Bill O’Reilly’s Dangerous Parenting Advice For Transgender Kids
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 4th, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
Bill O’Reilly’s Dangerous Parenting Advice For Transgender Kids
On a network notorious for its problematic coverage of transgender issues, Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor stands out as an especially egregious forum for transphobia, with host Bill O’Reilly using his perch to dispense bigoted and dangerous advice for parents raising transgender children.
During the June 3 edition of The O’Reilly Factor, O’Reilly invited The Five co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle and Fox contributor Lisa Weihl to discuss six-year-old Ryland Whittington, whose parents Jeff and Hillary posted a YouTube video – now viewed nearly 5 million times – describing Ryland’s discovery of his gender identity and their acceptance of his gender transition.
Throughout his discussion of Whittington’s story, O’Reilly misgendered him as a girl, stating that he wouldn’t have allowed Ryland to identify as a boy if he was his parent:
O’REILLY: I always put myself in the shoes, I wouldn’t do it. Would you do it? I wouldn’t do it.
WEIHL: If my child was saying this is how I identify myself –
O’REILLY: At 5?
WEIHL: And all the experts are saying let him or her be –
O’REILLY: And you let the she be a boy? Would you do it?
[…]
O’REILLY: We know you are touchy-feely. I don’t think five-year-olds make those kinds of decisions.
[…]
O’REILLY: If she wants to play football, I’d let her, but she is still a girl. [emphasis added]
