Professor comes out swinging for trans rights during California Title IX debate: ‘Shame on you’
“Shame on you for using lesbian politics as a front for your transphobia,” she said (YouTube)
A feminist activist and assistant professor of sociology has taken aim at anti-trans rhetoric during a recent California Title IX discussion.
On Tuesday (10 March), a meeting of California State University’s (CSU) Board of Trustees turned unusually turbulent and chaotic.
CSU and San Jose State University (SJSU) are suing the federal government after president Trump’s Department of Education accused the latter institution of violating Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education, by allowing a trans volleyball player to compete in women’s games between 2022 and 2024.
The schools were issued a letter by education secretary Linda McMahon, who gave them 10 days to back down or face funding cuts and a referral to the Department of Justice.
At the meeting, Jamie O’Quinn, an assistant professor of sociology at Cal State San Bernardino, hit out at the board for even entertaining the idea that trans rights are up for debate.
As per The Independent, O’Quinn said: “The fact that I have to get up here and have to say that trans women are women and that’s what I have to use my time to do is absurd. Shame on you. Shame on all of you.”
She then condemned the lesbian activists who she claimed had rallied to keep trans women out of women’s sports.
“Shame on you for using lesbian politics as a front for your transphobia because this lesbian has had plenty of girlfriends with penises,” she said.
A “save women’s sports” activist, Beth Bourne, who is chairwoman of the California chapter of Moms for Liberty, then directed her speech to “anyone who is listening who is transgender or non-binary,” suggesting that hormones lead to permanent harm, despite the lack of evidence proving this to be the case.
A current SJSU student spoke out in support of trans women in women’s sport during the hearing, saying: “Our community has been angry, scared, and tired. Today, I’m here to share my gratitude and support for the Board of Trustees’ decision.
“As a transgender student who is in his third year at SJSU, I’m asking you, please listen to us, and please keep protecting transgender students.”
You can watch the full Board of Trustees meeting here.
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