Last year, under Obama's administration the Education and Justice departments issued guidance to schools directing them to allow students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, even if this does not match their sex assigned at birth. This guidance implied that Title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in schools, also banned discrimination against one's gender identity. Therefore, schools who didn't protect their students' rights to use the bathroom correlated with their gender identity risked losing federal funding.
Under this protection, students who are trans could use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and presentation, rather than risk embarrassment and harassment in the bathrooms of the opposite gender.
My heart broke on Wednesday when the Trump administration rolled back this federal protection for students, because it sends a message: a cruel message.
Refusing to protect our country's trans students sends the message that the federal government does not recognize 0.6 percent of our population as human beings deserving of safety. It sends the message that those who are trans are a threat. It sends the message that our government is not willing to protect our vulnerable populations.
No matter your opinion towards the country-wide bathrooms bills, federal protections, and trans community, I would like to present to you why opposing the protection of trans students makes zero sense.
Giving other people rights doesn't take away from yours.
The federal government allowing trans students to use the bathroom of their choice does not take away any of your rights. It does not affect which bathroom you can use.
The only thing the law does is protect trans people.
If someone wants to harass someone in a bathroom, the gendered figure outside of the door is not going to stop them. Refusing to allow trans students to use one bathroom or another is not going to stop anyone from hurting anyone. Repealing these protections will not increase safety. The only thing that refusing these protections will do is put trans lives at risk and send a message that their safety is not important to our country. That's it.
If you do not identify as trans, this federal protection has no impact on your life. For those who do identify as trans, it has an enormous impact.
Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean its wrong.
A lot of people seem to reject this federal protection because the disconnect between biological sex and gender makes no sense to them. They cannot comprehend the trans identity, and thus they assume that it does not exist. They believe that those who identify as trans are making it up, doing it for attention, etc. Please.
First of all, the assumption that anyone would subject themselves to the harassment and discrimination that trans people receive if they didn't absolutely feel that this was their identity is ridiculous.
Secondly, think about it. Have you ever felt misunderstood? Have you ever felt something that other people didn't seem to understand? Even if your experience was minuscule compared to the idea of feeling out of place in your own body, you likely understand what it is like to feel alone, ostracized and misunderstood. Why would you want to subject someone else to this? Please, use your human ability and empathize. Be kind. Try to understand, even if you don't.
And finally, even if you absolutely cannot wrap your head around the trans identity (start by doing some research and talking to members of the community), there is no reason to make other people feel unsafe just because you don't understand them.
Trans individuals are not a threat to you.
According to an article by ABC News, which I definitely recommend you read, zero places that have nondiscrimination laws protecting trans people's access to bathroom have seen a rise in sexual violence or other public safety issues. These protections do not take away any other protections. "Assaulting another person in a restroom or changing room remains against the law in every single state.”
Based on statistics of sexual assault perpetrators, I am much more scared of a straight cis white male who grew up with traditional gender roles and believes that men are superior to women than a trans woman who is trying to be her authentic self.
I am much more worried about priests molesting young boys than trans men hurting anyone. The facts show us that trans individuals are the victims, not the perpetrators. We should be protecting them, not fearing them.
Ultimately, the facts show that there is no reason to oppose the protection of trans students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identification. If you believe that the proposed "bathroom bills" should be enacted, please ask yourself why. Find facts to back up your opinion. Then ask yourself if you respect human beings - if you believe in the dignity and safety of each individual. Please find your empathy.
