Excruciating moment Michigan superintendent goes blank as she's asked: 'How many genders are there?'

Daily Mail UK ^ | November 18, 2025 | Laura Parnaby

[Morgana]

Conservatives on social media have erupted with fury over a 15-second video showing a Michigan official dodging a question about how many genders exist.

The MAGA world has unleashed a flood of criticism against Superintendent Sue Carnell over her response to the interrogation by Republican state Rep Jay DeBoyer.

'How many genders are there?' DeBoyer asked Carnell during an October 28 hearing. Carnell smiled and did not answer, prompting the lawmaker to repeat his question.

'Different people have different beliefs on that,' Carnell eventually replied. DeBoyer hit back. 'Well, you can believe all you want, but science says there's two,' he said.

DeBoyer's question came during a Michigan House of Representatives hearing about proposed changes to the Department of Education's Health Education Standards Guidelines, which included adding lessons about gender identity.

The progressive proposals were passed last week, but video of the debate about them went viral on Monday after it was shared by popular X account, Libs of TikTok.

As Chief Deputy Superintendent, Carnell is partly responsible for children's education in Michigan, and the video sparked widespread criticism from the right.

'Three quarters of Michigan kids can’t read at grade level,' Republican State Senator for Michigan Aric Nesbitt wrote in response to the clip. 'When you realize these are the people in charge of education in Michigan, that number starts to make a lot more sense.'

Michigan ranks 44th in the country when it comes to fourth-grade reading scores, according to this year's report from the Education Trust Midwest.

Conservative Americans on X slammed Carnell for her non-answer on the new curriculum, describing it as 'a cop-out'.

'This is beyond embarrassing,' one man wrote. 'If a person can't answer how many genders there are then they shouldn't be allowed to vote.'

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TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: arth; education

[WhiteHatBobby0701]

Only TWO.

[blackdog]

Without the angry dudes with hairy boobs and blue hair, screaming at cameras for the media, the reality of the question presents the absurdities of the ridiculous idea behind the entire woke LGTBQ+ loons.

[Liz]

Dr Sue----"wadda I know---I got my doctorate on my knees w/ these boobs."

"There are many different gender id's: male, female, transgender, gender neutral, non-binary, agender, pan-gender, gender-queer, two-spirit, third gender, and many more identities I cant name, let alone spell."

[Liz]

“3/4’s of Michigan kids can’t read at grade level,”
GOP Michigan state Sen. Aric Nesbitt posted on X.

“When you realize the disturbed educator Carnnel is one of those in charge
of education in Michigan, that number starts to make a lot more sense.”

[Liz]

[Paal Gulli]

If you think there are only two genders, you're as wrong as the people who confuse sex for gender.

This is from the 1912 Oxford English dictionary, before anyone ever heard of political correctness or "WOKEness.":

"Gender" is about GRAMMAR, Not Sex!!!!!!!!

[Fiji Hill]

There are three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two sexes.

[Verginius Rufus]

Math is racist!

[Adder]

She didn’t go blank...she dodged the question.

Did they think she was a biologist or somethin?

;]

[teeman8r]

“Gender” is about GRAMMAR, Not Sex!!!!!!!!

my grammar was all woman... gramper, a manly man.

[Paal Gulli]

English-speakers, and particularly English-only monoglots are baffled by the gender thing because English is the only major language that uses natural gender exclusively. Every other major language uses grammatical gender, meaning everything has gender, even if it doesn’t have sex organs, and its gender has NOTHING to do with sex.

In Spanish, the word for ‘shirt,’ a man’s garment, is feminine. And the word for ‘dress,’ a woman’s garment, is masculine.

In German, the days of the week are masculine and numerals used as nous are feminine.

All of which has NOTHING to do with sex. Which mystifies the English world because in English, gender ALWAYS matches the sex (or lack of) of the object in question.

On top of which, “male” and “female” ARE NOT genders, they are sexes.