Transgender Bathroom Moral Dilemmas

Tens of thousands of people joined the #BoycottTarget petition which opposes retail giant Target’s transgender bathroom policy.

In Kyle Reyes’s essay, “Enjoy Your Transgender Bathrooms. We Just Lost America” and Paul Roberts’ “Character in the Impulse Society,” both explains the concerns of the weakening “characters” and the rise of conflict in America. According to Reyes, Americans excessively bustling improving the world to a better place. He explains how individuals have a tendency to overreact to issues in America. According to Roberts, individuals are getting addicted to technology and themselves because they are investing most of their time on the internet.

Ethical dilemmas are a problem that society faces often today. In my community a big ethical dilemma that not only schools face but also businesses is transgender rights. Transgender people face a lot of stress and problems, because some do not understand the idea of free gender, or they do not religiously believe in the idea of different gender identity. Gender identity is the idea of being allowed to express what gender you feel and believe you were born to be.

As ruled in the 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, separate but equal is not equal. This ruling may have been upwards of one hundred years ago, but North Carolina legislators seem to have dropped it from their memories. Governor Pat McCrory signed HB2, or the Public Facilities Safety and Privacy Act, into law on March 23, 2016. HB2, popularly dubbed “The Bathroom Bill”, prevents transgender or non-gender conforming individuals from using the bathroom corresponding to the gender they identify as. They instead must use the facilities for the gender listed on their birth certificate. Not only is the law wildly transphobic, but it is outright dangerous - it will only further ostracize trans people and put them in the way of even more violence.

The hot topic of current events centers around the heated debate over whether Transgender kids should be able to choose what restroom they would like to use based solely on their gender identity. Breaking new ground and blazing new trails to create equality for all is the state of California. Democratic Governor, Jerry Brown, signed Assembly Bill No. 1266 (known as AB1266), which was an act to amend Section 221.5 of the Education Code, relating to pupil rights. The new law gives all students the right “to participate in sex-segregated programs, activities and facilities” based on their self-perceived orientation regardless of their birth gender. AB1266 and Section 221.5 of the Education Code provides equal rights for transgender individuals and promotes anti-discrimination. By allowing transgender boys and girls the right to use a restroom that corresponds to the student’s gender identity– regardless of the student’s sex assigned at birth– you essentially teach children acceptance from a young age. This creates a diverse culture which will help sway the profound perceptions that transgender individuals are oddities and will lend a hand in breaking the generational cycle of discrimination.

Senator Patty Murray’s fingers flew across the keyboard creating ,what could possibly be the most progressive bill in the history of the United States, a bill on transgender bathroom rights allowing transgender persons to use the bathroom of their choice. As midnight approached she hit the final key finishing the draft which she would excitedly rush to the senate floor the following morning and gain recognition from the presiding officer, Joe Biden. The announcement of the bill’s introduction during the morning hour brought forth many mixed emotions in the senators, some cheering the proposed change and others frowning disdainfully. It became bill number 804, sponsored by Murray, sent to the government printing office for copies to be made,

Transgenders are being categorized as being mentally ill. Though transgender counseling exists it only focuses on pathology and diagnosis. Transgenders are also severely at risk of hate crimes. In the United States alone, there are 321 transgender hate crimes per year. Transgender hate crimes can be compared to Muslims post-9/11. There’s no law to protect them from these hate crimes and nothing is ever really done to show them that they have rights too. There’s no law protecting them with employment right’s either. Due to discrimination they are vulnerable and led to no job, homelessness, suicide and even no health care. ( Anneliese A. Singh, Danica G. Hays, and Laurel S. Watson 20)

Recently, especially with the most recent presidential election in November of 2016, there have been multiple debates on whether or not the U.S. should have transgender bathrooms in public places, such as rest stops and restaurants. That was one of the issues that the presidential candidates of 2016 argued on. A large majority believed that there should be transgender bathrooms provided by the Federal Government, but if you were to think about it, would we make taxpayers pay for these facilities whereas they’re not even Transgenders or would we take money out that’s supposed to go to the military for an issue that’s not even that big of a concern?

Once again my mother and I were watching the news. As the anchor spoke in the background about the on going controversy of transgender bathrooms. I asked my mother what her favorite hobbies were.

Transgender rights and policies have always been an ongoing debate. In the article, “Bathroom Battlegrounds and Penis Panics,” Schilt and Westbrook (2015) argued that in order to push gender equality forward, we must consider the rights of transgender people by allowing them to have access to bathrooms that support their gender identity rather than their biological sex. In doing so, authors believed that it would make progress in alleviating discrimination against transgender people. However, in this conscious effort to fight for transgender rights and their access to sex-segregated spaces,

Transgendered people in America have made many great strides since the 1990s. They have encountered violence, lack of health care, and the loss of homes, jobs, family and friends. There have been many phases of the struggle of being transgendered in America over the years. The current phase we must be in now is equal rights. There are many variations of discrimination against the transgendered community. In our society we simply do not like what we do not understand. It is easier to discriminate than to try and understand. We are all created different and we should appreciate our differences. The change must come by addressing the views of the public. There is much justification in the unequal rights of transgendered peoples. The Human

The changing norms of the generation has brought upon commotion between various states because of the presidents judgement. The transgender bathroom policy allows transgender students to use the bathroom they identify as and not by the sex on their birth certificate (Fox News, 2016). The transgender bathroom policy has both successes and failure to ensure safety for transgender students resulting to its change being for not only trans-gender. Gender neutral bathrooms allows safety for those who are not only transgender, but also a part of the LGBTQ community, etc. but it causes a conflict with gender segregation. Adding additional bathrooms to suite other gender preferences costs more money and not everyone is going to accept what they walk into the bathroom and see. The gender neutral bathroom policy should be taken off of hold and be put into action because everything is constantly changing and those who do not identify as the sex they were assigned at birth are at risk for harm.

Mr/Mrs Chief Justice, and may it please the Court: where do we draw the line? While the current debate is about transgender bathroom usage, it could open a pandora’s box of problems. Should everyone get their own bathroom? Why should one person’s discomfort take precedent to everyone else’s right to comfort? In America, there are 700,000 people whom identify as transgender. This equates to 0.3% of our population. Why should the tyranny of the minority overrule the other 99.7% of our citizen’s right to privacy? CONVICTED FELONS have the right of protection from unnecessary exposure to the opposite sex, shouldn’t young innocent children have the same privilege? While nondiscrimination laws have pure intentions, they can be taken to unreasonable

“The Department of Justice have found that discrimination against transgender people- including denying them bathroom access- is a form of sex discrimination covered under the Civil Rights Act.” (Steinmetz 3) By passing these bills, cities and states will be violating a civil right, which has been argued about since the topic of transgender protections has come to light. If these policies go into effect, we will be denying our fellow humans the right to use the restroom based on their gender identity. Professor at the University of Alabama Justin Johnson says, “Trans men are men and trans women are women. It does not matter if you agree with their lifestyle, you have every right to disagree if you so please, but we as a society cannot continue to belittle the lives of the trans community just because we don’t understand it completely.” ( “Both Sides Of The Topic: Transgender ‘Bathroom Bills’” 3) Our country, and the states within it, need to understand that these are real people they are hurting. What about the transgender people in your city or state? What do you think you’re telling them? I’ll tell you what you’re telling them: you are not valued. That is one the most damaging statements to give to someone, and the fact that you would do that just to keep your closed-minded ideals still relevant is disgusting, aboslutely

On December 28, 2014 Leelah Alcorn, a transgender student, committed suicide after being rejected by her Christian parents and peers. Her parents’ beliefs prevented her from transitioning from a male-to-female, and constricted her from acting among her wishes as a transgender person by sending her to conversion therapy. Although it was a rash decision for her to take away her life in order to obtain rights for the LGBT community as a whole, there are many cases like Leelah’s that continue as of today because transgender people do not feel comfortable in a transphobic society. A large controversy concerning this issue is the bathroom policy which consists if a person should have the right to go to a restroom that they feel like they belong, not concerning their sex assigned at birth. However, this bathroom controversy is not the only thing that Leelah Alcorn or many others died for. Leelah wanted to defy society’s beliefs against their bigotry against transgenderism.