OPINION: “Protecting” our women and children: A guide to Republican hypocrisy
Photo via: Gage Skidmore/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
This story was contributed to by Alaina Sayre and Amelia Henson.
The modern Republican party is notorious for pushing problematic beliefs about women and LGBTQ+ people. Whether it is restricting abortion access or banning gender-affirming care, Republicans will do anything to force Americans to fit into their standard of normality, regardless of what that means for their health and safety.
BANS ON DRAG SHOWS
In 2023, Tennessee passed a bill to ban drag queens from the public, under the guise of protecting children from performances that could be, “harmful to minors.” The law banned “adult cabaret performances” from taking place on public property or any place where a minor may bear witness to the performance.
The bill defines adult cabaret performances as “a performance in a location other than an adult cabaret that features topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, or similar entertainers, regardless of whether or not performed for consideration.”
The bill is extremely vague and leads to many questions on how it would be enforced, specifically how law enforcement and citizens would be capable of knowing if someone was a “male or female impersonator.” The bill is a mess of words used to bury the underlying motive to ban drag queens from the public.
Later, a picture resurfaced of Governor Bill Lee, who signed the bill into law, dressed in drag at his high school in 1977.
GUN CONTROL
A few weeks after Tennessee’s drag ban, there was a devastating school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. The tragedy ended with three adults and three children dead. After the heartbreaking events that took place at the school, hundreds of people, including young students flooded the state capital begging state officials to protect children by signing stronger gun control into law.
The leading cause of childhood death in Tennessee is firearms. After the Covenant shooting, lawmakers in Tennessee failed to pass any gun control laws to protect children. On the contrary, Tennessee passed a bill to put more guns in schools, allowing teachers K-12 to carry firearms at school.
The Republican lawmakers who make up the majority of the Tennessee General Assembly, have proven to not care as much about the safety of children as they claim. Signing laws to limit access to guns, which are a leading cause of death in children, would be the most logical way a government could protect children. Lawmakers have chosen to deliberately manipulate the public into believing that they care enough to draft, present, and sign laws into place that would keep children safe. In reality, these laws are only meant to push a hateful and dangerous agenda that promotes homophobia and transphobia.
GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE
Republicans have tried to protect US children through banning gender-affirming care. 40% of transgender youth live in the 26 states that have banned gender-affirming care.
Gender-affirming care has a direct correlation to the mental health of transgender youth, and banning it has detrimental effects. In 2024, The Trevor Project reported that states with bans saw a 72% increase in suicide attempts by transgender and gender-nonconforming teenagers.
Republicans have promised to help our children, but it is evident they have found it impossible to do so without forcing them to conform to their standards of normality. Republicans will continue to push these harmful beliefs and stereotypes even when lives are at stake.
PROTECTING WOMEN
The most damning example of hypocrisy falls under the man elected to be our future president. Donald Trump has claimed he is a man who is determined to “Make America Great Again” by ensuring freedom and justice for all. That sentence alone is filled with lies and hypocrisy.
There can be no freedom and justice for all when the man who will soon be president has allegedly sexually assaulted at least 26 women. Justice for these women will never come. They will have to witness their abuser be sworn into the Oval Office again where he will hold the most amount of power over them once again.
Trump reeks of hypocrisy and empty promises with almost every word he speaks. At a rally in October 2024, Trump claimed he would be the protector of women “whether they like it or not.” The only part of his claim that seems to hold up is the latter
Trump is not a protector of women, he is a predator. He puts his hands on women without consent, speaks ill of women and pushes to ban a woman’s right to their own bodies. Trump has never once cared to protect women, he only speaks these lies to secure votes. A very clear example of his disregard for women is his infamous quote caught on a hot mic of Trump saying, “You can do anything…Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
The quote itself is practically an admission of sexual abuse by Trump, and a clear indicator that he does not care for protecting women whatsoever. If Trump really cared for women’s safety he would lock himself away.
CONCLUSION
Republicans have created a narrative of their party in which they are protecting the women and children of our country, but, in reality, they aren’t doing the necessary things to actually protect them. Seeing beyond their veil of empty promises and hope for a brighter future is vital to the success of our country.
Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.
