The infamous Hb2 bathroom bill in North Carolina has caused a lot of controversy, creating lots of passionate opinions on each sides of the argument. This bill states that a person must use the bathroom of the gender stated on that person's birth certificate. This raises quite a few questions. Most importantly, should a person get to decide which bathroom they can use? I think they should. There are of course many arguments against that opinion, but those arguments are not fact based, and are based in bigotry and fear. Transgender people are not a group of monsters and perverts trying to do cruel things in bathrooms to our children. They are just people who want to use the bathroom. And they want to do it with as little inconvenience and awkwardness as possible. I think we can all understand that.
Gender, and gender roles are social constructs not real biological things. A person’s sex however, is a real tangible thing based in biology. But it’s not all Xs and Os. A person’s sex can be ambiguous in a way, and therefore their gender identity as well. A person’s sex isn’t always a simple one or the other type of thing. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights some people do not fit the binary notion of male and female. Intersex, in humans and other animals, have variations in sex characteristics which include various differences in chromosomes, gonads, or genitals. Science tells us that sex and gender are different things. Even sex isn’t as clear cut as we have been conditioned to think. What makes a person a male? What makes a person a female? Who are any of us to decide what someone is, and how they should see themselves? This is America, the land of the free, and the home of the brave. I believe we should live up to that and trust the facts. Bad people may do bad things and we should be vigilant. But stopping a person from using the bathroom that makes the most sense for them to use, is not accomplishing anything but creating hate and fear.
North Carolina is taking somewhat of a financial hit though. Tourism is going down and even famous musicians and celebrities are openly condemning the state for its Hb2 bill. This may be a good thing. This tactic has been used in the past for other injustices. Ray Charles refused to perform in Georgia in front of a segregated crowd, as well as many other musicians of that time. Money can change everything. No bigger contributor has ever existed when dealing with political policy than money. If a state is losing money because of this, I believe they will see the light of understanding and get rid of this deeply discriminatory bill.
As a society we have much bigger problems. We need to stop spending time going backwards. It is important that we learn to understand each other and keep an open mind. The human experience is a complicated one. Understanding each other and our differences, but more importantly lack thereof, has been one of the biggest challenges for people throughout our history. But through education and human compassion we can bring about positive change and end systemic prejudices beginning with the Hb2 bill in North Carolina.
