You watch as your 9-year old daughter enters the Target restroom. A man in his 40's promptly follows. Before you act on your gut instinct to intervene, you check yourself. In an effort to be inclusive, in an effort not to offend, you cross your fingers. You hope the man is innocent and keeps to himself. You hope that he really does identify as a woman and has no other reason for walking into that restroom.

You cross your fingers and walk away.

This picture may come off as hyper-dramatic and generalized, but it is a very probable one. This picture is what is so unbelievable about Target's new restroom policy. Target recently released their pledge to "welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity."

The policy itself doesn't upset me. It isn't going to cause every pedophile in America to flock to the store's bathroom doors, and I can't say whether or not it will necessarily increase sexual violence. Of course, Target is also not intentionally aiming to put women and children in danger. Just like socialism, it would function wonderfully in an ideal world. But in the real world, in the complex and sinful and messed-up real world, there's always a hitch.

The hitch here is the implication behind the policy's lines; the implication that if that man follows your daughter, no questions will be asked. And can you confidently say that you would be 100% comfortable with a person of the opposite sex in the stall and sink right next to you, even if nothing actually harmful happened?

This controversial topic is so upsetting because anyone who may be against the policy (many of those who are strictly concerned about the safety of women and children) are instantly coined as anti-LGBT extremists. Most people who are troubled by this policy are not assuming that all transgenders are predators. No, they are concerned about the abuse of and intention behind the policy. So, in our current culture, you will receive backlash for taking the side of the innocent if it implies any hint of exclusivity towards those who reject their biological sex.

Target spokeswoman, Molly Snyder, wrote that there are,

"single-stall/family restrooms in hundreds of our stores for guests that may be more comfortable with that option"

So now, your gender's restroom is no longer a safe space for you. If you don't feel comfortable doing whatever you need to do in the restroom with the other gender present, sorry. You can make do in the family restroom. It makes a whole lot of sense to essentially kick men and women out of their own restrooms

It's frankly quite silly and frustrating that one of the most attention-getting issues in America currently is one that revolves around what kind of people should use what kind of restroom. It's here, it's happening, and we should engage.

Sorry, Target, but it's not this simple.