Over the past several years, there has been a concerted push among public and private entities to prioritize so-called transgender rights.
In effect, many policies serve to restrict the speech of the majority in order to spare the feelings of a tiny group of people who believe they should be a different gender.
Perhaps that’s why one member of the Worcester, Massachusetts, council who was allegedly called by an unwanted pronoun has since decided to take a full month off work in order to process the supposed mental health toll of the experience.
According to TheBlaze:
On Wednesday, Councilor-at-Large Thu Nguyen accused Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty of misgendering and said a one-month hiatus was necessary for the member’s mental health.
Nguyen posted a video from 2022 that showed Petty “misgendering” Nguyen.
“I really really wish I felt safe enough to show up on the council floor, but I don’t,” said Nguyen. “I have faced transphobia with being misgendered.”
Petty said he had corrected himself and apologized to Nguyen once the mistake was brought to his attention.
“During my 13 years as Mayor, I have always tried to treat every councilor with the dignity and respect they deserve,” read a statement from Petty. “I would never knowingly say anything harmful, and I firmly believe everyone deserves the dignity of having their identity honored and respected.”
He went on to suggest that Nguyen simply didn’t want to appear in person after it was mandated for meetings and sub-meetings.
The latest development has fueled significant social media discussion:
We are hearing more that Worcester Mayor Petty asked Councilor Thu Nguyen to attend meetings in person, but Nguyen cited transphobia as the reason for working remotely.
The mayor has released a statement, noting Nguyen missed several meetings, calling this “unacceptable,” and… https://t.co/s1YPuQfVsH pic.twitter.com/s6xTcn8Tf7
— Bostonians Against Mayor Wu (@AntiWuCoalition) January 16, 2025
Meet Thu Nguyen, a “nonbinary” city councilor from Worcester, MA. She just announced she’s taking a month off from work because she was misgendered.
I’m not kidding. This is real. pic.twitter.com/iMlfvBg3QR
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 16, 2025
Oh, look! Another delicate flower in politics has decided to take a break because of "misgendering."
Is anyone surprised?
Thu Nguyen, the self-proclaimed "only trans in the village," feels "unsafe" around colleagues.
Maybe it’s time to grow a th… https://t.co/bHoGOsoWxO
— ZBreakingNewz (@ZBreakingNewz) January 16, 2025
The story also received coverage from the Daily Mail:
Thu Nguyen, who uses they/them pronouns, accused some of their fellow Worcester City Council members of deliberately misgendering them and referring to them as ‘it’.
However, Nguyen’s colleagues claim that any misgendering was accidental and suggested that they had only made the transphobia claims after they were challenged over their poor attendance record and ordered to return to in-person meetings.
Nguyen demanded an immediate investigation into what they described as a ‘toxic political culture’ and called out several lawmakers by name in a statement on Instagram.
They claimed to have been misgendered by Mayor Joe Petty and Councilor At-Large Kathleen Toomey. Nguyen also alleges they were referred to as ‘it’ on multiple occasions by Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson.
‘These hateful acts are unbecoming of a legislative body whose duty is to serve our communities and to honor and enforce anti-discrimination laws,’ Nguyen wrote, announcing a ‘hiatus’.
Here’s some additional coverage of the story:
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