Abigail Shrier Says ‘Gender Ideology’ Is ‘Misogyny In Progressive Clothing’ At Senate Hearing On Equality Act

At the Senate Judicial Committee Hearing on the Equality Act on Wednesday, independent journalist Abigail Shrier presented a serious testimony against the Equality Act due to the inequality it would ensure for young girls and women.

Shrier was the focus of controversy after writing a book last year that focused on the transgender movement among young girls, titled “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.”

Shrier has been criticized for being anti-transgender even though she says her book has nothing to do with adults being transgender, but rather is about the “trans epidemic” that impacts young girls. She has also spoken out against censorship in the book world.

Last month, The Daily Wire reported on Shrier’s tweet thread regarding Amazon’s book-banning:

“We’re really not making a big enough deal of the fact that [Amazon] has begun deleting books,” she said. “Amazon now claims the right to bar all books that are ‘inappropriate or offensive.’ Of course, nearly *every book* worth reading could be characterized as ‘inappropriate’ or ‘offensive’ to someone.”

At the Senate hearing, Shrier began her testimony by saying, “Gay and transgender Americans are living today with less fear and stigma than at any point in American history – and that makes me very happy. It should make us all very proud.”

Shrier stated that she would support the bill in question if it increased rights regarding employment and public housing to transgender and gay Americans. However, she said that she is testifying against it because it does more than that. Shrier said, “No one who wrote [the bill] appears to have thoughtfully considered what it would mean for women and girls.”

Shrier argued that the bill would set women and young girls back in the realm of equality — and it would potentially put them in physical danger. Shrier questioned, “Members of the Committee, if your daughter or granddaughter was the top high school tennis player in her state, and then five biological boys suddenly decided, at the age of 17, to identify as female — should she drop overnight to number 6? Should she lose her college scholarship to a male-bodied athlete who would never have qualified on the boys’ team? Does that strike any member of this Committee as fair or just?”

“If a woman in your state commits a crime, should she be put in a correctional facility with biological males, some of whom are sex offenders? Some of whom may have only begun identifying as female weeks earlier? All of whom could easily overpower her,” she continued.

Shrier added, “The plain truth is that it is not sensible, not safe, and certainly not just, to end these hard-won protections for women and girls in the name of equality.”

The journalist also made the point that “gender identity can be very ephemeral,” noting that even well-known gender therapists have concluded that people can be on a “gender journey” where they identify differently day-to-day. She affirmed that those people have the freedom to do that in this country, but asked, “Should we undermine women’s sports and protective spaces to allow gender-fluid males a gender journey?”

In a defense of transgender people, Shrier seemed to refer to her book about the transgender movement. She said, “I have probably interviewed more transgender Americans than any person in this room. And I can honestly say that, excepting political activists, most do not want to obliterate women’s rights and safe spaces.”

“Most would never think of stealing women’s scholarships by forcing young women into demoralizing contests with male bodies. But Gender Ideology, which is at the heart of this bill, is misogyny in progressive clothing. Gender Ideology tells women and girls they are not entitled to their fear or their sense of unfairness as their protective spaces are eliminated.”

Shrier concluded with a recognition of women like the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who “fought to create sex-based protections to make life safe and fair for women.”

In a strong closing argument, Shrier told the committee, “If you vote to take away those rights, don’t pretend you’ve achieved a civil rights victory. In the name of inclusivity, you’ll have made life far less safe, far less fair, and far less inclusive for America’s women and girls.”

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