The Associated Press Stylebook has issued a new woke guide on how to cover transgender issues. The AP had already advised writers to use “...
The Associated Press Stylebook has issued a new woke guide on how to cover transgender issues.
The AP had already advised writers to use “they” as a singular pronoun back in 2017.
According to a report on Yahoo News, the AP guide instructs writers to use “unbiased language” and to “avoid false balance [by] giving a platform to unqualified claims or sources in the guise of balancing a story by including all views.”
“A person’s sex and gender are usually assigned at birth by parents or attendants and can turn out to be inaccurate,” the guide says. “Experts say gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting of only men and women, that can vary among societies and can change over time.”
The Associated Press says that writers should refer to those they write about by their “preferred gender identity” and avoid “deadnaming,” or the act of using someone’s birth name after they swap it for something to go with their new gender.
The AP also promoted the concept of giving minors gender alteration treatments including hormones and surgeries.
The report says, “in describing ‘gender-confirmation procedures’ and ‘gender-affirming care,’ the guide explains that ‘treatments can improve psychological well-being and reduce suicidal behavior.’ The guide cites that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health ‘recently lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition treatment, including ‘sex hormones’ and surgeries. It says hormones can be started at age 14 and some surgeries at 15 or 17.'”
“New guidance suggests that ‘pregnant women,’ ‘women seeking abortions,’ ‘pregnant people’ and ‘people seeking abortions’ are all permissible, and writers should ‘use judgment and decide what is most appropriate in a given story.’ The update specifically advises against ‘overly clinical language’ like ‘people with uteruses’ or ‘birthing people,'” according to the report.
AP continued to get political, writing “starting in 2020, conservative-leaning U.S. state legislatures began considering a wave of bills aimed at transgender youths. Many political observers assert that the legislation is being used to motivate voters by falsely framing children as under threat.”
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