Etymological LGBT history.


Rep. Alan Grayson

Rep. Alan Grayson

Rep. Alan Grayson has made etymological LGBT history.

The Florida Democrat reportedly became the first politician to say “cisgender” in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Grayson employed the term, which describes nontransgender people, in a scathing denouncement of the “Republicans, bigots in North Carolina” who support House Bill 2 […] In a wide-ranging, nearly 13-minute speech, Grayson, who is hoping to oust Republican Marco Rubio as a U.S. senator from Florida, cited trans pioneer Christine Jorgensen, #WeJustNeedToPee social media posts, infamous “wide stance” bathroom toe-tapper Larry Craig, and even the gender wage gap as among the reasons to be outraged at these so-called bathroom bills.

“You’re going to force people who look like men, act like men, [and are men, Rep. Grayson] you’re going to force them into a ladies room. My God, what’s wrong with you?” Grayson said.

I’d really like an answer to that question too. The Advocate has the story, and video.

Comments

  1. blf says

    “You’re going to force people who look like men, act like men, {and are men, Rep. Grayson} you’re going to force them into a ladies room […].”

    I suspect Rep Grayson knows that such individuals are men. However, had he said that in the speech, that is what would have jumped on by the kooks & bigots, not the point he was trying to make. That is, I suspect the representative was trying to illustrate one of the many absurdities in the “law”, and is experienced enough to not provide an obvious target which could derail the discussion / point being made.

    I suppose this could be considered goalpost-moving: Changing the discussion from the bigotry of the law to the absurdity of the law. When done well, this can be quite powerful; e.g., one can argue this is what Dr King did in his famous “I have a Dream” speech, moved the discussion from the bigotry of the jim crow laws to the exceptional unfairness and waste-of-potential caused by those laws.

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