The Washington Post is planning to eliminate its “gender columnist” position after the writer, Monica Hesse, penned a piece that was ultimately scrapped by the paper’s editors. According to sources, Hesse will be reassigned to either the Opinions section or remain in the Style section as a reporter.
Hesse, who made headlines in 2018 by becoming the Post’s first-ever “gender columnist,” has been a columnist for the paper’s Style section since then. Her columns have been praised for conveying the anger and dread felt by many Americans following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, for which she was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2023.
However, Hesse’s gender-based commentary has also raised eyebrows among conservative critics over the years. In 2022, she accused Florida’s parental rights legislation of being “homophobic and transphobic bills cloaked in neutral language.” She has also defended drag queens reading books to children, and accused critics of First Lady Jill Biden and Gisele Fetterman of “sexism” for allowing their spouses to seek office despite their mental impairments.
The move by The Post to eliminate its “gender columnist” position could be seen as an ideological pivot to the center as the liberal paper adjusts to the return of President-elect Donald Trump. The paper’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, has signaled his intention to make reforms and adjust the paper’s approach in the wake of the election.
It is unclear what Hesse had written in the column that was scrapped by editors, but sources describe the move as “sad and so unnecessary.”