Leftist publications are furious that an Axios article published on October 1 suggests that Sen. Krysten Sinema’s bisexuality does not necessarily equate to “wokeness.”

“Progressives could be forgiven for presuming that Sinema, 45, the first openly bisexual member of Congress, who’s easy to spot in her trademark sleeveless dresses, wry wigs and acrylic glasses, would share their woke politics,” the article stated. This triggered a number of leftist outlets, including LGBTQ Nation and the Washington Post. 

“But Axios, a beltway news outlet, decided to defend her in an odd way: by tying her obstruction to her bisexuality,” wrote Alex Bollinger of LGBTQ Nation. “Bisexual people – like people of any sexual orientation – can belong to any political ideology, and social media users called out Axios for making Sinema’s obstructionism about her bisexuality.”

“From the left’s standpoint, the issue isn’t that Sinema doesn’t support their politics on race; she does,” wrote Phillip Bump of The Washington Post. “The problem is that, like other moderate Democrats, she doesn’t support policies aimed at bolstering the social safety net or increasing taxes on wealthy Americans. This is ‘woke’ only if you assume that the exercising of government power to aid the less fortunate is centrally an effort to help non-White Americans — a group that is disproportionately poor.”

The left’s sensitivity about Sinema’s sexuality shows the degree to which gender ideology is so integral to their “woke” politics.