New York Times accused of ‘editorial bias’ in coverage of transgender issues

A host of New York Times contributors accused the newspaper of “editorial bias” in its coverage of transgender and non-binary people — even in stories that ask if schools should keep parents in the dark about their children’s gender choices.

An open letter signed by nearly 200 contributors and advocates accused the Gray Lady of stoking fears by treating “gender diversity with an eerily familiar mix of pseudoscience and euphemistic, charged language while publishing reporting on trans children that omits relevant information about its sources” in recent years.

Signatories of the letter addressed to Philip B. Corbett, associate managing editor for standards, include prominent Times journalists and occasional contributors like actors Lena Dunham and Cynthia Nixon, journalists from other publications whose articles have been featured in the paper and celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Judd Apatow and Jameela Jamil.

The letter specifically calls out  Emily Bazelon’s June 2022 NYT Magazine article “The Battle Over Gender Therapy” for referring to a child’s secret gender-affirming care as “patient zero” and for quoting expert sources it says “have since expressed regret over their work’s misrepresentation.”

The letter also mentions a feature piece published last month by Katie Baker titled “When Students Change Gender Identity and Parents Don’t Know,” which discusses legal challenges faced by schools when students change their identity without their parents’ knowledge.

Signers claim that the article does not make clear that court cases brought against schools are part of a larger strategy from anti-trans groups who have called trans people “an existential threat to society.”

The Times’ coverage has had damaging effects on the trans community across the country, the letter states, as its articles have been cited by state officials and lawmakers in their efforts to pass anti-trans legislation.

A coordinated but separate statement addressed to the Times signed by more than 130 of the nation’s most prominent LQBTQ activist organizations also called out the newspaper for its “irresponsible, biased coverage of transgender people” over the past year.

“Article after article, page after page, day after day, we have tried to educate you and your colleagues. We have sent emails, made calls, tried to help reporters source stories, and in one case, after more than four months of trying, some of us were even able to sit down and talk with you. It is clear that our behind-the-scenes outreach has had zero impact. What has had impact, however, is your irresponsible coverage.”

The letter, which was hand-delivered to the paper’s Manhattan office by members of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation [GLAAD] makes three demands of the paper:

1.  Stop printing biased anti-trans stories. 

2. Hold a meeting and listen to members of the transgender community

3. Hire at least four transgender writers and editors within the next three months.

The Times defended its stories and said they were reported “deeply and empathetically.”

“Our journalism strives to explore, interrogate and reflect the experiences, ideas and debates in society — to help readers understand them. Our reporting did exactly that and we’re proud of it,” spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander told NPR.