Last Updated on July 5, 2022
A state politician in Rhode Island posted a bizarre campaign video on the Fourth of July while at the beach. Tiara Mack, the Democratic state senator from Rhode Island’s sixth district took to her TikTok account to encourage voters to support her in the upcoming election. The message was short and to the point: “Vote Senator Mack!”
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1544131356526948352?s=20&t=jlGurCd4fWFgmw8FB9p0hw
Part of Mack’s pitch to voters involved twerking upside-down on camera in a bikini, while presumably celebrating her Fourth of July holiday at a Rhode Island beach. The post, shared by Twitter account Libs of TikTok, went viral, and also became fodder for the site’s meme makers.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1544198011164577793?s=20&t=jlGurCd4fWFgmw8FB9p0hw
— john (@johnhackerla) July 5, 2022
Mack herself responded to the attention her twerking display received from right-leaning Twitter users, lamenting that “Twerking upside down really makes the conservative, unhinged internet accounts pop off on a Monday.”
https://twitter.com/MackDistrict6/status/1544136388064727041?s=20&t=jlGurCd4fWFgmw8FB9p0hw
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mack has embraced some controversial educational practices, as one of her preferred pieces of legislation involves teaching sex education in a way that is “queer-inclusive and pleasure based”.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1544132400325701632?s=20&t=jlGurCd4fWFgmw8FB9p0hw
Sex education is currently a hot-button issue, especially among parents. Legislation such as Florida’s wildly popular Parental Rights in Education Law was made as a direct response to the type of education that Mack has supported. Other states have attempted to address this issue as well, as controversial books related to sex and gender have been found in public schools, even in solidly conservative areas.
Tiara Mack has taken the opposite route, as she sponsored a bill requiring sexual orientation and gender identity to be discussed in Rhode Island public schools. “Comprehensive, inclusive, pleasure-based health education equips and empowers our youth with a positive sense of self, and teaches them how to properly engage in healthy, consensual relationships,” Mack told WJAR in Providence. Mack’s legislation has received scrutiny, even from some Democrats, according to the report.
Mack’s Twitter bio also provides a glimpse into her political ideology, as it includes “she/her” pronouns, mentions that she is a “Queer Educator” and an “Abortion Fundraiser.”
Mack also tweets often about her black and queer identity.
As a Black, queer woman you all should know the answer. It’s no. Let’s them carry on their narrative. Me? I’m going to be joyful, free, and unbothered.
— Tiara Mack (@MackDistrict6) July 5, 2022
