Katelyn Burns says it was wrong to mock trans people’s pronouns with this style of joke
Freelance journalist and columnist, writing under her own byline for Xtra Magazine
“Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for Texas governor, spawned an online backlash from some lefty trans posters by appearing to mock pronouns. "My pronouns are mom, Texan and soon-to-be governor," she says in a recent campaign video posted to YouTube. When I made a post on Bluesky pointing out that none of those words are pronouns, and implied that it was wrong to mock trans people's pronouns with this style of joke, a bunch of Bluesky liberals took umbrage.”
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
Signed opinion column by Katelyn Burns, published September 16, 2026 at 1:42 p.m. Eastern. The passage on Hinojosa sits inside a wider argument about Democratic candidates conceding ground on transgender policy; the column's other examples are James Talarico in Texas and Josh Turek in Iowa. Excerpt transcribed from the rendered page.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Burns's column addresses several Democrats it says have conceded ground on transgender policy before the 2026 midterms, opening with James Talarico's Fox News remarks and later turning to Josh Turek in Iowa.
After the quotation
Burns notes that her Bluesky post about the ad drew objections from liberal users. The column argues that these concessions are not marginal and that transgender Americans have lost established rights over the past five years.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Did Gina Hinojosa’s “Pronouns” ad mock transgender Texans?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether the closing line of Hinojosa's September 9 "Pronouns" ad — "My pronouns are Mom, Texan, and soon to be: Governor" — mocked transgender Texans; that line is the fixed reference point, not Abbott's attacks on her record. Burns states in her own voice that it was wrong to mock transgender people's pronouns with this style of joke, and places Hinojosa in a column arguing that such concessions harm transgender people. That is an express criticism of the conduct at issue. The closest competing label is challenges_characterization, since a strand of the passage is the descriptive point that none of the named words are pronouns. That loses because she does not stop at the description: she goes on to the substantive evaluation that the joke was wrong. minimizes does not apply, and she offers no defence of the ad.
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- Gina Hinojosa
Did Gina Hinojosa’s “Pronouns” ad mock transgender Texans?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
More from this case
Read the full case“Yes, I saw the 'my pronouns are' ad, and yes. I also think that was a bad move that didn't consider the reality trans people living here face; but Governor Abbott wants to erase trans people altogether.”Read statement
“Republicans are using people like me and my friends as a wedge issue to distract from their own failings - on that much, I agree with Hinojosa. But it's really easy for commentary about that problem to descend into complete apathy about trans issues. I'm unsure what 'my pronouns are mom, Texan, and soon-to-be Governor' is supposed to communicate. And I don't think actual swing voters will get it, either.”Read statement
Gina Hinojosa for Texas
“Culture wars are over in 2026. 99.9% of us lost, and corporates power won. While we fought each other at Thanksgiving, 15 billionaire tech dudes won; they amassed power and now they are about to blow up the planet if we don't come back together to save ourselves.”Read statement