Van Ness took a turn at the podium in the press briefing room, where he answered fake questions about his hair, which appears to be a major part of his personality.
Jon Van Ness, non-binary reality TV star, hair product guru, children's book author, and spokesperson for LBGTQ issues and "trans kids," enjoyed a meeting at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris last week. In addition to meeting Harris, Van Ness took a turn at the podium in the press briefing room, where he answered fake questions about his hair, which appears to be a major part of his personality.
The White House event, during which the Biden administration celebrated the 20th anniversary of the show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, now shortened simply to Queer Eye, saw cast members sitting down with the VP. They spoke about HIV, an illness Van Ness has, and Planned Parenthood, where he was diagnosed. Harris praised Planned Parenthood as "giving people dignity."
Harris posted a photo of herself hugging a drag queen on stage, saying "Our LGBTQI+ children should not fear who they are. No one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together and we will fight with pride."
Executive producer Michael Williams said "What I love about all of us being here today is that it’s affirming and celebrating who we are. Especially having daughters, I want to affirm them for who they are and celebrate them. That, to me, is the beauty of Queer Eye’s legacy." He talked about his lesbian 15-year-old, conceived through IVF and surrogacy, saying he hopes access to those reproductive methods that rely on other's eggs and wombs are easier to access for "young gay couples now."
Van Ness complained of being filmed by women in a women's bathroom in Las Vegas, saying "I’ve never experienced intimidation in a bathroom in the way that I did in Vegas. It made me think about people who have had horrific things happen to them in bathrooms, but then queer people are the ones scapegoated for these instances. It’s really the patriarchy and this toxic structure of the binary that we have to exist within." It doesn't appear to have occurred to him that women felt threatened by a tall bearded man in their bathroom.
During a debate on trans issues in 2023 with Dax Shepard, Van Ness could not take being questioned and burst into tears, claiming to be "tired" of fighting for children who "just want to be included."
"I could just cry," Van Ness said, "because I’m so tired of having to fight for little kids because they just want to be included. I wish that people were as passionate about little kids being able to be included or grow up as they were about fictitious women’s fairness in sports."
"If there’s one thing I could leave you with," Van Ness said, "Little kids are not getting gender reassignment surgery. Three-year-olds are not getting hysterectomies. They’re not getting f*cking breast implants. I am scared of the vitriol that trans people face every day."
He went on to say that "Because we’re scared of people in the Olympics, now kid-marginally-terrible-athletes who just want to learn about communication, team building, how to work together, they don’t get that opportunity... That has social capital impact for the rest of your life. Sports have real-world implications, for people who suck at them too. That’s why I’m crying because those are the kids that are paying the price for this and that is heartbreaking." This was his reasoning for allowing boys to compete in girls' sports.
Later that year, Van Ness hosted trans ACLU attorney Chase Strangio for a podcast discussion on why it's so important to fight for the right for children to access medical sex changes. Strangio, who identifies as male, brings lawsuits against states that bar children from receiving life-altering drugs and surgeries in service to the lie that changing sex is possible.
Harris ended the meeting with the LGBTQ television folx, saying that meeting with them gave her "a sense of optimism... knowing that the majority of us, I think, do value certain things, including that we fight for each other’s dignity, that we agree to the foundational principles of our country. All are equal and entitled to certain freedoms and certain rights that cannot be taken." Those rights, apparently, include sex changes for children and men using women's bathrooms against the wishes of the women already using them.
The White House Pride events this year have been toned down since 2023, when President Biden held "the largest Pride Month celebration ever" at the seat of national government. The White House was draped in a Progress Pride flag, the one with extra trans colors, and big displays of rainbow balloons accompanied topless trans activists on the White House lawn.
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