As Twitchy reported Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley was accused of transphobia and even encouraging violence against transgender people by asking UC Berkeley law professor Khiara Bridges if by “people with a capacity for pregnancy” she meant “women.”
UC Berkeley Professor Khiara Bridges called Senator Josh Hawley 'transphobic' for saying he believed men cannot get pregnant.
Imagine paying $44,066 + room and board to be taught this nonsensical fake science. pic.twitter.com/7mI8DKdCXR
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) July 12, 2022
Steven Porter, who’s an assistant editor for USA Today’s opinion page had a lengthy opinion on the exchange, calling Hawley’s question “literally transphobic.”
Don’t feign ignorance about Sen. Josh Hawley’s “questions.” He was making a statement. His claim? That trans men & nonbinary people who can get pregnant are ~actually~ women. He’s asserting that their reproductive organs define their gender.
That’s literally ✨transphobic✨.
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
Imagine if Hawley were to ask me, “Don’t you think you & your husband are just confused straight men?”
His “question” would clearly be ✨homophobic✨.
(If you claim someone is delusional for embracing an LGBTQ identifier, you’re being some kind of -phobic.)
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
Hawley can choose to make transphobic comments. (Clearly he derives some inhumane political benefit in doing so.) When he does – such as claiming trans men are delusional women – the non-simpletons among us can & should confidently say that qualifies as transphobia.
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
Maybe you’re sympathetic to Hawley’s message & bristle at the “transphobic” label. Then show us what you think it means to treat transgender people with kindness, dignity & respect. Show us trans people are your neighbors/constituents, not your wedge issue.
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
Maybe you object to the “orthodoxy” of trans-inclusive language. Then show us how to speak thoughtfully about reproductive health care for people who have the capacity to get pregnant & don’t identify as women. Show us a better way.
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
Empathy preempts erasure.
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
I’m not here to tell Hawley what to say. I’m not his speech writer. (That sounds like an awful gig.) But I’m also not here to pretend there’s any subtlety in his messaging. He and others are whipping up transphobic rancor for political gain.
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
And, yes, political rhetoric influences policies and norms that affect the especially high rates of violence trans people face: https://t.co/hmo6AbUMd5
— Steven Porter (@reporterporter) July 13, 2022
Yikes dude.
But thank you for revealing publicly that you’re incapable of doing your job. It’s important for people to see how malformed the gatekeepers of journalism have become if they’re ever to understand how and why it has been weaponized against them.
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) July 13, 2022
Only women can get pregnant
That’s science
— The H2 (@TheH2) July 13, 2022
He was clearly referring to sex, male or female, not gender identity however you defined that
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) July 13, 2022
That's science
— Rob Eno (@Robeno) July 13, 2022
This is an amazing ratio, it was unexpected when I started reading the comments but here you are with an enormous thread that nobody agrees with. Hawley is right, there are actual biologists replying to let you know that. Also he’s not a transphobe by definition either.
— Shano (@Cheen_0) July 13, 2022
I just saw the professor testifying in the Senate and would like to clarify once again.
I’ve been practicing medicine my entire career.
I am a men’s health expert, a urologist to be exact.
I work in “that area” & there is NO WAY that a man can get pregnant or deliver a child.
— Dr. David Samadi (@drdavidsamadi) July 12, 2022
It is insane this even needs to clarified.
— Just another mom (@Alina21652099) July 12, 2022
That's literally ✨️science✨️
— Dead Weasel (@DeadWeasel1200) July 13, 2022
LOL. No, Hawley’s comment was nothing of the sort, but your comment is insanity on full display.
— Dwayne Stovall (@DwayneStovall) July 13, 2022
If the truth hurts, prepare for pain.
— Stefano Monteforte (@bigwop) July 13, 2022
So, this guy is partially responsible for what ends up on USA Today’s opinion pages? That’s a shocker.
Related:
INSANITY: Sen. Hawley DRAGS pro-abort witness who called him ‘transphobic’ for suggesting only women can get pregnant (watch)https://t.co/aojPNxNJK4
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 12, 2022
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