A Dr. Phil guest who described themself as a “non-binary birthing person” told the host that giving birth did not make them a “mother.”
“I do not identify as a mother,” the guest, identified as Danny, told host Phil McGraw, 72, on Wednesday’s episode while describing the “spiritual experience” of giving birth.
Danny’s statement cropped up during a discussion on the show regarding whether efforts to include trans and non-binary people have excluded women.
As an example, Dr. Phil brought up how trans-inclusive terminology such as “persons with uteruses,” and “birthing persons” are increasingly replacing the term “women.”
This sparked a debate among guests on the show with women’s activist Kara Dansky claiming that the movement diminishes the idea of womanhood and female accomplishments through history.
She claimed that women had to fight “for hundreds of years in this country” because they’d been excluded from every arena from politics to schooling solely on the “basis of sex.”
“Many of us who support those movements are not about to turn around and pretend that sex is not a meaningful, legal and physical category,” Dansky declared.
However, a fellow guest, HIV and trans activist Chandi Moore, argued that trans women who identified as women would only help, rather than hurt, the women’s movement.
“So, why not have another group of women join your fight … more force in numbers?” Moore inquired.
That’s when Danny offered a third perspective.
“For those of you who don’t know, I gave birth to my child 20 months ago at home,” they said. “I did it as a non-binary person, not as a woman, just to be very clear.”
Despite Danny’s preferred terminology, the parent claimed that their goal was not “to erase women,” but claimed that there was a difference between “inclusion” and “division.”
“I use ‘birthing person.’ I am not a woman,” they insisted. “I know many women who have given birth who don’t identify as mothers because there’s a difference between the two.”
In 2020, a Los Angeles-based transgender man who gave birth criticized hospital staff who insisted on calling him a “mom” instead of “dad.”
He reportedly began transitioning in 2014, a process which included getting a $5,000 top surgery.
Danny claimed that non-binary child-bearers are grossly underrepresented, lamenting the lack of “language,” “books” and “podcasts,” on the subject.
“When I was pregnant, I had very little support outside of my community as a birthing person because of the lack of inclusive language,” Danny declared. “Inclusive language isn’t just about language. It’s about opening doors. It’s about safety. It’s about creating space for others.”
The parent ultimately declared that they “don’t want to push women out.”
“We want to join you in your fight because we know what it feels like to be erased every single day,” claimed Danny. “And I would not wish that upon anybody.”
Trans-inclusive terminology has become a contentious topic of late with many accusing the movement of being anti-feminist.
“The Young Turks” co-host Ana Kasparian faced backlash in trans circles after calling the vernacular “degrading” to women in a viral Tweet last month.
“I’m a woman. Please don’t ever refer to me as a person with a uterus, birthing person, or person who menstruates,” she fumed. “How do people not realize how degrading this is? You can support the transgender community without doing this s–t.”
She doubled down on her stance earlier this week in response to critics who labelled her “right wing.”
“[Laughing out loud]! The meltdowns over wanting be referred to as a woman rather than a ‘birthing person’ is pretty wild,” Kasparian wrote in a follow-up tweet. “I’ll never apologize for that, especially as a biological woman who has had a f–king lifetime of being told I’m less than.”