The press keeps mislabeling biological males who identify as trans, even in cases involving violent threats and court rulings, and that practice is fueling confusion and erasing women’s realities.

The Supreme Court recently affirmed states’ authority to separate sports by biological sex in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., and that ruling landed the debate where it belongs: on sex, not identity. At the same time a string of troubling incidents — including an arrest in Las Vegas and alarming social media posts from a political staffer — has put a spotlight on violent potential tied to some trans-identifying men. Those stories and rulings are facts reporters can state without bending language around identity politics.

Authorities arrested Allison Howlett in Las Vegas with an arsenal of weapons after alleged plans to attack a casino, and Howlett now faces felony charges. In Wisconsin, Teha Delaruelle, a staffer for a Democratic congressional candidate, posted calls for a “trans jihad” and urged followers to “kill your local Republican.” Both cases deserve straightforward reporting that calls people what they are, not what some outlets prefer to call them.

In Texas, members of Antifa were convicted for a terroristic ambush outside an ICE facility, with the first group receiving a combined 450 years behind bars and the second group getting sentences ranging from 22 months to 50 years. Violent actors span political labels, but the recent pattern of labeling male offenders as “women” distorts public understanding. Journalists owe readers clarity, especially when public safety is involved.

There’s a common thread: some of these suspects are described in reporting as transgender, yet many outlets insist on feminine labels for men. That choice is not neutral; it erases biological sex and skews how readers perceive threats and policy outcomes. Stop that.

The coverage around the Supreme Court decisions followed the same habit, describing men now barred from competing unfairly against women as women themselves. Too often coverage treats the question of sex as a matter of opinion rather than biological reality, even when rulings hinge on that reality. Many of these men show underlying mental-health struggles or animus toward women, and reducing the issue to pronouns misses the point.

The Telegraph ran a story calling a man who was forced out of a nude women’s event a “trans woman.” Pay very close attention to the wording in this article (emphasis added):

A trans woman was forcibly removed from a female-only nudist lido by police after refusing to leave.

They were ejected from the “Paradiesli” nude section of the Marzili lido in Bern on Sunday after complaints from other swimmers that they did not appear biologically female.

https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2072433689129095231

After two female swimmers said they felt harassed by the presence of the bather, some visitors began challenging the trans woman’s presence at the popular swimming spot and asking them to leave.

Others supported the trans woman, prompting some swimmers to report the incident to the private security service.

Staff called the police after failing to de-escalate the situation.

When police arrived, the bather was pushed to the ground with “rough physical force”, handcuffed and taken away, supporters said.

At a nudist lido, it’s reasonable to note why swimmers complained: physical anatomy matters in a space where bodies are exposed. But many outlets dodge that point with evasive language and endless qualifiers. That kind of reporting protects ideology over straightforward description.

Coverage of the Las Vegas arrest shows the same habit, with multiple stories referring to Howlett as “she” and “her” despite male anatomy and the criminal charges he faces. The report of Howlett’s arrest included detailed quotes attributed to the suspect; that wording is worth preserving exactly as published:

Howlett denied wrongdoing when interviewed by police, telling investigators that users of the online communication platform Discord were trying to get her in trouble by making up threats that she was going to commit a mass shooting, according to her arrest report.

“Allison denied wanting to hurt anyone and denied making any prior threats to commit a mass shooting,” the report said. “Allison stated that everyone is out to get her and are setting her up.”

Howlett, 36, appeared by video Wednesday in Henderson Justice Court. She waived the reading of her criminal complaint and told Justice of the Peace Barbara Schifalacqua she understood the charges against her.

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ)

These individuals are not women in the biological sense. No amount of hormones, surgeons, or declarations changes that basic fact. Insisting otherwise when reporting on criminal acts or safety-sensitive scenarios misleads readers and erases women’s lived experiences.

Women are already expected to cede athletic opportunities, locker rooms, and privacy in order to accommodate ideology-driven policies, and the media’s language choices deepen that sacrifice. When outlets routinely mislabel men as women, they also shift blame and muddy accountability for violent actions carried out by males.

If the press can’t stick to clear, verifiable facts about sex, then readers have to wonder what else is being shaped by ideology instead of evidence. That erosion of trust is the result, not the cause, of sloppy or politicized reporting.