A woman attending a CNN town hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders corrected host Anderson Cooper on live television for misgendering her by using the pronoun “she” instead of “they.” The exchange quickly drew attention as it highlighted ongoing tensions around gender ideology and language in American public discourse.
The incident occurred Wednesday night when Cooper introduced civil rights attorney Grace Thomas as “she,” prompting an immediate correction. “They/them pronouns, actually, thank you,” Thomas said. She did not answer Cooper’s follow-up about whether she was a Democrat.
The town hall moment reflects growing pressure on media and public officials to adhere to preferred pronouns, even in spontaneous or informal settings. Despite CNN’s previous efforts to accommodate such requests—including an on-air apology from anchor Kate Bolduan in 2023 for misgendering internet personality Dylan Mulvaney—the network again found itself in the spotlight for failing to meet the evolving standards of gender activists.
Thomas’ demand comes as the federal government under President Donald Trump moves in the opposite direction. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order limiting the federal government’s recognition of gender to two sexes—male and female. A second order, signed February 5, prohibits biological men from participating in women’s sports, a decision widely supported by American voters.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt affirmed this position Wednesday, saying the administration will not entertain reporters who include pronouns in their email signatures. “If they can’t accept basic biology, they cannot be trusted to report objectively,” Leavitt said.
Polling data supports the administration’s stance. A January Pew Research poll found that 69% of teenagers and 65% of adults believe a person’s gender is determined by biological sex. A separate survey by the Purdue Policy Research Institute showed 65% of Americans believe there are only two genders. Additionally, 50% of teenagers and 54% of adults reported discomfort with gender-neutral pronouns.
Recent developments also reinforce the legal momentum toward protecting biological distinctions in sports. The U.S. Department of Education determined that Maine violated civil rights laws by permitting men to compete in women’s sports, resulting in revoked federal funding. A University of New Hampshire poll from March 31 showed most Maine residents support excluding men from women’s athletics.
The town hall exchange, while brief, underscores the growing cultural divide on gender identity. As government policy moves toward clarity and biological integrity, public institutions like media networks continue to navigate the demands of a vocal activist minority.
