The Washington Post plans to eliminate its “gender columnist” position after the paper wrote an article that was ultimately scrapped by the paper's editors, Fox News Digital has learned.
Monica Hesse, who made headlines in 2018 when she became the Post's first ever “gender columnist,” is unlikely to hold that title for long after writing a column on gender that was “erased” by her editor. Probably not, two sources told FOX News Digital. It is unclear what Hesse wrote in his column or what his editors objected to.
Mr. Hesse is currently a columnist in the newspaper's Style column, but could be reassigned to the opinion column or remain in the style column as a reporter, the people added.
“It's sad and it's so unnecessary,” one source told Fox News Digital.
Neither Hesse nor the Washington Post responded to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
The Washington Post is in “chaos'' as cartoonist quits and staff leave
Monica Hesse will be reappointed as the paper's “gender columnist” after an article she wrote was killed by the Washington Post's editors. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images; Dan Zak/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Mr. Hesse joined the Post in 2007 as an intern on the style team, then became a general feature reporter and established himself as the paper's “gender columnist.” In 2023, she Pulitzer Prize finalist “Convey'' in her column[ing] That's the anger and fear many Americans felt about losing their abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. ”
2024: From the Washington Post to CBS News, it was the year of rebellion in liberal newsrooms.
Her gender-based commentary has long raised eyebrows even among conservative critics. In 2022, Hesse denounced Florida's parental rights bill, which would ban progressive gender ideology from the classroom, as a “homophobic and transphobic bill cloaked in neutral language.”
Another article defended drag queens reading to children, saying, “Drag queens aren't sexualizing drag story time.”
Washington Post gender columnist Monica Hesse has a history of raising eyebrows among conservative critics. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
In 2023, the state of Hesse accused critics of allowing the spouses of First Lady Jill Biden and First Lady Gisele Fetterman to hold public office despite their mental disabilities as “sexist.” denounced.
“Attacking people who are sick or elderly simply because they are sick or elderly, even by experts who have the moral flexibility to circumvent the barricades of decency, is a violation of our culture (at least for now). “It's beyond common sense,” Hesse wrote at the time. “But by placing the blame on wives, these commentators are able to plausibly deny accusations of ableism while spreading a damaging message against the president and senators.Commentators I'm not throwing mud at these poor men, they're just scolding them. Women should know better. That's a bit sexist and a compliment. It’s discrimination.”
WAPO staff unsure if paper can be recovered as Bezos-owned retailer loses 250,000 subscribers after disqualifying supporter
During the 2024 campaign, Hesse defended Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, who, while governor of Minnesota, kept tampons in the boys' bathroom at school.
“The boy who casually says, “Did you get your period? I hid the pads I used in the bathroom in my backpack in case my friends needed them,'' will become a king stud. “I would be drowning in invitations,'' she wrote to X.
The Washington Post's billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, had previously hinted at the paper's pivot to centrist positions while defending his decision to end his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. (SAUL LOEB/AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Post's move to abolish its “gender columnist” position could be seen as an ideological shift toward centrism as the liberal newspaper adjusts to the return of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Post's billionaire Jeff Bezos, who withdrew the paper's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris just days before the election, hinted at reform in an op-ed defending the decision.
“Most people believe the media is biased. Anyone who doesn't watch this is paying little attention to reality, and those who fight reality lose,” Bezos wrote in October. . “Reality is the undefeated champion. It's easy to blame others for the long-lasting decline in trust (and therefore influence), but victimhood is unhelpful. Complaining is not a strategy. No. We have to try harder to increase our credibility by controlling what we can control. ”
