Dem Sen. Gillibrand says 'Our future is Female' -- and then the backlash begins

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) created a stir on Twitter on Wednesday with a tweet that some criticized for being sexist or overly emphasizing identity politics.

Gillibrand wrote: "Our future is: Female, Intersectional, Powered by our belief in one another. And we're just getting started."

What's the problem: The tweet lacked context, so it's unclear what exactly "Our future is female" means, or what kind of intersectionality she's referring to. Absent that context, numerous readers took offense to Gillibrand's message, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Donald Trump Jr.

Rubio responded with this: "Our future is: AMERICAN. An identity based not on gender, race, ethnicity or religion. But on the powerful truth that all people are created equal with a God given right to life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness."

Trump Jr. questioned the wisdom of Gillibrand, a potential candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, taking such a gender-specific stance.

"Good to know," Trump Jr. wrote. "My girls will be excited about this. When is it appropriate to let my boys (9, 7 and 6 years old) that there's no future for them? Not sure this is a winning platform but you be you."

Getting it from both sides: While criticism from the right focused on the blatant identity politics, Gillibrand also took heat from more liberal sources for her oversimplified use of complex ideas like feminism and intersectionality without any real substance or explanation.

"Gillibrand has been doing lots of calls for 'intersectionality,' so it comes as no surprise that she's decided to interject the term into a rallying tweet without any sort of introspective context as to what 'intersectionality is going to mean for her work," Samantha Grasso wrote for Splinter.