Who is Khiara Bridges? Berkeley Law Professor schools Josh Hawley over transphobic remarks in viral video

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Senator Josh Hawley was slammed by UC Berkeley law professor Khiara Bridges for his transphobic rhetoric. The hearing was organized to discuss the future of abortion rights. A video of a heated argument between the two has now gone viral across social media platforms, leaving netizens applauding Bridges for standing against the Republican lawmaker.

During the hearing, Josh Hawley, who was one of the many Republicans against abortions, asked Khiara Bridges why she was using the statement “people with a capacity for pregnancy” instead of just saying “women” while taking about the consequences of Roe v. Wade being overturned. He asked the professor:

“Would that be women?”

Khiara Bridges clapped back:

“Many cis women have the capacity for pregnancy; many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy. There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy as well as nonbinary people who are capable of pregnancy. We can recognize that this impacts women while also recognizing that it impacts other groups. Those things are not mutually exclusive.”

Bridges went on to opine that Hawley’s “line of questioning is transphobic.” She added that the senator’s statement make trans people a target for violence.

Josh Hawley went on to question how his statement would contribute to anti-trans violence, to which Bridges identified that he was denying trans people's existence. She also noted that one out of five trans people die from suicide.

Bridges went on to ask Hawley if he believes men can get pregnant, to which he replied that he does not believe so. The professor went on to prove that this is how he is denying the existence of trans people.

Angrily, Hawley asked Bridges if this was how Bridges' classes ran:

“Are students allowed to question you, or are they also treated like this?”

Bridges responded by saying:

“We have a good time in my class. You should join. You might learn something.”

The video of the exchange has racked up over 4 million views across social media platforms.

After Bridges’ heated exchange with Josh Hawley, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to show her support. She wrote in a tweet:

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Everything to know about Khiara Bridges

Khiara Bridges is a law professor at UC Berkeley School of Law. She graduated summa cum laude and as a valedictorian from Spelman College in 1999 where she pursued a bachelor's degree in sociology. She went on to receive her juris doctorate degree from Columbia University School of Law in 2002. She also graduated with distinction from Columbia University, where she obtained her Ph.D. in anthropology in 2008.

Bridges is best known for her studies concerning race, reproductive rights, class, and the intersection of the three. Adding to her impressive resume, she is also the author of three books: Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization, The Poverty of Privacy Rights and Critical Race Theory: A Primer.

According to her official profile present on the Berkeley website, she is fluent in Spanish and basic Arabic. She is also a trained ballet dancer.