Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) decided that Congress needed to hear his definition of the word “woman,” and now people are making fun of the strange definition online.
“Take notes, Madame Speaker, I’m about to define what a woman is for you,” Cawthorn said, as if “Madame Speaker” doesn’t know what she is. “XX chromosomes, no tallywhacker. It’s so simple.”
Related: Madison Cawthorn gets mocked for not knowing what pronouns are
Cawthorn was, of course, presenting a definition of the word “woman” that intentionally excludes transgender women as well as many intersex women. He has a history of anti-transgender comments.
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
On Twitter, people made fun of Cawthorn for his bizarre way of referring to a penis.
Wut? Did he….really say that? JFC. He's 6.
— Snakes? I Am Goddam Medusa _the other white karen_ (@krinhoh) April 4, 2022
Cawthorn: let’s make this as weird as possible
— Barb O'Toole (@barbaraot) April 4, 2022
Is it legal for Madison to hire 7th and 8th graders as speech writers?
— David (@kapitanslog) April 4, 2022
This is what happens when you're homeschooled on physiology. At least he didn't call it a peepee.
— Kari W 🌊⚖🗳 (@karico_k) April 4, 2022
Gotta think for a sec if that’s better or worse than Earthen Vessell.
I mean it doesn’t have that “YOU will live a life of servitude because MY Bible said so” aspect attached to it..
— Ben WAPiro (@WapiroBen) April 4, 2022
And now "tallywhacker" is part of the Congressional Record. 🙄🤨
— AJ Mack 🇺🇸 🏴🇩🇪 🇺🇦🌻🌊 (@gas_patient) April 4, 2022
It is a 12th century (not making this up) term for the penis
— Jasper James (@3JayJenkins) April 4, 2022
Cawthorn is an opponent of LGBTQ rights. When the Citizen Times asked him about his views on LGBTQ rights when he ran for Congress two years ago, he said that he opposes government involvement in marriage, even as he was engaged to marry his wife.
“I don’t think the government should be involved in marriage,” Cawthorn said at the time. “I have very traditional views myself. I’m straight, I’m marrying a woman. I don’t think the government should be involved in marriage. I believe it should be between the marriage and God, that’s all that matters.”
The argument that “government shouldn’t be involved in marriage” is one that some conservative Christians bring up, but only in the context of same-sex couples getting married. When Cawthorn married his wife a few months later in April 2021, he said it was “the greatest honor, privilege and adventure of my life.” He did not mention keeping the government out of his marriage.
He is also opposed to protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination.
Earlier this year, he voted against the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal civil rights legislation, banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination in employment, credit, housing, and other areas.
He claimed that the bill would restrict parents’ rights when it comes to health care for their transgender children, something that was not in the bill. In fact, several states tried to pass bills to ban doctors from providing medically appropriate gender affirming care to transgender minors, and Cawthorn never spoke out against them.
The bill did not contain funding for abortion either.
I voted NO because:
❌Restricts parental consent & involvement in a child’s decision to have gender transition therapy.
❌Stops doctors from using medical advice on life-altering gender transition medical services.
❌Sets back Female Athletic protections
More Abortion funding https://t.co/iN8vkmppJj
— Rep. Madison Cawthorn (@RepCawthorn) February 26, 2021
In the interview with the Citizen Times, Cawthorn also said, “I don’t think we should indoctrinate extremely young children and allow them to have life-altering surgeries at a very young age and change their gender.”
Gender affirming surgery is not performed on minors. Gender affirming care for younger children involves social transitioning, where the parents create a welcoming and loving environment for their children to express their identity and be treated as the girl, boy, or non-binary person that they are.
