In a striking turn of tone, former MSNBC host Joy Reid has publicly expressed discomfort with biological men using women’s locker rooms—an admission that sharply contrasts with her previously vocal support for progressive transgender policies.
During a recent episode of her Reid This Reid That podcast, co-hosted with journalist Jacque Reid, the conversation turned to a viral incident at a Gold’s Gym involving a black woman, Tish Hyman, and a biological male identifying as a transgender woman. According to Hyman, she was using the women’s locker room when a “grown man with a big penis” entered the space. After raising concerns, she was reportedly removed from the gym.
This anecdote prompted Joy Reid to speak candidly about her own discomfort in such scenarios—remarks that have since rippled across both political aisles.
“I’m alarmed enough when I see a woman with her dangling boobies,” Reid quipped, describing her experiences at the gym during her time at MSNBC, now rebranded as MS NOW. “If I saw a penis in the ladies’ locker room, I would freak out too.”
She emphasized that this wasn’t an attack on trans individuals, but a reflection of basic privacy expectations and personal boundaries. “This is nothing against trans-anybody,” Reid said. “But I would probably go to management.”
It’s a revealing moment from a media figure who has previously condemned Republican-led efforts to restrict access to gendered spaces or limit gender reassignment procedures for minors. Just last year, Reid accused conservatives of waging a “nationwide crusade against transgender people,” branding such policies as “dangerous and evil.” In December 2024, she went even further, likening opposition to pediatric gender surgeries to “Nazi Germany.”
Now, with this frank admission, Reid finds herself in a position she likely didn’t anticipate: voicing a sentiment that mirrors what many on the right—and an increasing number of moderates and feminists—have been arguing for years: that biology still matters when it comes to shared intimate spaces, and that discomfort in those spaces isn’t bigotry, but a deeply human response.
This is not the first time a progressive media figure has diverged from strict ideological orthodoxy once real-life scenarios tested abstract theories. But the candor and specificity of Reid’s remarks make them especially noteworthy. Here, she doesn’t hide behind sanitized language. She draws a clear line: there’s a difference between supporting trans rights and being expected to accept the presence of fully intact biological males in female-only locker rooms.
