Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has earned praise for her response to a question on trans rights during a town hall hosted by the progressive campus group More Perfect University.
At the organization’s Students vs. Billionaires town hall in Maine on Thursday, a trans student from the University of Southern Maine asked for Ocasio-Cortez’s response to the fact that “a lot of trans people in America feel that we have been abandoned by the Democratic Party, that we are a losing issue, that it’s not worth defending us.”
The woman was referring to the fact that many trans advocates feel some Democrats have missed the mark on trans issues, or in some cases have actively made decisions that hurt the trans community in an attempt to defend themselves against Republican attacks. Since the 2024 election, Democrats have disagreed on the effect of the GOP’s anti-trans ads, with some suggesting the need to throw trans people under the bus in order to win future elections.
Without hesitation, Ocasio-Cortez responded, “They’re wrong.”
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I think a reasonable argument for people to use is that they care about trans rights at this point in time because they are under threat, but what they actually care about is everybody’s human rights. Start from empathy, respect, and dignity, then look for what supports that.
People shouldn’t need to grovel for medical care, they should be able to access it. People shouldn’t have to jump through hoops for gender affirming care, cis men with erectile dysfunction should be able to access medical support. People shouldn’t have to prove their mental health is impacted to modify their body, women should be able to get whatever tattoos or piercings they like. It doesn’t matter who you are, you should be able to access reasonable levels of care and support from the society you are a part of.
Right now trans people are the most under threat, but at some point that will be a historical fact and a different group will the current target, at which point they become the focus of defence and support. Ideally being trans would be like getting tattoos, something that is your business, nobody else’s, and something people feel impolite for asking too much about.