Quillette
Quillette is an English-language online magazine founded in 2015 by Australian writer Claire Lehmann. It describes itself as an independent platform for free thought and publishes long-form essays on science, culture, politics and society. Its editorial team is based in Australia; many of its authors come from North America and Europe.
What you will find
Its essays on gender are written by scientists, clinicians and journalists, among others, and address the rise in referrals among young people, the quality of the research and the relationship between sex and gender identity. Some articles are behind a paywall.
Why it is included on this list
Quillette gives space to authors who diverge from the prevailing view in science and public debate. The magazine is therefore also controversial: critics place it within the so-called intellectual dark web and accuse it of one-sidedness. The essays are opinion pieces and are not a substitute for the underlying studies.
Founding and editorial team
Quillette began in Sydney in October 2015. Claire Lehmann is its founder and editor-in-chief. Jamie Palmer is a senior editor in London, and Jonathan Kay is the Canada editor in Toronto. Lehmann has said that she wanted to create a place for criticism of the idea that humans are born as blank slates. According to her, the magazine grew organically into a place where authors criticize what they see as left-wing orthodoxy. Sources describe Quillette as having a libertarian leaning. The Columbia Journalism Review called it the influential right-wing answer to the American online magazine Slate.
Notable publications and missteps
In August 2017, Quillette published responses from scientists who supported the controversial memo by Google employee James Damore. The site was temporarily inaccessible because of the resulting traffic. In October 2018, the magazine had advance knowledge of the so-called grievance studies affair, in which fake articles were submitted to academic journals, and published commentary endorsing it. In August 2019, Quillette itself published a fabricated article by an anonymous author calling himself Archie Carter. The piece was withdrawn after it was discovered. Writers on gender include philosopher Holly Lawford-Smith, author of Gender-Critical Feminism, and biologist Colin Wright of Reality's Last Stand.
How to assess this source
Quillette selects authors who challenge a prevailing view. This produces sharp essays, but not a balanced overview. Comparable online opinion magazines on this list include Spiked and Persuasion. The incident involving the fabricated article shows that its pre-publication checks are not foolproof. When reading an essay about gender care, therefore, check which studies the author cites and read them yourself. A good starting point for understanding the state of the research is the page on systematic reviews in gender care.