Tommy Dorfman has come out as a trans woman.
On Thursday (July 22), Dorfman took to Instagram to announce the news regarding her gender identity. In the caption, she said, “Thrilled to reintroduce myself as the woman I am today. My pronouns are she/her.”
The 13 Reasons Why star opened up to Time magazine about her transition and what it means to her. In the interview, she revealed that she has been privately living as a trans woman for about a year. However, she doesn’t feel like she is coming out — she is reintroducing herself.
“It’s funny to think about coming out, because I haven’t gone anywhere. I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically,” she said.
Over the past year, Dorfman has posted regularly to her Instagram page. The interviewer, Torrey Peters, mentioned how the actress’ transition seemed evident just by looking at her photos. Peters asked what the difference is between announcing her transition versus being implicit.
Dorfman said, “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 recognize that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like? So I kept, on Instagram, a diaristic time capsule instead—one that shows a body living in a more fluid space. However, I’ve learned as a public-facing person that my refusal to clarify can strip me of the freedom to control my own narrative.”
The actress disclosed that she will be keeping her first name for personal reasons. “I’m not changing my name. I’m named after my mom’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 said.
Dorfman also shared some words of advice to those who want to advocate for the protection of LGBTQ+ youth. “I always suggest engaging on a personal level: personalize your activism and advocacy, find the organization closest to you that you can assist,” she continues. “Educate yourself as much as possible.”
Dorfman previously had fears about what would happen to her career if she publicly transitioned. She did not want to risk losing everything so early on. However, at this point, she is standing her ground. She is “no longer interested in playing ‘male’ characters—except for maybe in a ‘Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan’ way.”
Moving forward, Dorfman is excited to dive into film and television as a woman. She revealed that Lena Dunham gave her her first role as a woman in a project last year. She also hopes to present herself as someone that is “radically honest.” She concluded, “That’s the person I am becoming,”
LGBTQ+ media organization, GLAAD, reacted to Dorfman’s announcement earlier today. The Head of Talent, Anthony Allen Ramos, said this in a statement:
“Tommy Dorfman sharing that she’s a transgender woman will inspire so many trans young people and also reminds us that when it comes to queer identity there is not a specific timeline or roadmap to follow. Tommy received GLAAD’s Rising Star Award in 2017 for using her platform to draw attention to important issues affecting LGBTQ people, and she continues that work at a time when the trans community is facing attacks in states all over the country. Tommy is a talented artist, and we look forward to the stories that she will tell about the trans community.”
Check out an exclusive video on Tommy Dorfman’s photoshoot with Time below and let us know your thoughts by leaving a reaction or sending us a tweet @celebsecrets.
