Ocasio-Cortez: NOT Being Transgender is a 'Privilege'
New York lawmaker says people 'born in the right body' are 'privileged'
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Democrat Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says people who are "born in the right body" are "privileged" because they are not transgender.
The first-term New York lawmaker said during a podcast with the Intercept that she considers it a "privilege" that she wasn't born transgender.
She spoke during an interview that dealt with a series of other topics including health care, taxes, and her adjustment to serving in Congress.
After speaking about obstacles faced by the poor and other groups, she referred to trans people and how during a transition "you actually see and feel and sense and taste and smell all of the differences."
Then she then declared herself a "cisgender" woman, which a term that means someone whose gender identity matches the one they were born with.
The Dem freshman said that "cisgender" people are born into a life of "privilege" due to them not having to change from the gender they were born with.
"Almost every single person this country can acknowledge some privilege of some type, you know? I’m a cisgender woman," said Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described Democratic socialist.
One of the keys Ocasio-Cortez winning the election was her claims that she struggled due to her "girl from the Bronx" working-class upbringing.
It later emerged, however, that Ocasio-Cortez grew up in a wealthy suburb, and enjoyed a very privileged upbringing.
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“I do not think that for the future of humanity, and for our country to continue to prosper, that we cannot have another presidential cycle where climate change is not being asked about at almost every debate.” — Rep. @AOC https://t.co/a5pAnRIa8T
— The Intercept (@theintercept) January 29, 2019
The New York representative told reporters Ryan Grim and Briahna Joy Gray during the podcast that she will "never know the trauma" of being transgender, saying:
"You know, I will never know the trauma of feeling like I’m not born in the right body.
"That is a privilege that I have no matter how poor my family was when I was born."
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"But it’s really hard for some people to admit," she continued.
"It’s part of this weird American dream mythology that we have, that for a lot of, in a lot of circumstances isn’t as true or isn’t as clearly communicated as we’d like for it to be, or we wish it were," she said.
"If you’ve never experienced different treatment in your life, you wouldn’t know what different treatment feels like or looks like," she said.
