Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was criticized after he made a feeble attempt at humor by mocking gender pronouns during a conservative student conference this past week.
During a speech he gave at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida over the weekend, Cruz said his pronouns are "kiss my a**" while claiming to take a stand against "woke college campuses" he has previously accused of being havens of so-called liberal indoctrination.
You can hear what Cruz said in the video below.
Cruz said:
"I talked to a student recently at one of our woke college campuses who said she is required in every class to introduce herself and to give her pronouns."
“Well, my name is Ted Cruz and my pronoun is ‘kiss my a**.’”
Preferred gender pronouns are the pronouns a person prefers be used when they are referred to, in order to indicate their gender identity.
It has become increasingly common for people to display their pronouns in the workplace or on social media profiles. Because pronouns are not indicative of a person's sexual orientation, not everyone who shares their pronouns necessarily identifies as LGBTQ+.
Straight, cisgender people often choose to share and display their pronouns to let others, especially LGBTQ+ individuals, know they are in a safe space, especially if their gender identity is often questioned or if they are regularly misgendered.
The use of gender pronouns in the workplace, for instance, help normalize and encourage discussions about gender in such a way that transgender and non-binary individuals can feel safe and included.
Cruz's actions opened him up to criticism and prompted many to turn his own words against him.
Cruz's disdain for gender pronouns was not the only thing people made fun of after his appearance at the Turning Point USA conference.
Cruz was mocked for making an overblown entrance, greeted by smoke cannons, loud music, and even a short light show.
The moment was later lampooned by late night television host Seth Meyers, who quipped that there has "never been a bigger gap between the drama of an entrance and the charisma of the person making the entrance."
