Watch: Brad Paisley sings about anti-trans restroom law on Jimmy Kimmel
"Sometimes it's hard to be a woman, especially when you were born a man."
“North Carolina, they’re checking for vaginas, if you want to use the can.”
–Country singer Brad Paisley, singing on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Paisley used his appearance to sing a parody of Tammy Wynette’s country classic “Stand by Your Man,” dropping his own lyrics in to poke fun at North Carolina’s anti-transgender law, HB 2. The law forces trans people to use a public restroom that corresponds with their birth gender.
While Paisley should be commended for seeming to oppose HB 2 — “Why is this such a big deal?” he sings — his lyrics are more than a little strange. As Huffington Post pointed out, Paisley misgenders the subject of his song, which seems to be about trans women using a female restroom.
Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman, especially when you were born a man. North Carolina, they’re checking for vaginas, if you want to use the can.
I say: stand by your man, we’re all just human beings. He’s just a human peeing, in the stall right next to you.
Sit by your man. Why is this such a big deal? Hike up your dress and take a stand. And sit by your man.
HuffPo asked Paisley’s publicist for clarification. “Brad is all about finding that Mark Twain humorous angle where people are laughing before they realize he’s making a really good point,” they said, which didn’t exactly clarify his choice of lyrics.
Still, that Paisley sang the song in the first place — and preaches a “live and let live” message — is something to champion, given country music isn’t typically associated with liberal thinking.
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