Transgender American Bathrooms

Transgender American’s have been denied an extremely basic human right for far too long the right to use the bathroom that they correctly identify with. The debate has been front and center recently in the media with certain ‘bathroom bills’ being brought to light. This has created a stigma that transgender Americans compromise the privacy and security of gender conforming Americans while occupying a college campus bathroom. Courts continue to discourse this issue, while certain states introduce new ways to keep the bathrooms closed off to transgender’s. The American people need to stand with our transgender community members and demand gender neutral bathrooms. They deserve access in all building and resident hall as well as separate male
According to the Heartland Trans Wellness Group website, intimidation is the number one problem facing trans- students when using the bathroom. Prompting students to fear for their safety when performing what should be an easy going daily activity. Transgender students will most certainly go well out of their way to a private bathroom just to feel comfortable and escape the potential danger of other prejudice students. Implementing gender neutral bathrooms will release the daily anxiety and stress trans-students feel when they have to make the simple choice of where to use the bathroom for the day. Having only gender specific bathrooms on college campuses does more harm than good. A safe space to use the bathroom or simply look in the mirror is a necessity for our transgender
The opposing side feels that creating these neutral bathrooms will bring heightened sexual predator attacks. This accusition has been debunked many times with schools reporting that there is no correlation between bathroom attacks and gender neutral bathrooms. While in the past there have been instances of heterosexual males dressing up as females to gain access to female bathrooms. There is no evidence reported to suggest that this has increased due to the creation of gender neutral bathrooms. To further my point, if the gender specific bathrooms on campuses are not taken away then there still remains a choice to use the bathroom one feels most comfortable with. There is just now an extra choice open to all of the public. The transgender student population of the United States is being neglected a simple service that everyone should enjoy. Feeling safe and fully accommodated when using the bathroom is not a privilege- it is a necessity. The transgender population grows more and more everyday with more students than ever before choosing to attend college. Let’s make sure that everyone has the tools they need to be successful even outside the classroom. In a country built upon freedom, the freedom to choose which bathroom to use becomes a simple liberty