Transgender Bathroom Rights: The frontlines of discrimination today

By Lola Bennett

For most of us choosing which bathroom we use is easy: we simply choose the

door that represents our biological gender. The transgender community, however, faces

some challenges. In some states, they are being forced to use the bathroom that matched

with their biology, and in others, they may use unisex or private restrooms. Is it

discrimination when they are obliged to use a bathroom that does not represent who

they feel they are? Are people using scare tactics to implement laws forbidding the

transgender community access? This paper will take a look at whats been said, on both

sides, to gain an understanding of the full argument. It will focus on the personal

experience of a student at the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) and what this

means for them firsthand. Having done my research I believe that it's not just

transgender students but everyone who should be able to use the bathroom of their

choice, its a civil right and biology should not weigh into the decision.

To begin with, we need to look at the difference between gender and sex. Our sex

deals with our biological makeup (chromosomes) and our gender is the characteristics

we attach to ourselves as well as the influences of our culture and the society we live in.

In this respect, there can be many interpretations of human behavior according to

gender depending on which country you live in as well as the type of person you are.

There is no simple one-size-fits-all definition, and we do not all fit neatly into labeled

boxes. For the sake of this paper, I will look at gender from the broader context of being
the identity a person equates themselves with as opposed to the sexual organs they were

born with.

I was privileged to interview a student from NECI (a transgendered male) about

his experiences with this issue and what struck me was how eloquent and calm he was

about the heated issue. Here was a person who had clearly been through alot and I was

moved to hear his words. I asked first how he was treated at college and his response

was that it had always been positive which was good to hear. When I asked him his view

on the debate he basically said The debate over the transgender bathroom debate is

more than just being able to pee where I feel comfortable. It's about society and the

country as a whole viewing people with unique gender identities as human beings

deserving of basic rights. If lawmakers and politicians won't even give these people the

right to use the bathroom they want, how will we ever move beyond this? (Feldman).

In other words, given that we are all human beings, we should all have the same rights. I

went on to ask him about how he thought the community could bring about positive

change. His response as that educating people on transgender rights is key. Any

change, no matter how small, helps. If a town adds a gender-neutral bathroom, thats a

small step but its going in the right direction. I was interested as to what he wanted the

people who opposed this bill to know. Quite simply he wants them to know that

everyone using the bathroom of their choice wont affect them. Transgender people just

want to use the bathroom, feel comfortable, and not make others uncomfortable, just

like everyone else. My final question was what did he think the outcome of this debate

would be. In the end, history will be on our side. Society has managed to accept
immigrants, people of color, gays and lesbians and I believe our case is no different, it

will just take time and determination (Feldman).

So many social norms have changed and become lawfully acceptable even in my

lifetime. Gay marriage became legal in 2015 and in 2016 the Obama administration sent

out a statement to all educational institutions in the USA allowing transgender people to

use any bathroom they felt comfortable in. Now in February 2017, a few weeks into

Trumps presidency this has been reversed. Along with the reversal was the threat to

remove school funding for any educational institution that did not go along with the new

legislation (Glum). This reversal of policy gives schools two choices: break the law or

follow the rules, and it has started a nationwide debate with opinion divided amongst

the Republican party themselves as well as those opposed to these measures. But social

conservatives argue that President Barack Obamas policy would allow potential sexual

predators access to bathrooms and create an unsafe environment for children (Peters)

and The federal government has absolutely no right to strip parents and local schools

of their rights to provide a safe learning environment for children(Peters). While no

one is arguing for any school to be unsafe for children, there is no evidence to suggest

the transgender people are sexual predators.' This makes the above comment

dangerous because not only is there no evidence to back this up but it is also starts

putting seeds of doubt into not only parents but also everyones minds and perhaps

makes them make judgments that are not true.

Peoples civil rights entitle them to equal treatment regardless of race,

gender, or if they have a disability. In other words, we are all allowed to take part

in civil and political life no matter who we are. If we look at this in regards to the

current bathroom issue, we can argue that not allowing someone to use the

bathroom that fits the gender we identify with is taking away our civil right.

Civil rights are everyones issues; they are not just state or national issues. Just

because the transgender people are in a minority group does not for one moment

make them less valid.

The bathroom debate echo the civil rights battles from our past? From the

mid-1800s up to the 1960s, Jim Crow was a series of racial laws that included whites

only water fountains as well as segregation in schools (PBS). During this time black

people were second-class citizens. They were literally labeled as inferior to white people

on every level. Black people were not even allowed to shake hands with a white person

or even make eye contact. Not only was the segregation physical but it was also on an

emotional level. Too make matters worse religious leaders and academics of the time

endorsed this (Crow).

Women have also had to fight for privacy in bathrooms (to nurse their children),

and disabled people have been excluded from jobs where there was no viable access for

them to bathrooms. People feel exposed and vulnerable when it comes to these issues,

as they should. The irony is that the one thing we all need and use is a bathroom. To use

it to highlight the difference, in the case of transgender people, or anyone for that

matter, is humiliating at least and offensive at best.

The conservative right wing politicians use traditional family values, meaning the

dated model of the perfect heterosexual family, as the poster child for the argument
that.?.Their view is that the fabric of society, as they know it, starts to disappear by not

only single parents (once the target of such groups) but also gay and transgender people.

The problem with this view is that families come in all shapes and sizes and the so-called

perfect family does not necessarily equal happy just as a single parent family does not

always mean unhappy.' The point is that when we get lost in labels and what people

think is the norm we forget that collectively, as human beings, we are more similar

than we are different. To target one group over another is morally wrong.

As it stands, the LGBT community is fighting for transgender people to use the

bathroom that matches the identity they feel. By not letting them do so the following

problems arise. Firstly, by drawing attention to their difference,' they believe that

additional attention is placed on them which for many is difficult to handle. Students in

high schools have reported not going to the bathroom and drinking less in the day to

avoid having to use public bathrooms. This has led to health issues such as urinary tract

disorders and anxiety ( Glum). Also, feeling supported and valued at any school is

important for our mental well-being and our ability to learn! The following statistics

show that we still have a long way to go to make this reality:

75.1% of transgender students feel unsafe at school because of their gender

expression
63.4% of transgender students reported avoiding bathrooms
41% of transgender or gender nonconforming people have attempted suicide
(Gender)

Opinions held by those who are against transgender people using the bathroom

they want are often based on unrealistic fears. Parents worry that a transgender person
with male genitalia will molest their child. Here there is an apparent confusion with

pedophiles and transgender people. To this day there has not been a single reported

attack by a transgender person on anyone in a bathroom (Redheaded). In short, they

just want to use the bathroom!! It seems to run parallel to the Boy Scout movement

banning gay men from being Scout leaders for fear they will prey sexually on young

boys. Once again this is grounded in fear and not fact. Recently the movement lifted its

ban, but we dont applaud yet, the battle is only half won. It is still up to individual

troops but religious characters, who run 70% of the Scouts, can use religious beliefs as

criteria for selecting adult leaders, including matters of sexuality (American). It almost

seems that just as something is given it is immediately taken away or there's always

some loophole in the fine print.

We need to look at the issues specifically facing transgender teens aside from the

removal of their civil right to use the bathroom they choose. Some people say that they

should have their own bathrooms, but I wonder if that is just trade off. To put it another

way, does giving transgender people their own bathroom take something away from

them? I would argue that it does just that. It takes away their right to choose and further

divides them from other students; it highlights difference when you give someone

accommodations even if the intentions are good. While some may see private or unisex

bathrooms as a privilege, many transgender people do not. As it is their debate and their

opinions that matter here, we should take them more into account and not just presume

they would be happy with an arrangement that someone who is not transgender has

come up with. As if life is not hard enough, any schools insistence that they are
segregated from their peers also sends a message that the students gender identity is

not real or valid and represents an official refutation of the childs sense of

self(Depression). Imagine how crushing that would be to a person as it reinforces

difference but not in a positive light.

America is clearly still divided on the subject with 51% for transgender people

using the bathroom of their choice ( Green). This shows that its only a slight majority in

favor and that many people are still against this fundamental freedom. That said the

tides are starting to change, as of two years ago there were more people against the idea

than for it. Today there are eighteen states banning discrimination by identity

(Pearson).

One of the things that stood out as I read more and more on this subject is that

there are a lot of myths. First, there is the myth that transgender men are going to harm

women and children in some way. As I mentioned above, there is no recorded incidence

of this. There are, however, many reports of transgender people being attacked both

physically and verbally. In fact, a 2013 survey found that 70% of respondents reported

being denied access, verbally harassed, or physically assaulted in public restrooms

(Pearson), Emanuella Grinberg). Another claim is that being transgender is just a

phase or a mental illness. There is no support for these claims within the medical

community. The clear majority of mainstream medical, psychiatric and psychological

communities agree that being transgender is not a concocted fantasy or mental illness.

It's simply a valid state in which one's gender does not match what was assigned at

birth. (Grinberg) Not only is this insulting to people and their identity, it also adds
potentially harmful labels to people and goes against medical fact. And finally, it has

been said that not letting children live the gender they are is a form of child abuse when

in reality suppressing gender expression often leads to gender dysphoria or living in

distress because you cant be who you feel you are ( Grinberg).

What steps, then, can be taken to resolve this issue? It has to start and end with

education. If we walked in someone elses shoes for a day what we would learn. Try to

imagine what it must feel like to walk into a bathroom and be stared at or verbally

abused or told I didnt belong or evenly more extremely, assaulted. It is one thing to

read the stories of others, but it is another to experience what they go through. It is only

through learning and sharing information that positive change can come. I believe that

dialogue must come first, followed by a change in attitude which would then lead to

legal changes. At U32, the school I attend, students are allowed to use the bathroom of

their choice; there are private ones, unisex ones as well as single sex bathrooms. There

are also plenty of people to talk to around the subject for anyone who has questions. I

think my interest comes from my anger that all people are not treated equally and that I

listen to some of my peers and cant believe that they are not accepting of others. I live

in an age where women still get paid less than men; racism and sexism are still around,

and minority rights are still being fought for. I wonder if there will ever come a time

when we can all just be without fear of reprisals or judgment. It seems that many people

face daily struggles and, over many years, it must start to wear a person down.

I find I can draw a parallel between my own experiences of being a woman in a

society that dictates I dress a certain way or I will be judged on what I wear. Male
students have told me that I dress like I have no respect for myself or my clothes are

too short and its really none of their business, just like its no ones business the

bathroom you use. What they are really saying is I dress like a slut or Im easy to put it

bluntly. I can then draw a thin line between being a transgender male being confused by

people to be a pedophile to this a very less serious side to the spectrum. It strikes me as

interesting that people can make enormous leaps and link things together with no

factual evidence. What is it as that makes us criticize and judge others so freely? I still

dont have all the answers but I know that some of our opinions comes from how we are

raised and the environment we live in. I find it hard being a woman as I am aware that

men see us as sexual objects when we are so much more than our biology, as

transgender people are so much more then theres. High schools need to hold open

forums where both sides can talk about important issues and learn from one another,

this is how awareness and knowledge is spread about civil rights issues like the

bathroom epidemic. Many opinions are based on nothing but urban myth so it is time

that the truth came out. As Feldman pointed out in his interview, small changes can lead

to bigger things. In the case of respecting each other in a high school environment, this

would be a big step. Students graduating would be going out into the world with a clear

understanding of how others feel and wish to be treated.

The fundamental right of going to the bathroom is just that and should not be a

political issue. I hope this problem opens up conversation in my school and serves a

purpose. The more people have an understanding of whats going on the more they will

see why it matters so much. The hope is that we can all become advocates for positive
change for others and ourselves.

In my life, I have become friends with transgender people, but to me, they are

just my friends, I do not look at them any differently or treat them any differently. I have

listened to their stories, heard their struggles, and I feel privileged to have them in my

life. The reason they are in my life is that they are real people. We are all many things as

well as our sexual identity. If we only see people through labels, then we are limiting

what we see and creating a society of us and them.' History has taught us how

damaging this can be; racism is a case in point. The debate over what bathrooms a

transgender person can and cannot use is in the news, so there is a lot of information

available. States are struggling with Trumps policies, students are suing, and people are

talking. I hope that this talking brings about change in a community that just wants to

be accepted for who they are like everybody else. To quote Nelson Mandela: Its always

seems impossible until its done. He spent forty years imprisoned by a racist South

African white regime and never gave up hope. It is up to us to draw strength from such

courage and look to history for other examples of people that bring about positive

change.