I'm a political progressive,
I defend people with unusual bodies,
but I have to admit to you
that it makes me nervous.
Understanding that these categories
are really much more unstable
than we thought makes me tense.
It makes me tense from the point of view
of thinking about democracy.
So in order to tell you
about that tension,
I have to first admit to you
a huge fan of the Founding Fathers.
I know they were racists,
I know they were sexist,
but they were great.
I mean, they were so brave and so bold
and so radical in what they did,
that I find myself watching that cheesy
musical "1776" every few years,
and it's not because of the music,
which is totally forgettable.
It's because of what happened in 1776
with the Founding Fathers.
The Founding Fathers were,
for my point of view,
the original anatomical activists,
and this is why.
What they rejected
was an anatomical concept
and replaced it with another one
that was radical and beautiful
and held us for 200 years.
So as you all recall,
what our Founding Fathers were
rejecting was a concept of monarchy,