Recently, Target has come under fire for their stance on transgender bathrooms. In a blog post, they officially announced their views stating that they welcome "transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity." Religious groups have raised hundreds of thousands of signatures in a call to boycott Target. These groups believe that by allowing this, we are putting our women and children in harms way by allowing predators to simply self-identify as a woman.
I think this is the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard. The fact that this is even an issue is demeaning and petty. We have much bigger issues that demand our attention, but instead we're going to fight about other's genitals and which cold, tile-floored, stall-lined bathroom they belong in. So be it.
Trans people are not trying to harm you or your children. They actually don't care about you or your children. They just want to be able to urinate where they feel comfortable, just like everyone else. If this is your argument, you're not standing up for other's safety. You're using this as an out to prevent change and to protect your fear of "different". As a woman, (a white, straight, cis woman to be specific), I have never felt uncomfortable around a trans person. They're not going to harm you. Just let them be them.
As I've scrolled through Facebook and read on the topic, I've noticed that many of those fighting Target's policy say that it's not the trans people they're afraid of: it's those who will abuse their rights. They seem to think that men, with the sole purpose of peeping and raping, will find their prey in the women's restrooms and upon being caught, they will just use the trans identity as an excuse. While that might cover their reasoning for being in the bathroom, there is a much larger issue at hand. No one, cis, trans, or otherwise, should be peeping and raping. End of story. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior. It is unacceptable in every single way. So why don't we persecute the perpetrators for their acts instead of which bathroom they're in?
Because we live in a culture of rape.
"That skirt was so short. She was asking for it." "She didn't say no." "If she doesn't do it, she doesn't really love me."In this culture, it's normal for women to be sexually harassed and raped. It is the norm for women to be seen as less than men. We teach our children that "boys will be boys" and "they're only mean to you because they like you". We've learned that sometimes abuse and love are the same thing, and if you don't give them what they want, they'll just take it. We see masculine cis men as the alpha and anyone who doesn't fit that profile is weaker and therefore somehow subservient. Anyone who is different is automatically considered to be in a lower class of people.
Our court systems don't process rapes and harassment charges like any other crime. They require more evidence, more witnesses, and take information that has no pertinence to the case into consideration. So even if we were to charge peepers and rapists, it probably wouldn't do any good. They would probably be found not guilty and the women and children they hurt would be left with nothing.
Banning someone's bathroom privileges are not the answer. We can't oppress a whole group of people because we're afraid of a few individuals who might cause harm. We're not going to do right by anyone until we change fundamentally. We have to change the way our Justice Systems processes sexual cases. And that starts with changing our mindsets. We have to stop teaching our children that this behaviour is okay and normal. We have to stop letting others use us and abuse us and think that they can just take whatever they want. It's time we stop focusing on keeping ourselves safe from rapists and instead start teaching don't rape.
So yes, please continue boycotting Target, if it makes you feel better. You're not protecting anyone. And it leaves more at Target for me.
