Walt Heyer

Walt Heyer
Heyer speaks at the Church of God in Christ, Raleigh, North Carolina in 2016
Born
Walter James Heyer

(1940-10-25) October 25, 1940 (age 86)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationsWriter, activist
Spouses
Sarah Horton
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1983)​
Kaycee Heyer
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2
Websitesexchangeregret.com

Walter James Heyer (born October 25, 1940) is an American author, activist and speaker who underwent gender reassignment and lived for eight years as a trans woman before detransitioning in 1991.

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. After what he described as a misdiagnosis of gender dysphoria, Walt Heyer underwent gender reassignment surgery and lived for eight years as a woman named Laura Jensen, 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.'" 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."

Once "assistant manager of product planning for America Honda Motor Co", Heyer now works as an author and as a contributor to the right-wing website The Federalist and various other conservative media outlets. Media watchdog Media Matters for America condemned Heyer as "a source of extreme transphobic commentary."

Heyer's story is detailed in Ryan T. Anderson's 2018 book, When Harry Became Sally. 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."

Heyer's 2019 opinion column in USA Today was cited as one of the paper's ten most read articles of the year, and generated multiple letters criticizing the factual accuracy of the column.

In June 2020, YouTube removed a video of a Heritage Foundation panel that included Heyer for violating its hate speech guidelines, the move was opposed by various conservative and catholic media outlets including National Review and The Christian Post.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "R.G. & G.R. HARRIS FUNERAL HOMES, INC. v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION and AIMEE STEPHENS" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  2. ↑ "The birth of Walter Heyer". Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  3. ↑ Voss, Donna Carol (July 2, 2015). "Who Are the Villains in the Transgender World?". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Have you heard the story of Walt Heyer?". The Rush Limbaugh Show. Archived from the original on July 18, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Sex Change Regret: The Other Side Of The Transgender Story". The Inquisitr News. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  6. ↑ Brown, Michael L. (2014). Can You Be Gay And Christian?. Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House. pp. 21–22. ISBN 9781621365945. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  7. ↑ Jeffreys, Sheila (2014). Gender Hurts: A Feminist Analysis of the Politics of Transgenderism. Routledge. pp. 12, 63–64, 73–77. ISBN 9781317695950. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Heyer, Walt (February 11, 2019). "Hormones, surgery, regret: I was a transgender woman for 8 years — time I can't get back". USA Today. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  9. ↑ Heyer, Walt. "Examples - Regret Is Real—and Transgenders Are Going Back". Archived from the original on June 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ Fraga, Brian (June 5, 2015). "Speaking Out About the Transgender 'Delusion'". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  11. ↑ "What The Media Should Know About Walt Heyer And "Transition Regrets"". Media Matters for America. June 2, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  12. ↑ Heyer, Walt (2020). "Walt's Story". In His Image. American Family Studios. 2:21 minutes in.
  13. ↑ "Honda tries to find if it's pulling buyers from other us cars". The Spokesman Review. The Associated Press. March 6, 1983. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ Heyer, Walt (November 18, 2019). "Pastor Jeff Looked at Me through the Eyes of God". Public Discourse. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  15. ↑ "CNN Newsroom Transcript". CNN International. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Walt Heyer". The Federalist. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  17. ↑ Maza, Carlos (June 2, 2015). "What The Media Should Know About Walt Heyer And "Transition Regrets"". Media Matters for America.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Ryan T. (2018). When Harry Became Sally. Encounter Books. pp. 69–72. ISBN 9781594039614.
  19. ↑ Ford, Zack (January 25, 2018). "Conservative book 'When Harry Became Sally' attacks trans people while conveniently leaving them out". ThinkProgress. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Most-read USA TODAY Opinion columns of 2019". USA Today. December 27, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  21. ↑ Bryant, Samantha (February 17, 2019). "Brazilian Butt lifts can be safe when done right: Readers sound off". USA Today.
  22. ↑ Suffredini, Kasey (February 24, 2019). "Jussie Smollett crying wolf helps no one: Readers sound off". USA Today. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  23. ↑ "YouTube Censors Heritage Foundation Video on Gender Dysphoria". The Heritage Foundation. June 19, 2020. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  24. ↑ Waggoner, Kristen (June 25, 2020). "YouTube's Transgender Problem". National Review. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  25. ↑ Showalter, Brandon (June 20, 2020). "YouTube censors video testimony of former transgender, calls it 'hate speech'". The Christian Post. Retrieved August 23, 2020.