The Mayor of West Hollywood, John M. Erickson, tried and failed miserably to explain the problem with epidemic “racialized” and “gendered architecture” in his city.
In a hilarious clip posted on X from The Free Press, a reporter asked Erickson to explain a discussion brought up at a recent city council hearing when members expressed their feelings about this kind of space in the city.
The mayor was asked to explain “racialized space in architecture” and he replied, by repeating the question and adding “well, it’s how do you understand gendered space in architecture.”
The reporter then pressed him to explain “gendered space,” and the mayor replied: “Well there’s actually several great books about it. When you look at architecture or building or zoning codes they all play into the same space in which how do we create an open an environment — open and inviting environment for all communities.”
The reporter then tried once again to get Erickson to explain what he meant and the Mayor delivered another word salad, reminiscent of something Vice President Kamala Harris would say at such an event.
WATCH: The *very real* mayor of West Hollywood attempts to explain—to an increasingly hopeless @BenKawaller—the epidemic of “racialized” and “gendered architecture” in his city.
Get more of “Ben Meets America!”—West Hollywood edition: https://t.co/yGvWguqS4x pic.twitter.com/4Npwfh0DUf
— The Free Press (@TheFP) May 29, 2024
“Well a gendered space in architecture, when you look at how was stuff opened like when you look at metro stops, when you look at bus stops, you look at a lot of transportation hubs, a lot of things, are they more friendly to people of both genders,” Erickson said. “Or all genders? These are all questions that we are looking at when we look at cities and how they’re built these days.”
The reporter gave it one more try asking the mayor how a “transportation hub” could be “unfriendly to men or to women,” and Erickson replied, “I mean, don’t you already know the answer to that question?”
This back and forth continued with Erickson talking about spaces that don’t have a shelter from the weather or proper lighting or a bench or open spaces, completely failing to provide what “racialized spaces” or “gendered spaces in architecture” were despite the reporter’s numerous attempts at getting a straight answer.
At one point, the reporter pointed to the building behind them, the West Hollywood Library, and asked the mayor what was “racialized or gendered” about the library.
Erickson replied, “well, it’s not anymore. It’s brand new. So, I think this space is more inviting to — to one that was just over there [pointing] Don’t you?”