Then, a Retraction and an Apology

I removed the blog post I wrote yesterday. Upon reflection, I confess that I was too harsh and judgmental towards the subject of a story that appeared in the New York Post. 

The story was about Don Ennis, a former ABC News assignment editor who came out as transgender and changed his name to Dawn, then later experienced memory loss and began presenting as male again. 

My criticism and skepticism were justified, and the story seemed too fantastic. But as others have pointed out, we don’t know all the details, and more importantly, we don’t know the person and what they are going through. I have often said that each person’s story is their own and have advocated for understanding because unless we have walked in someone’s shoes, we cannot possibly claim to know what motivates them and their life.

This is my apology for having jumped to conclusions.

I forgot the pain I’ve seen in the three persons I know who have “detranstitioned” and returned to their previous gender expression. One did so because the person she loved made it a condition of the relationship, another because all attempts to embody their true identity were going to be impossible, given their very masculine body, and the other could not live with the rejection. These friends have struggled with depression ever since, and I worry about them. I should have extended the same level of compassion to Dawn Ennis.

The fact that some trans persons find transition impossible to complete actually says more about society’s intolerance than it does about the trans person’s character.

Postscript: A year later, in 2014, she came out as Dawn again and resumed presenting as a female.

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Excellent Followup to the Don Ennis Story: