How Trans-Skepticism Led NPR to Miss Important Context
NPR linked to a story about parents who were awarded split custody of a trans child. The problem? Subsequent developments in the case showed the anti-trans parent was abusive, and the affirming parent now has sole custody.
by Evan Urquhart
(this is a stock photo of a mother and daughter, not specifically the family in our article)
Today we stumbled across an unfortunate loss of context, in an article for NPR, by Guilia Heywood, about the dispute btw Dwyane Wade and his ex-wife over whether to allow their daughter, Zaya, to legally change her name and gender. The article overall is decent, but when it reaches for context about similar court cases it presents an incomplete (and subtly biased) picture.
This paragraph would have been entirely accurate, if it was still 2019. The article linked to, from CNN, is also accurate… as of the date published. However, it is now 2022, and subsequent developments in the case seem to completely vindicate the mother, who affirms her transgender daughter, over the child’s father, who does not. Anne Georgulas currently has sole custody of the daughter and her brother. Jeffrey Younger, the childrens’ father, is no longer allowed to see his children without supervision. From public statements covered in the right wing press, it seems clear he forced his daughter to wear boys’ clothing and cut her hair in a military style. This was eventually recognized as abusive by the court, and stopped, though not before the child had to undergo it for two years, because the judge was initially skeptical of a parent who affirmed her child.
This should not be taken as criticism of NPR, or their reporter. Part of the reporting on breaking news is pulling together context quickly, and inevitably there will be times when a reporter misses a subsequent development, even a crucial one which changes the story drastically. This is particularly likely when that subsequent development was barely covered by mainstream media outlets (Courthouse News’ David Lee is one hero in this story, for covering the final outcome of the custody case after CNN and others had apparently forgotten about it.)
The context IS important, though, which is why a project like ours is so important. In the case of Jeffrey Younger, the court erred in attributing too much good faith to a non-affirming parent, and subjected a young child to years of abuse before eventually correcting that error. NPR inadvertently amplified that bias. It’s just one small example of how bias in larger systems, from journalism to custody proceedings, harms trans people, and trans children.