Ezra Constante

Mrs. Theiss

Honors English II

30 September 2016

Am I Supposed to Pee in the Street?

As greater amounts of people come to terms with their gender identity,

society has to be able to accommodate them. However, various people are not

ready for such change. In May 2016, states including Texas, Arizona, Alabama,

Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Utah, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

registered a federal lawsuit that disputed the U.S. Departments of Education and

Justice acknowledging that schools must create a safe and civil space for all

students, including transgender students. This indicates that transgender students

residing in these states must use the restroom that correlates with their sex organs,

rather than their gender. Although people disagree with transgender students

entering bathrooms that correspond with their sex because they feel threatened,

transgender students deserve a place to comfortably and safely use the restroom,

thus, multi-stall gender neutral restrooms must be enacted in schools.

To begin with, for one to understand this issue, they must understand key

concepts and definitions that describe this matter. These definitions include the

difference between sex and gender identity and the terms transgender and

cisgender. According to the Merriam-Webster definitions, sex refers to a persons

sex organs and what is in their pants whereas gender is how someone identifies in
their head. The Merriam-Webster defines transgender as someone who identifies

differently from the sex they were assigned at birth and a cisgender person is

someone who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a

transgender male has the gender of a male and the sex of a female (if they have

not transitioned). A cisgender female has the sex of a female and the gender of a

female. Gender and sex does not have to match and having a sex different from a

persons gender does not make them any less of the gender they identify as. Many

people fail to understand these concepts and definitions which fail to stimulate safe

spaces for transgender people.

Furthermore, establishing multi-stall gender neutral restrooms establish a

sense of safety within schools. According to the Office for Victims of Crime, 12% of

transgender youth have reported being sexually assaulted in K-12 settings by their

peers and educational staff. Many people suggest turning a one-person teacher

restroom into a gender neutral bathroom, however this grants bullies and

transphobic people the opportunity to target their trans peers and creates a

dangerous environment where the bullies could wait outside and attack a trans

student. With the installment of these gender neutral restrooms, transgender

students will have less chances of being victimized because there will be numerous

stalls.

Additionally, multi stall gender neutral bathrooms must be founded in schools

because they do not disclose a transgender persons gender identity without their

consent. Because these restrooms are gender neutral, anyone can use them,

regardless of someones gender and if they are transgender or cisgender. For

example, a transgender girl does not have to risk having the fact that shes

transgender revealed to the entire school when entering this restroom because she
does not have to advertise her gender when entering it. As a transgender male at

North Oldham High School, there have been times where I have entered a male

restroom and people have posted my picture on Snapchat and said This girl was

washing her hands in the boys bathroom and I walked out. Additionally, people

have posted tweets on Twitter describing my appearance and said that they saw a

girl walk out of the boys bathroom. When I thought I had been passing (presenting

as the gender I identify as and people seeing me as that gender), people were

exposing me as transgender without my permission and calling me a girl. Incidents

like this have caused me to feel very unsafe at my school. No one should have to be

terrified to wash their hands. In like manner, gender neutral bathrooms are the

safest solution because they will not attract bullies. They do not catch peoples

attention because they are not out of the ordinary and people use them within their

own homes. As has been noted, gender neutral multi stall bathrooms are essential

to schools because they provide the students with safe and comfortable facilities.

Moreover, not only do these restrooms create safe and comfortable lavatories,

but they are necessary because cisgender people will still have their designated

men and women restrooms. Oftentimes, people are concerned about mixing sexes

within restrooms, however, this should not be a worry because gender neutral

bathrooms offer a place for transgender people to go and cisgender people would

not be losing anything. It is simply an additional restroom that people can use to

avoid violence and feel safe.

Likewise, most people will argue that transgender women should not be allowed

to enter womens restrooms because cisgender girls are at risk and parents are

afraid that their daughters could get assaulted. In like manner, people will describe

transgender women as men dressing up as women so that they can attack others.
They demonize transgender people, deeming them as perverts and rapists. This

argument is not a legitimate fear, but rather a cloak for transphobia and peoples

ignorance. There is no evidence that a transgender person has ever assaulted

someone in the bathrooms. Thus, gender neutral bathrooms must be installed to

terminate this fear. Additionally, people disagree with the introduction of gender

neutral bathrooms because they simply see no use for them. Many people will argue

that genders falling under the transgender spectrum are simply not real. However,

there are people that do not identify as a man or woman and do not feel

comfortable entering a bathroom labeled as one or the other. Overall, gender

neutral bathrooms must be added to schools because they promote safety and

comfortability.

Overall, multi-stall restrooms should be promoted in schools because they

promote safety, comfortability, and allow choices for students. Although this may

not have been an issue a few years ago, around 2-5% of the population nationally

fall under the transgender spectrum, according to the Advocates for Youth. With this

data in mind, it is mandatory that schools create safe and accepting environments

for all of their students, regardless of their gender identity.

Finally, this is not simply an issue about liberals vs. conservatives. This is a

debate regarding civil rights. It is a debate about my rights and my transgender

brothers, siblings, and sisters rights that literally determines if we deserve to go

pee. People should not feel like them using the bathroom is an inconvenience. But

most of all, this is a debate about acceptance for one another.