This past week the Trump administration withdrew the pledge of support put in place by former President Barack Obama that outlined special protection for transgender students. The Department of Justice and the Department of Education released a joint statement explaining how they are revoking the “Dear Colleague” letter which ultimately is descending the decision to let students use their gender identified restrooms back to the states and schools. What is the “Dear Colleague” letter? In its most basic terms it is the explanation of how and why gender identity should be protected under the title 9 ban against sex discrimination in schools.
The trans community is a marginalized community that is already fighting extremely hard for the equality that they deserve. The transgender community has not yet received federal assistance on the issues of housing and employment discrimination. So once the Obama administration finally showed support for transgender rights by implementing the “Dear College” guidelines, the transgender community finally had a voice at the federal level. Unfortunately, this past week the Trump administration has done everything in their power to silence that voice.
So what's the big deal if a gender identified woman can’t pee in my bathroom? Imagine a person in the transgender community wants to go to the movie theater. Say that movie theater only has gender segregated bathrooms. This causes stressful situations for the trans community because there is always a fear of being confronted. According to a 2013 study, 68 percent of trans female-to-male people reported to have been verbally harassed in a bathroom and 59 percent of trans male-to-females reported to have been verbally harassed as well.Now all this person wanted to do was see a movie and now they run the risk of being assaulted or harassed. So what are they going to do if they can’t safely enter a restroom? They have two options. Hold it or not go to the movies at all. Holding it for extended periods of time can cause infections and other major health risks. And not going out at all is exactly the agenda that the Trump administration has in mind. Because the less that we see trans people out in the community, the less of an impact they can have on issues such as their own rights.
This withdrawal of support affects transgender students the most. The people having to deal with the backlash of our President's decisions are the ones who are not old enough to have voted for him in the first place. Grade school and high school is an identity struggle no matter who you are. And the Judicial and Educational Departments came together to compromise the trans youth community to the point where school can become unbearable for most of these children. Yet, there’s still hope. There is still a way to preserve the mental and physical health of our youth. The “where is he allowed to pee” decisions are up to the states and public schools themselves. Even the University of Alabama is taking initiative to add gender neutral bathrooms to every new building they build or renovate. If all schools across the country follow suit, then this federal decision will no longer be an issue for the trans community.
Protecting gender identified bathroom rights will show the trans community that no matter what the Trump administration tries to do, America accepts and cares for the trans community. This is the home of the free so we should let our people pee.
