My boyfriend shouldn't be uncomfortable using public restrooms. As in, my boyfriend should be allowed to use the public restroom they prefer and should feel comfortable enough to get the job done. As in, transgender people should feel comfortable and safe using any bathroom they prefer.
That said, my boyfriend is lucky enough to pass in the gender he feels comfortable (i.e.; male). Many transgender men and women don't have the means to pass, or don't have the desire to pass, and this is why gender neutral or family restrooms are important. People deserve the basic decency of safety when in public, people do not deserve to be harassed. No matter what they look like.
Look the thing is, this entire bathroom situation is always on the back burner, but with today's government and society it shouldn't be. This was never once an issue until more trans people started coming out. A bathroom sign is not going to stop a rapist from going into whatever bathroom they want to go into, it never has in the past. A transgender bathroom ban is not going to do anything to stop a sexual assaulter from going into the women's or men's restroom. Its just going to stop trans people from being able to pee where they want to and need to.
But that's just thing, if a person passes, they can slip by and be able to use whatever bathroom. No one is going to randomly check at every door of every bathroom. This is a problem in only a few ways. One, for those who chose not to or don't have the means to pass. They should be able to use which ever bathroom they please, but because people are now consistently freaking out over this, family and gender neutral restrooms need to be a thing. Everywhere.
It also is a problem in schools and work places. Because grade schools can actually determine who goes in which bathroom and locker rooms it can cause a lot of problems for trans children. Work places have been known to do this as well. No one should be forced to use the bathroom of the gender they don't identify with. I should not be forced to use the men's, nor should any woman or person who doesn't want to. My boyfriend should not be forced to use the women's room, nor should any man or person who doesn't want to.
It should, at this point, just be a non-issue. I have never once felt threatened by any woman in the bathroom with me, trans or not. And honestly, stop pretending that you actually care about women's safety and comfort and just start saying you're transphobic.
