Dr. Debra W Soh
Sex science journalist & Playboy.com columnist | Self-employed
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Columnist for Playboy.com. Bylines: Harper's, the Wall Street Journal, the LA Times, the Globe and Mail, Scientific American & more.
Biography
Debra W. Soh writes about the science of sex and its politicization. She is a columnist for Playboy.com and her writing can also be found in Harper's, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Globe and Mail, CBC, Scientific American, the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, New York Magazine, Men's Health, the Independent, the Weekend Australian, Quillette, the Korea Herald, Salon, and Pacific Standard.
She is interviewed frequently about the science behind gender identity and biological sex; transgender children; "furries;" hypersexuality; and paraphilias (unusual sexual interests).
Her comments have appeared across international media outlets, including the BBC, New York Times, Dan Savage's podcast, Discover Magazine, NPR, USA Today, National Review, Daily Wire, National Post, Federalist, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Esquire, Maxim, AskMen, the Kinsey Institute's series, and many others.
Debra holds a PhD from York University and was awarded the Provost Dissertation Scholarship for her fMRI research on paraphilias and hypersexuality. She is a recipient of the prestigious Michael Smith Foreign Study Award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and has published in academic journals including Archives of Sexual Behavior and Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
Areas of Expertise (13)
paraphilias (unusual sexual interests)
furries
transgender children
gender dysphoria in children
neuroscience of gender identity
sex addiction
porn addiction
hypersexuality
BDSM
Gender Differences
pedophilia and prevention of child sexual abuse
coercive sex
sex education
Links (1)
Languages (1)
- English
Media Appearances (3)
The complex circumstances that defined your gender
The BBC
2016-06-21
An interview I did with the BBC on how gender develops.
The tricky question of how to treat pedophiles
Dan Savage's Savage Lovecast
2015-11-10
An interview I did with Dan Savage on his podcast. In the Magnum Edition at the 46:00 mark.
A sex researcher at a furry convention
Discover Magazine's Neuroskeptic blog
2014-11-26
Discover Magazine covers my work on "furries," which was the first to suggest their lifestyle is not primarily motivated by sex.
Event Appearances (1)
Professional Speaker, "The Science Behind Gender Identity"
The Conference Board of Canada "Safe Spaces" Meeting Toronto
2016-10-05
Articles (3)
Let's Make Sure Ontario's Sex-Ed Curriculum Is Here to Stay
The Globe and Mail2016-08-30
In the absence of sex ed, children use pornography as a learning tool.
The Transgender Battle Line: Childhood
The Wall Street Journal2016-01-04
Psychologists have learned how to treat adults with gender dysphoria, but how about 5-year-olds?
Below the Pelt
Harper's2015-03-01
An excerpt of my academic paper on furries, published in Harper's March 2015 issue.
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