During the last few years, the U.S. has witnessed unexpected advancements accommodate transgender individuals. Based on the notable growth in the number if transgender individuals, the backlash has become apparent among various activists and legislators. An increasing number of local and state legislators throughout the country are laying emphasis on the contentious bills, which might restrict access to gendered facilities among the public, such as locker rooms and restrooms depending on the sex individuals are assigned at birth as opposed to their gender identity. The bills are mainly aimed at hindering transgender persons from gaining access to facilities that match the identity of their gender (Wang,et al.).
Furthermore, the merging anti-transgender legislations are following a historical example of utilizing legislation to obstruct or invalidate ordinances or laws that support equal protections and rights from discrimination to lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people. Recently, this issue became apparent when some conservative voters utilized a referendum that would have offered defense against danger identity discrimination in public accommodations. More than 15 classes of individuals were offered safeguards across diverse aspects of life, although opponents referred to is as the “bathroom bill,” while they relied on the lack of knowledge among the public concerning transgender individuals to generate anxiety and fear, thus lead to the rejection of the legislations (Wang,et al.). Thus, the paper discusses the issue of transgender bathrooms issue in the U.S. based on the debates it has raised among the public, states, politicians, and the community over issues it will bring.
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On the issue of gender identity, most institutions, such as schools or workplaces, separate restrooms as well as other facilities for both women and men. In some cases, however, questions arise as to which facilities individuals are supposed to use. In the U.S., for instance, more than 700,000 adults consider themselves transgender to indicate that their internal identity with gender is distinct from the one evident on their birth certificate. Most transgender persons usually transit to allow them to live each day as the gender they identify themselves with. Therefore, transgender men might transit to identify themselves as women. Here, it is vital to note that the process of transition is different for each person, mostly because it may entail changes in the social environment, medical processes, as well as identification document changes (OSHA, 2015).
In the U.S., for instance, some laws exist whose role is to safeguard individuals in public accommodations. The existing nondiscrimination laws targeting public accommodations only target religion, color, race, disability, or national origin. They do not inhibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex in the case of public accommodations. Most of the states in the U.S. hinder discrimination associated with sex for public accommodations, while many enforcement agencies and state courts have deduced the laws to safeguard transgender individuals. Presently, many localities and states plainly inhibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the case of public accommodations (The National Center for Transgender Equality, 2015).
The recent laws concerning transgender bathrooms have affected diverse states in the U.S. differently. Even though some states have welcomed the laws, others do not support the move by the federal government (Kesich, 2016). Various states stipulate they are not obliged to support transgender sexes, while laying their claims on religious or other kinds of beliefs exercised by the public. The U.S. is currently refurbishing some its laws based on the changing social environment to allow it support the LGBT community, meaning that some of the rights, which the non-LGBT population exercise will be sacrificed (Brennan, 2016). Although men and women bathrooms exist, the federal government argues that states should consider abiding by the new laws by allowing individuals to utilize the bathrooms they associate their sex identity with. This may pose numerous issues, especially if certain individuals identify themselves with a different sex with perverted plans (Steinmetz, 2015).
Additionally, in the U.S. today, the public shows notable divisions along age, education, and party positions concerning whether transgender individuals should be allowed to utilize public bathrooms, which match with their identity of gender as opposed to their gender during birth (Kesich, 2016). Although less compared to the majority, around 46 percent of individuals in America believe that transgender persons should only be permitted to utilize public bathrooms that correspond to their gender after birth. Around 41 percent agree that transgender individuals should be permitted to utilize bathrooms that rhyme with the genders they associate themselves with (Brennan, 2016).
In the case of college graduates, Democrats, as well as those individuals aged below 45 years, they support that individuals be allowed to choose their bathroom of choice based on their gender identity, while their colleagues are opposed to the view (Trotta and Weissner, 2016). About six out of ten Americans stipulate they believe decisions concerning the bathroom that transgender students prefer to utilize in public schools should be an issue that local or state governments should be left to consider (Suk, 2016). Although approximately 51 percent of majority Democrats believe that the issue concerns the federal government, around three-quarters of Democrats, argue that the issue should be discussed at the local or state levels. In this perspective, therefore, it is apparent that notable discrepancies prevail concerning the transgender bathrooms issue (Brennan, 2016).
Civil rights and the transgender bathrooms issue also appear to go hand-in-hand. Before the introduction of transgender bathroom laws, for example, bathrooms served as places having lunch counters and water fountains while they contained “white only” markings. The bathroom is also considered as a battleground whereby the physically challenged and women fight seeking equal treatment while in the workplace (Grimm, 2015). Due to the state of the activities that people undertake while in the bathroom, it may serve as a place whereby these groups might feel vulnerable or exposed, hence making them oppose changes. It also serves as a transgender representation, which equalizes all people (Steinmetz, 2015).
From the viewpoint of conservatives, they argue that transgender bathroom laws are vital to assist in safeguarding the privacy of persons as well as public safety. Various social conservatives argue that they believe transgender individuals are mistaken (Grimm, 2015). This does not mean the men who consider themselves as women while in the bathroom but providing transgendered women with opportunities to utilize women’s bathrooms would provide peeping boys or sexual predators with opportunities to utilize the protections as a risky deception for invading female spaces (Suk, 2016). In this case, however, no evidence has been witnessed concerning such fears.
In conclusion, the debate surrounding bathrooms that transgender individuals should utilize have resulted in the emergence of deep questions concerning why the society embarks on the gender segregation. The force to ensure the spaces are accessible to all individuals irrespective of their gender is not taken easily by, particularly because of the sexual vulnerability of women as well as their influence on equal workplace or education. Things become more multifaceted when issues associated with transgender females’ harassment and sexual assault in male bathrooms serve as the key reason for offering bathrooms access based on gender identity, although other worries emerge whereby transgender males are subject to bullying sexually while in male washrooms. In this perspective, therefore, the issue of transgender bathrooms should be accorded notable consideration from the societal to governmental standpoint to ensure that individuals utilize washrooms effectively, without fear of discrimination, assault or harassment, irrespective if their gender identity.
References
Brennan, M. T. (2016). Public Is Divided Over Transgender Bathroom Issue, Poll Shows. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/politics/transgender-public-bathroom-poll.html?_r=0
Grimm, G. (2015). Restoring sanity to the debate over transgender bathroom use. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/restoring-sanity-to-the-debate-over-transgender-bathroom-use/2016/04/26/5e646bc6-0807-11e6-a12f-ea5aed7958dc_story.html
Kesich, G. (2016). Bathrooms a big deal in transgender rules debate. Retrieved from http://equalitymaine.org/in-the-news/bathrooms-big-deal-transgender-rules-debate
OSHA. (2015). A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3795.pdf
Steinmetz, K. (2015). Everything You Need to Know About the Debate Over Transgender People and Bathrooms. Retrieved from http://time.com/3974186/transgender-bathroom-debate/
Suk, J. (2016). The Transgender Bathroom Debate and the Looming Title IX Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/public-bathroom-regulations-could-create-a-title-ix-crisis
The National Center for Transgender Equality. (2015). Know Your Rights: Public Accomodations. Retrieved from http://www.transequality.org/know-your-rights/public-accommodations
Trotta, D., & Weissner, D. (2016). States ratchet up transgender battle with lawsuit against U.S. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lgbt-idUSKCN0YG2NT
Wang, T., Solomon, D., Durso, L. E., McBride, S., & Cahill, S. (n.d). State Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bills Threaten Transgender People’s Health And Participation In Public Life Center for American Progress. Retrieved from http://www.fenwayhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/COM-2485-Transgender-Bathroom-Bill-Brief_v8-pages.pdf
