It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that the left was all about labels.
“The first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court…”
“The first woman vice president…”
“The highest-ranking transgender woman in government…”
“The first black president…”
Et cetera. Et cetera. Ad nauseam.
But if you haven’t heard, suddenly labels aren’t cool. I know, who knew? NBC News is learning the hard way that labels are suddenly taboo after a tweet about the current Jeopardy! champ Mattea Roach went viral. The 23-year-old Roach is on a 17-game winning streak and has accumulated nearly $400,000 in winnings as of Wednesday.
“The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto has amassed a total of $320,081, the most by a Canadian contestant in ‘Jeopardy!’ history,” NBC News’s tweet reads.
The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto has amassed a total of $320,081, the most by a Canadian contestant in “Jeopardy!” history. https://t.co/D8HrFU1cJT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 25, 2022
“…as Roach breaks “Jeopardy!” records, she’s also amounted another noteworthy accolade,” explains NBC News. “Roach, who is a lesbian, according to her Twitter account, has become the game show’s latest LGBTQ sensation.”
For some reason, many on social media were triggered by the NBC News tweet.
“Is her sexual orientation really relevant here?” asked Chris Taylor of Reuters.
Mike Drolet, a reporter at Global National in Toronto, was also perplexed. “I’ve done two stories over the past few weeks on Jeopardy phenom Mattea Roach,” he tweeted. “Never once mentioned she was a lesbian because I didn’t see it as relevant. In the US she’s described as ‘a lesbian tutor from Toronto’. She’s smart. Quirky. Fun. Why does being a lesbian matter?”
It’s a fair question. My first thought when this controversy blew up was, “Oh, she’s a lesbian?” because I’ve been watching Jeopardy! on Hulu. While I’m not completely caught up, I have seen her win several games, and so far her sexual orientation hasn’t come up or otherwise been alluded to yet in any of the episodes I’ve seen. This stands in stark contrast to, say, Amy Schneider, the man who identifies as a woman, who apparently used every moment he spoke candidly with the host to bring up his status as transgender. The media wouldn’t shut up about it.
A Google search of articles on Amy Schneider finds a plethora of examples highlighting his being transgender. NBC News had every reason to believe that their tweet was à la mode because the media is, quite literally, obsessed with gender identity and sexuality when it fits the correct narrative, like when a black woman is nominated to the Supreme Court or a transgender Jeopardy! contestant is on a hot streak.
Related: Man Becomes Jeopardy’s Top ‘Female’ Earner
But, just as transgenderism seems to be erasing lesbians, highlighting a contestant for being a lesbian is apparently no longer an acceptable form of LGBTQ exploitation in the media.
Please take note of this for future reference.
It’s worth noting here that the NOH8 Campaign not only tweeted the NBC News article but “Congratulations Mattea Roach! The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto is the highest-winning Canadian contestant in @Jeopardy history #NOH8.”
Congratulations Mattea Roach! The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto is the highest-winning Canadian contestant in @Jeopardy history #NOH8 https://t.co/ONInmwA1UQ
— NOH8 Campaign (@NOH8Campaign) April 26, 2022
If you’re confused, you’re not alone.
NBC News may be garbage, but did they have any reason to think their tweet would go viral for the wrong reasons? Of course not. American culture has become obsessed with gender identity and sexuality to the point where it is literally impossible not to have these things thrown in our face constantly. They were just jumping on the trend.
Sure, the tweet was weird, but so is every other tweet and headline that emphasizes an individual’s sexuality or gender identity as if it’s the most important thing we need to know about them.
