Ever walked into a public bathroom and someone of the opposite gender walks in? As of January 2015, a gender-neutral bathroom law was created which states that individuals can use the bathroom that they identify with. Gender-neutral bathrooms are a social problem that needs to be addressed immediately because of the potential for sexual misconduct, the non-usage of family bathrooms, and the issue of stores allowing this.
Everyday lots of student use their school’s restrooms where they could get raped or looked at sexually. For example, someone could get looked up and down by someone and they wouldn’t know about it. Annie Sciacca, one of the Authors of “Battle against Sexual Misconduct Hits Bay Area High School Campuses,” wrote in her article that “A month into her freshman year at Los Altos High School, Thara Salim set off with a friend down an empty hallway to pick up a French assignment. On the way back, he suddenly grabbed her wrist, dragged her into a boy’s bathroom and sexually assaulted her.” Parents of students in school would never know if their child were molested unless their own child tells them what happened or if
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What is the chance of being sexually assaulted by a transgender person in a bathroom if they use the family restroom only? We should truly allow them to use a different bathroom if there are not any family bathrooms in that store or place. Matthew Lee, author for the Associated Press and of the article “Transgender man files restroom complaint against library” writes about how “A transgender man has filed a complaint with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights against the Seattle Public Library for refusing to let him to use the only private restroom in its downtown building.” If transgender people are able to use the one-stall-family restrooms, then it will decrease the number of people who are sexually assaulted and the comfort for the transgender people will
Recently, in a poorly written article for The Federalist, Mrs. Nicole Russell let her feelings about allowing transgender people in the bathroom that best matches their gender identities known. In her uneducated opinion expressed in “The Sexes: Don’t Put My Five-Year-Old Girl In A Bathroom With A Transgender Boy” Mrs. Russell claims that transgender people should stick to the gender, and by default, the bathroom that was assigned to them at birth.
Controversy has spread and gone around the world for so many years and especially recently. The question bears, should transgendered people use the bathrooms based on their gender that is on their birth certificate or the gender they identify with? Based on many opinions and a lot of stories people debate online or in person whether this should or should not be a thing. Many stories lie with people talking of harassment and other negative situations, yet people still do not agree with some statements. A story from a student follows the lines of the issues dealing with bathroom rights states, “Greenlee is a transgender student, who was born a female, but has taken on a male identity since the beginning of freshman year. ‘I had no bathroom that I could go to,’ Greenlee said. ‘The bathroom that I'm going to now is a storage unit" (koamtv.com). Transgendered people should be allowed to use the bathrooms in which gender they
When a transgender person uses the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity, it boosts well-being. It is legal to for transgender individuals to use whichever bathroom they feel to be is more beneficial. Many schools and states are trying to appeal this law. When the South Dakota House of Representatives were faced with the option to veto this law they chose to keep the law in place (“South Dakota House”). New York has also reinforced transgender individual’s right to choosing a bathroom (“New York mayor”).
The question as to which bathroom transgender people should use has been a huge debate over the last few years. Some people claim they should use the bathroom of whatever gender they identify with while others claim this will result in them harassing cisgender people using the bathroom and that instead transgender people should use the bathroom according to their assigned gender at birth. Another solution that is often suggested is to institute a gender neutral bathroom for either just transgender people or for everyone to use. In general transgender men and women are men are simply that: men and women and they should be able to use the bathroom that best correlates with their gender identity.
In order to answer whether transgender children be allowed to use the restroom they identify with I would first like to identify what transgender means. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary “The Medical Definition of TRANSGENDER.: of, relating to, or being a person (as a transsexual or a transvestite) who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person 's sex at birth.” I believe the knowing what transgender means is important because there are misconceptions about someone being transgender. This definition is also important as it helps support the pros and cons of my argument. I was confused about transgender individuals before doing research for this paper. However, based on the article “From Jack to Jill:
Tash. "Trans and Gender Non-conforming People, Bathrooms, and Attacks on Our Community." Basic Rights Oregon RSS. N.p., 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.
There are many different Gender identities and gender neutral bathrooms effect more than just Trans people. People who are not transgender also have trouble when it comes to bathrooms. For example, someone who is gender fluid is described to "feel like a mix of the two traditional genders, but may feel more man some days, and more woman other days." (Killerman). It is very difficult for people who do not "pass" as a specific gender to use the restroom in public. This is not an issue solely felt by transgendered people.
This however, only aggravates the difficulties that already exist within the changes occurring, because it causes some to feel uncomfortable at the thought of two different sexes sharing one bathroom at the same time. Although this is often not the case, because the transgender person will often if not always use the bathroom they feel best matches their gender. (Transequality, 2016). It is common misinterpretations such as these that are averting people from supporting and understanding how simple the issue is. Like everyone else the trans population would like equal access to public restrooms. No one should have to fit into a gender binary in order to feel comfortable completing everyday activities, such as using the
If this happens nobody will know who is telling the truth if the person was a transgender or just pretending or even a person of that actual gender. Another thing will be that the person accused of the crime was just trying to use the public bathroom, and someone does not like their lifestyle choice and that is why they are being accused of sexual harassment. As stated in, The Battle Over Bathrooms: A Solution Without a Problem, “We are also warned about “predatory males” who, sensing an opportunity, will don women’s clothing to prey on innocent and “defenseless” women and little girls in restrooms.” Nobody is going to feel comfortable sending their child or wife to use a public bathroom when transgender people are allowed to use the same one for this reason and many other
Many people are arguing over the transgender bathroom situation, even here in our very own school system, Grace Christian Academy. Some say one should use the restroom of his/her biological identity, while others say one should have the right to use the restroom they gender identify with. Now the issue is starting to arise in public and private school systems, since the law now states every school has to have at least one transgender bathroom available on school property. As a parent with a child in your school system, I would like to express my opinion on this matter with you. Even though this is a private Christian school, and I am a Christian myself, I do not see a problem with having a transgender bathroom on school property for multiple reasons. For example,
Furthermore, as there are only male and female identities on the ID cards, and there are only male and female’s washrooms, many transgender people have faced serious insults and discriminations in the public. These serious insults happen almost every day in their life and it has caused severe mental stress on them, which would lead them to have emotional disorders and depressions. They are facing unequally in the public utilities and services. The transgender community should have the right to use the restroom of the gender they identify with or have an alternate choice. Transgender people deserve the right to have access to a comfortable, safe place to go to the restroom just as any other human being. Yes, it could potentially be a dangerous liability, but remember the feelings of the people who live in the wrong body. A safe way for the trans community to use the restroom would be to give the option of a gender neutral facility. The problems that the transgender people are facing are not just some emotional harmfulness; it is some problems and inequalities that would seriously endanger their lives, like health cares and life-threatening behaviors which are caused by the ongoing
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes, “Discrimination against an individual because that person is transgender is discrimination because of sex in violation of Title VII. This is also known as gender identity discrimination” ("EEOC - Sex," n.d., para. 3). According to Canas and Sondak (2014), many states have adopted legislation that supports transgender people as a protected class. Colorado passed legislation extending protection to transgender people in 2008 (Brinker & Maza, 2014). However, one of the biggest controversies surrounding transgender individuals is which bathroom should they use? Zanin (2009) notes, “bathrooms remain one of the most acceptable gender-segregated spaces in cities which can present problems to those who do not conform to gender norms…” (para. 1). The question, then, is should transgender people use the bathroom that most closely mirrors their biological gender or the gender they identify with? While individual beliefs may vary greatly, legally, there is less of a gray area. This paper will address the recently decided Colorado case involving a transgender six year old child, Coy Mathis, and her fight to use the girls’ bathroom at school. In addition to this, legal issues and implications employers should be aware of will also be discussed.
This fight is not about the safety and well-being of our children. This fight is about stopping the progress of the LGBTQIA*+ community. This “bathroom debate” is not just a fight for the right to pee but a fight for civil rights. Transgender people are just like everybody else. The terms and labels they use for themselves or the ones we choose to use for them, does not change the fact that they are people. They have jobs, they have spouses, they have kids, they have parents, they are students, they bleed when you cut them open and they cry when they are in pain. Urinating is a normal bodily function and is non-optional. Every person deserves basic human rights, and peeing while being and feeling safe, is a basic human right. In conclusion, the opposition consists of liars and those who will believe whatever they are told. No man has ever pretended to be transgender to get into a women’s public washroom or change room and no registered sex offender has ever pretended to be transgender to sexually assault someone in a public washroom or change room. Transgender people experience much more sexual and physical violence than cisgender people. Children are much more tolerant of “differences” than adults. The people who are “scared” are not truly afraid of perverted men or registered sex offenders. The people who are “scared” fear change. Those who fear change will do anything to stop it. The first step is to show how normal transgender people truly are. People need to see that they are like everybody else. We need more transgender representation in fictional and nonfictional media, we need children and young adults educated on transgender people and issues in schools, and we need to learn to accept others. It is okay to have questions and concerns but it is not okay to deny someone the right to feel comfortable and safe while their pants are around their ankles in a public washroom. Justice will prevail as it always does but the sooner
Recently, there has been an uproar of debates on the topic of gender neutral bathrooms. Most of the debates have had to deal with the LGBTQ+ community trying to use the bathroom they identify with. However, these debates have mainly focused on transgenders, “transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex the doctor marked on their birth certificate” (GLADD). There has been several bills that “have been filed in three states to prevent transgender people from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity” (Tannehill). Kentucky has tried to pass bills that target transgender students, but the bill in Texas and Florida would apply to everywhere (Tannehill). There are many different sides to this
More importantly, “60 percent of children who are sexually abused do not disclose and most are acquaintances but as many as 47 percent are family or extended family” (The Scope of, 2016). The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities (Child Sexual Abuse, 2012). Startling statistics represent the depth of the issue. Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood (The Scope of, 2016). “The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report child maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted” (Child Sexual Abuse,