From Truth Out: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18613-mainstream-media-fails-on-coverage-of-chelsea-mannings-transition
By Candice Bernd
Sunday, 08 September 2013
Chelsea Manning announced her gender transition a day after she was sentenced to serve 35 years at a military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Some mainstream publishing outlets tried their best to respect her gender identity by switching to her preferred name and pronoun, but many others continued to use her former name as well as masculine pronouns to identify her.
“I am Chelsea Manning. I am female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition,” she said Thursday.
The AP, The New York Times, NPR, the Chicago Tribune and TIME have switched to Manning’s preferred name and pronoun, albeit not without delays and some internal debate within their organizations. But almost all major television networks, including some sources interviewed on MSNBC, and the Washington Times, Politico and USA Today, among others, can’t seem to respect Manning’s fairly simple and clearly stated desire to be referred to in the feminine, consistent with her gender identity. The Washington Post claims to be reviewing its style guidelines, but the organization continues to refer to Manning using masculine pronouns.
Mara Keisling is the executive director at the National Center for Transgender Equality. The center works to educate members of the news media on how to cover issues related to transgender subjects and sources, among other issues. “We haven’t heard anybody talk about Edward Snowden’s gender identity or Edward Snowden’s sexual orientation because they’re not relevant, and we want the media to understand that it’s not relevant with Chelsea Manning either, except as a stand-alone story about somebody transitioning,” she told Truthout.
Some publishers and media outlets, including CNN, and initially NPR before reversing its decision, have stated that they wouldn’t respect Manning’s preferred name and pronoun until she begins hormone replacement therapy or undergoes gender confirmation surgery – a vital treatment she may never receive as the military prison at Fort Leavenworth has denied her request officially, a move the American Civil Liberties Union has said could violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.
The most current version of the AP stylebook informs journalists they should “use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.” [Emphasis added.]
Continue reading at: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18613-mainstream-media-fails-on-coverage-of-chelsea-mannings-transition
