When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment

When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment is a book critical of modern transgender rights and certain treatments for gender dysphoria, written by the socially conservative political philosopher Ryan T. Anderson and published by Encounter Books in 2018.^[1] The book focuses on the cultural and political debates surrounding transgender identity, with a particular focus on criticizing what the author describes as "transgender ideology".^[2][3]

When Harry Became Sally was criticized byThinkProgress for repeatedly using the birth or other former name (deadnaming) of trans people, and accused of ignoring transphobia.^[4] On the other hand, it has received praise, notably from conservative media.^[5][2]

In February 2021 the book was the first removed from Amazon.com's store after a revised hate speech policy by the company.^[6][7] The move was criticized by the National Coalition Against Censorship,^[8][9] and United States Senator Tom Cotton.^[8] On March 12, in response to a letter from four other senators, Amazon clarified that the company has "chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness".^[10][11] Anderson denies that his book describes transgender persons as "mentally ill".^[10] On February 4, 2025, Amazon reversed their decision, now allowing the book on their store.^[12]