Is Sarah McBride A Traitor?

On "trans representation" and how we critique power.

I am of two minds on the Sarah McBride bathroom situation.

If you haven’t heard, the election of Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride to the U.S. House of Representatives has caused quite a stir. Because she is transgender, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has proposed new legislation stating that everyone at the Capitol must use the restroom that corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth. Like other bills before it, this is an effort to push trans people out of public life and declare us second-class citizens. Factually speaking, there is demonstrably no link between public safety and trans people being in bathrooms; we’re just there to pee, folks!

The proposed bill would be expansive in scope, as it applies not just to the U.S. Capitol building, but all federal property—defined as “any building, land, or other real property owned, leased, or occupied by any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States”—meaning that places like the Smithsonian Museums, VA hospitals, and even certain airports might be off-limits for trans people if the bill goes through.

The clearly unethical and possibly unconstitutional nature of this legislation, which would negatively affect millions of people and positively help nobody, made it even more puzzling when McBride herself put out a statement saying that she would comply with the law if passed. Huh?

Sarah McBride and her statement. Full statement can be read on Twitter. Graphic by Erin In The Morning.

I’ve been going back and forth trying to come up with an opinion on this story—other than “screw these conservative bigots”—and here’s why. On one hand, this whole situation sucks not just for McBride, but for potentially thousands of other trans people. On the other hand, I think she is ultimately doing the right thing, or at least the only thing that she can do right now.