About 79 percent of Americans oppose those observed male at birth from participating in women’s sports, according to a 2025 Washington Post/Ipsos poll. A 2023 Gallup poll found that even Democrats are evenly split, with only 48 percent supporting men in women’s sports.
The debate will continue to rage on. But when objective news sources write about transgender athletes, they shouldn’t take one side or the other. Yet almost all mainstream media outlets, including the Everett Herald, do take a side by using “her” when referring to people born male.
Instead, the media should use gender-agnostic terms, like “student,” “individual,” “athlete,” or “person” instead of the biased “she.” Or just use the person’s last name. Nothing prevents news organizations from using these neutral terms except a desire to promote a politically correct agenda.
Matthew Barry
Issaquah
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