Thank you cynmac, Sandra, Lizzy B, Leanne Neace, Oray, and many others for tuning into my Substack Live, with Evan Stern, as we continued our series on debunking fascist propaganda. Today, Evan and I spoke about two different examples of transphobia that have surfaced in the last week:
* Parker Molloy reported on a highly publicized manufactured University of Oklahoma “controversy.”
White Christian nationalists appear to have orchestrated and monetized yet another attack on transgender educators, this time coming out of Oklahoma University. The student in question received a failing grade for not following an assignment prompt and, instead, eschewed academic source material and used her paper to refer to trans people, writ large, as “demonic.” After receiving a failing grade, the student threw herself into the arms of a well-oiled, well-monied white Christian nationalist outrage machine. The result? The student is awash in cash and coercive support while the transgender instructor (herself/themself a graduate student) was put on administrative leave simply for doing her/their job.
* Erin Reed Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego doubling down on misogynistic and homophobic text messages.
Democratic Senator Rubin Gallego was caught in a transphobic, and all-around creepy gender-policing text exchange with another Republican. After the text exchange was leaked, instead of reflecting on the impact of his words on marginalized communities (trans people, women, and gender-nonconforming people of all genders), Gallego doubled down and claimed his cruelty toward gender-expansive identities was a matter of him widening the tent and being “inclusive.” Top-shelf gaslighting.
With each of these examples, Evan Stern and I dig into facts and the feelings as a way to model for listeners how they might see through the gaslight and challenge manipulative propaganda, with a sense of emotional groundedness that helps people hold their center. I hope you’ll dig in.
Calls to Action: Stand Up for Your Trans Neighbors
* Contact Senator Ruben Gallego (202-224-4521) and share with him how you feel about his gender policing of his colleagues and his willingness to throw a vulnerable group under the bus for the sake of political expediency.
* Contact Oklahoma University’s Board of Regents (contact info below), and their university president (405-325-3916), and demand they reinstate graduate student Mel Curth. But don’t stop there. If you’re an academic, reach out to the psychology department at your university and see about offering Mel Curth an opportunity to transfer her/their graduate assistantship to another institution. We need to be loud and clear here: our transgender neighbors are not disposable, and transgender educators are valued for the gifts they bring to their communities. [OU Board of Regents below:]
Anita L. Hollowayregentholloway@ou.edu
Rick Nagelregentnagel@ou.edu
Eric Stevensonregentstevenson@ou.edu
Robert J. Rossregentross@ou.edu
John R. Braughtregentbraught@ou.edu
Kenneth S. Waitsregentwaits@ou.edu
G. Rainey Williams, Jr.regentwilliams@ou.edu
* Subscribe to transgender journalists like Erin Reed, Parker Molloy, Lexi McMenamin, and a holy host of other transgender content creators on Substack (and elsewhere) so that actual transgender people have the opportunity to speak for themselves and give voice to the brilliant, varied experience in the trans community.
Evan Stern and I will continue debunking propaganda with our heads and our hearts. Please weigh in and let us know which lies and misinformation you would like to see addressed in our next show:
