Stephen B. Levine
Stephen B. Levine | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stephen Barrett Levine 1942 |
| Known for | Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (Version 5); Founding Case Western Reserve University Gender Identity Clinic; Expert witness testimony against gender-affirming care, including Bell v Tavistock and United States v. Skrmetti |
| Scientific career | |
| Patrons | Alliance Defending Freedom, Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, Genspect |
Stephen Barrett Levine (born 1942) is an American psychiatrist and professor. He is known for his thesis that gender dysphoria and being transgender are often caused by psychological issues that should be treated psychoanalytically rather than with gender-affirming care. He co-founded Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Gender Identity Clinic in 1974, served as the chair of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) drafting committee for the 5th edition of their Standards of Care (SOC-5) published 1998, and served on the American Psychiatric Association (APA) DSM-IV (1994) Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders.
He has since distanced himself from these organizations, arguing they are more concerned with civil rights than evidence and too receptive to the transgender community. Since 2006 he has worked with U.S. state prisons to deny transgender inmates medical and social transitions. In recent years, he has worked with the Alliance Defending Freedom to support anti-trans legislation as an expert witness. He has supported banning gender-affirming care for minors, overturning bans on conversion therapy, preventing transgender students from participating in sports matching their identity, and forcing schools to out them to their parents. He is now a member of Genspect and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine.