A New York politician called Cynthia Nixon an “unqualified lesbian,” and, um no
In case you haven’t heard, actress and activist Cynthia Nixon is running for governor of New York. And while Nixon’s long history of political involvement has made many excited to see her enter the realm of politics, not everyone is super thrilled. On March 20th, New York politician Christine Quinn called Nixon an “unqualified lesbian” in response to news of the Sex and the City star’s campaign.
Quinn, who ran for mayor of New York City in 2013 and is herself openly gay, told the New York Post that Nixon doesn’t have what it takes to be governor.
"Cynthia Nixon was opposed to having a qualified lesbian become mayor of New York City," Quinn told the Post. "Now she wants an unqualified lesbian to be the governor of New York. You have to be qualified and have experience."
Nixon opposed Quinn during the 2013 mayoral race, instead campaigning on behalf of Quinn’s rival in the Democratic primary, Bill de Blasio. Quinn is a supporter of current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is more moderate than de Blasio and whom Nixon will challenge in the primary race this year.
The actress responded to Quinn’s comments by saying, “Her being a lesbian and my being a lesbian” was not the issue. Rather, she told the Post, the race should focus on “corruption in Albany.”
On Twitter, Quinn clarified that she hadn’t meant to criticize Nixon because of her identity, only meaning to draw a comparison between the two women.
To be clear, Cynthia Nixon’s identity has no bearing on her candidacy and it was not my intention to suggest it did. I want to be clear about that. I would never, EVER, criticize someone because of their identity. 1/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
I’ve experienced it time and time again, and would never support it or condone it. As a lesbian who ran one of the most high profile races in the country, i know what that’s like. And I know it’s imperative that we encourage more members of our community to run for office. 2/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
Cynthia Nixon aggressively opposed my candidacy in New York despite my qualifications for the office and despite my strong progressive credentials. I was attempting to make a comparison between the two of us. 3/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
The real point I am trying to make is that qualifications matter and records matter. I do not believe she has the qualifications or the record. 4/4
— Christine Quinn (@chriscquinn) March 20, 2018
Quinn’s remark does highlight a valid criticism of Nixon — she has never held political office and could be considered unqualified. However, as Nixon said, her sexual orientation has nothing to do with her capability to serve as governor of New York, and Quinn should not have mentioned it. And Quinn’s claim that Nixon didn’t want to see a “qualified lesbian” become mayor of New York City is misleading. In 2013, Nixon told The New York Times that she didn’t have a problem with Quinn personally; she simply disagreed with Quinn’s stance on the issues.
No matter how tongue-in-cheek Quinn intended her comment to be, the fact is that it ignored Nixon’s actual platform and reduced her to a sexual identity (which Nixon herself has said is more complicated than the word “lesbian” implies). Let’s use this as a reminder to stick to what’s important here — the candidates’ actual views.