Marina Karasik

4/26/16
English 101
Jesse Brooks

Justice In The Bathroom: Letting Transgender Individuals Choose for Themselves

Its summer of 2015, and Im at my college orientation. Our tour guides lead us to the

Stamp for lunch, and I go to use the bathroom. I walk into one of the two gender- neutral

restrooms on the lower level. As Im washing my hands, a guy from my tour group promptly

walks in, sees me and freezes in fear. He whispers oh shit under his breath. I scoff and reply

Its gender- neutral, dont worry, which visibly puts him at ease. Being a cisgender girl makes

it easy to say, but not everyone has the cis privilege that I have. If only it were this easy for

everyone.

In truth, bathrooms are facilities that we use everyday; and, for most of us, they are not a

huge deal. But for many people bathrooms are a daily struggle. For transgender and non-binary

individuals bathrooms are a battlefield, and thanks to various bathroom bills they might just be

losing the war.

The term transgender refers to someone whos biological sex does not match their

gender. Sex and gender, although often used interchangeably, are separate concepts. Sex is

biological, and humans are mainly born either male, female or intersex. Gender is a matter of

identity, and the majority of people identify with the gender that matches their assigned sex (this

is known as being cisgender). Gender is a spectrum, but the majority of people identify as either

boy or girl. There are also many individuals do not identify as either gender. There are a few

terms for this, a few being genderqueer, agender and non-binary.

 Transgender people face many struggles that come along with daily life, one of the

biggest issues being bathrooms. Since the majority of people identify as either side of the gender

binary and have a gender that matches their sex, for them the choice is clear. But trans and non-

binary individuals struggle with this choice almost every day. Trans individuals are often

harassed and assaulted in bathrooms. For this reason, it is beneficial to both these individuals and

the general public when they are allowed to choose the bathroom they wish to use. The issue

with that, however, is that there needs to be legislation passed in order to allow this and many

politicians are not letting that happen.

The main opposers to legislation like this are conservatives, as they wish to keep

bathrooms segregated based on biological sex, as opposed to gender. Those who are on the very

conservative side of the political spectrum are likely to believe that being transgender is a flaw in

and of itself. A study done in 2012 surveyed college aged men about their attitudes towards

sharing a bathroom with a male to female transgendered person. The results of the study showed

that the men who adhered more closely to traditional gender roles were also the ones who were

less comfortable sharing a bathroom with a transgender woman. (Mitchell, Watjen 156) Since

conservative politicians also are more likely to adhere to traditional roles (hence the term

conservative used to refer to the Republican party), they are more likely to be biased against

transgender individuals. It is because of these politicians that many laws mandating the right to

choose are unable to be passed. Therein lies the issue.

States that are known to be more conservative in terms of politics are the ones that

struggle with LGBTQ related legislation. South Dakota, a traditionally conservative state, made

headlines recently as the Senator vetoed a bathroom bill relating to bathrooms in public schools.

Had the law been passed, students would have been required to use the bathroom of the sex they
were assigned at birth. Transgender children and teens are at the most risk for bullying and

harassment. Because they are so young, many believe they are not secure in their gender identity,

meaning they are not old enough to decide that they are transgender. A transgender teen from one

of the states school districts said in an interview that "It [the bill] singles out transgender

individuals and forces them to use something that they're not comfortable using," Indeed, being a

teenager already entails so much suffering, but being a transgender teen only makes that worse,

especially in the bathroom.

Similar issues are being had in school districts across the country. Thad Ballard, the

President of Elko County Public Schools in Nevada asks When has it ever been appropriate for

a biological boy or a biological girl to be in the opposite restroom of their gender? Were all

trying to think of the best way to protect the rights of all of our students, whether theyre

transgender or not. (NYT) The issue here is not only are fundamental right being denied, but

there are many vulnerable teenagers who will, as a result, face bullying and harassment if they

are forced to use the bathroom of their biological sex. School board members and administrators

across the country have come up with brilliant responses to this, such as the following. David

Vannasdall, the superintendent of Arcadia in Los Angeles explains that The problem is you have

people making decisions from the basis of fear and the extremes, and thats never good for kids

(NYT) Not only is it not good for the kids, but its not good for anyone. School administrators

are also responding to discriminatory bills that have already been passed. In the recent past,

Education Secretary John B. King Jr. expressed his thoughts on laws that force students to use

the bathroom aligning with their sex. He called them hateful and deeply problematic for

children. He is quoted as saying I dont want to get ahead of enforcement actions we may take
in regards to North Carolina and Mississippi, King said, WRAL.com reported. My hope is

legislators will realize they have made a terrible mistake. (The Daily Signal)

One of the main arguments against allowing trans individuals to choose which bathroom

to use is the fear of sexual predators. Laws that would allow trans individuals to pick their

bathroom would have to allow anyone to choose as well. In this case, many people fear that

pedophiles and other predators will use this to their advantage. In reality, however, these

instances are very rare. Irene Monroe of Huffington post responds to a statement made by a

Christian mother who said that I am not saying that transgender people are predators. Not by a

long shot. What I am saying is that there are countless deviant men in this world who will

pretend to be transgender as a means of gaining access to the people they want to exploit, namely

women and children. Monroe responded with facts, writing that To date there is no evidence

to corroborate Trillers fear. She notes that out of the seventeen biggest school districts in the

US that have adopted policies for gender- appropriate facilities, not one has reported an incident

of this kind. And according to a study put out by the UCLAs Williams Institute, approximately

80 percent of transgender students where no policy is in place to protect them have reported

either harassment or physical assault in their attempt to use gender segregated bathrooms.

(Huffington Post)

The state of North Carolina has similar issues. An article by Katha Pollitt notes that

bathroom bills, while passed in order to protect women from violence, do more harm to them

than good. She writes Never mind that supporters of the bill couldnt point to a single case of

trans women committing such crimes in ladies rooms, and municipalities around the country

with trans-friendly bathroom rules report no increase in incidents of men doing so, either. [...] Its

no accident that the bill was passed after a mere 30 minutes of debate in a one-day special
session and signed the same night by Governor Pat McCrory. (Pollitt 1) Transgender

individuals are at a much higher risk for harassment and assault when they are forced to use sex-

segregated bathrooms. While conservative lawmakers think that they are protecting people from

sexual assault, they are really hurting everyone since their actions cause the assault of more trans

individuals. This type of discrimination has adverse affects on trans individuals health, which is

why trans people are among the most likely to suffer from mental health issues and the most

likely to commit suicide.

Lisa Mottet of the Vermont Law Review explains that the way transgendered people are

treated in respects to bathrooms is not only unfair but also unconstitutional. Because they are

being labeled by their genitals and not their gender, bathroom bills are arguably a violation of

human rights. She expresses her thoughts, saying that treatment of a transgender person based

on their sex assigned at birth, rather than based on their gender identity, is both offensive and

discriminatory. (Mottet 740) Title IX was put into place on the same principle, the idea that all

people should have the same rights and opportunities regardless of their sex. These ethics should

be applied across the board, not only when it is convenient and easy to do so. Scott Thompson of

Slate Magazine is in agreement, claiming these bills violate constitutional privacy protections

and force people to have to disclose sensitive information regarding what is in their pants.

Bathrooms should feel like safe places, not interrogation rooms.

Much of this issue is not the bills themselves, but the stigma surrounding them and

surrounding trans individuals altogether. Since the world we live in treats being cisgender as the

norm, we inherently see being transgender as being out of the ordinary. Humans have

historically discriminated against those who we do not see as traditionally normal. Stigma is

quoted as being a fundamental cause of adverse health in transgender populations as it works

directly to induce stress (a key driver of morbidity and mortality). (Reisner et al. 3) In 2012,

Massachusetts passed a law that would protect transgender individuals from discrimination in the

workplace, in education and in housing. However, the bill failed to protect them from public

accommodation, meaning they could be refused access to public restrooms. While the original

bill had included public accommodations, the protections were removed due to stigma-driven

concerns from conservative groups that individuals who were not actually transgender would

gain access to women's bathrooms, posing a threat to women and children. (Reisner et al. 4) As

of the year 2015, the bill has yet to pass, causing more and more turmoil for the trans individuals

of the Massachusetts community. This is because lawmakers see the the cisgender majority is of

greater importance than providing transgender people with access to essential resources such as

bathrooms and other public spaces (Reisner et al. 4) Because of the mere stigma surrounding

transgender people, the law wrongfully sets their right aside in order to cater to those who are

normal. For transgender people, this can have adverse health effects and actually be a cause of

suicide. Being rejected and ostracised can cause depression, anxiety and many other kinds of

stress for these individuals.

Another stress on trans individuals is caused by passing. One of the factors that

determines a trans individuals acceptance in a certain bathroom is their ability to pass as the

gender that they identify with. The mental health of many transgender individuals is based in

their identity, and how others see them. The better they are able to pass as the gender they see

themselves as, the more valid they feel. (Levasseur 946) But passing is important for other things

besides mental health. The author of an article in the Journal of Gay and Lesbian social services

explains that Existing evidence indicates that passing (or being perceived by others as the

gender with which one identifies) is a key factor within gender- segregated spaces that impacts
whether one is denied access to the space and/or targeted for harassment and violence. She also

notes that passing is no easy task as ..the pressure to pass creates a situation of extreme

stress for trans and gender-nonconforming individuals because they must worry about whether

they meet others gendered standards in order to access spaces crucial to basic well-being, such

as bathrooms and housing. (Seelman 189) This issue is extremely relevant to the issue at hand.

As these bathroom bills put even more pressure on trans people to pass as the gender they

identify with in an effort to get away with using the bathroom assigned to that gender and avoid

both judgement and violence. If the public were to allow them to use whichever bathroom they

wished, they would not be under this kind of stress, in it would not affect their health nearly as

much.

In addition to the right to choose, a mere change in building structure might be the key to

transgender and non- binary rights and safety. Gender- neutral bathrooms are beneficial to many,

but face opposition by lawmakers for various reasons. The fear of sexual predators still exists

here, but so does the idea that bathrooms have a need to be sex- segregated. An article in The

New Yorker picks apart the reasons for denying the public gender- neutral restrooms. The

precursors and rationalizations, as noted by the author, are all based in the 19th century, and are

horrible outdated. It is written that Todays most-prominent arguments against inclusive

restrooms are remarkably consistent with the Victorian notions that led to sex-segregated

bathrooms in the first place. When the ideology of separate spheres for male and female, public

and private, the market and the home reigned, the growth of womens presence in public life led

to the desire to protect women from the crude dangers of the male world. (The New Yorker)

These clearly outdated reasons should have no jurisdiction in the year 2016, but somehow they
do. If American politician want to introduce this country to the 21st century, then it would be in

their best interests to desegregate bathrooms so everyone can pee in peace.

In her article Peeing under surveillance: bathrooms, gender policing, and hate violence

author Kayla Bender- Baird details the horrors transgender and non- binary people face when

gender- appropriate bathrooms are not available. She explains that when a trans or gender non-

conforming person is questioned or found out in the bathroom, the reaction is not to reassess

the arbitrary nature of segregating bathrooms by sex but to violently eject the trans or gender

non-conforming person.(Baird 2) She gives the account of an actual transgender person and his

experiences with binary bathrooms. She writes that Dru Levasseur, a trans lawyer at Lambda

Legal, explained to a reporter how he was afraid to use the mens room while he was

transitioning and his identity documents still classified him as female, but he was physically

assaulted when he entered the womens room at an airport. (Baird 3) Her article also details the

troubles that non- binary people face, being that they often do not look like either gender, and

may face violence or assault in either bathroom. For this reason, Baird emphasises a need for

gender- neutral bathrooms in public spaces. She explains that doing so would eliminate hardship

for both trans and non- binary people.

And indeed, having gender- neutral bathrooms might be a solution not just for

genderqueer people, but for everyone. The Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz, California is being

celebrated by cisgender and queer folk alike for having gender- free bathrooms. Coordinator of

the Safe Bathroom Access Campaign, Bryan Burgees notes that these bathrooms are a step in the

right direction. He explains to reporters that many trans people do not feel safe in traditional

binary restrooms. He is quoted as saying that "People stare and the message transgender people

get is that they don't belong there. (Contemporary Sexuality 7) While letting trans people have
the right to decide which of the traditional bathrooms they wish to use, having legislation in

place to mandate gender neutral bathrooms is equally important.

Transgender people and the LGBTQ community as a whole have made great gains in

recent years, but there is still a ways to go. Bathroom bills that discriminate against those who do

not conform to traditional binary sex roles are one of the road blocks in preventing true equality.

There is a large potential for bills and regulation to be passed allowing for trans and non-binary

people to finally feel comfortable using public restrooms. Unfortunately, many people do not see

the benefits that these laws could have, not just for the LGBTQ community, but for the general

public as well. Lawmakers need to put aside unsubstantiated fears and realize that human rights

are just that: rights.

Works Cited

"Bathrooms: Men, Women, Unisex, Purposely Vague." Contemporary Sexuality 39.9 (2005): 7.
LGBT Life with Full Text. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.

Bender-Baird, Kyla. "Peeing Under Surveillance: Bathrooms, Gender Policing, And Hate
Violence." Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal Of Feminist Geography 23.7 (2016):
983-988. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2016.

Bothelo, Gred, and Wayne Drash. "South Dakota Governor Vetoes Transgender Bathroom Bill."
CNN. Cable News Network, 2 Mar. 2016. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.

Bosman, Julie, and Motoko Rich. "As Transgender Students Make Gains, Schools Hesitate at
Bathrooms." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Apr.
2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/us/as-transgender-students-make-gains-
schools-hesitate-at-bathrooms.html?_r=0>.

Hughto, Jaclyn M. White, Sari L. Reisner, and John E. Pachankis. "Transgender Stigma and
Health: A Critical Review of Stigma Determinants, Mechanisms, and Interventions."
Social Science & Medicine 147 (2015): 222-31. EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2016.

Jessen, Leah. "Education Secretary Calls Bathroom Laws 'Hateful'" The Daily Signal. The Daily
Signal, 03 May 2016. Web. 08 May 2016.
Levasseur, M. Dru. "Gender Identity Defines Sex: Updating The Law To Reflect Modern
Medical
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Monroe, Irene. "Bathroom Laws Policing Our Genitals." The Huffington Post.
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Mottet, Lisa. "Access To Gender-Appropriate Bathrooms: A Frustrating Diversion On The Path

To
Transgender Equality."Georgetown Journal Of Gender & The Law 4.2 (2003): 739-746.
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Findings
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Skinner-Thompson, Scott. "Several States Are Considering Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bills.

Theyre Unconstitutional." Slate Magazine. Slate Magazine, 2016. Web. 08 May 2016.

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