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Eli Erlick

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eli Erlick
Erlick in 2022
Born (1995-07-10) July 10, 1995 (age 31)
Willits, California, U.S.
EducationPitzer College (BA)
University of California, Santa Cruz (MA, PhD)
Occupations
  • Writer
  • activist
Years active2011–present
Websiteelierlick.com

Eli Erlick (born July 10, 1995) is an American activist, writer, and academic.[1][2][3] She is the author of Before Gender: Lost Stories from Trans History, 1850–1950 and founder of the organization Trans Student Educational Resources.[4]

Early life

Eli Erlick was born on July 10, 1995. Her parents met while protesting, which she cites as a background for her activism. She is of Jewish heritage and grew up near the rural community of Willits, California.[5][6] She came out as transgender when she was 8 years old, when she started to experience harassment, isolation, and violence. She could not use her school's restroom and was threatened and bullied for years after.[7]

At age 13, her parents allowed her to publicly transition to female, keeping her birth name. She medically transitioned shortly after.[8][9] Erlick then began her work in advocacy and writing at 15 and founded the organization Trans Student Educational Resources at age 16.[10] Erlick graduated from Pitzer College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies[11] and completed her PhD in Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2025.[12][13][14]

Activism

Erlick cites starting activism at age 15, in 2010, when she became a board member for an LGBTQ youth conference. She became public in media over a year later while advocating for California's School Success and Opportunity Act, the first state bill to protect transgender students. In 2013, Erlick worked with several series to discuss transgender activism, including SBS Dateline and TakePart Live.[citation needed] The same year, Erlick won a $25,000 fellowship from Boston-based nonprofit Peace First for her activism.[15]

While advocating for admissions for trans students at women's colleges, she spoke about the importance of remaining skeptical of all policy work.[16][17] In 2015, Erlick published an article on why equality should not be the goal of the transgender movement.[18][19][16] In 2017, she began publicly advocating for self-expression of gender-nonconforming transgender women.[20]

Erlick and a group of transgender activists erected a bronze sculpture of activist Marsha P. Johnson in 2021 in Christopher Park. The sculpture was not authorized by New York City Parks but later received a use permit, making it the first sculpture of a transgender person in New York City.[21][22] The sculpture received positive reviews from art commentators, citing the criticism of George Segal's Stonewall National Monument for "whitewashing" the Stonewall Riots.[23][24] The New York City Mayor's office had announced plans for a statue of Johnson and her collaborator, Sylvia Rivera, in 2019 but the statues never came to fruition.[25][26][27]

In February 2022, Erlick alleged that conservative political commentator Matt Walsh was "attempting to dupe dozens of trans people and doctors into participating in an anti-trans documentary under false pretenses".[28][29] She uncovered that Walsh had created a front organization, the Gender Unity Project, after his producer attempted to recruit her into the project.[30][29] Walsh later revealed the project was part of his then-upcoming film, What Is a Woman?.[31][32][33] A year later, Erlick made similar allegations against conservative media commentator Robby Starbuck for his film The War on Children.[34]

In March 2023, Erlick recovered, restored, and colorized numerous photos from LGBTQ history. She attributes black-and-white photography as a factor in the erasure of trans people of color from history.[35] In May 2023, Erlick appeared on a viral Vice Debates video, defending abortion and trans rights.[36]

Trans Student Educational Resources

In 2011, at age 16,[37] Erlick co-founded Trans Student Educational Resources, an organization "dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender nonconforming students through advocacy and empowerment."[38] It is the only national organization led by transgender youth, and one of the largest transgender organizations in the United States.[2][39][40]

In 2015, Erlick led national efforts with Trans Student Educational Resources to admit trans women at women's colleges. She also co-authored Trans Student Educational Resources' model policy for admissions of trans students at women's colleges.[41][42] Erlick also co-founded Trans Youth Leadership Summit, a program run through Trans Student Educational Resources. It is the only national fellowship program in the United States for transgender youth. Several of its fellows have gone on to become prominent media advocates, activists, and organizers since its launch.[43][44]

Erlick won the 2015 Westly Prize and 2016 Davis Projects for Peace Award for Trans Student Educational Resources.[45][46]

Access to hormone therapy

In August 2022, conservatives including Tucker Carlson, Matt Walsh, and Blaire White criticized Erlick for detailing a plan on social media for individuals to send spare hormone therapy prescriptions to people in those US states which are working to criminalize such drugs, despite the law only allowing such drugs to be prescribed by a physician. Some conservatives reported her to federal authorities, including the Drug Enforcement Administration.[47][better source needed][48] Chaya Raichik said that her account Libs of TikTok was suspended from Twitter after accusing Erlick of distributing the medications.[49][50]

Walsh accused Erlick of being a "confessed drug dealer" and later reported Erlick to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she was a PhD candidate. After the university's leadership initially ignored Walsh, he shared the contact information for several leaders of the university on social media. The university then said in a statement that it "strongly supports transgender members of our community", adding that "[t]he university is aware of social media posts by one of our graduate students related to gender-affirming medical care outlawed in certain states. The university takes allegations of illegal activity seriously, harassment included." Erlick defended herself from criticism, saying that "all trans people should have access to gender-affirming care" and that "trans people have shared hormone replacement therapy treatments for over 80 years. This is nothing new or unique. It is important to add that no one is providing hormone replacement therapy to children and the accusations that I am are false and absurd." Erlick also accused Walsh of "profiting from the moral panic over transness through new followers, advertisers and pageviews. Money, fame and power are his only goals." Following Walsh's comments about her, Erlick received slurs, harassment, and threats of violence.[48]

Erlick and other activists accused Walsh of stochastic terrorism, a term used to describe an incitement of violence against a target through social media with plausible deniability. Walsh denied these accusations of terrorism, arguing that sharing contact information that is publicly available does not constitute harassment and that criticizing someone does not constitute terrorism. Erlick alleged Walsh targeted her for her accusations that he misrepresented his documentary to potential interviewees.[48]

Academia

Erlick speaking at Harvard University in 2018

Erlick writes about political philosophy, social movements, and transgender communities.[51][52][53] She completed her PhD at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in its Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness departments.[54][55][12] In 2017, she became Glamour magazine's first transgender college woman of the year.[56]

Her book Before Gender: Lost Stories from Trans History, 1850–1950 addresses "thirty intersectional and transnational case studies, centring trans lives often erased from mainstream accounts", for example the mustarjil folk singer Masoud El Amaratly.[57] In 2017, she was a contributor to The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Healthcare,[58] which won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Anthology.[59]

Public image

In 2016, Teen Vogue named Erlick the "New Face of Feminism" as a "young feminist changing the game".[60] Refinery29 also named her one of their 30 Under 30 "rising stars" in 2013.[19] Erlick writes for publications including Teen Vogue and Glamour about culture, media, and fashion.[61][62] In 2017, Glamour named her College Woman of the Year, the first trans woman to receive the award in its 60-year history.[56]

Erlick appeared as Sara Quin in the music video for Tegan and Sara's "Faint of Heart".[63] She also narrated the series premiere of Hulu's How I Caught My Killer in 2023.[64][65] Erlick has appeared in numerous publications discussing fashion and frequently models for fashion brands.[5][66] In an interview with Yahoo News, Erlick stated that she felt pressured to dress femininely based on the widespread misunderstanding of gender identity and gender expression.[5] Erlick describes herself as gender nonconforming.[67]

Erlick has been a recurring guest on several news programs, including Dr. Phil, Piers Morgan Uncensored, and Huffington Post Live.[68][69][70][71] She also appeared in the CollegeHumor Series Tales from the Closet in 2019.[72][73]

Personal life

Erlick is a graduate of Willits Charter School in Willits, California.[15] Erlick is openly queer and lives in New York City.[74][27][75]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Proposed Law Would Require School Support for Transgender Students citing radio". The Forum. August 7, 2013. KQED Radio. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Changing Gender, Changing School". The Story. July 17, 2013. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  3. ↑ "About". Eli Erlick. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  4. ↑ Silverman, Aviva (July 11, 2023). "Eli Erlick". NYC Trans Oral History Project. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Yates, Jacqueline Laurean (October 27, 2017). "Trans woman shares gender expression journey, from 'femme to dapper'". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Meet Eli Erlick: A Trans Youth Activist Who Stars in Tegan and Sara's New Music Video 'Faint of Heart'". The Queer AV. August 19, 2016. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  7. ↑ Valens, Ana (December 20, 2017). "Ending Anti-Trans Violence Begins With Trans Rights in Everyday Life". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ Bendix, Trish; Jackson, S. E.; Hymowech, Gena; Long, Kat (June 22, 2017). "100 Women We Love: Class of 2017". GO Magazine. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  9. ↑ Bannow, Tara; Sheridan, Kate (October 3, 2022). "Harassment prompts children's hospitals to strip websites, threatening access to gender-affirming care". STAT.
  10. ↑ Erlick, Eli (September 30, 2013). "I Knew I Was a Girl at 8: Transitioning and Teenage Activism". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017.
  11. ↑ Luery, Mike (August 12, 2013). "Gov. Brown signs transgender students' rights bill". KCRA. Retrieved August 5, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Erlick, Eli [@elierlick]; (August 27, 2025). "'Is it Mr. or Ms.?' 'It's Dr.' #PhDone" – via Instagram.
  13. ↑ Erlick, Eli (2018). "Trans Youth Activism on the Internet". Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. 39 (1): 73–92. doi:10.5250/fronjwomestud.39.1.0073. ISSN 0160-9009.
  14. ↑ Shaikh, Zaeem (December 30, 2022). "How new Title IX rules could affect California's transgender and nonbinary students". CalMatters. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  15. 1 2 Lockwood, Jennifer (November 7, 2014). "Willits Charter School grad wins national award". The Willits News. Willits, California. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Kellaway, Mitch (November 19, 2014). "Meet The Trans Teen Who Just Won $25K to Make Schools Trans-Inclusive". Advocate.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  17. ↑ Marcelo, Philip (September 10, 2014). "Women's colleges address transgender applicants". AP News. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  18. ↑ Erlick, Eli (June 9, 2016). "Why Equality Is Toxic to the Transgender Movement". HuffingtonPost.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  19. 1 2 Tafoya, Angela; Velez, Jessica; Pang, Jeanine Celeste. "30 Under 30 S.F. — Rising Young Stars in San Francisco". Refinery29.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  20. ↑ Truong, Kimberly (October 24, 2017). "Transgender Woman Side-By-Side Transition Photos". Refinery29.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  21. ↑ Carlson, Jen (August 25, 2021). "Activists Install Marsha P. Johnson Monument in Christopher Park". Gothamist.
  22. ↑ Bellamy-Walker, Tat (August 27, 2021). "Activists Install Marsha P. Johnson Sculpture in Christopher Park". Gay City News.
  23. ↑ Weaver, Shaye (August 25, 2021). "The first transgender statue in an NYC Park has been erected". Time Out New York.
  24. ↑ Liscia, Valentina Di (August 26, 2021). "On the Day of Marsha Johnson's Birthday, Guerrilla Memorial Pops up by Stonewall". Hyperallergic.
  25. ↑ Jacobs, Julia (May 30, 2019). "Two Transgender Activists Are Getting a Monument in New York". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ Wakefield, Lily (August 29, 2021). "New York activists take matters into their own hands after waiting years for Marsha P Johnson monument". pp. PinkNews.
  27. 1 2 Welch, Chris (August 30, 2021). "Tired of waiting for City Hall, activists install monument of trans icon in Greenwich Village park". Fox 5 New York.
  28. ↑ Baragona, Justin (February 8, 2022). "Far-Right Troll Tried to Dupe Trans People Into Joining His Anti-Trans Documentary". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  29. 1 2 "Anti-Trans Matt Walsh tries to lure Trans people into fake documentary". Los Angeles Blade. February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  30. ↑ Collman, Ashley (February 10, 2022). "Trans activists accuse conservative podcaster Matt Walsh of trying to lure them into participating in an anti-trans documentary". Insider.com.
  31. ↑ Mendez II, Moises (June 10, 2022). "Why Are Social Media Companies Taking Ad Money From a Right-Wing Transphobic Doc?". Rolling Stone.
  32. ↑ Goforth, Claire (February 8, 2022). "A fake company duping trans people into joining a documentary appears to be the work of the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh". The Daily Dot.
  33. ↑ Flaherty, Colleen (August 19, 2022). "UC Santa Cruz grad student targeted for trans activism". Inside Higher Ed.
  34. ↑ Mitchell, Hilary (February 11, 2024). "Drag queen accuses anti-LGBTQ+ documentary of 'tricking' her into taking part". PinkNews.
  35. ↑ Baska, Maggie (March 31, 2023). "Trans people have always been here – and these photos prove it". PinkNews.
  36. ↑ VICE (December 28, 2022). Anti & Pro Feminists Debate Abortion, Trans Rights, and #Metoo | VICE Debates. Retrieved August 7, 2026 – via YouTube.
  37. ↑ "About". Trans Student Educational Resources. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  38. ↑ "What AB1266 Means for Transgender Students in Public Schools". Take Two. August 13, 2013. KPCC. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  39. ↑ Erlick, Eli (April 6, 2017). "Why Trans Students Need Your Help Right Now". Glamour.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  40. ↑ Paul, Kari (November 12, 2018). "People protest Trumps proposed transgender policy with donations". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  41. ↑ Moyer, Justin Wm (May 4, 2015). "Smith College to admit transgender women in historic policy change". Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
  42. ↑ "Spelman Just Joined the Growing List of Women's Colleges to Officially Admit Trans Students". Brit.co. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Trevor Celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility". Thetrevorproject.org. March 30, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  44. ↑ Castile, Eliza (March 31, 2017). "What Does The Trans Visibility Day Theme Mean? It's All About Resisting Oppression". Bustle.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  45. ↑ "Trans Youth Leadership Summit". Middlebury. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Winners". WESTLY FOUNDATION. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  47. ↑ Colton, Emma (August 8, 2022). "Conservatives accuse trans activist of illegally sending hormone 'drugs to children,' citing social media". Fox News.
  48. 1 2 3 Flaherty, Colleen (August 19, 2022). "UC Santa Cruz grad student targeted for trans activism". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  49. ↑ "Libs of TikTok Account Reportedly Banned from Facebook with 'No Reason Given'". Movieguide. August 19, 2022.
  50. ↑ Ennis, Dawn (August 31, 2022). "Will it take another death to stop the spread of anti-trans hate online". Los Angeles Blade.
  51. ↑ "Selected Writing". EliErlick.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Eli Erlick". University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  53. ↑ "Eli Erlick | Author". Them. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  54. ↑ "Campus Directory". UC Santa Cruz. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017.
  55. ↑ Militare, Jessica (April 6, 2017). "Meet Glamour's 2017 College Women of the Year". Glamour.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  56. 1 2 "Video: First transwoman wins Glamour's College Women of the Year award". ABC News. April 25, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  57. ↑ Pierce, Maedbh (September 15, 2025). "Lost stories and radical lives from trans history". LSE Review of Books. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  58. ↑ "The remedy : queer and trans voices on health and health care". Yale Library Quicksearch. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  59. ↑ Boureau, Ella (August 8, 2018). "29th Annual Lambda Literary Finalists and Winners". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  60. ↑ "Young Feminists Changing the Game - Feminists to Watch in 2016". Teen Vogue. January 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  61. ↑ Erlick, Eli (May 19, 2016). "5 Examples Why North Carolina's Anti-Transgender Law Is Wrong". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  62. ↑ Erlick, Eli (April 6, 2017). "The Fight for Transgender Rights: Why Trans Students Need Your Help Right Now". Glamour. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  63. ↑ Ceron, Ella (July 28, 2016). "Tegan and Sara's Brand-New "Faint of Heart" Video Is Amazing For So Many Reasons". TeenVogue.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  64. ↑ Chhatwani, Muskan (January 15, 2023). "Who is Eli Erlick from How I Caught My Killer?". The Envoy Web.
  65. ↑ "'How I Caught My Killer' Social media? Yeah, it was her thing. (TV Episode 2023)". IMDb.
  66. ↑ "100 Most Stylish dapperQs 2017". dapperQ. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  67. ↑ Calfee, Bailey (October 30, 2018). "What Halloween Means For Trans And Gender-Nonconforming People". Nylon.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  68. ↑ "Psychiatrist Says Schools Shouldn't be Required to Tell Parents if Child Assumes a Different Gender Identity". Yahoo Entertainment. September 16, 2022.
  69. ↑ Burton, Liam (April 25, 2023). "'Dr. Phil' Will Not be Missed". Current Affairs.
  70. ↑ "In which I go on Piers Morgan Uncensored (Sex and gender issues, of course), followed by a debate". Why Evolution Is True. January 18, 2025.
  71. ↑ "Media". Eli Erlick. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  72. ↑ "Tales from the Closet". IMDb.
  73. ↑ "Traditional Values". IMDb.
  74. ↑ Hoover Greenway, Kelly; Mack, Lindsay E. (June 10, 2021). "25 Fabulous LGBTQ+ Instagram Accounts To Follow Stat". Romper. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  75. ↑ "Trans Lives Before the Moral Panic with Eli Erlick". Unwashed and Unruly. November 27, 2025.
  76. ↑ Sharman, Zena, ed. (2016). The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 978-1551526584.
  77. ↑ Erlick, Eli (2018). "Project MUSE - Trans Youth Activism on the Internet". Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. 39 (1): 73–92. doi:10.1353/fro.2018.a690810. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  78. ↑ "Gender Diversity and LGBTQ Inclusion in K-12 Schools: A Guide to Supporting Students, Changing Lives". Routledge. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  79. ↑ "Nonbinary". Columbia University Press.
  80. ↑ "Before Gender by Eli Erlick". Penguin Random House. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eli_Erlick&oldid=1368123175#Trans_Student_Educational_Resources"