this story Originally reported by Orion Ramler. 19th. Meet Orion and read our reporting on gender, politics and policy..
The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum has been years in the making, and now transphobia is about to derail all of that.
a invoice The bill authorizing construction of the museum failed 204-216, with House Democrats voting against it. The Democratic Women’s Caucus upped its support after Republicans amended a bill that would require museums to exclude transgender women.
The rules would exclude trans women who: Lynn ConwayRachel Levine, the former assistant secretary of Health and Human Services who helped coordinate the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention the American computer scientist and film director who led the microchip design revolution in the 1980s. behind of matrix and Emmy Award-winning star Laverne Cox.
Related: Republican attempt to kill trans women could derail long-awaited Smithsonian museum
During an hour-long debate on the House floor Thursday, Democrats warned that the revised version of the bill would give President Trump significant influence over the design of the museum, leaving progress at the American Latino Museum in limbo. Their attempts to return to the original bipartisan bill failed.
“This bill has been a bipartisan success story in the past,” Democratic Representative Emily Randall of Washington said on the House floor. “Republicans inserted culture war language that limited museums to biological women. That language was not added to improve museums, it was added to erase trans women from American history.”
The Democratic Women’s Caucus has publicly called on Republicans to withdraw the amendment. marchwhen it was first proposed. Reps. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico, Hilary Scholten of Michigan and Emilia Sykes of Ohio, the caucus chair and vice chair, respectively, said Republicans amended the bill to give President Donald Trump and his allies “unfettered authority” over the content and location of museums.
“A museum about women that fights for women and is supported by women should not be in the hands of one man. We strongly oppose this amendment bill. It is completely contrary to the intentions of museums,” they said in a statement. “We call on our colleagues to oppose this bill and demand that it be returned to bipartisan legislation.”
The museum was established to reflect the diverse political perspectives and experiences of women in the United States, including their culture, history, and values. Republicans added an exception last month saying those experiences “cannot describe a biological man as a woman.”
The revised bill gives special treatment to transgender women, but Democrats fear it will further exclude women and girls deemed not “feminine” enough by politicians. intersex woman. Many women are born with biological sexual characteristics, such as chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive anatomy, that do not fit society’s definition of woman.
The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum was first authorized by Congress in 2020, along with the American Latino Museum. The second museum has been stalled, with Democrats accusing Republicans of slowing progress by excluding it from the bill currently on the table. Congress now holds the key to approving the construction of both museums on the National Mall in Washington. The current version, revised by Republicans, also gives President Trump the power to designate an alternative location for the women’s museum.
Despite obstacles to physical construction, the Women’s History Museum’s digital exhibits available online Leave it like this now classroom resources with the teacher State-by-state guide History of American Women.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
