The right-wing media sphere went into a frenzy on Thursday when several users on social media pointed out that U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York had removed her pronouns from her bio on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The prevailing feeling was that Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to remove her pronouns from her resume confirmed President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 election, and was an inflection point in the ideology of “wokeness” — a derisive term many conservatives use to describe identity. Progressive politics and values.
“JUST IN: AOC removed her pronouns from her bio,” read a post from popular far-right TikTok account Libs X.
“They’ll pretend they haven’t embraced (or even celebrated) the craziness,” Riley Gaines, a swimmer and political activist who opposes transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, wrote on X.
“Don’t forget who the obedient virtue-signaling sheep are.”
The EndWokeness account, which says it “fights, exposes, and mocks wokeness” and has more than 3 million followers, posted the following: “Two years ago, AOC posted an apology for forgetting to put pronouns in her bio. She just removed them in X.”
Gaines also responded to the video, writing: “We’re winning and it’s glorious.”
US actress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19. The Democratic congresswoman removed her pronouns from her X-marked resume long before the election. US actress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19. The Democratic congresswoman removed her pronouns from her X-marked resume long before the election. ANDREW CABALLERO REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images
However, other observers noted that Ocasio-Cortez removed her pronouns from her resume X well before Election Day.
It was not on her resume on July 29, according to a screenshot of the lawmaker’s X account captured on the Internet Archive. The New York congresswoman removed her pronouns from her resume early in May, the Daily Dot reported.
Republicans have been drawn heavily into the culture war ahead of this year’s election, attacking Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party over their support for transgender rights and the LGBTQ+ community.
During his September debate against Harris, Trump claimed that Harris wanted to “perform transsexuals on illegal aliens in prison. This is a far-left liberal who would do that.”
Trump appeared to be referring to a 2019 ACLU survey that Harris filled out during her first presidential campaign. In the poll, Harris said she would use her executive authority to ensure that transgender people who rely on the government for medical care, including those in prison, receive transgender-related treatment.
In addition to the debate, Trump also focused on the culture war in his campaign ads. Among the most popular ads this election season was an ad from the Trump campaign saying, “Kamala is for them/them. President Trump is for you.”
Some Democrats have publicly acknowledged the effectiveness of Trump and the GOP’s messaging strategy and believe this is one reason Harris ultimately lost the election.
“Democrats need to stop appeasing the far left,” Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York told the New York Times on Wednesday. “I don’t want to discriminate against anyone, but I don’t think biological boys should play in girls’ sports.”
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2020, echoed that sentiment, telling the Times that Democrats “spend too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many people face.” “Americans, I have two. I don’t want little girls to be run over on the field by a male or former athlete, but as a Democrat, I should be afraid to say so.”
In April 2023, the Biden administration proposed changes to Title IX that would include transgender student-athletes.
The policy would prevent schools from violating Title IX regulations by imposing restrictions on transgender athletes while simultaneously prohibiting them from “categorically” barring those students from participating on teams that match their gender “solely because of who they are.”
There was a caveat within the proposed change, which would apply to K-12 public schools as well as colleges, universities and other institutions that receive federal funding.
“The proposed rule also recognizes that in some cases, particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments, some schools may adopt policies that limit the participation of transgender students,” according to the Department of Education’s policy statement.
Ocasio-Cortez sharply criticized, saying the policy was the opposite of what was detailed in her January 2021 executive order.
“There is absolutely no reason for the Biden administration to do this,” she said. “It’s embarrassing and indefensible. The superintendent can still walk this back, and should. It’s a disgrace.”
Updated 11/14/24, 10:48 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional information and context.
Update 11/15/24, 3:21 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional information and context.
