On the issue of the rights of transgender individuals, many people within the American society have cited challenges, ranging from legal to religious and beyond. The key dominant issue that has received considerable attention is one of the kinds of bathrooms that these kinds of people need to utilize. When it comes to the bathroom, particularly one used by the public or in a workplace, the transgender individuals’ rights come close with the rights to privacy for all people. Regarding this issue, it offers an opportunity for establishing a healthier society by constructing better bathrooms that shift away from the dominant perception that privacy to the bathroom concerns gender privacy while communal bathrooms would serve as ideal when separated based on gender (Broyde, 2016) . For this paper, it discusses the issue of transgender bathrooms as a key challenge for the future by analyzing the Symmes and Mensik’s article “Heeding Transgender Restroom, Workplace Rules,” which will facilitate in dealing with this conflicting situation, especially within the workplace.
According to Symmes & Mensik (2016), numerous companies lack awareness on the illegality of hindering transgender persons from utilizing restrooms specific to their gender. Failure to provide transgender workforce with access to restrooms other workers of a similar gender identity serves as a form of gender discrimination, which infringes Civil Rights Act’s Title VII. This form of denial violates the civil rights irrespective of whether workers feel offended by the act or have had medical procedures. In this case, it is argued that when transgender female workforces inform their employers that they are working and living as women, they need unlimited access to female restroom. Additionally, supervisors would be engaging in sexual harassment when they refer to women by their prior male pronouns or names repeatedly and intentionally (Symmes & Mensik, 2016) . Regarding this issue, it mostly targets federal employers while private employers might experience various implications, particularly due to the various forms of discriminations that they direct toward their employees.
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Furthermore, in the event of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), it has offered a best practice guideline concerning how transgender individuals access restrooms. OSHA requires that all workers, including the transgender workforce should be able to access restrooms, which match with the identity of their gender. Various states have instituted similar policies or laws, which need the employers to allow the workforce to utilize restrooms that match with their identity to gender as opposed to the one they receive at birth. They should be able to do so without questioning or harassment. Based on this law, regulations prevail that need public accommodations and employers to ensure that they implement restrooms that correspond to specific gender (Symmes & Mensik, 2016) . These should allow the transgender individuals to utilize restrooms matching their identity to gender.
Nevertheless, when it comes to areas that only have single restrooms, they need designating as neutral to gender. In addition, the employers should ensure that they allow their workforces to utilize gender-specific facilities, including locker rooms, restrooms, and dressing rooms in a way that matches with their gender identity and expression. In the same vein, the employers should not require or request their workers to utilize gender-isolated facilities that do not match their gender identity and expression. However, in the event that other individuals express discomfort or concerns regarding individuals using facilities matching their gender identity or expression, the uncomfortable individuals should be directed to gender-neutral or separate facilities when available. However, despite these growing concerns, issues are emerging whereby certain states are requiring that public organizations have multi-occupancy restrooms while requiring that individuals utilize facilities based on their biological sex (Symmes & Mensik, 2016) . As such, employers face challenges on what would allow them to reduce potential liability or litigation, irrespective of whether they support the laws or not.
The transgender restroom issue is a growing concern in various organizations. Since individuals and organizations face problems on a daily basis, they think of the challenges, deliberate them with colleagues or family, and, ultimately decide whether to act on them. The task of addressing the issues takes time while the solution by group might fail to satisfy anyone. In this sense, John Dewey, an American philosopher and educator, introduced an organized systematic strategy for addressing problems, the Dewey Sequence. It comprises of six steps that firms can follow to solve the different problems that they encounter. According to Dewey, this approach is a successive order that determines the resulting ideal outcome, which relies on its predecessor. With this sequence, organizations manage to define the existing issue, evaluate the challenge, determine the approach for ideal solution to the problem, propose ideal solutions, assess and select the best solution, as well as institute the solution while at the same time testing whether it emerges successful (Dewey, 2012) . In this sense, companies, both private and public, can follow the process to allow them come up with the ideal solution to dealing with the transgender conflict problem.
When it comes to the transgender bathroom issue, which faces numerous organizations in the present society, it is probable to deploy solutions, which organizations can identify by using the Dewey Sequence. Since the transgender bathroom issue is a growing concern, it would be crucial that companies ensure to construct unisex bathrooms, such the ones found on airplanes. These bathrooms would play a crucial role in addressing the use of restrooms by transgender individuals in line with those of privacy. For instance, many people’s homes, shops, restaurants, and numerous other establishments feature unisex private bathrooms. These kinds of restrooms are modest as opposed to communal facilities, which many persons perceive as uncomfortable. Additionally, it is essential to note that public bathrooms do not benefit individuals. Humans lay considerable emphasis to privacy while bathrooms serve as private spaces (Broyde, 2016) . For the unisex bathrooms, therefore, they have the capacity of accommodating the requirements of numerous individuals, including transgender persons in line with those shying away from using restroom facilities in the presence of other people.
Not surprisingly, numerous corporations have implemented the unisex mini-bathrooms due to the efficiency they provide and the value that employees direct toward the privacy that they offer. In this case, conflicting regarding who should utilize a certain gender’s restroom, or the “actual gender” of shifting people, fails to appreciate the opportunity for developing an ideal culture for all people. Regarding access to the bathroom, therefore, it appears irrelevant when discussing the transgender people’s status or the actual gender of a person under the law of America (Broyde, 2016) . Thus, the unisex restroom proposal would play a critical role in addressing the prevailing conflict concerning how transgender individuals use the bathroom.
In conclusion, the transgender people’s use of the bathroom has raised concerns in diverse organizations within the U.S. Various proposals have prevailed on the need for ensuring that transgender individuals have access to their specific restrooms and other facilities within companies. However, the issue has sparked debates on the applicability of the laws supporting the use of unique restrooms among transgender persons. Various organizations might not manage to comply with the laws, which might lead them to face potential litigations or liabilities. Nonetheless, with the Dewey’s Sequence, it has been possible to identity the solution to the issue. Establishing unisex private bathrooms would play a vital role in meeting the bathroom use requirements among individuals identifying with different genders in line with assuring them of optimal privacy.
References
Broyde, M. J. (2016). Transgender bathroom issue: a solution? Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/28/opinions/the-bathroom-issue-were-not-talking-about/index.html
Dewey, J. (2012). How we think. North Chelmsford: Courier Corporation.
Symmes, W. M., & Mensik, A. M. (2016). Heeding transgender restroom, workplace rules: Establish clear policies to minimize legal risk. Retrieved from https://www.spokanejournal.com/local-news/heeding-transgender-restroom-workplace-rules/
