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The political power of culture wars

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The Washington Post

News, True Crime, Politics

4.14.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We examine why transgender rights have risen to the forefront of our politics, and what the history of the modern Republican party reveals about how social issue battles work as a political tool, with reporter Samantha Schmidt and professor Brian Conley.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

In these early days of the Biden presidency, a cultural battle that's been brewing for

0:10.8

some time has come to the forefront.

0:14.1

Conservative politicians and pundits have focused on the ways Biden's presidency represents

0:18.9

a broader shift in American life.

0:21.2

Many conservatives inside and outside of Washington were outraged in recent weeks that Toymaker

0:26.4

Hasbro decided to drop the Mr. from its Mr. Potato Head brand.

0:31.6

Republicans have also been loudly critical of the decision by Dr. Seuss Enterprises to stop

0:36.6

publishing several books with racially offensive images.

0:40.0

Mr. Potato Head now apparently has to go by Potato X and the whole point of Mr. Potato

0:45.3

Head is that you can move the parts around.

0:47.4

He was America's first transgender doll and even he got canceled.

0:52.2

Hasbro now wants a gender neutral Mr. Potato Head.

0:56.0

These are the issues of our times folks.

0:59.7

Those are decisions by companies, not decisions from Biden's White House.

1:04.2

But one set of the administration's actual policies has served to tonight the Republican

1:08.8

Party in opposition and that's the push for transgender rights.

1:12.8

Well for decades America has been a world leader in providing athletic opportunities to women

1:17.2

and girls on the same footing as boys.

1:20.1

But now opportunities for women are being shoved to side for a new priority transgender

1:25.0

athletes.

1:26.7

Biological males who identify as females are entering the competition and dominating their

1:30.6

opponents in many sports across the country and the world in fact.

...

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