In light of last week’s Houston vote this week’s rant will address the transgender bathroom issue. There is a common misconception among some in the cisgender community regarding what transgender actually is. There is a wave of fear that is fueled by certain political and religious agendas. There is also a fear of the unknown and the inability to think this issue through. So let’s break this down for everyone.
The first misconception is that by granting the right to transgender women to use the bathroom that matches their correct gender we are opening the door for perverts and predators to look under the stalls, flash and even attack. This is ridiculous on many levels. First there has never been a reported case of any transgender person attacking anyone in the men’s or ladies’ room. And if you think about it, what is there to stop a male attacker from dressing as a woman and perpetrating an attack right now? What are we to do? Are we going to have a security guard at every bathroom checking id’s and checking people’s genitals before allowing entry? The misconception here is that many people think a transgender woman is really a man because of a physical body part. In actuality a transgender woman was always a woman. It is just that most of society doesn’t see it that way. The physical sex is a body part but gender is in the brain. This is proven science. I also can’t see anyone with estrogen flowing in their veins perpetrating such an act, but we will leave that there.
The second misconception is that unbeknownst to those that take issue, they probably have already shared the restroom with at least a dozen or more transgender individuals in their day. How would they be able to tell if they did or not? So what they are really saying is they are uncomfortable sharing the restroom with someone who does not pass for the gender they identify with. That is just horrible.
“Wake up everyone! You can ban transgender people from bathrooms but it won’t change a thing.”
I don’t know about everyone else but I just go into a stall, close the door, do my business, wash my hands and leave. At no time do I interact with anyone in a way that I am looking at someone else’s genitals. That is where this becomes so ridiculous. How do you enforce such a policy? While society worries about bathrooms, the politicians who fueled the debate get people to vote against their own interests. While we are all to busy arguing over bathrooms they are passing laws that actually do hurt us. Wake up everyone! You can ban transgender people from bathrooms but it won’t change a thing.
“Everyone loves variety in the products they consume but not in the people see every day.”
This brings me to society as a whole. Everyone loves variety in the products they consume but not in the people see every day. I have literally seen people freak out over the new kind of Oreo that just came out or the latest phone that is different than the others. All kinds of Doritos, chips, styles of clothes and new cars that are different. All these things are accepted in our society. So why is it different with people? Why are we so tied to two genders? Man and woman period. This is not reality. We come in all varieties, all shapes and all colors. We need to embrace our diversity with the same fervor that we have when we embrace the new Oreo. We have to stop dividing people in half, Republican or Democrat, male or female and gay or straight. This issue is not about bathrooms. It is about us in society. We have a choice to either quickly buy into the fear mongering that takes place or to really think about what is happening here. I am asking everyone to think about what is happening here. If you do you will realize how ridiculous this issue is. Attacking anyone in any restroom regardless of your gender is against the law already. So I am declaring the end of this bathroom debate. Just chalk this one up to being the same as removing the tag from a mattress. We have more important things to discuss. I know it will take time to educate everyone so let us start. We have better issues to solve than one that cannot be enforced regardless of the outcome.
Stay safe and keep fighting for all of us!
Love and Peace,
Mila Madison
