Despite the Republican party's long-held opposition to transgender rights, former Olympian and reality television star Caitlyn Jenner remains a steadfast conservative, and even supports policies that directly harm her community, such as Florida's House Bill 1557, which Republican Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed into law.
Though it's colloquially known as the "Don't Say Gay" bill, the legislation does't explicitly prevent teachers from saying the word "gay" in the classroom. It bans any "instruction" on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten to third grade, with only age-appropriate discussion thereafter.
But the bill doesn't define what constitutes "instruction" and relies heavily on parental complaints. Critics say this will inevitably be disproportionately applied to LGBTQ teachers, and that it gives the parents leverage to weaponize any allusion to sexuality or gender identity whatsoever, even as innocuous as the mention of a spouse or the divulgence of pronouns.
Jenner, one of Fox News' latest contributors after a losing gubernatorial campaign in California, expressed enthusiastic support for the law.
Watch below.
today, new Fox contributor and grifter Caitlyn Jenner said she "absolutely" supports Ron DeSantis and Florida's "don't say gay" bill pic.twitter.com/eaeG7Tet3t
— Brennan Suen✊🏼🇺🇦 (@brennansuen) April 6, 2022
When asked by Fox Business host Stuart Varney if Florida made the right call "banning the teaching of gender identity to very young children," Jenner said:
"Absolutely. I'm a big supporter of Ron DeSantis and what he's doing. I'm a parent. I have a very large familly, raised a very large family, lotta grandkids. And I have been in control of my children's destiny and what they're going to learn in school, not some math teacher teaching my kids about gender identity. I can teach those lessons."
But because the bill doesn't define "instruction," it's unclear how English teachers will teach the basic grammatical concept of pronouns, and one could argue even the usage of pronouns counts as "instruction" on gender identity and is therefor in violation of H.B. 1557.
Jenner's answer was widely criticized.
Oh God. She certainly knows what she is getting paid for. 😕
— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) April 6, 2022
She's going to be as successful as Sarah Huckabee was as a fox "contributor."
— Tura Satana Fan Club CEO (@UncleArthur3) April 6, 2022
Caitlyn said in her coming-out interview with Diane Sawyer that she knew she was trans when she was 8 years old. Imagine if she'd been told that was ok instead of something she had to hide her whole life (not linking because of misgendering/deadnaming).
— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) April 6, 2022
And Jenner's recent unveiling as a Fox contributor continues to generate conversation.
It isn't one bit surprising that Fox News hired Caitlyn Jenner as a commentator. This is always where she was headed. She doesn't care about other trans people and will say and do anything to invalidate the rest of us for her own benefit and Fox News is happy to make that deal.
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️⚧️🇺🇦 (@cmclymer) March 31, 2022
Caitlyn Jenner has been hired by Fox News.
Will they force her to use the men's bathroom?
Because that's what Tucker/Hannity/Ingraham want.
— Brian O'Sullivan (@osullivanauthor) March 31, 2022
Fox said let us hire the most famous, privileged, republican transgender we know to show them we aren't transphobic.
Fox News hires Caitlyn Jenner as contributor. https://t.co/VEX5Z3GC79
— Covie (@covie_93) March 31, 2022
And though Jenner is trying desperately to ingratiate herself within the conservative party, they don't seem ready to sacrifice their transphobia.
FOX is losing viewers BAD! You’ve all gone w0ke, & get 💰 by the G0v for pushing your narratives... Tucker is the only real journalist there.
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) April 1, 2022
“Caitlyn’s story is an inspiration to us all. She is a trailblazer in LGBTQ+ community & her illustrious career spans a variety of fields that will be a tremendous asset for our audience,” said Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott.”
This is not conservatism. https://t.co/WewSdFWR5J
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) March 31, 2022
Fox News calling Caitlyn Jenner “she” is a disgrace.
— Georgia Chapa (@georgiachapa) April 1, 2022
Republicans are already calling for similar laws targeting LGBTQ people across the United States.
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