Remember that segment I did about my position on preferred pronouns last summer? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and especially today after my conversation with detransitioner Isabelle Ayala and her attorney Jordan Campbell.
Isabelle shared that she started cross-sex hormones at 14 years old. Even though she stopped treatment, she said she knows she’ll never be the same. Her bone structure is compromised. She is experiencing vaginal atrophy and irregular periods. She is not sure if she is going to be able to have children.
I’ve been thinking about the first part of my pronouns segment (you can watch the entire clip below), where I acknowledged the coverage I gave this topic when I was at NBC. In 2018, I hosted shows on trans people, including ‘trans kids.’ I led the audience in cheering for them, encouraging them to own who they are.
I used approved terms like ‘gender affirming care’ for medicinal gender manipulations, ‘cis’ to refer to natural born women and men, ‘assigned male at birth’ instead of ‘born male.’ I smiled and listened politely as a guest told me “gender is just a social construct.” I wanted to be supportive of those who were suffering. I would use this more evolved language. I didn’t see the harm.