🚫 Language matters

Published about 4 hours ago • 1 min read

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa messed up.

About a week ago, she released a campaign ad that ends with a riff on an old anti-trans joke, saying her pronouns are, "Mom, Texan, and soon to be: Governor."

It was meant to be a clap back at her opponent, Governor Greg Abbott, for calling her "Gender Bender Gina" and other insults related to her "liberal agenda."

But using the same framework as a transphobic pronoun joke isn't funny or clever. It's a dog whistle for jackasses who want to erase trans folks from public life.

When we repeat this kind of transphobic framing, even when poking fun, we're keeping it alive. Maybe even making it seem normal.

I know Hinojosa knows better. She has been a champion for trans youth, and her office is known as a safe space for families in the Texas Capitol.

I'm disappointed that no one on her campaign team realized that this ad would really piss off transgender Texans. Or worse, they did.

Democratic candidates need to stop throwing transgender folks under the bus to get votes or score political points. It would've been so much better if she had said, "My pronouns are she/her, and you're lookin' at the next Governor of Texas."

Or something like that. I'm clearly not an expert in crafting campaign language, but I do know that it's not OK use a transphobic joke to score points.

Language matters.

Mandy Giles (she/her)
Founder and CEO
Parents of Trans Youth

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