One big debate today and one that we talked about in class is allowing transgender people use the bathroom they identify with instead of using organs to classify. I believe that it shouldn’t be a question to allow them to use the bathroom that they identify with because it is who they are and it really isn’t a threat to anyone not just according to the body they are stuck with. The major objection that comes from this is that the society fears men walking into women’s restrooms to do harm to them. We said in class that this is not useful because a man could do this now because there are no bathroom police, but that it has the potential to happen more often. I want to take this a step further because I believe that this is not a valid objection to use for this case. The fear isn’t a realistic fear at all. Just because you let transgender people into a women’s bathroom isn’t going to increase the overall number of rapist and sex offenders in society and I feel that that is what this fear is alluding to. The people that are going to sexually assault other people are going to do it regardless of this issue.
We let smokers smoke anywhere they please in the streets regardless of the majority of society’s comfort level and regardless of children nearby. Now I am definitely not comparing being transgender to being a smoker, but if a smoker has the right to smoke regardless of the comfort of others around him or her, someone that is transgender should have the right to use a public bathroom regardless of others around him or her. Transgender people are not even a harm to society so in reality, they should be able to use whatever bathroom before we allow smokers to smoke on any street or parking lot if we are talking about the greater good of society. What excuse is there? Smoking has been around for hundreds of years and people are used to it so people are more accustomed to it doesn’t seem to cut it.
This issue is relatively new and I think that there is resistance to change for the sake of society not liking change. All women should go be able to use the women’s restroom regardless of the bodily situation they are stuck in against their will. Same goes for men. I don’t think should be influenced by other fears in society that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. Accepting new social norms at this one is progress towards a more equal society.
4 comments:
Hi Kendra,
The controversy of transgender bathroom has been disputed for years. There is no definite answer to this hot topic. In my opinion, what is in your pants does not necessarily define who the person you are. Human beings are always born one gender, but that does not mean human beings should be forced to believe that is the only option for them to define the identity. If you identify yourself as a female, go ahead and use the lady’s room. No one can force you to identity yourself as a male, and there is no license for using the lady’s room, just because the gender you are assigned when you were born. But sometimes people have struggled that which gender they are supposed to choose. What ever genitals you have got in your pants should not define your gender as an individual.
Please let me know if you have questions.
--- By Jane
There is definitely a lot of controversy on this topic. I see what you are saying about how we should allow transgenders to use a bathroom they feel that they identify most with, but I think people who are against this are more worried about those who will take advantage of it.
People are afraid that those who are molesters and rapists will just say that they identify as a transgender and harm women and men in the bathroom. Even though there is no "bathroom police" now, there is still the social norm and if someone sees you go into the wrong bathroom, they may stay out and wait for you to leave, or let someone know, or something along those terms. So now that this law is enacted, it is permissible for almost anyone to use whatever bathroom, and a dangerous situation that could have been prevented, could occur. And no one can tell the person that they have no right to be in that bathroom because they can say that they identify as that sex, even if they do not.
There have been some cases such as in Target, where they decided to allow any gender in whichever dressing room, a man was caught recording little girls changing. So people do and will advantage of this situation and ruin it for transgenders.
I think a way to solve this problem is to have a unisex bathroom, or get rid of stalls so its a "one-at-a-time" type bathroom. This way everyone can feel comfortable.
Amara
Hello,
I actually have a question to Jane Zhou about sex and gender. Since based on my understanding, we have only two sexes but different genders. I sex refers to biological differences between men and women and gender refers how a person identify him/herself as male or female. I might understand it wrong...Based on Jane's comment, I think she was refering sex instead of gender.
I like your comparison to smoking, and I think it works especially since smoking is known to deteriorate health, one would think that smoking should be more regulated than someone using a bathroom. Like you said, it is a relatively new issue and it will take people time to understand it. I don't think it is immoral to let a transgendered person to use the bathroom that they identify with.
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