Whose story is it, anyway?
A guide to covering trans communities with specificity, respect, and sourcing rigor.
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Trans people — not our parents, children, friends, colleagues, or critics — should be at the heart of stories written about us. This principle drives much of the Trans Journalists Association’s work for fair and accurate coverage of trans rights and communities in the media.
As Pride month wraps up, here are a few tips and key considerations across beats to ensure your reporting practices for trans communities and beyond are sound. For additional coverage guidance, visit our Stylebook and Coverage Guide.
Self-identification is paramount
The best way to determine a person's gender, name, and pronouns is to ask them directly. Police reports, public documents, or statements from family members can incorrectly identify someone. Social media profiles can be one clue, but they can also be misleading, outdated, incomplete, or falsified. Take extra care when covering breaking news, which commonly misidentifies transgender people (see our Breaking News topical guide).
"Trans issues" is a euphemism
Like culture war, the phrase trans issues is common shorthand in political reporting, standing in for the myriad ways in which trans people are politicized. But as government efforts to single out trans people increase, journalists should avoid collapsing anti-trans sentiment, laws, and policies into a single catch-all. These efforts may be as sweeping as the national effort to redefine “sex” in American law, and as narrow as punitive measures directed at specific law firms for their work with trans clients.
Reporting on anti-trans politics and policies benefits from clarity and specificity; euphemisms like trans issues provide neither. Consider: What is the trans issue at play in a given story? Civil rights protections? Health care access? Access to valid identity documents? Let the answer to that question guide your language. Lay out the stakes.
Talk to trans people about trans people
When reporting a story about issues that affect trans communities, reporters should interview trans people who have relevant knowledge, experience, and expertise. Trans people’s voices should be centered in this coverage; they should speak, not just be spoken about. Researchers who study trans communities are sometimes trans themselves.
Talk to trans people about things besides trans people
Gender identity is only one part of a person, and not the only thing that defines who they are; trans people often have professional or academic expertise on subjects unrelated to our gender. Incorporate trans people into your source base and interview them for stories across beats, just as you would interview people with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Reporters who work to cultivate a gender-diverse sourcing pool will produce stronger reporting, regardless of topic.
There is no single ‘trans community’
Communities of trans people are diverse across such dimensions as race, ethnicity, age, ability and disability, nationality, location, political party, religion, tribal membership, economic background, and more. It’s inaccurate to treat the experiences of one person as being representative of “the trans experience” or “the trans community” on any given issue, and it’s important to seek diverse sources — just as with any other coverage area.
Do not call unnecessary attention to a trans person’s gender
Do not identify someone as transgender unless it provides necessary and relevant clarity or context. Reporters rarely note whether each cisgender person quoted is a man or woman; likewise, unless a trans person’s individual experience with gender is integral to understanding the story, there’s no need to mention that they are trans or explain their gender identity (see avoid irrelevant questions).
Additionally, when a nonbinary source is introduced, reporters often include a phrase defining nonbinary. This may not be necessary, as nonbinary has entered more widespread use in recent years, especially in the U.S. and the U.K. Use judgment in determining whether an audience will be familiar with this term, and keep definitions concise (see nonbinary).
“Identifies as” just means “is”
Just as a journalist would not write identifies as a man or identifies as a woman about a cisgender person, journalists should not write identifies as nonbinary or identifies as trans about a nonbinary or transgender person. Simply state that someone is trans, is nonbinary, is a man or woman, etc., unless directly quoting a trans source.
Ask yourself these coverage questions during your reporting. Allow the answers to guide you.
1. Is gender important to this story? If not, are there places where I can remove unnecessary references or explanations? If so, have I checked with my sources to ensure accuracy?
2. Have I been clear in my writing about the topic I’m reporting? Have I avoided euphemisms to be as clear as possible?
3. As a matter of source diversity, have I spoken to trans people about topics other than those relating to their identities, discrimination, or health care?
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