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Mary Gonzalez, First Openly Pansexual Legislator, Explains How She Is Changing Minds In Texas
Mary Gonzalez First Openly Pansexual Legislator Explains How She Is Changing Minds In Texas
Mary Gonzalez, First Openly Pansexual Legislator, Explains How She Is Changing Minds In Texas
As the state legislative session comes to a close in Texas, Democrats have impressively managed to beat back the bulk of over 20 anti-gay bills conservative Republicans had created in committees in an effort to blunt a Supreme Court ruling this month that could bring marriage equality to the entire country, including Texas. Some of the bills were stalled by Democrats running out the clock, while Republicans chose not to move forward with others. Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D-Clint), a member of the Texas House from the El Paso area and the nationās first openly pansexual legislator, says one way she tries to change minds among her colleagues in both parties is by fostering a āfamilialā bond, which she believes goes a long way toward helping people āovercome a lot of their prejudice.ā
Sitting in her office at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, speaking with me for an interview for SiriusXM Progress, Gonzalez first wanted to dispel some misinformation about her identity. She first came out as pansexual ā which is distinct from bisexual because it defines an individual who is attracted to various gender identities ā in 2012 after first being elected, noting that sheād dated transgender and "gender-queer" people. But it had been reported that she came out as lesbian first and then later came out as pansexual. But, she explained, "lesbian" was never an identity that she claimed for herself.
āItās a more complicated history,ā she said. āThe media labeled me [as a lesbian]. I always identified as queer or LGBT-identified or pan. When I first came out in politics, I used to say I was LGBT-identified and the media took that [as], āWell she must be lesbianā as opposed to having a more complex understanding of our sexual community. And so, because of that I had to clarify that and say, āNo, not lesbian. Love them. [laughs] butā¦ā I identify as pan and talk about what that means. And having those conversations does bring up gender diversity and the trans community. And so, Iāve been able to have a lot of conversations about that in the political world in Texas.ā
Mary Gonzalez First Openly Pansexual Legislator Explains How She Is Changing Minds In Texas