What a flipping nightmare week. If you closed your eyes and threw a dart at the American Horrors dartboard, you’d hit on something that’s been attacked within the last 24 hours. In the midst of trans rights being gutted across this country, women with high profiles have decided to make BS TERF remarks and then claim victim when people pointed out they needed to keep their damn mouths shut. We’d already heard from Bette Midler when Macy Gray decided to pick up the baton. Macy went on Piers Morgan Uncensored to trash trans women for competing in female-only sports. Famous athlete Macy Gray went on to say that, “just because you go and change your parts doesn’t make you a woman, sorry,” and that she defined women as “a human being with boobs. How about you start there? And a vagina.”
Obviously, this went over like a lead balloon, and Macy was taken to task over it. After the backlash, Macy issued the expected ‘wait, you didn’t understand me’ statement and it made everything worse… as expected.
Singer Macy Gray responded to backlash and accusations of “transphobia” after she said what she thinks makes someone a woman in an interview this week.
“I have nothing but love for the LGBTQ+ and transgender community and have been a supporter since day one,” the “I Try” singer said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “My statement on Piers Morgan was grossly misunderstood. I don’t hate anyone. I respect everyone’s right to feel comfortable in their bodies and live their own truth”
On Monday, Gray appeared on Piers Morgan’s show “Uncensored” and gave her take on gender reassignment surgery.“I will say this, and everybody’s going to hate me, but as a woman, just because you go change your parts doesn’t make a woman. Sorry,” Gray told Morgan. “Like, if you want me to call you a ‘her,’ I will, because that’s what you want. But that doesn’t make you a woman, just because I call you a ‘her’ and just because you got a surgery.”
She also defined a woman as a human with “boobs” and a “vagina.”
She added, “Being a little girl is a whole epic book and you can’t have that just because you want to be a woman. It’s the truth and I don’t think you should be called transphobic just because you don’t agree. There’s a lot of judgment and throwing stones at people for just saying what it is.”
I have so many issues with Macy’s statements, so I’m just going to lump them together. When you preface your thoughts with “everybody’s going to hate me,” you already know that what you are saying is offensive. And Macy also knew Piers agreed with her and that’s why she brought her TERF opinions to him. The fact that they tried to frame it as a philosophical question that was sandwiched between their false affirmations that they “love” and “respect” the LGBTQ+ community means nothing. Excrement, even when pressed between two slices of the finest sourdough, is still a sh*t sandwich. Furthermore, “like, if you want me to call you a ‘her,’ I will, because that’s what you want,” also misses the point. Pronouns, names, labels – these aren’t whims or fancies. They are identities and an expression of someone’s true self. Macy is so dismissive, it’s insulting for her to follow that by saying she has “nothing but love” for the community. And clearly, she holds no respect for people trying to live their truth. Nobody misunderstood anything. Macy herself offered her definition so no, we weren’t the one who got it wrong.
As has been echoed many times on here and on social media: it’s incredibly easy to not be a TERF. It’s just as easy to not spout white feminism. If intersectionality confuses someone you know, remind them the best course of action is to listen to what’s being said.
Photo credit: Avalon Red and Getty Images
She tried walk away (from her comments) and she stumbled. Though she tried to hide it, it’s clear.
Ha. And damn, I do love that song.
Nice – well done!
Thanks, Lucy. That was the closure I needed.
God, all the lunatics coming out full force this week. Disgusting.
One Hit Wonder says what?
To be fair to her, she’s not, and her catalog is deep. She’s written for lots of other people, and I love her albums. This bums me the F*ck out, to be honest. And it does not matter if she had one hit or thousands-the comments are still stupid and unfeeling. I saw in a TERF’s twitter bio the other day-WOMEN ARE DEFINED BY THEIR UTERUS.
Well, guess what?I was adopted because my mom did not have one, and I just went through a hysterectomy because of horrendous endometriosis. We aren’t women anymore? How stupid and insane to define someone by their body parts or genes or chromosomes you cannot even see. All geneticists say there is NO SUCH THING as a “perfect woman or man” as we have abnormality. We have lost compassion, kindness and the embrace of humanity. It’s scary.
Whatever, Macy. Somebody let her know that there are many women who don’t have virginas.
+1. I wish we had the upvote button here. You would get mine.
And again, women are pitted against women. I don’t see these discussions among men. I hate this.
I’ve noticed this, too — why does the entire world suddenly need to define “what a women is”? Nobody is asking Supreme Court nominees to define what MEN are. And when you hear the “obvious” definitions of what a woman is, they’re all about babies. Do we all magically stop being women at menopause?
They’re gatekeeping womanhood and it benefits not a single woman. It benefits men. Again. This is the same shit that keeps women in the workplace from supporting each other (although that has changed significantly in recent years). The idea that only some women, in this case cis women, can be respected and deserve rights. Although that’s also up for debate apparently. But sure, let’s shit on trans women so we don’t notice how they don’t really care whether we’re trans or cis, they hate all of us.
Yes, this attitude infuriated me during the hearings. Men don’t need to be defined – they are the gold standard.
Omg. I’m just angry. Everyday, rage and anger. Why are people so hateful? Trying hard to not fill up with hate in response.
What these transphobes don’t realize that ANY codification of gender harms EVERYONE. Especially tall black cisgender women with very big heads and perpetually slurred speech. Including, but to a lesser extent, white cisgender men who resemble sentient marshmallows stuffed into too small suits. Even if these two were more attractive, they are still in danger: using the law and state violence to define gender is dangerous for everyone and fascist for people who are not white and able-bodied and cis and straight.
Arguing whether or not trans and non-binary people should exist is violent and fascist. ENOUGH!!!
THIS! This is it.
Yup!
There was no need for that misogynorist comment.
If you want to hate and discriminate against someone for their identity, be prepared for that energy to come right back to you.
People who say they have ‘love’ or ‘support’ for the trans community then in the SAME BREATH completely invalidate their identities by saying “but you’re not a woman”…. god. Just ADMIT you are transphobic because that is literally what you are.
For all the women (100,000 annually in the US) who have lost their breasts to breast cancer or by choice for whatever reason that’s their business only, I guess she doesn’t think you count anymore. With so many people I know struggling with breast cancer right now, this was an additional reason to cringe for me (but by far not the only one).
Macy, Bette & JKR are assholes, clearly. But I swear there’s some sort of information campaign designed to target cis women with platforms to radicalize them against trans people. None of these folks talked about trans people before the last few years–now all of a sudden, they’re being very vocal & cruel about a marginalized group just trying to exist. And we just also happen to have anti-trans legislation popping up around the US?
These fools are playing into the hands of anti-democratic forces who also don’t give two sh*ts about cis women.
I hate this idea that “transwomen can never REALLY know what it’s like to be a woman, because they didn’t grow up as women”. First of all, that is rapidly changing (thank God), with compassionate parents allowing their brave kids to live their truth from an early age. Secondly, even for those who don’t come to terms with their identity until adulthood, while they may not understand EVERYTHING ciswomen go through, they’ve faced plenty of challenges of their own. There’s a potential for cis and trans women to learn so much and draw so much strength from each other. I think the hateful TERFers actually have a lot in common with the poor and working-class whites of the Jim Crow-era South. Their own value in society is so low that they’re just happy to find another group that ranks even lower, and they will act against their own interests and turn the issue into some sort of Suffering Olympics in order to keep them there.
And speaking of Olympics, I’m so sick of these pathetic arguments that revolve around the alleged unfairness of trans athletes competing against ciswomen. Frankly, I don’t even give a shit about the actual competition aspect, because sports are a ridiculous, trivial matter when trans rights, and even lives, are at stake. The numbers concerning suicide and self-harm, not to mention homicidal violence, are absolutely staggering for trans people, and it’s unconscionable to use what are essentially children’s games to perpetuate transphobia.
The sports arguments are basically the same arguments people used to try to keep Black athletes from entering white leagues.
Not that he’s perfect, but I am reminded how Craig Ferguson said Macy Gray was his most difficult Late Late Show guest. MG sounds like a piece of work.
Trans women are women. Trans rights are human rights.
“Excrement, even when pressed between two slices of the finest sourdough, is still a sh*t sandwich.” WORDS TO LIVE BY