Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Ring, ring.
Hello?
"Hello, this is Michelle Duggar. I’m calling to inform you of some shocking news that would affect the safety of Northwest Arkansas women and children. The Fayetteville City Council is voting on an ordinance this Tuesday night that would allow men—yes I said men—to use women's and girls' restrooms, locker rooms, showers, sleeping areas and other areas that are designated for females only. I don’t believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls . . ."
Live in Arkansas? Then you may have been on the receiving end of this demented robocall voiced by none other than Michelle Duggar, matriarch of the wildly successful 19 Kids and Counting reality TV franchise. The mega-mom—who has raised enough kids to fill a high school—also appears to be an open transphobe who's not afraid to use her dubious TV clout to attack LGBTQ rights.
Duggar's beef is specifically with an anti-discrimination ordinance in Fayeteville that would allow transgender individuals to use bathrooms and other gender-specific facilities as they feel comfortable. Naturally, this has opponents like Duggar trotting out the "trans people are sexual predators!" bogeyman.
It's not the first time Duggar's orthodox (and offensive) views have drawn scrutiny. In April, it was revealed that she and her family were connected with the patriarchal organizations Vision Forum Ministries and the Institute in Basic Life Principles—both of which were led by men accused of sexual abuse and harassment, and which peddle gems of wisdom like "Resistance or indifference to your husband’s need for physical intimacy is the unspoken crushing of his spirit."
In that case, though, Duggar's only crime was association. Here, she is squarely in the crosshairs of progressive ire.
Does Duggar Deserve Our Hate?
All of which raises a valid question: Isn't Duggar entitled to her opinion . . . just as every other celebrity-turned-activist is?
Yes, she is. But there's a difference between expressing a belief and lending your voice to a robocall that stokes fear at the expense of simple truth. Indeed, the robocall is downright flagrant in its perpetuation of damaging fallacies. Take this nugget:
I don’t believe the citizens of Fayetteville would want males with past child predator convictions that claim they are female to have a legal right to enter private areas that are reserved for women and girls.
There is, to be clear, nothing in the ordinance that says "males with past child predator convictions" can use female restrooms. To be clearer, there is virtually no proven connection between identifying as trans and being a pedophile or a sexual predator. None. On the contrary, it's trans people who are often the victims of sexual abuse; according to one study out of the University of Hawaii, approximately 50% of transgender people experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.
It's stats like these that make anti-discrimination laws like the one in Fayetteville so important and Duggar's role in deflating it so troubling. Have we really reached a point in our society where people's basic rights can be snatched away by a woman whose only claim to authority is producing babies at an alarming rate and allowing TV cameras into her home? Should the word of a reality TV star really be proffered as truth and valued more highly than basic facts?
Ring, ring.
Hello?
"Hi, whatever Michelle Duggar just told you should be immediately disregarded as dangerous lies disguising blatant discrimination. Oh, and watch Cake Boss. It's a much better TLC show. Thanks, bye!"
