So I know this issue has been brought to light especially when Target announced its new policy for the use of the restrooms for transgendered people. But it will soon be one of the main topics in Texas. The law that Texas wants to create is the same as North Carolina. The law basically states that "no men are allowed in women's bathrooms."
There have been lots of talk and skepticism from "LGBT advocates,who say there is virtually no evidence to suggest that Texas — or any other state —has seen transgender people attacking others in bathrooms. Instead, the advocates say, efforts like those ramping up in Texas serve to further stigmatize transgender people and perpetuate violence against them."
Now I understand, at least part of the reason, behind why so many people are for this. It is because they believe that sex offenders will claim to be a transgender and then assault women and children when they have entered the bathroom. I completely understand when it comes to that I do, but to an extent why would you let your children roam free in a bathroom if the laws to allow transgendered into the bathrooms? If you are so concerned about what someone is doing in the bathroom don't use it and don't let your children go in the bathroom alone. However, I know that is not a great solution.
I believe that transgender people have been using our bathrooms for a very long time and because it is now being brought to light every thinks they have a right to lose their gosh damn minds. Lets just say that they do deny transgender people to use the restrooms they are most comfortable with, what then? If a sex offender wants to come and harass women or children in a bathroom they will find a way. Laws have never stopped them before so why would it stop them now? It won't. End of story.
There are other solutions that could possibly help, but it wouldn't make a difference when Texas is so conservative and so republican that anyone who agrees that transgender people should be able to use the restroom they choose or anything remotely similar they are already being judged and criticized for their opinion.
4 comments:
I agree with my classmate that a transgender person should be able to use the restroom that matches their preferred gender choice. A few blogs ago I made a statement about how we teach our children to judge- I feel like this is a similar situation. Instead of teaching our children to embrace differences in people, we are teaching them to fear those differences. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know quite a few people in the transgendered community and they are real people, like you and me. They too have families that love them, friends, ambitions, and feelings.
My dad has been working with a transgender man for the past 25 years. I remember when I first met him in the early 90’s, he was just in the beginning stages of his transition from female to male. My dad explained the situation to me, without judgement, just the facts and that was that. It doesn’t have to be a big deal. We don’t have to discriminate against these groups. We choose to because people are afraid of embracing change.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign both report that there have been zero reported cases of people being attacked in bathrooms by transgender people. However, an article in TIME magazine states that in 2015 “the number of transgender people murdered in the U.S. hit a historic high.” I think we are hating on the wrong group of people.
What it comes down to is this, transgender people exist and they too need to use the restroom. They deserve to have a restroom that they can feel safe using too.
After reading Ms Lomas' article "Bathroom Law Battle Begins to Take Hold in Texas" I can agree with many of the statements she made within her blog. She writes about how Texas has looked into creating a law that states “no men are allowed in women’s bathrooms” (Lomas.) If passed, this law would exclude transgendered people from using public restrooms.
If you ask me this completely screams discrimination. Texas claims this to protect transgendered people from acts of violence towards them. Transgendered people use public restrooms just like blacks, whites, hispanics, asians, etc.
Lomas says that this is not a big deal; and people are blowing this way out of proportion that what it really is, which is true.
I would of loved to hear these other solutions Lomas’ mentions in her ending paragraph, as well as what the opposing side really thinks about transgenders using public restrooms. Regardless of those solutions or not Ms. Lomas is right again. You can really change what people believe and Texas is a vastly conservative state so would these solutions even make a difference?
My fellow colleague, Megan Lomas, has brought up some excellent points in her article, Bathroom Law Battle Begins to Take Hold in Texas. She is against Texas's movement towards mimicking North Carolina's law recent law banning people with male body parts from using women's restrooms no matter what that person identifies as. Lomas states that law's like these only push violence against Trans people, and I couldn't agree more. Acting out against a certain class of people with negativity will only perpetuate hate.
She also brings up the uncomfortable truth about why the majority of people are uncomfortable with Gender Neutral Bathrooms, for a lot of people think it's unsafe; nonetheless, there hasn't been any evidence indicating more unsafe bathrooms. She is completely right. People need to get with the times, and they need to stop discriminating.
Post a Comment