Watch: A Missouri Lawmaker Asks 14-Year-Old About Their Genitals
Missouri is filmed asking a series of inappropriate, intrusive questions to a nonbinary teenager. State Sen. Elaine Gannon asked the questions during a hearing on March 1 over a bill that would ban trans girls and women from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity.Avery Jackson, a 14-year-old from Kansas City who identifies as nonbinary, testified in front of the Missouri Senate Education Committee.In the video, Gannon tells Jackson, “You’re in the ladies' room and then you realize somebody else in there doesn't have a female's … has a male body instead of a female's body.
I mean it just causes some issues there.”Jackson responds, “No, it doesn’t.” They explain that people should just be able to go to the bathroom.Gannon says “they probably don’t realize because you have such long hair.” Gannon then asks Jackson, “Are you gonna go through the procedure?”In the clip, Jackson responds to the question by saying “You think we’re going around forcing our genitalia in people’s faces?
We’re trying to go to the bathroom. And what you want to do is not let people do that?”The senator replies that she was “seriously just curious.”Avery’s mother, Debi Jackson, steps in: "You're asking a 14-year-old on public record about genitals and if people could see that?""My child is so much more than genitals," Debi Jackson is heard saying. "And that's what I need you to see."She continued: "I don't know what your genitals are.
I have not made an assumption, and I'm not willing to ask that question because it's frankly inappropriate." Debi Jackson, an LGBTQ+ rights activist who is familiar with the hearings going around the country related to anti-trans legislation, tells The Advocate.
