Kelsey Bolar
This content was last updated Nov. 16, 2023, 5:17 p.m. UTC
Kelsey Bolar, formerly known by her maiden name Kelsey Harkness, is a conservative journalist and political commentator. She currently works as the Director of Storytelling at the Independent Women’s Forum, but has previously worked with the Daily Signal and The Federalist.
Bolar is most known for her ‘Identity Crisis’ series, which promotes narratives from detransitioners and concerned parents of trans individuals. Identity Crisis has a perspective that is biased against trans rights and sees “gender ideology” as something to be opposed.
Thousands of parents are suffering at the hands of the gender ideology movement. But it's their children who are the greatest victims.
Education, Credentials, and Affiliations
Bolar received her education from Lafayette College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film & Media in Politics and International affairs. She then began her career with internships at places such as BBC and Rainbow Media.
Her first major role was with Fox News, working on production for their various ad promotions, only to soon after become a food & wellness editor for the outlet.
This led her to get roles working for fashion design outlets as an editor, before she moved over to working at the Daily Signal, working as a senior news producer. This was in tandem with her roles as a contributor to various other sites such as The Federalist. She eventually moved to her current role as a storytelling director at the Independent Women’s Forum.
Bolar has contributed to various other outlets in her time, including the Daily Mail and Daily Wire.
Article History
Bolar’s bylines began with the Heritage Foundation, the Daily Signal, and her early work for The Federalist. Between these three outlets, she has published over 300 articles, the majority of which were about political current affairs and did not touch on trans issues.
She started to cover trans issues in 2016, with Daily Signal articles on trans bathroom laws that were prominent at the time. They came from a point of view that positions trans rights in law as an overreach of governmental authority.
In 2022 she began to focus primarily on trans issues in her writing, with articles for the Federalist that discuss a supposed crisis of youth identifying as trans.
Her work in the Daily Signal shifted towards coverage of trans issues at a similar time, but what was perhaps more notable was her work with the Independent Women’s Forum. Bolar became the host of their Identity Crisis series, which highlights specific cases of detransitioning among queer youth or remorseful stories by parents of transgender children and was widely publicized.
She has since published anti-trans articles in outlets like Fox News and Daily Mail on a freelance contributing basis as well.
Media Appearances
Bolar appeared on the High Noon podcast to discuss her Identity Crisis documentary series. Elsewhere, she is one of the hosts of the Problematic Women podcast.
She has repeatedly appeared on Fox News, with appearances going back to 2018 focused on a range of conservative topics.
She was also a key speaker at the National Conservatism Conference in 202 where she spoke about her views on trans individuals and “gender ideology.”
Notable articles:
- Identity Crisis Series
- Liberals Claim Victory Over North Carolina Bathroom Law, but Not Everyone’s Buying It
- Stop the mutilation of our girls with so-called 'gender-affirming care'
- Trans activist wants you to believe detransitioners aren’t real. But facts don’t lie