Lynda Carter: Don't Blame Trans Women for Threats to Women's Rights
have made anti-trans comments in the past few days. Midler tweeted Monday that women are being erased due by inclusive language around reproduction, saying, “We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name!
They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators’, and even ‘people with vaginas’!” Such language is meant to be inclusive of trans men and nonbinary people.Gray appeared Monday on Piers Morgan Uncensored, and discussing trans women athletes, she said, “Just because you go change your parts doesn’t make you a woman, sorry.”Both received significant backlash along with some praise, and both have now asserted they support trans people.
Midler tweeted Tuesday that she was commenting on an op-ed in The New York Times and that “there was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic in what I said.” However, the Times piece, by Pamela Paul, denounced inclusive language too and claimed it marginalizes cis women.
Midler called the article “fascinating and well written.” Gray tweeted that she “wasn’t defining trans women” because she doesn’t know what it means to be one, and she later issued a statement saying, “I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ+ and transgender community and have been a supporter since day one.
