Chait and Jesse Singal, decided to discuss the question.
  6. ^ Singal, Jesse. "About". Singal-Minded.
  7. ^ a b Peterson, Matt; Kitchner, Caroline (22 June 2018). "What Do the Parents of Trans Kids Have to Say?". The Atlantic.
  8. ^ Neason, Alexandria (25 January 2019). "The perils of publishing without a fact-checking net". Columbia Journalism Review.
  9. ^ a b Barasch, Alex (20 June 2018). "Sacred Bodies". Slate.
  10. ^ Kirkup, James (6 July 2018). "I am neither trans nor a woman. Can I write about the issues they face?". The Economist. Many transgender people and their advocates argued that on such a subject the voices of transgender people should be heard first, and perhaps exclusively.
  11. ^ Kanner, Robyn (22 June 2018). "I Detransitioned. But Not Because I Wasn't Trans". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  12. ^ Meadow, Tey (10 July 2018). "The Loaded Language Shaping the Trans Conversation". The Atlantic. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  13. ^ Rude, Mey (24 March 2021). "Cis Men Like Jesse Singal, Dan Savage Don't Decide What's Transphobic". The Advocate.
  14. ^ "Jesse Singal". GLAAD Accountability Project. 21 April 2023.
  15. ^ Srikanth, Anagha (5 April 2021). "Backlash from GLAAD's new accountability project is proof it's working, says LGBTQ+ watchdog". The Hill.
  16. ^ a b Zorn, Eric (21 May 2021). "Two more for the road: My new favorite podcasts". Chicago Tribune.
  17. ^ a b Gillespie, Nick (17 June 2020). "Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal on Left-Wing Cancel Culture". Reason.
  18. ^ "July podcast picks: online rage, taboos and obesity". The Week. 23 July 2021.
  19. ^ McDermott, John (2 November 2019). "Those People We Tried to Cancel? They're All Hanging Out Together". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "Blocked and Reported". Patreon.
  21. ^ Singal, Jesse. "Blocked and Reported | Substack". www.blockedandreported.org. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Why Blocked And Reported Moved To Substack". Blocked and Reported on Substack. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  23. ^ Singal, Jesse (2021). The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills (First ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374239800.
  24. ^ "[Review] The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills". Publishers Weekly.
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