I watched some of the five hour hearing.
Toward the end, a Republican woman named Lois Kolkhorst came on and made something she thought was a feminist argument for passing this law.
And if I never hear another woman argue this transphobic bullshit on some kind of fake feminist grounds I will be surprised.
It embarrasses me that somehow, women actually believe all the bigoted, transphobic legislators who are now somehow magically concerned about violence against women. And this woman, who apparently spoke to an undisclosed university professor, said she herself must be a radical feminist — because their views are the same.
It’s a sad day for Texas and a sad say for this country.
(& Every time someone mentions the men and women in the Bible, all I can think is: what about all the eunuchs? Do you guys actually read the actual Bible or what?!)
RE Lois: It’s confirmation bias and motivated reasoning. All of us suffer from it to some extent or another, but in her case, she’s buttressing her cultural beliefs, meaning the beliefs that she was enculturated to from her parents and society and it’s a load of bullshit. I can’t understand for the life of me how the actions of trans people vis a vis the bathroom issue (and many other issues regarding LGBT) infringe on her or anyone’s rights. What I think we have here is good old cognitive dissonance. How the world really is conflicts with the bullshit fairy tale some have been taught. That’s the short of it. Me peeing in a women’s restroom doesn’t infringe or violate anyone’s right. This is about them pushing back on progressive reforms because they can’t deal with the fact that what they’ve been taught to believe is wrong. Change is hard for some. I’d rather persuade and educate, but at some point the bulldozer will have to come out if this continues. I wonder why tech companies and other orgs/companies haven’t responded to this the way they did in NC? If they want this antediluvian BS, let them swallow the whole bitter pill of consequences.
Thanks for your post, Helen.
Just a quick note to say that SB#6 passing the Texas Senate is only the first step. It now goes to the House, where there is much more reason and a general desire to stop this silliness.
We still need to work hard, but it is a long way from law. Keep pressure on Texas. If you have friends and colleagues in Texas- have them contact their state representatives to tell them you oppose this legislation.
If you want to help financially, consider the Equality Texas foundation. They are doing hard work, on the ground, day and night.
https://www.equalitytexas.org/take-action/donate/donate/
Follow their work at https://www.facebook.com/EqualityTexas/
Thieir #transtuesday videos are amazing.
https://www.facebook.com/search/str/%2523TransTuesday/keywords_blended_videos
The Texas House State Affairs committee will be the first step. The members are:
Oliveira, Rene D Brownsville
Cook, Byron (CHAIR) R Corsicana
Giddings, Helen D DeSoto
Craddick, Tom R Midland
Farrar, Jessica D Houston
Geren, Charlie R Ft. Worth (west)
Guillen, Ryan R Rio Grande City
King, Ken R Panhandle/south Plains
Kuempel, John R Seguin
Meyer, Morgan R Dallas
Paddie, Chris R Marshall
Rodriguez, Eddie D Austin (east)
Smithee, John R Amarillo (south)