Mother Jones

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How the right uses “gender ideology” to blame trans people for everything

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Hours after being sworn in for a second term, President Donald Trump used his constitutionally vested powers to define “man” and “woman.” In an executive order, he said his administration would recognize only two immutable, biological sexes, determined at conception, in the name of “defending women” from a rising scourge: “gender ideology.” It was the first-ever use of the phrase in an official White House statement, but it wasn’t new. Over the last decade, the fear of “gender ideology” has been used to mobilize right-wing movements from Argentina to Poland to Turkey. Now it’s a part of American parlance, too. It appeared in federal legislation […]

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No, Charlie Kirk was not practicing politics the right way

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Tragedy is a powerful shaper of narratives. In the aftermath of the horrific assassination of MAGA champion Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two, it was natural that his allies, including President Trump, lionized him as a patriot, free-speech advocate, and activist. And political opponents somberly denounced the terrible killing, as they should, with some hailing Kirk’s devotion to public debate. There’s a tendency in such a moment to look for the best in people or, at least, to not dwell on the negatives. That can be a good thing. Yet as Kirk is quickly canonized by Trump and his […]

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At the Heritage Foundation, the anti-DEI crusade is part of a bigger war

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Last week, I attended an event at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, focused on “seizing the moment to defeat DEI.” I have written before about the right’s use of the acronym as a codeword to attack social progress generally and the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically. The panel at Heritage—a think tank that in recent years has taken a turn from Reagnite conservatism to Viktor Orbán-loving, Trumpian populism—was a particular strain of this provocation.  There is one kind of discussion over Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, with critics across the spectrum debating the efficacy and benefits of such programs. And then there is Heritage’s view: that DEI is a […]