Tommy Dorfman: 13 Reasons Why star reintroduces herself as a trans woman

‘I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy’

Tommy Dorfman during her interview with Time (TIME)

Tommy Dorfman, one of the stars of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, has reintroduced herself as a trans woman.

In a Time interview with author Torrey Peters, whose debut novel Detransition, Baby came out earlier this year to widespread acclaim, Dorfman stated: “We’re talking today to discuss my gender. For a year now, I have been privately identifying and living as a woman – a trans woman.”

When Peters asked “Would you say that you are coming out?”, Dorfman replied: “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.

“Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.”

For the past few months, Dorfman had documented changes in her style and appearance on her Instagram account, but hadn’t discussed her identity as a trans woman publicly.

Dorfman told Peters that “as a public-facing person that my refusal to clarify can strip me of the freedom to control my own narrative”, and that was what prompted her to look into doing a more formal announcement.

She portrayed Ryan Shaver in the first two seasons of 13 Reasons Why, and as a guest on season four of the show.

Dorfman has also appeared in Jane the Virgin, Fluidity, and in the Freeform miniseries Love in the Time of Corona.

She dedicated an Instagram post to the Time interview, writing 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 and radically as themselves before me,” she added.

“Thank you to all the trans women that showed me who I am, how to live, celebrate myself, and take up space in this world.”