When considering identity, some of the first associations that come to mind are race, class, gender, or even ethnicity. However, did it ever occur to you just how much who you choose to love, your sexual preference, or even sexual orientation could play such a large role in how you're viewed or treated? This is something the LGBTQA community has been struggling with for a long time.
Although the movement from the rights of LGBTQA community began in the late 1960's with the Stonewall riots, only years ago did we see big change with the legalization of marriage for this group of individuals.
A more recent issue that has been circulating for some time now deals with the push for gender neutral or unisex bathrooms in institutions and public places. This initiation would mean a lot to the LGBTQA community simply for the fact that allows for the opportunity for transgender people to use a bathroom in which they identify with rather than the one in which their sexual orientation suggests.
Like any other issue, this has a large base of resistance as well as support. Companies like Starbucks were quick to feature their own gender neutral bathrooms and last year, Yelp decided that as part of it's app features, it can provide you with the knowledge of whether or not your place of interest contained gender neutral bathrooms.
Last year, a transgender woman in Los Angeles was headed to the Pride festival and stopped in Walgreens. As she headed to the women's restroom, an employee redirected her to the men's room considering that she was dressed as a male. The store manager at this location also decided to back up her employee and redirected the woman to the men's room. This incident created a lot of buzz when the woman decides to released this video to YouTube in response. Now, just a week ago, Walgreens has implemented gender neutral bathroom policy after coming to the consensus that "all individuals have the right to use restroom facilities that correspond to the individuals gender identity, regardless of the individuals sex assigned at birth" back in November of 2017.
This has been a big issue for companies and institutions all over that have faced backlash from the LGBTQA community as well as its supporters about incidences in which they were denied the ability to use the bathroom that felt appropriate. To deny this community their own discretion of bathroom use is a from of discrimination and sadly, the fight for this issue continues.
Just yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education decided it would no longer consider complaints about the absence of gender neutral bathrooms. Although during the Obama administration, it was said that students should be allowed to use the bathroom they preferred to use, Trump has revoked this and felt that the decision should be left to the individual states.
In regard to education, implementing gender neutral bathrooms is crucial as many young transgender students who prefer using a bathroom that does not align with their birth sex are often targeted, bullied, and can face violence. With this, these students are also more susceptible to mental health issues as well as an increased likelihood of suicide. According to Jody Herman, a scholar of Williams Institute, "there are no accurate statistics about transgender youth and adults in the U.S," and so a study was done for students in the 9th, 10th, and 11th grade all over the state of Minnesota that found 62.1% of transgender youth report negative responses toward their health. This article also states that these youth are more likely to be "at an elevated risk for harassment and victimization' which can lead to depression, self-harm, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts."
It's upsetting to think about all the implication of denying something as small as gender neutral bathrooms and personal discretion for an entire community of people. It's no help that such powerful leaders like out president speak against a matter that not only reinforces discrimination but has adverse effects on youth. How can LGBTQA community win in their fight for gender neutral bathrooms when our government doesn't recognize this to be a matter of importance?
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My last blog post was very similar to this so I read a lot of different stories from transgender individuals all of which were extremely upsetting. I agree that the fact that trump took away these rights put tgasngedner students mental health and physical well being in danger. A lot of recent protests are focused on protecting transgender kids or students because of this recent policy change.
ReplyDeleteI found the statistics to be quite surprising. However, unless federal courts make a stance on this issue, most of these cases will be decided by the corporation/organization or the individual that owns the establishments in question to decide on whether or not they should provide gender neutral bathrooms. Therefore, I think it is crucial for the federal authorities to take a stance on this issue, and have it apply not only to schools but also other establishments as well.
ReplyDeleteI think it's so ironic that even though Walgreens is ab LGBT supportive company that this women still had to deal with that embarrassing experience. It's so upsetting that transgender people have to fight for their right to just use a bathroom. I don't know if you know this but there are many schools that make their transgender students use the bathroom in the nurses office , which is basically like writing the word "different" on their forehead. How do you think people could make the government recognize this issue?
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very important topic to talk about, even though it is very sensitive and many people avoid it. I really like all of the facts and statistics that you provide throughout the post to support your claims. I like how you share your opinions subtly, because it adds a personal side to the topic, without being too opinion based. It is very unfortunate that our government has taken a step back from this issue, when they really need to be involved now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteNorma, I find it interesting that your topic this week focuses on the T in LGBTA acronym. Usually, the focus is on sexual orientation and I think people push this issue to the side. I had no idea that Walgreens had changed their bathroom policy, so this blog has definitely kept me informed on current stuff!
ReplyDeleteI personally think that it is extremely important for the LGBTQA community to have full rights to gender neutral bathrooms. Starbucks implementing gender neutral bathrooms is a huge step in this process. For a huge and popular coffee chain to be implementing gender neutral bathrooms is step towards the right direction for the LGBTQA community. These individuals' voices matter greatly, and it is important for them to obtain these rights. The fact that Trump revoked the ability for students to go to the bathroom of their choice is quite limiting for those in the LGBTQA community. With this mindset, it would be much harder for these individuals to obtain full and heard voices and rights.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a very important issue to be discussing and one that our government should try to take more notice of. I think that getting Trump and Congress to do something about this issue would be a huge step forward in working towards a solution to the LGBTQA issue. I think it's important to note that companies, such as Walgreens, now need to take their own initiative since the government doesn't enforce any rules.
ReplyDeleteHi Norma! First of all, I think your title was super creative!!! The bathroom initiative for the LGBTQA community is one that has been discussed for a long time, but is still very relevant now. Stores have become a lot susceptible to having gender neutral bathrooms, and I think it is a step in the right direction. In Atherton Hall, they have gender neutral restrooms, promoting a welcoming environment. I am hoping they spread it across campus, because it would be beneficial to the LGBTQA community that flourishes on this campus. Can't wait to see what you write about next!
ReplyDelete