13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman comes out as transgender
- Published
13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman has announced she is transgender.
The actress played male character Ryan Shaver, and confirmed on Instagram her pronouns are now "she/her".
The 29-year-old wrote that she was "thrilled to reintroduce myself as the woman I am today".
"I'm especially grateful to every single trans person who walked this path, broke down barriers, and risked their lives to live authentically," she added.
In an interview with Time magazine, external, Tommy said for the last year she has been "privately identifying and living as a woman - a trans woman".
She also said she would not be changing her name.
"I'm named after my mum's brother who passed a month after I was born, and I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying."
"This is an evolution of Tommy. I'm becoming more Tommy," she added.
Allow Instagram content?
This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Tommy has been showing the changes in her style and appearance for months on Instagram, and said she needed to publicly address her gender identity to maintain control of her own narrative.
"I've been living in this other version of coming out where I don't feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it. But I recognise that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like?" she said.
"With this medical transition, there has been discourse about my body, and it began to feel overwhelming."
Allow Instagram content?
This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Tommy said coming out was "always viewed as this grand reveal", but that "she was never not out".
"I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically."
'Excited to play women'
Tommy added it was "impossible to separate my personal and professional transition".
She was given her first role as a woman in Lena Dunham's upcoming film Sharp Stick, which she calls "exciting and validating".
"I'm thinking about how I can infuse my trans body into film and television", she said.
"Thank you to all the trans woman that showed me who I am, how to live, celebrate myself, and take up space in this world," she added on Instagram.
Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, external, Facebook, external, Twitter, external and YouTube, external.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Related Topics
- Published19 May 2021
- Published23 March 2021
- Published2 February 2022
- Published1 December 2020
