Walt Heyer
American detransitioned anti-LGBT activist (born 1940)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter James Heyer (born October 25, 1940)[2] is an American author, activist and speaker who underwent gender reassignment and lived for eight years as a trans woman before detransitioning in 1991.[3][4][5][6][7]
October 25, 1940[1]
Walt Heyer | |
|---|---|
Heyer speaks at the Church of God in Christ, Raleigh, North Carolina in 2016 | |
| Born | Walter James Heyer October 25, 1940[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations | Writer, activist |
| Spouses | Sarah Horton
(m. 1963; div. 1983)Kaycee Heyer (m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | sexchangeregret.com |
Biography
Heyer was born in 1940 in Los Angeles to Charles and Mary Heyer. As a child, his grandmother "Mamie" made him a purple dress. When his parents discovered this, they would supervise all his visits and his father hit him. His uncle would sexually abuse him.[8] After what he described as a misdiagnosis[9] of gender dysphoria, Walt Heyer underwent gender reassignment surgery and lived for eight years as a woman named Laura Jensen,[10] before detransitioning. After his experience, he became a leading proponent of the controversial theory "that transgender people often experience regret after transitioning, and arguing that what transgender people actually need is 'psychiatric or psychological help.'"[11] In a 2020 video, Heyer described the source of his gender confusion as "being cross-dressed, being disciplined with a hardwood floor plank, and being sexually molested."[12]
Once "assistant manager of product planning for America Honda Motor Co",[13][14] Heyer now works as an author and as a contributor to the right-wing website The Federalist[15][16] and various other conservative media outlets. Media watchdog Media Matters for America condemned Heyer as "a source of extreme transphobic commentary."[17]
Heyer's story is detailed in Ryan T. Anderson's 2018 book, When Harry Became Sally.[18] Progressive news website ThinkProgress criticized the book for overemphasizing detransition and Heyer for "[creating] a career for himself of advocating against transgender equality based on his 'ex-trans' narrative."[19]
Heyer's 2019 opinion column in USA Today[8] was cited as one of the paper's ten most read articles of the year,[20] and generated multiple letters criticizing the factual accuracy of the column.[21][22]
In June 2020, YouTube removed a video of a Heritage Foundation panel that included Heyer for violating its hate speech guidelines,[23] the move was opposed by various conservative and catholic media outlets including National Review and The Christian Post.[24][25]
Bibliography
- Trading my Sorrows (2006)
- Perfected by Love (2009)
- Paper Genders (2011)
- Sex Change -- It's Suicide (2013)
- A Transgender's Faith (2015)
- Kid Dakota and the Secret at Grandma's House (2015)
- Trans Life Survivors (2018)
