Telling the Truth in a Time of Deceit (Part 2): Genspect’s Response to a Hit Piece

By Genspect

On April 2nd 2022 a hit-piece about Genspect director and psychotherapist Stella O’Malley was released by Lee Leveille of “Health Liberation Now!”. This article entitled, ‘Leaked Audio Confirms Genspect Director as Anti-Trans Conversion Therapist Targeting Youth,’ is filled with malicious inaccuracies and outright lies. These claims are blatantly – and provably – false.  However, we have decided to show how each claim made by Leveille is demonstrably false. We do this by providing verifiable evidence so that readers can be aware of the level of malevolence Leveille reveals in his/her attempt to mislead readers. 

For contextual background, this is how Lee Leveille describes himself/herself on her/his website:

Leveille’s article references a Twitter space that took place in December 2021, which can be listened to in full here. We would like to emphasise that this was an open forum and the audio is available for anyone to listen to. Nothing was “leaked” as the headline of Leveille’s articles implies. Of course “leaked” gives the shock and awe that Leveille is looking for. The topic of this Twitter space which was organised by a feminist called Lorelei in a bid to discuss the impact of autogynephilia on women and how they respond to this. For those who don’t know, autogynephilia is listed as a clinical disorder in the DSM-5 and is characterised by a male’s propensity to be sexually aroused by the thought of himself as a female.

In the DSM-5, autogynephilia is mentioned six times; on p.457 in the DSM-5 it is described as “gender dysphoria (adolescence, adulthood), include habitual fetishistic transvestism developing into autogynephilia (i.e., sexual arousal associated with the thought or image of oneself as a woman)”. Then on p.703: “The presence of autogynephilia increases the likelihood of gender dysphoria in men with transvestic disorder… Transvestic disorder in men is often accompanied by autogynephilia (i.e., a male’s paraphilic tendency to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of himself as a woman). Autogynephilic fantasies and behaviors may focus on the idea of exhibiting female physiological functions (e.g., lactation, menstruation), engaging in stereotypically feminine behavior (e.g., knitting), or possessing female anatomy (e.g., breasts).”

Leveille chooses not to mention this as doing so would have heavily impacted the shock and awe appeal of his/her piece. This vital detail adds much needed clarity to O’Malley’s statements during the discussion. Instead, Leveille resorts to smearing O’Malley’s character by selecting, editing, and manipulating her quotes to lead the listener into thinking O’Malley is saying something different. To achieve this, Leveille clips the quotes mid-sentence.  This is a maliciously crafted hit piece based on a careful framing and manipulation of statements made by O’Malley.

If you want to better understand the statements made by O’Malley, and her views in general, we recommend that you listen to the full audio clip and read the following examination of the claims made by Leveille.

Claim One: “[O’Malley] tells a room filled with extremists accusing her of not being harsh enough to trans people that she doesn’t think they “should have empathy or sympathy” for adolescent trans girls like those in her care.”

This is perhaps the most egregious and callous lie told in this hit piece and so we’ll deal with it first. Leveille has chosen to purposefully manipulate the audio to pretend that O’Malley doesn’t have empathy or sympathy for trans people. Anyone who listens to the entire audio exchange will understand the scurrilous deception on Leveille’s part when s/he chose to edit this audio clip.

O’Malley is speaking with a group of Radical Feminists who are very angry with autogynephiles who have entered female spaces such as female prisons and rape crisis centres. This is why she is not telling this group of women that they must have empathy or sympathy for them. But this is not the same as encouraging women not to have empathy or sympathy. Rather it’s that she is not demanding empathy or sympathy from these women who are already uneasy about the idea of women’s spaces being open to trans women with male genitalia (rape victims in women’s shelters for example, and convicted rapists in women’s prisons). Instead she is acknowledging their right to make their own minds up as individuals.

Requiring others to hold certain attitudes or opinions goes against what makes for a free society, as such, O’Malley’s response was very appropriate given the specific question from this specific audience.  O’Malley explicitly says – see below in bold – that she herself does have empathy and sympathy. You can read more about this here.  The journalist Mick Clifford also describes what happened as a result of this lie in the Irish Examiner: ‘the clip quoted misrepresented her position.’ Leveille’s decision to jerrymander the text reveals his/her nefarious intentions.

Stella O’Malley on the question of what she expects of radical feminists toward AGPs (an audio version can be listened to here):

Lorelei: well, I think your work is very important and I think we disagree about certain aspects of Autogynephillia, or at least we come at it from a very different prospective.  I think it’s really important to learn about it, but not that women should have to, but having learnt about it, it has only made me more concerned about the risk in women’s spaces and to children. So, when we have sure of calls for empathy for autogynephiles, I still don’t really know what exactly that entails or means.  Like what kind of empathy are you asking for from women and girls – or just women toward these people, because a lot of us have human empathy for them anyway but we’re very concerned with women’s rights and children’s rights, and all of these things that are intersecting with this because of Autogynephillia, or at least is being driven by autogynephillia. So, what part of our energy? What sort of energy do you want us to give to that sort of empathy? What is the request here?

Stella O’Malley: I don’t think you need to give any empathy at all, none, zero.  I think I should because I’m trying to understand them – and because I’m working with children who are autogynephilic.

Lorelei: When you say children, what kind of ages are you talking?

Stella O’Malley:  Anything from puberty onwards. Its porn induced.

Lorelei: Does that mean that

Stella O’Malley: Teenage, teenage, 13, 14, 15, and it seems to be porn induced. Is it porn induced? I don’t know. Would it have arrived anyway? I don’t know. Are the numbers shockingly high in the teenage boy population? They seem to be to me.  But is this just something that was always under the covers? I don’t know.  But I don’t think you should have any empathy and I haven’t asked anybody to have any empathy and I don’t think you should have empathy or sympathy. I think you – I think definitely feminists need to fight their corner and I’m delighted they do, and I’m behind them all the way, I’m not leading because that’s not my focus but I’m behind them all the way. You’ve got to and I sent some tweet along to that effect, like the feminists need to be protecting their spaces and they do it well.

Claim Two: “Within the Space Stella O’Malley, a prominent psychotherapist in Ireland faced allegations of conversion therapy”

This is pretty disingenuous. There have been no genuine allegations of conversion therapy made against O’Malley. The only allegations of conversion therapy are made by activists such as Leveille and repeated by other trans activists. Stella O’Malley has released an official statement on conversion therapy which can be read here.

Claim Three: “[O’Malley] reveals that she has made it her life mission to prevent trans youth from accessing any form of gender affirming care.”

This wholly misrepresents O’Malley’s work. O’Malley is a psychotherapist who has advocated tirelessly for many years for better quality care for gender-distressed young people (whether they are transgender or not). O’Malley values psychotherapy in this context and does not believe that irreversible medical interventions for children are helpful. The following is a random selection taken from the hundreds of hours of content on TV, radio, podcasts and other media showing O’Malley consistently advocating for the need for high quality therapeutic care for gender-distressed young people:

Stella O’Malley’s film: Trans Kids: It’s time to talk

Stella O’Malley discussing why she is worried about gender-distressed youth

Stella O’Malley explores Gender Dysphoria

Stella O’Malley speaks about the experimental nature of puberty blockers 

Stella O’Malley advocates for a high-quality approach to gender-related distress

Stella O’Malley explains how vulnerable kids can benefit from a therapeutic process

Stella O’Malley answers parents’ questions about gender

Claim Four: “she inadvertently confesses to seeking to suppress or change trans youth’s gender identity, the very definition of gender identity change efforts (GICE, i.e., conversion therapy/practices), despite her past denials. The audio proves the legitimacy of the allegations put towards O’Malley by trans people and concerned health professionals and, consequently, the allegations towards Genspect and other organizations or projects she leads or is affiliated with.

This is a lie. With gender exploratory therapy, O’Malley promotes self-awareness and self-exploration. This is the very opposite of seeking to suppress or change a person’s gender identity.

Claim Five: “nor will we [Health Liberation Now] be linking to the audio in full due to its graphic nature and Stella O’Malley’s rather blatant defenses of rape culture”.

Leveille doesn’t link the audio in full as it reveals the truth, however we’re keen to encourage everyone to listen for themselves here.  Leveille doesn’t return to the lie about ‘blatant defences of rape culture’ and so we can’t figure out what s/he is talking about.

Claim Six: “O’Malley makes explicit confessions to enacting conversion therapy/practices on trans youth in her care, with a particular emphasis on trans girls in this context, and connecting it to the transmisogynistic concept of “autogynephilia” (occasionally referred to as AGP) that is supposedly “porn-induced”.

This is a lie. O’Malley provides a full analysis of her understanding of autogynephilia and how keen she is to fully understand her clients so that she can help them appropriately. She does not inadvertently make a “confession” but instead clearly states her position about Autogynephillia which is a recognised diagnosable condition listed in the DSM 5

Selective editing is used to make it appear as though O’Malley is stating that transgenderism in teenage boys is ‘porn induced.’  However, she is speculating specifically over a subset of Gender Dysphoria: Autogynephillia (AGP) in teenage boys. Historically this condition presented in middle aged men however in the last decade there has been a sudden and unexplained rise among teenagers. The below recording adds much needed clarity that Leveille chose to omit by cutting the clip at ‘and I think the AGP is porn induced.’  Leveille chose to omit that O’Malley speaks passionately about her desire to understand what is happening in this population of teenage boys, so that she can be best placed to help them, saying that she is ‘willing to talk to anybody who can help her understanding.’  O’Malley further broadens the conversation out by pointing out that autogynephillia is not the only condition that can cause gender distress in teenage boys and she alludes to Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria as another potential cause. 

Leveille’s blatant misrepresentation of this is revealed in her/his decision to edit the recording so that it stops at the words “porn induced” and she/he didn’t include the rest of the sentence. For further clarity we have highlighted the bit that Leveille suppressed in bold below.

Stella O’Malley outlining why she is interested in the topic of AGP (an audio version can be listened to here):

Stella O’Malley: Why am I interested in Autogynephillia? Primarily because I’m meeting teenage autogynephiles and I need to be able to understand what’s happening with them, and I am more and more – very interested when Debbie Hayton was speaking with us on the podcast because I thought; well, the way she’s talking, it’s a compulsion.  This is a compulsion and came over her like a compulsion (and I know people will be very annoyed with me using pronouns but then I’m very annoyed with people when they try to compel my speech.  So, I’m going to do me and let everybody else do them).  And so yeah, I was very, very interested when Debbie was talking about that and I thought this is key to my understanding when I’m talking to somebody who is maybe 15 years old and is autogynephilic and has no idea of what’s going on, except “get out of my way, I need to be a woman.”  And that child is not able to articulate what the hell is going on.  They don’t have the verbal ability; they don’t have the conceptual maturity and I have to try and figure out how do we help this fast-increasing number.  This is not like the Ray Blanchard numbers. This is a very fast, very quickly increasing number of boys.  Now are they ROGD? Are they AGP? Or, frankly are they what I think, a mix between AGP and ROGD? And I think the AGP is porn induced.  And I’m really, really, interested in this and I think this s crucial.  I think many of us here will have seen the video of that boy talking to the therapist and he had transitioned and it was devastating.  These are the kids – those kids are all over the place and they need help, and they need a lot of help and I’m willing to talk to everybody who can help my understanding of that, and if people say, well you shouldn’t talk to somebody, I just look at them straight back in the eye and say, yes, I should because my job is to try to understand things so that I can help people.  That’s my job and for some people to say that offends me, I’m like – well I’m not forcing you to listen to me talking. I’m just very much interested in promoting knowledge, so that we can understand a massively under researched and misunderstood condition, and so yeah, I think, give me it all, give me everything! 

Claim Seven: “Later, she [O’Malley] reveals that her interest in the debunked concept of “autogynephilia” is because there is supposedly a “very quickly increasing number” of teenage trans girls where this concept is the “root” of their dysphoria either in junction with or in contrast to “ROGD”.

There are two lies in this sentence. Autogynephilia is listed as a clinical disorder in the DSM 5; it has not been debunked. For further information you can listen to the transwoman, Debbie Hayton, speaking about it on this episode of O’Malley’s Gender: A Wider Lens podcast and/or this transwoman, Dr Anne Lawrence, speaking about autogynephilia on this episode of the podcast.

There is a demonstrably “very quickly increasing number”, see here: https://segm.org/

The rest of this sentence is unclear and so we will not comment.

Claim Eight: O’Malley presents genuine distress from gender dysphoria among trans youth as a kind of “porn induced” compulsion that needs to be controlled by anti-trans parents and clinicians. No room is given for the youth’s experience or how they are interpreting their experiences; if anything, O’Malley is quite explicit in how she believes that teens are incapable of self-reflection or understanding of their own mind and body.”

This is a clear lie. O’Malley makes it explicitly clear in the above transcription in bold and in the many links above that she is seeking to inform herself about these issues by listening intently to everyone about this issue.

Claim Nine: This isn’t the only time compulsions are mentioned. In fact, a few minutes later, O’Malley draws a direct connection between “AGP” and paedophilia while claiming that they’re both “a compulsion that actually seriously, negatively wrecks other people’s lives”. In doing so, she repeats transmisogynistic tropes of trans women being sexual predators while simultaneously making light of childhood sexual abuse. No real consideration is put into the high rates of childhood sexual abuse among trans people including trans women, or the impact that it would have on the wellbeing of survivors to have their trauma used against members of their own community. Instead, her big question is “how do we stop that [meaning: trans women from existing as themselves]?”

Leveille apparently doesn’t understand that compulsions are mentioned because autogynephilia is a paraphilia and paraphilias are often associated with compulsive behaviour. It is dishonest of Leveille to suggest O’Malley draws a direct connection between AGP (autogynephilia) and paedophilia: O’Malley clearly explains how paedophilia is a compulsive paraphilia that has a sexual component.O’Malley has never made light of childhood sexual abuse and most certainly nothing was said during this Twitter space that could be even remotely considered as ‘making light of childhood sexual abuse.’

At no point does O’Malley claim that transwomen are sexual predators.  This was a wide-ranging conversation about autogynephilia and O’Malley offers some thoughts on AGPs, wondering whether its innate or developmental, and highlighting how it is still a widely misunderstood and under researched condition.

Stella O’Malley commenting on the public conversation around Autogynephillia (an audio version can be listened to here):

Stella O’Malley: For people to say kind of – lets say with full confidence that they know AGP isn’t innate and stuff like that – I’ve no idea whether AGP is innate or not. Why? Because I don’t have Autogynephillia, I never had it so I’m kinda going, if some people are saying it is and some people are saying it isn’t: my feeling is its developmental.  I don’t really care if its innate or not, because I don’t think that absolves anybody. I don’t think that’s the point, the compulsion is a much more important psychological point – because if you look at paedophilia, it’s a compulsion, it ‘gets’ them. And how do we get in the way of somebody who has a compulsion that actually seriously, negatively wrecks other people’s lives?  How do we stop that? And that’s why I’m very much seeking to absorb all the knowledge available and I don’t think anybody – anybody who thinks they know their stuff about this should take a deep breath and do a bit more reading because, you can’t. This is one of the most under researched, misinterpreted, misinformed concepts that’s out there.  So you know, if you think you know it, I think that’s basically – you’ve got a lot more to learn.  it’s a suggestion immediately that you don’t know how complex it is because this is a significantly – very difficult concept to understand.

Claim Ten: After her previous confessions of her campaigns to stop medical transition for trans youth, combined with calling gender dysphoria among trans girls and trans women a compulsion that people like her need to “get in the way of”, she inevitably exposes herself as attempting to suppress the gender identity of trans teens – the definition of conversion therapy.

We have already explained how O’Malley has consistently tried to improve gender healthcare and this article which explains how and why O’Malley is in favour of exploratory therapy that seeks to build self-awareness and personal insight within an ethical therapeutic process.

Claim Eleven: O’Malley contrasts their eliminationist approaches with her efforts to roll back expansion of gender affirming care. She begins to describe the pioneer series on Gender: A Wider Lens (which at the time of recording was still in development, since released) in which she interviewed Ken Zucker and Ray Blanchard. She details how she believes that trans health care has been taken over by activists between the 1990s and 2010s, suggesting that clinicians made “mistakes” that resulted in the “keys” being given to trans people. The podcast, Genspect, and other such programs of hers are simply some efforts to take those keys back, thereby removing trans people’s autonomy and capacity to consent to our own care on our own terms.”

Some of this is true! Yes indeed, WPATH and thereby trans health care has been taken over by activists. As evidenced here in the Gender: A Wider Lens podcasts interviews with pioneers such as Dr Ray Blanchard, Dr Ken ZuckerDr Mike Bailey, and Dr Stephen Levine.

It is widely understood that medicine is usually not patient led. However trans health care is the notable exception, being the only field in which patients tell the doctors what they want and when.  O’Malley is correct in assuming that something has gone terribly amiss in trans health care for the patients to be leading the clinicians.  O’Malley favours expertise while Leveille favours “lived experience” over expertise.

Claim Twelve: “O’Malley has carefully constructed what she calls “public information campaigns” – in other words, disinformation campaigns – to reshape the social narrative surrounding trans women in public spaces and gender affirming care for trans youth. These disinformation campaigns allow her to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of parents with trans kids and connect with media and government officials.”

O’Malley – and Genspect – believe that a public information campaign about the issues related to gender and gender-related distress would be the most appropriate way to manage this controversy. The truth is our North Star. All we seek is permission to speak about this issue rationally and openly without being the subject of smear campaigns of abuse.   

Stella O’Malley speaking on how to raise awareness of the prevalence of autogynephillia (an audio version can be listened to here):

Stella O’Malley: How should we manage the issue of AGPs in society? Where should they go? How should we manage them? This is the thing I’d really like to get out of this conversation. How should that be managed in society? How should I? How should you? How should anybody? Because of the different, I suppose needs and I suppose my need is not only to understand but also I really truly believe that the only way we are going to get out of this whole, huge, massive identity, ideology mess is with public information. I don’t think it’s going to work any other way. We have to have a public information campaign around I believe – that if you trans children, it goes very badly wrong.  I also think that there is a need to get out in the world – there is a concept called gender identity and there is also a developmental model, and they are two opposing sides and I believe in the developmental model and I think therefore all child transition falls on that model and I think it’s really important that we let the public know about these concepts because they don’t. I meet them all the time and these are parents of kids that don’t know that there is two beliefs, that there is two different theories. Then the other thing that I think we really need to know – I was only telling the Irish minister a few days ago about this concept but that there is a thing called Autogynephillia and this is as you all know, the erotic fixation to be a woman, and this spaces a huge amount of the issues around say trans women in jails, trans women in refuges, trans women all sorts of places that they shouldn’t be. It’s shaped the entire breastfeeding, the kind of birthing movement. It’s shaping a huge amount of parts of society. So, it’s really, really problematic in the world. So, we’ve got this huge problem and how do we deal with this? How do we deal with those people? I know lots of people who are listening here may be saying, well it’s not my problem so I don’t deal with it and I’m like yeah, but I think its society’s problem so we have to.  I don’t know how we should deal with this fact but people can develop this fixation, what do we do with them when they develop it?  I’m interested to know what you think?

Lorelei: I don’t really know what we do except that if everyone knows about it and understands it, then we don’t say that they are women. We don’t open up women’s spaces and we don’t – I mean it’s not like-

Stella O’Malley: And how do we get everyone to know and understand it?

Lorelei: It’s very hard because people don’t want to talk about it and its almost taboo and people don’t believe in it, so, I think we just all have to talk about it, we all have to be willing to discuss it and we have to be willing to. We do on Twitter anyway but like it has to make it outside of Twitter, right? All of the people-

Stella O’Malley: Yeah, but then when we discuss it, I think you are right, public information is the only way forward. I actually don’t think there is another way. I wish there was but I think it has to be public awareness campaigns.

Conclusion

On and on Leveille goes, descending into a crazed tinfoil hat “ Anti-Trans Network Map of Influence” that is as paranoid as it is self-absorbed. We simply haven’t the energy or time to continue any further. This hit piece, filled with lies and smears, attempts to blame O’Malley for the comments and actions of others.

Genspect seeks better quality care for gender-distressed youth and favours Gender Exploratory Therapy over Gender Affirmative Care. That’s it – that’s the big crime according to Lee Leveille and his/her colleague in Health Liberation Now, Ky Schevers, the “Genderweird human passing as a transmasculine butch dyke”. According to Leveille and Leveille’s friends this is “committing literal violence”.

It’s not though.

Genspect consistently hold a rational, middle ground seeking better quality healthcare for everyone with gender concerns. Currently the field is a mess. Baseless accusations of transphobia are flung around with wild abandon. We work in a heightened atmosphere where online bullying and smear campaigns mean that most people are afraid to dip the top of their big toe into the water. We soldier on because at Genspect we believe that anyone who truly cares about the wellbeing of trans people should be hard at work discussing, analysing and researching the most appropriate treatment approaches for all gender-related distress. We are interested only in the truth because we believe that the truth will improve gender healthcare.

In 1918 Nicholas Klein gave a speech to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and told the workers: “First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.” This statement is often misattributed to Gandhi in a slightly different form but the sentiment remains: sometimes the truth tellers are attacked viciously.

We don’t seek monuments built to us at Genspect what we want instead is something much more ambitious: we want the truth.