Irish journalist Helen Joyce writes a monthly column for the Critic, and between 2005 and 2022 was a staff writer for The Economist. Prior to 2017, Joyce was blissfully unaware of the fact that some people thought the words “man” and “woman” weren’t simple descriptors of biological sex in our mammalian species. 

 

After 2017, Joyce became best known as an author.  Her first book, Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, was an immediate bestseller, named by the Times, Spectator and Observer as one of their books of 2021. It reissued in 2023 under the title: Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women’s Rights. Many have described the book as the most powerful and readable book on this topic.

 

Trans is a compelling, overdue argument for viewing self-ID more critically. Even those outraged by Joyce's positions would benefit from understanding them….’ (New York Times)

‘A tour de force…simply a must-read’ (Evening Standard)

 

As well as freelance work in journalism and consultancy, Joyce works part-time with human-rights charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about the two sexes in law and in life. 

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For those who haven’t heard Helen Joyce speak, you’re in for a treat.

Helen Joyce’s talk at Genspect Conference, 2024

Richard Dawkins interviews Helen Joyce