In a video shared by Democratic Party of Arkansas on Twitter, Senator McKee can be heard asking Herzig, ‘Do you have a penis?’. Screengrab from video
Arkansas: A Republican lawmaker asked a transgender woman about her genitalia during a state legislative hearing about an anti-trans bill that would effectively prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.
Senator Matt McKee from Arkansas has been widely criticised for his question, drawing boos from the people sitting for the hearing and leaving Gwendolyn Herzig, a transgender health care professional feeling “dehumanised.”
Watch the video here:
In a video shared by the Democratic Party of Arkansas on Twitter, Senator McKee can be heard asking Herzig, “Do you have a penis?” right after he confirmed if she is a transgender woman or not.
The question made the pharmacist visibly uncomfortable who responded, “That’s horrible.”
Shooting back at Herzig, McKee said, “You’re the one that brought that into the discussion.”
“I don’t know what my rights are right now but that question was highly inappropriate,” said a stunned Herzig.
She added, “I’m a healthcare professional, a doctor. Please treat me as such. Next question, please.”
‘I kind of just froze’
Talking to Business Insider, Gwendolyn Herzig – an advocate of transgender rights – shared her harrowing experience at the Senate Bill 199 hearing.
“I kind of just like froze because I was just trying to process what just happened. I’m like, ‘How do I even respond to that?'” said Herzig.
She said that being a doctor, she expected to be treated as a professional at the hearing but instead was “torn down” and “dehumanised.”
She added, “It didn’t matter my professional stance or who I am as a person, to be just kind of downgraded to my genitals was pretty horrifying.”
Branding her ordeal as a “loss for the state” she said, “I felt like I had a lot of knowledge and a lot of lived experience I could have shared and hopefully opened up some eyes. But they weren’t even interested in hearing that. They just wanted to make a very gross and inappropriate comment.”
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