Biography
About Sybilla Claus
Anthropologist, political analyst, journalist and author. Worked for years at the Dutch national newspapers Trouw and, earlier, De Telegraaf. Before her journalism career she was, among other things, a bus driver and a self-defence instructor.
As an anthropologist she travelled frequently to Zimbabwe. Her book Standplaats Harare (KIT Publishers, 2008) records that work. For the Dutch press she wrote hundreds of pieces on politics, women's rights, religion and — over the past decade — on the downside of gender ideology.
In 2019 Onbekend maar niet vergeten appeared at Ambo|Anthos, written with cold-case detective Carina van Leeuwen. In that book she follows the forensic investigation into the unidentified dead of Amsterdam, from DNA analysis to visiting relatives.
In September 2024 her anthology Gender Rebels was published by Uitgeverij het Haantje. With forty contributions from women in the Netherlands and abroad she explores why a growing group of girls wants to escape womanhood. The English edition Rebel Girls followed in 2026 at Spinifex Press, and with this edition the number of contributors was raised to seventy. In November the German version will be published by Diametric Verlag, including Rona Duwe, initiator of the campaign: Was ist eine Frau? and Eva Engelken, founder of feminist organisation Frauenheldinnen.de.
In September 2026 the BI book came out, a collection of life stories of bisexuals from all over the world. This unique and free downloadable e-Book is the first of its kind that recognizes biology: Bi means two, and bisexual means being attracted to females and to males. Download the beautiful e-book here for free.
The book is an initiative of LGB International, and was edited by Sybilla Claus. Have a look at the wonderful design, and enjoy reading the stories of young women from India, Taiwan, and Europe.
What drives her
Women's rights as practical work
Sybilla writes about feminism not as abstract theory but as daily practice: women in prison, girls online, women in religious communities.
Biological reality
"You cannot switch sex; no one can escape their biological sex." The starting point of her gender-critical work.
Therapy before intervention
For children with gender dysphoria, therapeutic treatment must always take precedence over irreversible physical procedures — a position she shares with child psychiatrists worldwide.
Against the silent consensus
Topics that aren't discussed in progressive circles — women's oppression in Islam, men in women's spaces — take centre stage in her work.
External profiles & socials
Gender Rebels
genderrebels.org →Ambo|Anthos
Author page →Houtekiet (Belgium)
Author page →Sybilla Claus
Anthropologist, journalist and author. Author of Gender Rebels (2024) and the upcoming Rebel Girls (Spinifex, 2026).
Work
Rebel Girls (2026)Gender Rebels (2024)About the book Gender RebelsThe girls of Gender RebelsAll publicationsOpinion piecesIn the MediaFAQPublished by Uitgeverij 't Haantje · © Sybilla Claus