Mike Huckabee Says He Would Have Pretended to Be Trans to Shower With Girls in School
By Mark Joseph Stern
Mike Huckabee speaks at the Point of Grace Church in Waukee, Iowa, on April 25, 2015.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
The trans movement is at an interesting crossroads in the United States right now. On the one hand, a high-profile figure like Caitlyn Jenner can come out on the cover of a national magazine and receive plaudits for her courage from liberals and centrists. On the other hand, a perpetual Republican presidential candidate like Mike Huckabee can use trans people as a political piñata, ridiculing them as freaks and predators. The right-wing outlet WND recently dug up one of Huckabee’s most galling anti-trans obloquies, delivered during a speech at the 2015 National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Speaking about civil rights ordinances that protect trans people from discrimination, Huckabee said:
[These] ordinances [say] if your 7-year-old daughter—if she goes into the restroom—cannot be offended and you can’t be offended if she’s greeted there by a 42-year-old man who feels more like a woman than he does a man.
Now I wish that someone told me that when I was in high school that I could have felt like a woman when it came time to take showers in PE. I’m pretty sure that I would have found my feminine side and said, “Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today.”
Huckabee has long enjoyed bashing gay people and marriage equality, but this disgusting joke suggests the former Arkansas governor has lately discovered the joys of ridiculing trans people—who already face a stunning amount of discrimination and harassment. For what it’s worth, no state that has passed trans protections has seen Huckabee’s bathroom fever dream come to pass. But, of course, Huckabee isn’t really concerned about facts: He’s concerned about finding the kind of red meat Republican voters still care about. It seems that, by his calculation, maligning one of the most reviled and marginalized groups in society will still push GOP voters to the polls.
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Mark Joseph Stern is a writer for Slate. He covers science, the law, and LGBTQ issues
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
Huckabee has long enjoyed bashing gay people and marriage equality, but this disgusting joke suggests the former Arkansas governor has lately discovered the joys of ridiculing trans people—who already face a stunning amount of discrimination and harassment. For what it’s worth, no state that has passed trans protections has seen Huckabee’s bathroom fever dream come to pass. But, of course, Huckabee isn’t really concerned about facts: He’s concerned about finding the kind of red meat Republican voters still care about. It seems that, by his calculation, maligning one of the most reviled and marginalized groups in society will still push GOP voters to the polls.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
I don't know that they would have a choice. I mean, who are they to question? That's the point of this. How do you KNOW who is and who isn't? How can you prove it either way in high school?
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America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome...
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
Uhhh, with the policies that have been advocated - the schools wouldn't be allowed to question it. It might hurt the kids's self-esteem or identity or something.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I think people are making this a bigger deal that it needs to be. There are so few trans-gendered kids that it should be treated on a case by case basis. If some kid has a doctors note saying they have a medical issue then the school can work on the appropriate response. You shouldn't be able to show up in a dress and just expect accommodation.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
How can they tell? How can you?
You are asking us to believe everyone who says nonsense like they are a woman trapped in a man's body and other such clap-trap. Why wouldn't the school?
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
How can they tell? How can you?
You are asking us to believe everyone who says nonsense like they are a woman trapped in a man's body and other such clap-trap. Why wouldn't the school?
Hahaha...Only on TG would this be the funniest thread ever. I almost know what every poster will say. Well maybe not exactly what they'll say but I'd be close. No wonder I love this place so much...
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“Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything.” ― Julia Child ―
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
I thought being trans was one of those protected things, where people aren't allowed to question it. I think we even had an article on it not too long ago.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
I thought being trans was one of those protected things, where people aren't allowed to question it. I think we even had an article on it not too long ago.
We did have a thread on this subject awhile back. As I stated back then and will repeat, boys WILL play the game to get into the girls locker room, duh. (the duh is aimed at the stupid public, not anyone here)
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Faith isn't something that keeps bad things from happening. Faith is what helps us get through bad things when they do happen.
Hahaha...Only on TG would this be the funniest thread ever. I almost know what every poster will say. Well maybe not exactly what they'll say but I'd be close. No wonder I love this place so much...
Great ! What will I say next???
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
Would it be silly of me to suggest that people with penises use the "people with penises" room, and that people with vaginas use the "people with vaginas" room?
That way we could skip the whole "I feel like a woman" issue.
I would think that like any other accommodation in school, they would have to bring a note from the doctor they have been seeing who diagnosed their gender dysphoria. No note, you don't use a different bathroom. Pretty easy solution actually.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
Oh, and until we came to a boarding school, no one showered at school in the 20 plus years DH has been coaching at the high school/college level. The college girls did. But none of the high school girls ever did. Not for gym class, not after school. No one. Ever. The showers didn't even work in most girls locker rooms because no one ever used them.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
I feel like the boys might change their tune when they're no longer allowed to play sports on boy's teams, have to wear girls uniforms, etc. The gig would get old before the fist shower!
I would think that like any other accommodation in school, they would have to bring a note from the doctor they have been seeing who diagnosed their gender dysphoria. No note, you don't use a different bathroom. Pretty easy solution actually.
Exactly. And how many kids are actually going to try to take it that far?
I think people are making this a bigger deal that it needs to be. There are so few trans-gendered kids that it should be treated on a case by case basis. If some kid has a doctors note saying they have a medical issue then the school can work on the appropriate response. You shouldn't be able to show up in a dress and just expect accommodation.
You say this as if it is ridiculous and an impossibility. Yes, in bygone years, sure. But, there is nothing to stop someone from claiming they are "gender fluid" and wanting to dress or behave however they wish. What used to seem Absurd soon becomes the norm.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
How can they tell? How can you?
You are asking us to believe everyone who says nonsense like they are a woman trapped in a man's body and other such clap-trap. Why wouldn't the school?
Twenty kids say it...all at the same time?
flan
Why would it have to be twenty? It would be terrible for the girls if it was just one.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
Absolutely they will. And that is the problem with allowing transgenders into girls' locker rooms. The idea of it might seem okay, but logistically, uh no. It creates a danger to the girls.
He's simply stating what we have all been saying all along. You don't think teenage boys will take advantage of this?
I would hope school officials would not be stupid enough to believe that dozens of teenage boys were suddenly LGBT...
flan
How can they tell? How can you?
You are asking us to believe everyone who says nonsense like they are a woman trapped in a man's body and other such clap-trap. Why wouldn't the school?
Twenty kids say it...all at the same time?
flan
Who said anything about twenty? This thread was about just ONE.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
The transgendered kid has all the rights and the girls must just accept it. That seems fair...(sarcasm) - Tinydancer
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I agree with your sarcasm. But would also add if it's a transgender who is biologically a girl, the boys in the boy's locker room have to just accept it as well. Seems fair too. (sarcasm on this as well)
The transgendered kid has all the rights and the girls must just accept it. That seems fair...(sarcasm) - Tinydancer
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I agree with your sarcasm. But would also add if it's a transgender who is biologically a girl, the boys in the boy's locker room have to just accept it as well. Seems fair too. (sarcasm on this as well)
Why is the comfort of the trans person MORE important than the comfort of everyone else? If someone's daughter is uncomfortable with a bio male in the locker room, why is that child's discomfort just fluffed off?
The transgendered kid has all the rights and the girls must just accept it. That seems fair...(sarcasm) - Tinydancer
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I agree with your sarcasm. But would also add if it's a transgender who is biologically a girl, the boys in the boy's locker room have to just accept it as well. Seems fair too. (sarcasm on this as well)
You completely missed the point. It wasn't about whether the transgender person was a boy or a girl, it was about the fact that the transgender individual has more rights than the non-transgendered individual. Why is such a tiny group allowed to tell the rest that they must allow them in the opposite bathrooms. You have a penis you use the men's room. You have a vagina you use the ladies room. It's got nothing to do with sexual orientation.
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“Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything.” ― Julia Child ―
Why is the comfort of the trans person MORE important than the comfort of everyone else? If someone's daughter is uncomfortable with a bio male in the locker room, why is that child's discomfort just fluffed off?
- Lady Gaga Snerd
You completely missed the point. It wasn't about whether the transgender person was a boy or a girl, it was about the fact that the transgender individual has more rights than the non-transgendered individual. Why is such a tiny group allowed to tell the rest that they must allow them in the opposite bathrooms. You have a penis you use the men's room. You have a vagina you use the ladies room. It's got nothing to do with sexual orientation.
- Tinydancer
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I believe that both of you missed that my response was sarcastic to the situation as well. I was just pointing out that it would be just as unfair for boys in the boy's locker room if a girl (biologically speaking) were to want to use the boy's locker room.
Did you also miss my earlier post that said: Would it be silly of me to suggest that people with penises use the "people with penises" room, and that people with vaginas use the "people with vaginas" room? That way we could skip the whole "I feel like a woman" issue.
Nah...I think you just wanted to point out that the poor boys would have to put up with a girl in the bathroom when it was actually about transgenders having MORE rights than non-transgender kids.
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“Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything.” ― Julia Child ―
Would high school boys in general object to having people with vaginas stripping down in the "people with penises" locker room?
- ed11563
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I think it would be the same as it would be with girls. Some would care, some would not. The ones that would care are the ones that shouldn't have to deal with it, in either locker room.
Nah...I think you just wanted to point out that the poor boys would have to put up with a girl in the bathroom when it was actually about transgenders having MORE rights than non-transgender kids.
- Tinydancer
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That's not what I was saying at all. I agree with you that the non-transgender kids should have more rights. I was just mentioning that it shouldn't just apply to non-transgender girls.
