On Friday, May 13, the Obama Administration issued a directive requiring all public school districts in the country to allow transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. This letter to school districts is not a law, but any school refusing to comply is prone to lawsuits.
I went to a small country high school located in deep East Texas and at this small school influenced by mostly conservative views, I had several transgender friends and acquaintances. At least five people I knew in high school were ridiculed for their gender identity and felt uncomfortable in the restrooms and locker rooms that correlate with their gender on their birth certificates.
When discussing the need of bathroom laws in public places, conservatives often use the argument that by allowing transgender people to use the restroom for their identified gender it also allows sexual predators to dress up like the opposite sex and to sexually assault children and women. This argument does not seem to apply to this situation. This directive only affects students in public schools.
Children and teenagers already struggle with “fitting in” at school. For transgender children and adolescents it’s even harder. Having the opportunity to use the restroom they feel most comfortable in is still a scary idea. These students would go in and out of the restrooms. Because even though they are allowed in there, the threat of other students harassing them is very real. Transgender students are simply not the issue.
The argument that non-transgender students could dress up as the other gender does not add up either. A student could not do that in a place they go to and inhabit every day, where they are seen by the same people every day. It’s hard enough for actual transgender students to feel safe dressing and grooming how they want because of how others may perceive and treat them. Students just would not undergo this sort of ridicule to assault other students.
Reasons why this directive is good is because transgender students will be allowed to use the restrooms and locker rooms where they feel comfortable. Also, showing students that transgender students are accepted and encouraged to be treated in an equal manner by those with authority will teach them to be open-minded and understanding to an array of people who are different.
By normalizing transgender children and teenagers and allowing them to use the facilities where they feel comfortable at school, it will hopefully follow them into college and the workplace. Allowing transgender students to use the restrooms where they feel comfortable is not only emotionally healthy and safe for them, it also teaches all students how to be tolerant of people who are different. This is a small step towards teaching students to be accepting of the whole LGBTQ community.
Unfortunately, this directive is not law and can only encourage lawsuits and the possibility of dropping federal funding for any school that does not abide. But it is a beginning towards tolerance in a public facility and equality for the LGBTQ Community.
