The New York Times trans coverage has been the subject of strong controversy for the last few years, with the newspaper itself making headlines for how its stories platformed anti-trans groups instead of real trans individuals. Author and trans activist Riki Wilchins set out to chronicle that phenomenon.In Wilchinss new book,Bad Ink: How The New York Times Sold Out Transgender Teens, they dive into the articles which have garnered criticism from rights organizations, medical professionals and writers in and out of the Times newsroom. Wilchins and others argue that the Times changed its public image from that of a newspaper of record to one fueling fires of the anti-trans rights movement.Wilchins didnt initially start out as a writer or activist, but they knew those were paths calling to them from a young age.Born and raised in Ohio, they moved to New York City, where they lived for 17 years, soon after their transition. Wilchins soon got sucked up into the world of computers and worked as a programmer for major banks on Wall Street.But one of their main turning points, and an instigator for their switch to activism, was hearing about the 1993 murder of transgender man Brandon Teena. Two years later, Wilchins founded GenderPAC and focused their work more on helping youth.Before working as an activist and author, Riki Wilchins started their adult life in computer programming. Photo courtesy of Riki WilchinsI ran from it for years because I knew I had my name on it, they said. Finally, a couple friends who were active talked me into protesting the gay pride parades in 1993-94 [for] refusing to add T on the LGBT and now its taken up 30 years of my life.One of Wilchinss books,Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer(2004) is now one of the standard books for teaching queer theory in higher education. Wichins, who is married with an 18-year-old daughter and lives in South Beach, has multiple books in the works.I dont really believe in the phrase trans issues, they said. I mean, I write about it, but I really think that trans issues are human issues. Most of the things that have affected me happen to affect cisgender people, as well These are universal problems, the gender system hurts a lot of people. Its just that trans people get tagged as being exemplars.Wilchins decided they needed to write about the Times coverage of trans issues soon after finishing their previous book. They had grown outraged with each passing article the Times published about trans people. They began by researching Times articles about trans people dating back to 1952.Part of their catalyst, Wilchins said, was how the articles were immediately being weaponized and becoming the leading media voice for attacking transgender kids. The publisher who took the reins in 2016, A.G. Sulzberger, is regarded as a key piece of the puzzle in Wilchins book.And Wilchins isnt the only one critical of the Times trans coverage. GLAAD published a study in March 2024 reporting 66% of Times coverage on anti-trans legislation in the past year failed to quote even one trans person. In February 2023, a group of 150 organizations and leaders published an open letter to the Times criticizing its trans coverage and platforming of the voices of anti-LGBT extremists.Around 200 Times writers signed on to a similar letter directed at associate managing editor Philip B. Corbett in February 2023, and one towards Sulzberger in April 2023.[The stories] were being weaponized immediately. Theres no way the New York Times was unaware I dont think thats a bug, I think thats a feature.Riki WilchinsThe papers focus on youth in their work is part of the reason Wilchins was drawn to criticize the Times inBad Ink. One of the prominent stories referenced in the book is the November 2022 story on hormone blockers from the Times, They Paused Puberty, But Is There A Cost? The article garnered a multiple-page response from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and its U.S. subsection, criticizing the Times for the spread of misinformation and citing misleading sources and data for the article.What they dont tell you is only about 1% of kids who actually say theyre trans or come out as trans ever detransition, Wilchins said. And theyre building all these articles around the harms of transitioning.Studies around detransitioning do not often provide further context into the reasons for detransitioning, either. While some report 2.5% to even 7-8% of trans people detransition, they dont often ask further questions such as if the individuals were affected by high prices of care, lack of available gender-affirming care or societal pressure to present as cisgender.Another driving force for Wilchins book was the way Times coverage was affecting legislation around the country. For example, in early 2024, a Times op-ed about youth detransitioning was cited in a legal brief in an attempt to ban gender-affirming care in Idaho. In 2023, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey cited another Times article when ordering a restriction on gender-affirming care.[The stories] were being weaponized immediately, Wilchins said. Theres no way the New York Times was unaware I dont think thats a bug, I think thats a feature.Despite the Times coverage, Wilchins said they think many other major outlets around the country are successfully filtering out right-wing pseudoscience when writing stories about trans issues today. Organizations like the ADF and others promoting white Christian nationalist ideals are diligently pushing their agenda, so news outlets must be careful when presented with these groups beliefs, they said. That means not using these groups as subject matter experts on trans experiences.Thats what pseudoscience is designed to do. It looks like real science, but it isnt, Wilchins said. Everybody covered it for a while, and then everybody stoppedexcept the New York Times, which continues to print their stuff.Wilchinss book was released to the public July 9 and is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other major physical and online booksellers.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post Activist Riki Wilchins tackles New York Timess controversial coverage of trans issues appeared first on News Is Out.