How people view and criticize different things throughout life is what forms our strong personal opinions and judgments on these topics. One topic that is found to be currently stirring up quite a storm is transgender people and what type of rights they are allowed to exercise in America. Many people, including myself, were unaware just how many facilities in the United States actually don’t protect people from gender discrimination.
Unfortunately, this lack of security for trans individuals causes them to be denied healthcare and unemployment, a place to call home and the right to use the bathroom that correlates with their chosen gender identities. There is a nationwide law banning discrimination in schools against people who are included in the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) community as well as all bullying and harassment in schools but violence and harassment is still seen quite often in educational facilities.
This provides a step in the right direction for trans people but we still have a long, hard battle towards gender equality. Transgender people have the right to be who they want to be while sharing equal opportunities like everyone else. The Declaration of Independence gives three unalienable rights stating all human beings have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The government was created to protect these rights.
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The dangers of a person of the opposite sex using the restroom they prefer are very obvious, but is every person out to cause danger to other people in the restroom? Transgender people should not be detained from their preference because other people fear they might be sexual predators. Many people feel bothered by the thought of someone of the opposite gender walking into the restroom, however, even without restroom rights for transgender people, the chances of any person walking into a restroom designated to a specific gender is still undoubtedly high. For example, a male or female rapist could walk into any bathroom and pose a huge danger towards anyone walking into the restroom.
Transgender people seldom have sexual attraction for their preferred gender, therefore, it would make sense that they be able to use the restroom of their preferred gender and sexual orientation would be irrelevant since no one asks a person’s gender when using the bathroom anyways. On that note, there is no law prohibiting gay, and lesbian people which are attracted to the same sex from using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity. So why would we exclude transgender people from this type of protection? Skeptics may be afraid of what is unknown, but take into consideration the feelings of a transgender person trying to find themselves amongst the harsh, cruel opinions of naïve people holding them back from happiness.
Going into a restroom, a transgender person feels more at risk of being harassed than anyone else in that restroom. Picture yourself, either a woman or a man, going into the opposite gender’s restroom. It would be humiliating, and skeptics could honestly say they feel completely invaded of privacy and just plain awkward. This is how a transgender person feels every day! When they feel they were meant to be of the opposite sex, but they are still forced to use the restroom according to the gender assigned at birth, they feel completely uncomfortable, vulnerable, and mostly scared. Even when a transgender person walks into their preferred restroom it is still a very scary place, but it feels more comfortable.
It is hard for transgender people to be confident when walking into the restroom because they never know if they are going to be able to pass as their preferred identity. If someone suspects anything, they could be faced with dangerous and detrimental circumstances. You see this type of bullying especially in schools and educational facilities where students are taunted by their classmates for being different than everyone else. Statistics say “A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6 percent of the general population, with rates rising for those who lost a job due to bias (55%), were harassed/bullied in school (51%), had low household income, or were the victim of physical assault (61%) or sexual assault (64%).”
(Cannes) Transgender people feel the same feelings, bleed the same color, and endure the same obstacles in life as everyone else. They have families just like you and I do who either support them or don’t. They just had the misfortune of being born into a body that doesn’t fit their mental profile. So why make it a struggle to use the bathroom? Everyday transgender individuals anticipate overwhelming feelings of anxiety and fear knowing that they might be harassed, called names, looked at differently, mocked, or flat out denied restroom use in any public facility that is not protected by an anti-discrimination clause.
Most avoid using the restroom altogether when they are out in public, avoiding foods and drinks they normally favor just to save themselves the potential embarrassment and humiliation brought upon them by others. “According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Hazards Administration (OSHA), delaying going to the bathroom when you need to go is unhealthy, and so, workplace policy may not encourage it. This is not to mention the dehydrating effects of trying to avoid using restrooms by limiting intake of liquids, another common strategy for TGNC people navigating uncomfortable bathroom situations in the workplace and at other public accommodations.” (Cannes)
The obvious controversy is clear, do we grant trans people the right to access the current bathrooms matching with their preferences, create additional gender-neutral bathrooms for anyone to enter or continue encouraging gender discrimination by making them use the bathroom that fits strictly to their gender chosen at birth. It’s simply not right to refuse bathroom rights to someone just because they don’t look feminine or masculine enough. Courts have increasingly found that this type of gender discrimination against transgender people is more like sex discrimination. I want to sufficiently address the safety issue regarding the allowance of these facilities.
The threat is utterly preposterous and completely under-thought considering the current regulations does nothing to stop a person unlawfully entering the bathroom with the cold intent of harming or sexually assaulting a person using the bathroom. If you reflect on past media reports, most verbal attacks consulting gender hate crimes are strictly highlighting males assaulting and injuring the female population.
But on the contrary, no one has really witnessed or experienced a public assault made against a women or child by a transgender man. Likewise, the same goes for assaults made by a transgender woman on a man. History even shows it’s highly unlikely that someone is going to take advantage of a public facility to hurt, harm or physically abuse another person trying to use the bathroom. Anyone who does pose a threat and puts people in harm’s way usually requires therapy or general mental evaluations regardless if the attack was planned against a transgender person or a cisgender person.
Continuing with the opposing risks associated with the previous statement is my personal knowledge comparing similarities and differences with gender-specific restrooms. On several occasions due to my previous places of employment, I have come face-to-face with a strange, wall mounted toilet called a urinal. The question I thought to myself was how come there wasn’t even a wall to separate each urinal.
They were places so close to each other that if I wanted to look over and see a man’s pelvic region I probably could. This introduces a related fear that sexual assault victims will have a traumatic reconciliation of the attack if they accidentally glimpse over at a male genitalia in the restroom which they are using. Addressing this argument could become a touchy and highly sensitive subject increasing the likelihood of disagreement.
Think of the bathroom as nothing more than a place to relieve yourself and go about your day. There are plenty of examples of gender- neutral accommodations currently not seen as a risk factor, that is until the transgender rights topic was released into the media. So why are more people envisioning these bathrooms as potential places of violence and crime? In the following paragraphs I will use additional research and factual evidence to defend my stance on the equal rights on behalf of the transgender community.
The most effective solution to the equal use of all bathrooms that also eliminates the possibility of making people feel uncomfortable is accommodating a gender-neutral bathroom in every public facility. In order for this to happen, congress must accept and pass a law requiring all fifty states to construct supplementary restrooms where current gender specified restrooms are positioned.
With the creation of those types of resources, trans individuals don’t feel singled out and are protected by the law to use that restroom whenever necessary. Yes, these additions is going to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide a third bathroom in most businesses but the cost of any person(s) feeling as if taking their own life is the only source of relief from the abuse is far costlier. “Consistently across educational experiences (elementary school through college), harassment of various kinds contributed to higher suicide attempt rates. Individuals who reported having been physically assaulted or sexually assaulted reported extremely high rates, including 78 percent of individuals who were sexually assaulted while in college.
The suicide attempt rates among those whose families supported them after coming out as trans were 33 percent, while those who experienced rejection from friends or family faced higher rates. For example, among those whose parents or other family members stopped speaking to them, the attempt rate was 57 percent.’ (STUDY) It’s also a known fact shown by statistics and survey results is that people whose familial relationships had remained strong after they came out reported a significantly lower suicide attempt rate.
Another solution I want to elaborate on is the importance of proper teaching of a trans persons medical needs and what life is like through the eyes of a transgender man or woman. Even though society has seen several violent crimes and actions resulting in casualties on behalf of conflicting opinions and the way they express those opinions, the fight for equality amongst all humankind must push forward. Just like Abraham Lincoln abolished human slavery and Martin Luther King Jr. made a speech that positively impacted the black community encouraging equality between once segregated races, both were shot dead defending and openly expressing their honest opinions. Those types of leaders helped the nation towards where we are today. Without them, and many others, our country wouldn’t be driven by the hopes held deep in our hearts for equality.
