Longtime ABC News producer Dawn Stacey Ennis revealed that she is transgender on Wednesday in a story in an exclusive interview with the New York Post. Ennis said on her Facebook page:
"This is not a game of dress-up, or make-believe. It is my affirmation of who I now am and what I must do to be happy."
The Post reports that Ennis brought a cake to work on Friday, that co-workers left flowers on her desk, and that ABC News President Ben Sherwood wrote her a note of support. She said in a statement:
“I’m overwhelmed by the strong support I’ve received from my coworkers, and I’m looking forward to telling my story when I’m ready,”
Now, there is some shock value in this story, but it has nothing to do with Ennis or her gender identity; it has to do with the New York Post's respectful coverage of her transition and the support she's received.
There was a bit of an overemphasis on clothing and appearance, but no incorrect pronouns were used, there were no jokes made at Ennis' expense, and no anti-trans slurs in the headline - all things that have been hallmarks of the Post's transgender coverage in the past.
Earlier this year, the Post was denied press passes to the GLAAD Media Awards in New York City because it would not meet with GLAAD and members of the transgender community to discuss its pattern of dehumanizing coverage of the transgender community. But even though the Post refused to speak with us at the time, it appears that they may have gotten the message.