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A transgender candidate takes on Virginia’s ‘minister of private parts’
From the Washington Post by Petula Dvorak:
Read the full article here…
Danica Roem has made history, becoming the first openly transgender candidate to win a state primary in Virginia. Now, the Democratic nominee is trying to unseat her polar opposite in the 13th District: 25-year incumbent Del. Robert G. Marshall[attachment=213]House_Race_Transgender_Candidate_53781-47d0c-0338.jpg[/attachment]
And she believes she can win exactly because she has little interest in talking about sex, body parts or gender identity — the meat and potatoes of Marshall’s public life.In a rapidly developing part of the state that desperately needs a traffic czar, Marshall instead styles himself as Virginia’s self-appointed “Minister of Private Parts.”
Quote:He belongs to the party of small government, yet his legislative record is all about people’s sexual and reproductive behavior. Over the course of his career, he has questioned the intelligence of women who use long-term contraception, argued that some incest is voluntary, pushed for women to be legally required to have transvaginal ultrasounds before abortions, suggested that children born with disabilities are the punishment for women who have had abortions, worried that U.S. troops would catch sexually transmitted diseases if they had to serve alongside gay men and women, called for transgender service members to be kicked out of the military and authored a vicious transgender bathroom bill that would allow the government to dictate where someone can pee.And here comes his opponent in a district that backed Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election: a transgender woman who sings in a metal band, has a boyfriend and doesn’t make it a point to talk about any of it.
Quote:“Traffic. Jobs. Schools, in that order,” Roem said about her platform and her issues. “And equality.”“Of course. I put equality on there because,” and she gestured along the length of her royal blue sheath dress, “this race will be different.”
She doesn’t shy away from her identity. The scarf she wears when she canvasses is a big, fat pride rainbow. The story of her transition and medical treatments is on her Web page.
But, unlike her opponent, she doesn’t think Manassas residents stay awake at night worrying about which bathroom she should use.
“Is anyone talking about the transgender ban?” Roem asked one of her organizers, Brad Chester.
“Not really,” Chester said. “Maybe one person. Power lines, people really wanted to talk about power lines.”And she headed out for another round of discussion about traffic, schools, property values, jobs.
The transgender thing didn’t come up. Because, really, who cares?
(Almost no one.)
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2 Replies
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I think a lot of what is coming out of the US political system at the moment is the modern equivalent of the Roman concept of ‘bread and circuses’ – that is, distractions so that people don’t notice or pay less attention to what the Administration is really doing.
Danica, and any who follow her example, will help to get people focusing on the real issues that affect their lives, something all of the USA needs to do. Decreeing who can use what toilet will never solve their economic ills.
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Three cheers for Danica!!! Another pointy chisel to chip away at old conservative values
