Walt Heyer

Walt Heyer (born October 25, 1940)^[2] is an American author, activist and speaker who underwent gender reassignment and lived for eight years as a trans woman before detransitioning in 1991.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

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 83)^[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Writer, activist
Spouses	Sarah Horton ​ ​ (m. 1963⁠–⁠1984)​ Kaycee Heyer
Children	2
Website	sexchangeregret.com

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.^[8] After what he described as a misdiagnosis ^[9] of gender dysphoria, Walt Heyer underwent gender reassignment surgery and lived for eight years as a woman named Laura Jensen,^[10] before detransitioning. His experience led him to support the view "that transgender people often experience regret after transitioning, arguing that what transgender people actually need is 'psychiatric or psychological help.'"^[11] 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."^[12]

Once "assistant manager of product planning for America Honda Motor Co",^[13][14] Heyer now works as an author and as a contributor to The Federalist^[15][16] and various other conservative media outlets. Left-leaning media watchdog and partisan advocacy group Media Matters for America has criticized Heyer as "a source of extreme transphobic commentary."^[17]

Heyer's story is detailed in Ryan T. Anderson's 2018 book, When Harry Became Sally.^[18] The 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."^[19]

Heyer's 2019 opinion column in USA Today^[8] was cited as one of the paper's ten most read articles of the year,^[20] and generated multiple published letters in response.^[21][22]

In June 2020, YouTube removed a video of a Heritage Foundation panel that included Heyer, citing its hate speech guidelines,^[23] a move which was criticized by various conservative media outlets including National Review and The Christian Post.^[24][25]

Bibliography

• Trading my Sorrows (2006)
• Perfected by Love (2009)
• Paper Genders (2011)
• Sex Change -- It's Suicide (2013)
• A Transgender's Faith (2015)
• Kid Dakota and the Secret at Grandma's House (2015)
• Trans Life Survivors (2018)

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 2023-11-26.
2. "The birth of Walter Heyer". Retrieved 2023-11-26.
3. Voss, Donna Carol (2 Jul 2015). . The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 5 Sep 2020.
4. . The Rush Limbaugh Show. Archived from the original on 18 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
5. . The Inquisitr News. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
6. Brown, Michael L. (2014). Can You Be Gay And Christian?. Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House. pp. 21–22. ISBN 9781621365945. Retrieved 22 July 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 22 July 2015.
8. Heyer, Walt (11 February 2019). "Hormones, surgery, regret: I was a transgender woman for 8 years — time I can't get back". USA Today. Retrieved 23 Aug 2020.
9. Heyer, Walt. . Archived from the original on June 21, 2015.
10. Fraga, Brian (5 June 2015). . National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
11. "What The Media Should Know About Walt Heyer And "Transition Regrets"". Media Matters for America. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 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. 6 March 1983. Retrieved 22 July 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 International. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
16. "Walt Heyer". The Federalist. 23 March 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
17. Maza, Carlos (2 June 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 (25 January 2018). "Conservative book 'When Harry Became Sally' attacks trans people while conveniently leaving them out". ThinkProgress. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
20. "Most-read USA TODAY Opinion columns of 2019". USA Today. 27 Dec 2019. Retrieved 23 Aug 2020.
21. Bryant, Samantha (17 Feb 2019). "Brazilian Butt lifts can be safe when done right: Readers sound off". USA Today.
22. Suffredini, Kasey (24 Feb 2019). "Jussie Smollett crying wolf helps no one: Readers sound off". USA Today. Retrieved 23 Aug 2020.
23. "YouTube Censors Heritage Foundation Video on Gender Dysphoria". The Heritage Foundation. 19 Jun 2020. Retrieved 23 Aug 2020.
24. Waggoner, Kristen (25 Jun 2020). "YouTube's Transgender Problem". National Review. Retrieved 23 Aug 2020.
25. Showalter, Brandon (20 June 2020). "YouTube censors video testimony of former transgender, calls it 'hate speech'". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 Aug 2020.