If Republicans win in the only contested seat in the Virginia House of Delegates still to be decided, the would be leader of that majority, Kirk Cox, will trash a 400 year tradition in that body and degree that members be addressed as “Delegate” rather than “Gentleman” and “Gentlewoman”
“Danica Roem made history earlier this month winning a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, making her the first openly transgender person to be elected to the legislature, and one of the first out trans people to be elected to any legislature in the U.S. Now, the Republican leader there has suddenly decided to do away with gendered titles like “gentlewoman” and “gentleman,” according to The Washington Post.
Following Roem’s win, Virginia House of Delegates House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox said that if Republicans continue to control the House then they would do away with the 400-year tradition of gendered titles, a pointed decision considering that conservatives backed the idea, asserting that it could help them avoid an awkward situation.
“All members will be afforded the same respect and courtesy that this nearly 400-year-old institution commands,” Parker Slaybaugh, a spokesperson for Cox told the Washington Post. “Speaker-designee Cox believes the ‘gentlelady’ and ‘gentleman’ terminology is outdated, and that referring to everyone as ‘delegate’ is more timely and appropriate.”
But the timing is specious considering that in one of Roem’s campaign ads she spoke about the meaning and power if she were to win and be addressed as “gentlewoman.”Roem defeated Robert. G. Marshall, who repeatedly, hatefully misgendered her throughout the campaign.”
For her part, Roem has chosen to take the high road, reacting to this petty slight by calling for more marginalized and non-binary Virginians to seek public office.
The GOP will continue its tactic of appealing to the most backward and bigoted among us as long as it is electorally rewarding.
But most Americans are fair minded and tolerant.
It will be our job to make sure they make it to the polls next year to truly “drain the swamp”