Harriet Hall

[[File:Harriet A Hall - Australian Skeptics National Convention 2016.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Hall at the Australian Skeptics National Convention in 2016]]
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'''Harriet A. Hall''' (also known as ''The SkepDoc'') {{lived|1945|2023}} was a retired American family [[physician]], blogger, and [[Skepticism |skeptic]]. She wrote for ''[[Science-Based Medicine]]'', ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'', [[Quackwatch]], and [[Skeptic magazine|''Skeptic'' magazine]] (US). Hall also published two books titled ''Women Aren't Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon'' and ''There's No Such Thing as the Tooth Fairy!'', the latter of which was a [[children]]'s book promoting skepticism.<ref> Harriet A. Hall, Women Aren’t Supposed to Fly: The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon]. iUniverse, 24 March 2008, ISBN 0595499589</ref><ref>Steven Novella (January 15, 2023). [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/in-memoriam-dr-harriet-hall/ "In Memoriam – Dr. Harriet Hall"]. ''Science-Based Medicine''.</ref>

Unfortunately, she has been criticized by fellow bloggers as well as pro-trans activists for spreading misinformation about the recommended medical care for [[transgender]] people, elevating [[transphobia|transphobic]] voices while minimizing or ignoring relevant experts, and using an [[anecdote]] as data.<ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/gender-dysphoria-in-children/ Gender Dysphoria in Children] ''Science-Based Medicine'' 11 September 2018</ref><ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/rapid-onset-gender-dysphoria-and-squelching-controversial-evidence/ Rapid-onset Gender Dysphoria and Squelching Controversial Evidence] ''Science-Based Medicine'' 18 September 2018</ref><ref name="hornbeck_2018">[https://freethoughtblogs.com/reprobate/2018/09/12/dont-do-this-skeptics/ Don't Do This, Skeptics] ''Reprobate Spreadsheet'' 12 September 2018</ref> One of her articles, for instance, gives cover for the garbage transphobic [[pseudoscience]] of [[autogynephilia]], which is alarmingly tied to the [[TERF]] movement, under the pretense of not shooting the messenger.<ref>Harriet Hall, [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/shooting-the-messenger-activists-persecute-scientists-whose-findings-they-dont-like/ Shooting the Messenger: Activists Persecute Scientists Whose Findings They Don’t Like]. Science-Based Medicine, 28 July 2020.</ref>

Hall died at age 77 in January 2023 following long-endured health issues, particularly heart problems. Online [[anti-vaccination]] activists reacted typically: purporting that her death must be evidence that [[COVID-19 vaccine]]s are dangerous.<ref>David Gorski (January 16, 2023). [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/when-antivax-died-suddenly-conspiracy-mongering-vultures-target-a-friend-and-colleague/ "When antivax 'died suddenly' conspiracy mongering vultures target a friend and colleague"]. ''Science-Based Medicine''.</ref>

==''Irreversible Damage'': Hall's reputation==
On June 15th 2021, Hall published an uncritical book review of Abigail Shrier's ''Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters'' to Science-Based Medicine, which has been criticized for spreading misinformation about the recommended medical care for transgender people.<ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/amazon-refuses-to-remove-book-claiming-transitioning-is-an-epidemic-among-girls/ar-BB1goAwH Amazon refuses to remove book claiming transitioning is an 'epidemic' among girls] ''NBC News'' 5 May 2021</ref> On June 17th, that review, along with racking up criticism for glaring inaccuracies (such as the notion that in California, people can just get top surgery at their own whims and rarely get turned away), was redacted by [[Steven Novella]] and [[David Gorski]] because "there were too many issues with the treatment of the relevant science, and leaving the article up would not be appropriate given the standards of SBM."<ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-the-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters/ Book Review: Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, by Abigail Shrier] ''Science-Based Medicine'', 17 June 2021</ref> The review was subsequently reposted in full on Skeptic.com, with editor [[Michael Shermer]], who, we remind you, has let [[hereditarianism]] proponent {{wpl|Frank Miele}} pollute his website, citing Science-Based Medicine's "far-left progressive political bias that has compromised their otherwise stellar reputation as a trustworthy source" as [[bullshit|a reason to keep it publicly viewable]],<ref>Hall, H. (18 June 2021) [https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/trans-science-review-of-abigail-shier-irreversible-damage-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters/ Trans Science: A review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters] ''Skeptic.com''. Accessed June 19, 2021.</ref> though that passage has been removed. The redaction has also attracted claims of "censorship", and Dr. Gorski himself has been accused of banking for "Big Trans", which is a new one after all the [[Shill gambit|pharma shill accusations]] he gets.<ref>@gorskon. (June 18, 2021). [https://twitter.com/gorskon/status/1406012628716163074]. ''Twitter''. Accessed June 19, 2021.</ref>

But no, Harriet Hall isn't a transphobe. She said so herself, so it must be true. And especially not after she's said these things:

{{quotebox|The incidence of teen gender dysphoria is rising and seems to be linked to internet influences and social peer groups. The number of people identifying as [[lesbian]]s is dropping. Therapists are accepting patients’ self-diagnoses unquestioningly, and irreversible treatments are being offered without therapist involvement. We know at least some of these patients will desist and detransition, and we have no way to predict which ones. Children are being instructed in how to lie to parents and doctors to coerce them into providing the treatments they want. Families are being destroyed.}}
Scaremongering about "destroying families" (even though pressuring children to not express how they feel has actual damage) and the dropping number of lesbians? The first part can be explained by "people meet with like minds through the Internet to get support from each other because the families are often not safe places to discuss such things". Wow, how terrible! Also, maybe people realize more identities exist and they more accurately describe how they are...so some women who had previously considered themselves lesbian may have found there are other options that fit their psychology better. How horrible.

{{quotebox|Girls who previously would have been classified as tomboys or lesbians are now classified as transgender; sometimes the idea of transgender is first suggested by a therapist. In one school where 15 students had come out as transgender, there wasn’t a single lesbian. Shrier looked for instances where a counsellor suggested to a patient that they might be lesbian rather than transgender; she couldn’t find a single example. In the last decade, lesbians have seen the disappearance of lesbian bars and publications. Lesbians have been denigrated as transgender males who won’t admit they are supposed to be boys.}}

This whole obsession about lesbian numbers is the same rhetoric espoused by the staunch TERF lesbian "protectionists". Hall's language is also very indicative. A section called "mantra of trans influencers" and the "gurus" (again note the scaremongery wording; their advice is deemed a "mantra" and "influencing" as if they're brainwashing and misleading children) appears to misrepresent what the trans support communities aim to do. It's hard to tell since there's zero citations. A therapist suggesting a gender identity is also seen as a Bad Thing when therapists, being, well, therapists, simply encourage people to explore themselves. Therapists have also suggested that a patient might have ADHD, autism, be asexual, and more, so why is this bad to suggest being trans? Finally, there's this assumption that being a lesbian and being trans are two mutually exclusive concepts, and that trans people are "erasing" lesbians by existing. It's the same vein as suggesting that LGBT+ labels are erasing hetero people as people that originally thought were hetero but "wrong" now adopt a new label for themselves.

{{quotebox|In California, students can opt out from sexual health education instruction but cannot opt out of gender identity and sexual identification instruction. Gender stereotypes are taught in kindergarten. Children are taught that they might have a girl brain in a boy body or vice versa; never mind that that is biologically nonsensical. Teens are asked to imagine what it would be like to be the other gender. When a child comes out as trans, schools frequently adopt their preferred new name and pronouns without informing the parents (ostensibly to protect the child’s privacy). The achievements of gender-nonconforming women are downplayed because they don’t count as true women.}}
This is in a section titled " The Schools are Not Helping", thus implying there's a problem. The "opting out" part additionally implies that students are "forced" into such instruction. The real issue is that ''why'' students can opt out of sex ed in the first place (well, we know, it's an unfounded compromise between providing vital health education and pandering to social conservatives imposing their beliefs on others). In addition, this section straight-up lies about the contents of California's curriculum, claiming it promotes gender stereotypes when the curriculum explicitly states it does the opposite<ref>[https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/he/cf/ Revised Draft Health Education Framework (May 2019 Revision), Chapter 3] ''California Department of Education''. Accessed July 1st, 2021</ref>.

{{quotebox|One of the tasks of adolescence is establishing an identity. Adolescents are still trying to figure out who they are and which sex they are attracted to. Many of the adolescent girls who adopt a transgender identity have never had a single sexual or romantic experience and have never been kissed.}}
This one is stupid and feels irrelevant except maybe to talk down on trans people? This "many" number isn't even quantified. [[Weasel word|How many is "many"?]] Additionally, Hall is again confusing sexual preference with gender identity. "Many" cis girls, even have never had a single sexual or romantic experience either. The existence of [[Asexuality|a-spec]] girls (aromantic asexual identity for instance), which this passage also makes it appear there's something wrong with them, easily counter this, but "many" allosexual girls do have anecdotes of never having these experiences until even college.

Throughout the article, Hall uses some very questionable language: being trans as not a simple adjective for someone but implies some sort of choice or ideology. Being trans is "gender ideology", a "self-diagnosis", that therapists must accept. Adolescent trans girls are called "adolescent girls who adopt a transgender identity." Trans "influencers" "facilitate the discovery of a trans identity". "Clusters of adolescents are discovering transgender identities together and are clamoring for hormones and surgery." 

Totally not transphobic though. Or, again, she's just quoting the crappy book (hopefully, but we have major doubts given her prior record of promoting medical misinformation about transgender people's healthcare<ref name="hornbeck_2018" />). It's hard to tell.

On June 30th, Steven Novella and David Gorski published part one in a series of posts to rebut Hall and Shrier's claims.<ref>Novella, S. and Gorski, D. (30 June 2021) [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-science-of-transgender-treatment/ The Science of Transgender Treatment] ''Science-Based Medicine''. Accessed July 1st, 2021.</ref> It points out Shrier used outdated definitions, equivocates between pre-pubescent and adolescent children, presents misinformation about the standard of care, dramatically inflates the number of transgender people who regret transitioning, points out both good evidence against Shrier's thesis of social contagion as well as that she has no evidence in favour of it, and that contrary to Dr. Hall's claims "denying gender-affirming care is likely the riskiest option" among those available. They ultimately conclude "Abigail Shrier’s narrative and, unfortunately, Dr. Hall’s review grossly misrepresent the science and the standard of care."

Nonetheless, both editors defend Dr. Hall.

{{quotebox|Further, we wish to make it clear that Dr. Hall still remains an editor of SBM in good standing. She has worked tirelessly to promote SBM and its principles, contributing over 700 articles to SBM since 2008, all without any compensation or possibility of reward beyond public service. However, at SBM quality matters first, and so we have to remain open to correction when necessary.}}

Shrier's book whitewashes the reputations of two disgraced researchers, while simultaneously using blurbs from both to help promote the book.<ref>[https://freethoughtblogs.com/reprobate/2021/06/30/lies-damn-lies-and-harriet-hall/ Lies, Damn Lies, and Harriet Hall] ''Reprobate Spreadsheet''. Accessed July 1st, 2021</ref> Shrier and Hall claim that the scientific record makes no mention of AFAB girls developing gender dysphoria before 2012, which a simple web search reveals is false.<ref>[https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?as_yhi=2011&q=girls+gender+dysphoria Google Scholar: "girls gender dysphoria," before 2011] ''Google Scholar''. Accessed July 1st, 2021</ref> Both invoke one study that they claim states shows gender-affirmative care leads to an increase in suicide rate, when in reality it demonstrates no such link. <ref>[https://www.transadvocate.com/fact-check-study-shows-transition-makes-trans-people-suicidal_n_15483.htm Fact check: study shows transition makes trans people suicidal] ''TransAdvocate''. Accessed July 1st, 2021</ref>

One wonders what it takes to become an editor in poor standing at Science-Based Medicine. Perhaps plagiarism would be enough? Several sentences from Shrier's book wind up in Hall's review, with no indication they were originally written by Shrier. That combined with the matching flow of ideas suggests Hall wrote portions of the review by copy-pasting notable sentences from Shrier's book into another document, then rephrasing those sentences to disguise their original source.<ref>hjhornbeck [https://freethoughtblogs.com/reprobate/ Harriet Hall is no Skeptic] ''Reprobate Spreadsheet''. Accessed September 10th, 2021</ref>.

The long article by Novella and Gorski pledged to bring in some experts on transgender people's health to write their own reviews Shrier's book. Three have been published by two authors, Rose Lovell and AJ Eckert.<ref>Lovell, R. [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/abigail-shriers-irreversible-damage-a-wealth-of-irreversible-misinformation/ Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: A Wealth of Irreversible Misinformation] ''Science-Based Medicine''. Accessed July 8th, 2021</ref><ref>Eckert, AJ. [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-to-the-trans-community-a-critical-review-of-abigail-shriers-book-irreversible-damage-part-one/ Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage (Part One)] ''Science-Based Medicine''. Accessed July 8th, 2021</ref><ref>Eckert, AJ. [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/irreversible-damage-to-the-trans-community-a-critical-review-of-abigail-shriers-book-irreversible-damage-the-transgender-craze-seducing-our-daughters-part-two/ Irreversible Damage to the Trans Community: A Critical Review of Abigail Shrier’s Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (Part Two)] ''Science-Based Medicine''. Accessed September 10th, 2021</ref> [[Jesse Singal]] claimed both authors promoted misinformation, and made grave errors like paraphrasing Shrier instead of quoting her directly, failing to acknowledge the sheer number of footnotes in Shrier's book, and refusing to accept that sex is binary.<ref>[https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/how-science-based-medicine-botched How Science-Based Medicine Botched Its Coverage Of The Youth Gender Medicine Debate] ''Jesse Singal''. Accessed September 10th, 2021</ref><ref>[https://jessesingal.substack.com/p/science-based-medicines-coverage Science-Based Medicine's Coverage Of "Irreversible Damage" Included About 19 Errors, False Claims About Three Sex Researchers, Made-Up Quotes, And Endless Misinformation] ''Jesse Singal''. Accessed September 10th, 2021</ref> Novella and Gorski allowed both authors to return to defend themselves, where they and the editors (presumably Novella or Gorski) point out his "weaponization of pedantry" <ref>Lovell, R. [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/about-those-19-errors-part-one/ About those “19 errors,” part one] ''Science-Based Medicine''. Accessed September 10th, 2021</ref> and call him out for recycling long-debunked myths about the health of transgender people.<ref>Eckert, AJ [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/about-those-19-errors-part-two/ About those “19 Errors,” Part Two] ''Science-Based Medicine''. Accessed September 10th, 2021</ref>

==External links==
*[https://www.skepdoc.info/ ''The SkepDoc''], her website.
*[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/editorial-staff/harriet-hall-md-associate-editor/ Short biography of Harriet Hall] on ''Science-Based Medicine''
*[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/author/harriet-hall/ Articles written by Hall] at ''Science-Based Medicine''
*[https://www.skeptic.com/tag/harriet-hall/ Articles] at ''Skeptic'' magazine
*[https://quackwatch.org/authors/harriet-hall-md/ Articles] at Quackwatch
*[https://skepticalinquirer.org/authors/harriet-hall/ Articles] at ''Skeptical Inquirer''
*[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/i-am-not-your-enemy-an-open-letter-to-my-feminist-critics/ ''"I Am Not Your Enemy: An Open Letter to My Feminist Critics"''], written by Harriet Hall in February 2013

==References==
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[[Category:Bloggers]]
[[Category:Physicians]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Transphobes]]
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[[Category:Atheists]]

Categories: Bloggers, Physicians, Pseudoscience promoters, Transphobes, Authors, Atheists