Transgender 'Bathroom Bill'

Angela Dunn

May 1, 2016

Blog 3

Transgender ‘Bathroom Bill’

       In today’s society, there has been a great amount of controversy over the issue of what public facilities, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, transgender people should and should not be allowed to use. Although the transgender community has made great progress on becoming more accepted by their fellow citizens, they still face serious problems and discrimination which conflict with their daily routines. Transgender people are constantly fighting for their rights to be accepted in public places. Recently, a number of state and local legislatures across the country are considering or already have bills that are meant to restrict transgender people from accessing facilities based on their gender identity. Creating such laws that restrict the transgender community from having access to public facilities would limit them to function in most public places. Transgender people should be able to use whatever public bathroom or locker room they feel comfortable using and there shouldn’t be bills that govern what bathrooms transgender people can and cannot use.

       Caitlyn Jenner is a public figure that just recently made the transition from male to female. In an article discussing the transgender bathroom bill, Jenner wrote, “Did you know that in over half of the states in our country, a person can be fired, denied housing, or kicked out of a restaurant simply because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? There is no federal law that explicitly protects LGBT people from discrimination—only state and local laws. So, the LGBT community has to fight for those protections state-by-state, county-by-county, and city-by-city just to be able to live their lives free from discrimination.” A number of states across the country have created laws that force transgender people to use bathrooms that don’t match the gender they live everyday. Not only do these bills put trans people’s safety at risk, but they also makes them uncomfortable by forcing them to use public facilities that do not match their gender. In a blog titled Growing up Queer: A Brief Lesson On Hetero- And Homonormativity, the author wrote, “…breaking such gender roles can carry severe consequences for those who do not fit them” (Allen1). The transgender community faces daily consequences, harassment, and is put at risk in public places. Transgender people suffer from public discrimination every single day. It is extremely unfair that transgender people are not being treated like the normal citizens that they are.

           Last month, the state of North Carolina signed a bill that bans individuals from using public restrooms that do not match their biological sex. After signing the so -called “bathroom bill”, the LGBT community began to protest. Over 50 protesters were arrested at the North Carolina state house. Executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling, was one of the protestor who was arrested because she used the ladies restroom, which was not the gender that was listed on her birth certificate.

     Following the bill that was passed in North Carolina, pop-stars Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato announced on social media that they were cancelling their Raleigh and Charlotte concerts. The celebrities stated on Instagram and Twitter, "One of the goals for the tour has always been to create an atmosphere where every single attendee feels equal, included, and accepted for who they are." Republican front-runner, Donald Trump also announced on the “Today” Show that transgender people should be allowed to use whichever bathroom they feel comfortable using.

      Although many different states across the country are trying to or have already created bathroom bills against the transgender community, the state of Massachusetts is one state that wants to protect the transgender community. Advocates in Massachusetts are fighting to pass a bill that protects transgender people from discrimination in public places. No matter what, each state should protect its citizens no matter what their gender or sexuality might be. Transgender people should have the right to use whichever restroom applies to their gender. In the article, Beyond Same-Sex Marriage, the authors wrote, “So many of us long for communities in which there is systemic affirmation, valuing, and nurturing of difference, and in which conformity to a narrow and restricting vision is never demanded as the price of admission to caring civil society” (4). Just like any other human, transgender people want to feel accepted and comfortable in their own communities.

     People believe that because transgender people are using public restrooms and locker rooms that do not match the identity they were born with will result in serious problems such as sexual harassment and voyeurism.  Citizens have expressed that they are mainly concerned with transgender women who are using female public facilities. Creating these bathroom bills is only causing more controversy and hostility toward the transgender community. A survey of transgender people in Washington D.C. showed that 75% of participants reported that they had been harassed, abused, and denied access to public facilities. Such mistreatment on transgender citizens affects their well-being as well as their mental health. No matter what someone’s gender-identity might be, all citizens deserve to be treated equally.

      The trans community needs to stop being discriminated so often by the public and needs to be accepted like the citizens that they are, especially when it comes to using public facilities. Transgender people are no different from any other human. We as a society need to learn and accept that everyone is different. Whether someone is a different race, class, gender, etc., we are all human. The transgender community has struggled to feel acceptance due to their gender transitions. We as society do not have the right to tell people what is right and what is wrong when it comes to their own bodies. Transgender people should be able to use whichever restroom or other public facility they feel comfortable using.  It is not fair that trans people have to fight for the rights that they deserve as citizens. Having to face the problem of being restricted from using the public bathroom that matches your gender is unacceptable.

References

Jenner C. (2016 April, 22). Caitlyn Jenner: Bathroom Bills in NC, GA, TN, and SD: What’s Next?  Retrieved from http://www.whosays.com/articles/caitlynjennerbathroombills.com

  Allen J. (2013 March, 5). Growing up Queer: A Brief Lesson On Hetero- And   Homonormativity. Retrieved from  http://www.afropunk.com/profiles/blogs/growing-up-queer-a-brief-lesson-on-hetero-and-homonormativity

McKirdy E. (2016 April, 26). Protestors arrested during North Carolina ‘bathroom bill’ demonstrations. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/northcarolinatransgenderprotestsarrests.com/

Spade D. (2003 August, 13). Resisting Medicine, Re/modeling Gender.

                 Retrieved from http://www.deanspade.net/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/resisting.pdf