Well here is a topic that is not a safe topic to discuss, Transgender Washrooms.
Should Transgender persons (is that the politically correct term?) use their birth gender or their identified gender? The politically correct thing to say at this time is that they should use their identified gender, others seem to indicate that they should use their birth gender.
Neither options seems great to me, obviously transgender persons are living their life (or trying to) as their identified gender, if a person identifies as a girl, lives as a girl but then went in the boys washroom, that would be odd; for them and the students in washroom. Likewise for transgender boys; born as girls.
At the root of both discomforts is the idea, that bathrooms belong to one gender or another. Why is that? Is it because people are prudes? Is it because of a fear of sexual assault? Is it just tradition? Is it a concern of honor or modesty? It isn’t a homophobia that keeps boys with boys in the washroom, or a girls with girls in the washroom. Maybe it is years of curious boys and girls trying to catch a peek of the other, maybe it something else.
It may be that different people have different concerns. I don’t think the idea of rejecting a transgender identified gender is very nice, nor does it seem to make any sense to make the cis born children uncomfortable because they have a concern as listed above, or some other concern.
So, again, why the separate bathrooms? If it is a sexual assault concern, then maybe gay students should go to the other genders bathroom. If it is a curious peek thing then maybe the boys should stay with the boys, or if it is a modesty thing then maybe everyone should all change together? If curiosity shouldn’t be opposed or ff there are no victims then there is no need to worry, kids can just choose where they want to change or go to the bathroom.
Some people have suggested that transgender people should change in unisex bathrooms, however this solution has been rejected as excluding that individual. A notion that makes sense to me as it defines a unique solution to a unique situation. I do recognize that the differentiation will make the transgender person feel “different”, but different doesn’t mean bad, and if you believe that being different is “bad” then look at yourself before looking at others. Being different is neither good nor bad, a person is a person and transgender persons are different. There is no need to shelter them from this simple fact; they do not fit in the cookie cutter mold because they are different and when they understand that then they can start to relate to all the people who can see the obvious. Denying the truth isn’t going to do anyone any flavours. It reminds me of the twilight zone episode “invisible”.
Maybe the solution should be that those students who do feel uncomfortable should go to the unisex bathroom. In that case what happens when all of the students except for the transgender student feel uncomfortable? Do the rights of the one student more important than the rights of the many students? Or is it just that the students/people who feel uncomfortable are wrong, homophobic and ignorant?
After writing this original article, I discussed this topic with a co-worker who had no problem with transgender people in the change room or washrooms. I respect that, I can even understand the motivation, perhaps I could even be convinced, but currently I am not. Anyway, the reason I am writing this is because as I was walking out of the office the co-worker joined me for a walk down the hall to go to the washroom. He jokingly offered that he was going to decide which bathroom to use. It occurred to me then that this was a fair question. I wondered why not? Who wouldn’t choose to go to the opposite genders bathroom if it was much closer, or even a little closer? What harm would there be if people did?