First posted on Instagram
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a packed town hall at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine, on Thursday that she supports transgender women's participation in women's sports and single-sex spaces, arguing that excluding them amounts to an attack on all women — and defending her position by saying, “I support the rights of trans women because I'm a girl's girl.”
The New York Democrat made the remarks during a “Students vs. Billionaires” event hosted by the progressive nonprofit More Perfect University, where she was campaigning for Democrat Troy Jackson, who is challenging Republican Sen. Susan Collins for her U.S. Senate seat.
The exchange began when a transgender student from the University of Southern Maine asked the congresswoman how she felt about the Democratic Party treating the trans community as a “losing issue” it was not worth defending. Ocasio-Cortez apologized and rebuked Democrats who retreat after elections: “First and foremost, I want to just let you know how shameful and sorry I am that there are people out there that scare so easily after an election.” She added: “I think it's what people hate most about politics, which is politicians who will jump on this side or that side of the line at a moment's notice.”
On sports, she said: “I don't support the rights of trans people just to protect my own rights, but I support the rights of trans women because I'm a girl's girl. And I think that all of our bodily autonomy is tied together. The right to choose over our bodies is the right to choose over our bodies.” She argued the administration's fixation on trans girls in sports is a way to weaken Title IX, the federal law that protects women and girls in school from sex discrimination.
In a second clip from the same event, circulated by the RNC's research arm, she framed restrictions on transgender access to women's sports and locker rooms as an attack on women's “ability to stand up against … abusers, rapists, and assaulters” on college campuses.
The clips drew immediate backlash online. Former collegiate swimmer and women's-sports advocate Riley Gaines quoted the “girl's girl” line and wrote, “Profound, really” — while others argued the phrase traditionally describes women who prioritize other women rather than competing for male approval. The remarks landed twelve days before the November 3 midterms, as Democrats nationally have been recalibrating on transgender issues after Republicans attacked them on women's sports.