‘13 Reasons Why’ Star Tommy Dorfman Identifies Herself As A Transgender Woman

Topline

The actor Tommy Dorfman, best known for a role in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, announced Thursday she is transgender and will be using the pronouns she/her, but will be keeping her first name, making her the latest star to open up about undergoing a transition as states look to place more restrictions on trans people.

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 09: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been created in camera using a … [+] reflective surface and edited using digital filters) Tommy Dorfman attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/VF20/WireImage)

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Key Facts

Dorfman said she made the transition and had been “privately identifying and living” as a trans woman for a year, according to a report by Time.

Dorfman documented the change over a year on her Instagram account to be transparent with the world about what she was doing.

Unlike other stars who have transitioned and chosen to change their name, like Caitlyn Jenner and Elliot Page, Dorfman said she is keeping the name “Tommy” because she feels connected to it, having been given to her in honor of her uncle who passed away a month after she was born.

She said playing male characters no longer interests her and she will pursue female roles.

Crucial Quote

“I’m especially grateful to every single trans person who walked this path, broke down barriers, and risked their lives to live authentically and radically as themselves before me,” said Tommy Dorfman on an Instagram post.

Key Background

Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page announced last year that he is transgender, identifies as nonbinary and would no longer go by the name Ellen Page. Page said at the time, it felt “remarkable” to finally accept and love who he was. Many stars throughout the industry showed support for Page. Since then, Page has advocated for trans rights nationally, something Dorfman said she also wants to fight for.

Tangent

There has been a nationwide surge in state-level restrictions for trans people. On Wednesday, a federal judge blocked a law in Arkansas that prohibits doctors from performing gender transition procedures on minors or prescribing them mediation for transition. It also blocks insurance from covering any transition procedures on minors. States like Montana and Mississippi have also recently passed laws that state athletes can only compete on the teams that correspond with their gender at birth. West Virginia and Alabama both banned transgender women from competing on female sports teams.

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