The absurdity of the anti-trans snit by two Republican congresswomen that has forced a willing Speaker Mike Johnson to close public bathrooms in the Capitol to preserve gender beliefs is not even the cruelty, gracelessness or the cultural blindness inherent in the action.
It is that the Congress is choosing to spend its time and effort on bathrooms rather than on two wars, high prices, immigration issues or a variety of real problems.
The anti-trans tirades of Nancy Mace, R-SC, and Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG), R-Ga., protesting loudly that incoming Representative, Sarah McBride, D-Del., who is openly transgender, are silly and aimed at grabbing attention to promote their belief that born-a-man means masculinity for a lifetime that may include sexual re-orientation, treatments, habits and even surgery. In the same week that MTG was named head of a subcommittee to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on cutting two trillion bucks from the annual budget, she had time for bathroom “safety.”
Are we somehow safer as a nation for these two women to avoid running into McBride on their way to the nearest stall? Will it save government spending?
Judgment aside, this anti-trans belief springs from something other than Science, which increasingly is recognizing that even basic biology is more complex than what religion, tradition or a populous vote might decide. In any case, who we are can change over time, even in medical, psychological or other ways, including presumably traits associated with gender, particularly when they clash with societal norms.
What exactly do these two adult women fear is going to happen in a bathroom near the congressional floor or in a gym locker room that they share with other members of Congress? And if it is some kind of assault or serious level of embarrassment, why is it only in the bathroom? How about the hallway or the Rotunda or the Capitol steps?
Or why don’t these same two adult congresswomen see danger from their male colleagues whose behavior has prompted actual police investigation, ethics committee reviews or court trials concerning their sexual aggressiveness?
Politics’ Ugly Face
Once again, we’re led to conclude that this anti-trans blow-up is about political positioning rather than any real fear arising from a shared bathroom. Culture war issues seem to be playing well with the MAGA brand, and even beyond, where some Democrats are now calling for “new language” to account for anti-trans feelings evident in society.
When people ask me “Is the Country Going in the Wrong Direction?” it is these incidents that make me say yes. We’re encouraging more hate rather than understanding.
Speaker Johnson, who promotes his religious beliefs at every turn, cited a desire to protect individual dignity in his bathroom announcement — which affects every staff member and visitor to the Capitol as well as McBride — and reminded all that there are unisex bathrooms and personal bathrooms for each member of Congress. But his dignity claim was for the complainants, not for McBride.
Speaker Johnson issued a new rule with questionable force. It took zero creativity; hate never does. What if he instead convened a meeting with the three congressmen and asked them to work it out, or if he simply ordered all bathrooms unisex.
If it were me, I’d test the theory and use the bathroom nearest and see what kind of enforcement muscle Johnson wants to assign to this question. Greene said she would attack McBride if she were to appear in the bathroom, which should be worth a criminal review, as well as a reason for ouster. It’s a threat that doesn’t exactly fit the dignity model either … for members of the transgender community or otherwise.
What would Johnson say to a congressman who says he will not share a bathroom with a Black member or allow a Jewish fellow congressman into the gym with him?
But why stop at bathrooms if you think that transgender people are less-than-human interplanetary beings. What will Johnson say about seating the House chamber when Mace and Greene object to where McBride sits, or when she seeks to introduce a piece of legislation?
In the meantime, McBride can just wait until Mace or Greene rises to speak, and then go to pee without missing a moment of importance.
