In new ad, Va. Democratic candidate discusses being transgender
Virginia statehouse candidate Danica Roem has put her transgender identity front and center in a YouTube ad meant to chastise her opponent, Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Manassas), for refusing to acknowledge her as a woman.
Roem, who would be the first openly transgender politician elected in Virginia, is shown in the ad taking hormone medication and putting on eye makeup. In a voice-over, she tells viewers that her gender identity “shouldn’t be newsworthy or political.”
“This is just who I am,” Roem continues, before the video fades to the faces of smiling teens. “There are millions of transgender people in the country and we all deserve representation in government.”
A statement released with the video says the ad is a response to a comment Marshall made earlier this month to a reporter from the Prince Williams Times, who quoted Marshall as saying: “Why do you call Danica a female? Did Danica’s DNA change?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-democrat-highlights-transgender-status-in-new-political-ad/2017/09/26/586b201e-a2ae-11e7-ade1-76d061d56efa_story.html
