{"id":2343758,"date":"2024-09-20T07:36:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T11:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-call-barrett-a-villain-and-biden-a-hero-for-using-same-term\/"},"modified":"2024-09-20T07:37:04","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T11:37:04","slug":"media-call-barrett-a-villain-and-biden-a-hero-for-using-same-term","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-call-barrett-a-villain-and-biden-a-hero-for-using-same-term\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Call Barrett A Villain And Biden A Hero For Using Same Term"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmedia-call-barrett-a-villain-and-biden-a-hero-for-using-same-term%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2343758&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text discusses \u2062the fluctuating definitions of &#8220;offensiveness&#8221; within the LGBT community, \u200dhighlighting a recent interview with President Joe \u2062Biden conducted by \u2064the Washington Blade, \u2064where Biden praised LGBT\u200c individuals and referred to them as having \u2064&#8221;sexual preference.&#8221; The author \u2062notes a significant contrast between\u200b the reception of Biden&#8217;s comments and those made by Amy Coney Barrett during her 2020 Supreme Court \u2062confirmation hearing,\u200b where she used the same phrase and \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-takes-new-actions-against-china-as-biden-goes-soft-enough-is-enough-start-fighting-back\/\" title=\"DeSantis Takes New Actions Against China As Biden Goes Soft: \u2018Enough Is Enough,\u2019 \u2018Start Fighting Back\u2019\">faced severe backlash<\/a>, including claims of\u200b bias against LGBTQ people. <\/p>\n<p>In the past, \u200bBarrett\u2019s \u200buse \u2064of the term &#8220;sexual preference&#8221; led to\u2063 widespread \u2064criticism and media coverage, \u2062framing it \u2063as an offensive implication that sexual orientation is a choice. In contrast, Biden\u2019s \u200dsimilar phrasing was overlooked, as he was celebrated as a strong ally of the LGBT community. The piece\u2064 emphasizes the double standards in how language related to LGBTQ\u2064 topics is viewed depending on the\u2064 political context and the individual&#8217;s standing. <\/p>\n<p>the\u2064 author argues that the term &#8220;sexual preference&#8221; should not be \u200cinherently deemed offensive, questioning the consistency of the reactions from LGBT activists and media.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>For LGBT activists and media, what&rsquo;s &ldquo;offensive&rdquo; can fluctuate based on the political season. Never shy to provide relevant examples, LGBT media demonstrated their dedication to hypocrisy and hierarchy just this week.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonblade.com\/2024\/09\/16\/the-washington-blade-interviews-president-joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">glowing interview with President Joe Biden<\/a>, the Washington Blade, a legacy LGBT news source, gasped, &ldquo;Writing about President Joe Biden&rsquo;s legacy is difficult without the distance and time required to assess a leader of his stature, but what becomes clear from talking with him is the extent to which his views on LGBTQ rights come from the heart.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>From there it would seem Biden was the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-biden-end-venezuelas-agony-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Will Biden end Venezuela\u2019s agony? - Washington Examiner\">single greatest gift<\/a> to LGBT-identifying Americans, honoring his administration as the most pro-LGBT in American history. Speaking of LGBT Americans, Biden said, &ldquo;[M]ost of the openly gay people that have worked with me, that I&rsquo;ve worked with, the one advantage they have is they tend to have more courage than most people have.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Biden has the greatest &ldquo;respect and admiration&rdquo; for LGBT people. He argued, &ldquo;[A]ll the LGBTQ+ people that have worked for me or with me have reinforced my view that it&rsquo;s not what your sexual preference is, it&rsquo;s what your intellectual capacity is and what your courage is.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But wait a minute. Did Biden just refer to LGBT people as having a &ldquo;sexual preference?&rdquo; In 2020, when then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett innocently uttered the same phrase, it became a national controversy. LGBTQ Nation, using that quote as its subheading for an article praising the president, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lgbtqnation.com\/2020\/10\/just-two-words-amy-coney-barrett-revealed-biased-lgbtq-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">demanded in 2020<\/a>, &ldquo;Barrett used the offensive phrase &lsquo;sexual preference,&rsquo; a right-wing dog-whistle that suggests that LGBTQ people can be cured.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The use of this phrase, the site argued in its headline, &ldquo;revealed how biased she is against LGBTQ people.&rdquo; Barrett used the phrase when saying, &ldquo;I have no agenda and I do want to be clear that I have never discriminated on the basis of sexual preference and would not ever discriminate on the basis of sexual preference.&rdquo; Yet this was sufficient to generate outrage headlines in not only LGBT media but across all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-world-of-ubiquitous-racism-new-attack-on-game-of-monopoly\/\" title=\"\u2018A World Of Ubiquitous Racism\u2019: New Attack On Game Of Monopoly\">major news organizations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Here was CNN&rsquo;s headline: &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/10\/14\/us\/sexual-preference-amy-coney-barrett-offensive-trnd\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Amy Coney Barrett&rsquo;s use of the term &lsquo;sexual preference&rsquo; at her hearing alarmed so many<\/a>.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Here&rsquo;s The Washington Post: &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2020\/10\/14\/sexual-preference-coney-barrett-hirono\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sen. Hirono grills Amy Coney Barrett for describing sexual orientation as a &lsquo;preference.&rsquo;<\/a>&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>And this was from USA Today: &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2020\/10\/14\/barrett-confirmation-sexual-preference-remark-alarming-column\/3649884001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge Barrett, don&rsquo;t use &lsquo;sexual preference&rsquo; for LGBTQ people. It&rsquo;s incorrect and alarming<\/a>.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>The left&rsquo;s need to vilify Barrett for using the phrase was so great that Merriam-Webster <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/merriam-webster-changed-definition-sexual-preference-barrett-hearing?msockid=1d46824aff256d1d1c2b9684fe886cc1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">changed its definition<\/a> of &ldquo;sexual preference&rdquo; to include that it was offensive to LGBT people.<\/p>\n<p>USA Today described the event as Barrett stepping into a &ldquo;queer hornet&rsquo;s nest.&rdquo; The author demanded, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s because Barrett used two words &mdash; sexual preference &mdash; that LGBTQ people find offensive, and which takes a blind eye to all the credible scientific research showing that sexual orientation is not a preference or a choice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At Barrett&rsquo;s confirmation hearing, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2020\/10\/14\/sexual-preference-coney-barrett-hirono\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued<\/a>, &ldquo;It is used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice.&rdquo; Barrett was accused of using a homophobic &ldquo;dog whistle&rdquo; to signal her true feelings about LGBT-identifying people to her conservative and Republican supporters.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Even though you didn&rsquo;t give a direct answer I think your response did speak volumes,&rdquo; Hirono <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/10\/14\/us\/sexual-preference-amy-coney-barrett-offensive-trnd\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">continued<\/a>. &ldquo;Not once, but twice, you used the term sexual preference to describe those in the LGBTQ community. And let me make clear, sexual preference is an offensive and outdated term.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/10\/14\/us\/sexual-preference-amy-coney-barrett-offensive-trnd\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a>, &ldquo;The term &lsquo;sexual preference&rsquo; is typically used to suggest that being lesbian, gay or bisexual is a choice and therefore can and should be &lsquo;cured.&rsquo;&rdquo; The mere utterance of the phrase was argued to imply support for conversion therapy and other efforts to &ldquo;harm young people&rdquo; who identify as LGBT. LGBTQ Nation even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lgbtqnation.com\/2020\/10\/just-two-words-amy-coney-barrett-revealed-biased-lgbtq-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pointed out<\/a> that the Associated Press and The New York Times won&rsquo;t allow the term to be used in their reporting due to this extremely negative connotation.<\/p>\n<p>After Hirono scolded Barrett, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, gave the nominee the chance to &ldquo;clarify&rdquo; her statement. Barrett <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/amy-coney-barrett-apologizes-phrase-015613611.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">apologized for using the term<\/a>, saying, &ldquo;I certainly didn&rsquo;t mean and would never mean to use a term that would cause any offense in the LGBTQ community&rdquo; &mdash; an apology <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lgbtqnation.com\/2020\/10\/amy-coney-barrett-halfheartedly-apologizes-using-offensive-term-refer-gay-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LGBT activists dismissed<\/a> as &ldquo;condescending.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Barrett even clarified that she was not indicating any disagreement with the controversial Supreme Court decision in <em>Obergefell v. Hodges<\/em>, which essentially legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, the same position held by Biden. The only difference is, of course, that Barrett was portrayed as an anti-LGBT villain while Biden is portrayed as a pro-LGBT hero.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Sexual preference&rdquo; was not offensive then, and it isn&rsquo;t offensive today. But according to LGBT activists, that all depends on who says it. What became a defining moment in Supreme Court Justice Barrett&rsquo;s confirmation hearing is a passing, innocent phrase in an interview with President Biden. It isn&rsquo;t as if the Washington Blade didn&rsquo;t notice; they included it in their promotion of the interview. They know he said it, but they just don&rsquo;t care this time. That should discredit their selective outrage toward political opponents in all future cases.<\/p>\n<p>What we see is a politically motivated movement that uses its power to pressure, intimidate, and bully when convenient and gives grace and fawning admiration when it benefits them. Leftists care less about deeply offending LGBT people and more about achieving a particular outcome. Right now, they want to memorialize the Biden administration as a glowing example of LGBT &ldquo;progress&rdquo; to support Kamala Harris&rsquo; presidential campaign.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, they were solely interested in sabotaging President Donald Trump&rsquo;s Supreme Court nominee and were willing to say whatever was needed to accomplish that goal. As the Washington Blade included in its interview with Biden: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Meanwhile, conservative elected officials at the local, state, and national levels have led an all-out assault against LGBTQ Americans &mdash; especially those who are transgender, and especially transgender youth, who face an uncertain future with Donald Trump promising to strip them of their rights and reverse the gains of the past four years if he is elected in November.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It&rsquo;s all politics, and it always was.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chad Felix Greene is a senior contributor to The Federalist. He is the author of &#8220;Surviving Gender: My Journey Through Gender Dysphoria,&#8221; and is a social writer focusing on truth in media, conservative ideas and goals, and true equality under the law. You can follow him on Twitter @chadfelixg.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For LGBT activists and media, the definition of what is considered &#8220;offensive&#8221; can change with the political climate. Recently, LGBT media showcased their tendency towards hypocrisy and double standards. In a flattering interview with President Joe Biden, the Washington Blade\u2014a well-known LGBT news outlet\u2014expressed that discussing Biden&#8217;s legacy is challenging without time for proper evaluation, but noted that his heartfelt views on LGBTQ rights are evident in their conversations. The article suggested that Biden represents an unparalleled advancement for LGBT Americans, labeling his administration as the most supportive of LGBTQ issues in U.S. history. Biden remarked on his respect for openly gay individuals he has worked with, stating they often possess more courage than others.<\/p>\n<p>However, there was a notable moment when Biden referred to LGBTQ individuals as having a &#8220;sexual preference.&#8221; This term sparked significant controversy back in 2020 when then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett used it during her confirmation hearings; it was criticized by various outlets including LGBTQ Nation which labeled it an offensive phrase implying that sexual orientation could be changed or &#8220;cured.&#8221; Headlines from major news organizations expressed alarm over Barrett&#8217;s use of this terminology.<\/p>\n<p>The backlash against Barrett was so intense that even Merriam-Webster updated its definition of &#8220;sexual preference&#8221; to indicate its offensiveness toward the LGBTQ community. Critics argued that using this term suggests sexual orientation is a choice rather than an inherent aspect of identity and could imply support for harmful practices like conversion therapy.<\/p>\n<p>During her hearing, Senator Mazie Hirono confronted Barrett about her language choice and emphasized how outdated and offensive she found it. GLAAD also condemned the term as suggesting being part of the LGBTQ community is optional or changeable.<\/p>\n<p>When given a chance to clarify her statement by Senator Joni Ernst, Barrett apologized but was met with skepticism from activists who deemed her apology insincere. She clarified she did not oppose same-sex marriage rights\u2014a stance shared by Biden\u2014yet while she faced vilification as anti-LGBTQ, Biden received praise despite using similar language.<\/p>\n<p>The inconsistency highlights how perceptions can shift based on political allegiance; what was deemed unacceptable from one individual became overlooked when said by another if it served their agenda. This selective outrage reveals a politically driven movement willing to intimidate opponents while celebrating allies regardless of similar missteps in language or ideology.<\/p>\n<p>Chad Felix Greene argues this behavior illustrates how politics often dictate responses rather than genuine concern for those within the community; currently aiming to portray the Biden administration positively aligns with broader political goals such as supporting Kamala Harris\u2019s presidential aspirations while previously seeking to undermine Trump\u2019s judicial appointments through any means necessary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":2343759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1200x675-3.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[23413,3620,4188,5894],"class_list":["post-2343758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-barrett","tag-biden","tag-media","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Untitled-design-1200x675-3.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}