Why Can't the 'Liberal Media' Get Chelsea Manning's Name and Pronouns Right?

Chelsea Manning is one of the most high-profile trans people in America. This is a fact, regardless of whether you agree with me that she did a heroic thing and then was tortured for it, or you disagree with me and are wrong.

Given the indictment and arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange today, however, we got another great reminder of just how bad the so-called “liberal media” is at reporting on trans people. Here’s the New York Times leading with Manning’s deadname.

The Times, which has a history of doing shoddy reporting on trans rights and the multitude of threats to them, has since changed the order in its web version of the story.

The Times wasn’t alone, however. Here’s NBC News’ Ken Dilanian misgendering her, repeatedly, in an appearance on MSNBC:

Not to be outdone, Fox News’ Greg Palkot deadnamed Manning multiple times while reporting on the Assange arrest this morning.

Given that Fox News’ editorial strategy revolves solely around pissing off the libs, it’s nothing out of the ordinary for them. But the Times? MSNBC? Trans people are not some high concept that the Times is catching up on. The very least the media could do is get Manning’s name and pronouns right.

The ironic part of all of this is that in its indictment of Assange, even the Trump Justice Department was able to get Manning’s name and pronouns right. If you’re struggling to catch up with William Barr, maybe it’s time to rethink your standards.