The largely godless liberal media are in the tank for Pride Month, worshipping at the altar of the LGBTQ. On Thursday’s CBS Mornings, the crew teamed with an advocate for lesbians in IT (no, this wasn’t concocted by Babylon Bee) to lament trans voices aren’t being “center[ed]” in business and, more broadly, America’s “moving backwards” on LGBTQ “issues” due to a “backlash” from hateful, “anti-trans” mobs upset with Anheuser-Busch and Target.
Leane Pittsford of Lesbians Who Tech and Allies preceded the pity party by explaining her organization came about after seeing “it was a real struggle to get women, non-binary leaders to participate.”
In turn, she was determined to “center LGBTQ women and non-binary leaders because frankly, in the queer, gay, LGBTQ+ space, we don’t get centered that often.” Once she started, “it was like lines out the door and people were so excited.”
Co-host Vladimir Duthiers reacted by fretting that “it does feel, though, disheartening,” asking “if it feels this way to you that it feels as if we’re moving backwards often in this country when it comes to issues surrounding LGBTQ.”
Of course, co-host and Democratic donor Gayle King interjected as Duthiers spoke to agree, saying “yeah” and similarly griping about the lack of universal support for the pro-trans support forced on the populace by “Target and Budweiser.”
“Just look at the backlash,” said both Duthiers and King to Pittsford.
Duthiers added another lament that “[t]he things that you thought were already sort of said and done are coming back to the forefront.”
Pittsford obviously agreed that she thought LGBTQ issues would be widely accepted when she “worked on marriage equality — right — and it was really powerful when tech and business showed up for the community.”
But now, she claimed, corporate America must be even more forceful in defending and promoting transgendersim:
And you know, frankly, I want to see corporate America stand up more for trans leaders, right? Like there is so much anti-trans legislation. We definitely have to show up and step up and you know, economic power can really move the needle here and tech, business, they have a lot of power to fight this and you know, a lot of them are but we have more to do.
To close out the segment, co-host Tony Dokoupil invited Pittsford to plug her upcoming conference that she said will have “20,000 people from all over the world” with speakers such as Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) to discuss abortion with the lesbian IT businesswomen.
Huh?
Thursday’s pro-trans bullying and propaganda was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Google and Kia. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcript from June 8, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
June 8, 2023
8:41 a.m. Eastern [TEASE][ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Coming up; “Changing the Game”]
FORTUNE FEIMSTER: Coming up, we’ll talk with a woman who’s changing the game. Leanne Pittsford is in our Progressive greenroom to tell us about our mission to give more women and LGBTQ people involved in the tech world.
(....)
8:45 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Allies in the Tech World; Founder of “Lesbians Who Tech and Allies” on Mission to Help LGBTQ+]
GAYLE KING: This Pride Month, we are celebrating leaders in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s part of our continuing series, we call it “Changing the Game.” It highlights extraordinary women who are making a difference now and for future generations. We have another badass for you. It’s Leanne Pittsford. She is the CEO and founder of Lesbians Who Tech and Allies. Founded back in 2013, the organization helps people in the LGBTQ community succeed in technology. Leanne, welcome to you.
LEANNE PITTSFORD: Thank you so much for having me.
KING: So let’s go back to 2013. Yes.
PITTSFORD: I know.
KING: That was 10 years ago, Miss Pittsford.
PITTSFORD: Yes, yes. Ten years now.
KING: What did you see or maybe didn’t see that made you think, Houston, we have a problem here, and I can do something?
PITTSFORD: Yeah, you know, a couple of things. I started my career in the queer community. I was managing the data for the non-Prop 8 campaign, and working in the Castro of San Francisco, and you know, you walk around every day and there were not as many women. You know, it was very male, it was very White. And you kind of take a pause and think about why is that, right? And for me, you know, managing the data, I really saw gap in economic power. How can we make sure women, people of color, non-binary trans have more power?
KING: I’ve heard you say it’s not really a talent issue. It’s an access issue. What did that mean?
PITTSFORD: Right. Well, there’s — I mean, that’s part — we’re trying to show the tech business community what tech and business actually look like, right? It’s not that we’re not there. It is that we don’t have access to these jobs or you know, we’re not being lifted up in the same way that maybe our White cis male counterparts are.
TONY DOKOUPIL: Lesbians who Tech is a great, great name.
KING: I know. It is not like —
DOKOUPIL: I love it. It is so funny.
PITTSFORD: You’re welcome to come.
DOKOUPIL: It is so memorable. I am welcome to come?
PITTSFORD: Absolutely.
DOKOUPIL: As a White cis-gender male?
PITTSFORD: Absolutely. That’s what we have “allies” in the name.
DOKOUPIL: All right.
PITTSFORD: It’s actually —
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: It is right there in the name.
DOKOUPIL: It is right there.
PITTSFORD: — right there in the name. So you feel part of it.
KING: — yes, so you feel included.
PITTSFORD: Absolutely.
DOKOUPIL: A hundred and ten thousand members. I mean, this is a big organization.
PITTSFORD: Yes, it is big.
DOKOUPIL: And you started it as an experiment?
PITTSFORD: Yes, I mean, so I had been in the queer community and it was a real struggle to get women, non-binary leaders to participate, right? And we spent a lot of work. You know, we go to these events, and it would mostly be like 90 percent male, and I was like, there has to be a reason.
DOKOUPIL: Yes.
PITTSFORD: And so my hypothesis was what if we center LGBTQ women and non-binary leaders because frankly, in the queer, gay, LGBTQ+ space, we don’t get centered that often, right? Men make more money than women. You put two men together versus two women; if you’re a woman of color, if you’re trans, we often get left out just from an economic perspective, right? So it’s really important to center us and when we did, it was like lines out the door and people were so excited.
DUTHIERS: Leann, it does feel, though, disheartening.
PITTSFORD: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: I don’t know if it feels this way to you that it feels as if we’re moving backwards —
KING: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: — often in this country when it comes to issues —
PITTSFORD: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: — surrounding LGBTQ. Do you feel the same way?
KING: The news with —
PITTSFORD: I mean, I worked on —
KING: — Target and Budweiser.
DUTHIERS: Just look at the backlash.
PITTSFORD: — yeah.
KING: Yeah, the backlash. Yeah.
DUTHIERS: The things that you thought were already sort of said and done —
KING: Yeah.
DUTHIERS: — are coming back to the forefront.
PITTSFORD: Well, you know, as a younge — younger gay — as a younger lesbian, I worked on marriage equality — right — and it was really powerful when tech and business showed up for the community. And you know, frankly, I want to see corporate America stand up more for trans leaders, right? Like there is so much anti-trans legislation. We definitely have to show up and step up and you know, economic power can really move the needle here and tech, business, they have a lot of power to fight this and you know, a lot of them are but we have more to do.
DOKOUPIL: Leanne, we’ve got about 30 seconds before the computer is going to take all the black here.
PITTSFORD: Yes, yes.
DOKOUPIL: You’ve got the Fourth Annual Pride Summit for Lesbians Who Tech coming up — And Allies.
PITTSFORD: Yes.
DOKOUPIL: What can you tell us about it?
PITTSFORD: You know, it’s going to have 20,000 people from all over the world. Kara Swisher Sam Altman, we’re going to talk about generative AI. We’ve got Shani (sp?) —
DOKOUPIL: You have the booking.
PITTSFORD: — yes, no, actually, we’ve got Governor Whitmer talking about policy tack abortion, right? We are a place where we’re trying to solve the world’s biggest problems, right and coming together and find solutions, so it’s free. Anyone can join, LesbiansWhoTech.org. Join us.
DOKOUPIL: That’s awesome. That’s —
PITTSFORD: Yes.
KING: Well, that’s quite a lineup.
DUTHIERS: That’s amazing.
DOKOUPIL: Yes, tell Sam — tell them to come by here.
PITTSFORD: Yes.
DOKOUPIL: Leanne Pittsford, thank you very much. That will do it for us. We will see you tomorrow on CBS Mornings.
KING: CBS Mornings.
DOKOUPIL: Seriously impressive.
KING: Take it easy.
DOKOUPIL: LesbiansDoTech.org.
