Dysfunction, Distraction, and Denial on The Hill abound head of Presidential Inauguration.
January 19, 2025
Let’s not mince words: Washington, D.C. a day before the presidential Inauguration remains a hotbed of bad faith and bureaucratic chaos when it comes to trans rights. Between symbolic gestures, outright attacks, and glaring political miscalculations, the dysfunction feels less like a bug and more like a feature. Here’s how this messy patchwork of events ties together—and what it says about the state of trans and intersex rights in the United States at the twilight of the Biden administration.
Democrats Throwing Punches: Navigating the GOP’s Escalating Anti-Trans Rhetoric and Policy Moves
The political landscape is heating up, and the punches are flying—not just in Congress, but in the court of public opinion. As LGBTQ+ issues take center stage, Democrats are being called out for a lack of aggression in defending trans and intersex rights, even as the Biden administration quietly marks a historic milestone by condemning forced surgeries on intersex children. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are escalating their anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric with increasingly bizarre and harmful stunts.
Throw a damn punch.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’ (D-NY) call-to-arms to the democratic party
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had enough of Democrats playing defense. Speaking at a rally celebrating progressive victories in the recent midterms, AOC criticized her colleagues for failing to respond with the vigor that the GOP’s escalating attacks demand. Her fiery remarks—centered on the idea that Democrats need to “throw a damn punch”—come as Republican lawmakers like Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene use every opportunity, no matter how unrelated, to inject anti-trans talking points into the political discourse.
Nancy Mace (R-SC) recently derailed a congressional hearing on housing policy by demanding a Democrat define “what is a woman,” a transparent attempt to bait progressives into the GOP’s favorite gotcha game. Meanwhile, Greene (R-GA) is expressing outrage that a disabled trans man accessed gender-affirming top surgery, framing it as an assault on “traditional values.” These moves are part of a broader right-wing strategy to dominate cultural narratives, leaving many progressives scrambling to keep up.
The GOP’s Agenda: From Stunts to Harmful Policies
While these rhetorical flourishes might feel like fringe distractions, they are rooted in a calculated effort to normalize anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. This strategy extends far beyond soundbites: over 500 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2024 alone, many targeting healthcare access, education, and public accommodations.
What Greene and Mace call “defending traditional values” translates to real-world harm. Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, currently under review in the Supreme Court, could set a dangerous precedent for restricting bodily autonomy. Across the country, Republican lawmakers have targeted everything from pride parades to drag story hours, framing queer existence itself as a political issue.
Biden Administration’s Historic Move for Intersex Rights
In a rare bright spot, the Biden administration issued a landmark report condemning the practice of performing medically unnecessary surgeries on intersex children. The report aligns the U.S. with global human rights advocates who have long called these procedures a violation of bodily autonomy. Though largely symbolic, the move signals progress on an issue that has received scant attention in mainstream discourse.
Still, this achievement has flown under the radar, overshadowed by more sensational headlines and a lack of concerted messaging from Democratic leaders. As AOC pointed out, even the wins often fail to energize the base when they aren’t backed by strong, unapologetic narratives.
Why This Matters: The Fight for Queer and Bodily Autonomy
The GOP’s culture war tactics rely on reducing complex issues to inflammatory soundbites, but the stakes are anything but trivial. Whether it’s intersex surgeries, access to gender-affirming care, or the right to define one’s own identity, the fight for trans and intersex rights is a fight for everyone’s autonomy.
The challenge for Democrats is not just to oppose these policies but to articulate a compelling, affirmative vision for LGBTQ+ equality. As AOC’s comments highlight, a passive response won’t cut it when the other side is throwing haymakers. It’s time for progressives to adopt the same boldness their opponents wield—because the lives and rights of queer people depend on it.
Takeaway
If there’s one thread running through all of this, it’s the exhausting gap between what could be and what is. Washington’s dysfunction on trans and intersex issues isn’t accidental; it’s systemic, it’s incremental, and it’s deadly. From the GOP’s performative outrage to the Democrats’ half-measures, the result is the same: trans and intersex people left fighting for their lives while politicians play their games.
For the rest of us, the way forward is clear: organise, push back, and demand better from those in power. Washington might be a circus, but we can refuse to let its dysfunction define the future. It’s time to throw a punch. – TML