At the end of April, the American Family Association (AFA) released a statement declaring a boycott of Target for its "dangerous bathroom policy" allowing employees and customers to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. The policy, formally released by Target on April 19th of this year, was enacted to provide inclusivity to transgender shoppers in compliance with the federal Equality Act.
According to the AFA, this policy will allow cisgender men who decide they "feel like a woman today" to use the women's restroom. The AFA writes, "Target's policy is exactly how sexual predators get access to their victims." In addition to their call for a boycott of the retail giant, the AFA is circulating a petition against the chain which they claim has almost 1.2 million supporters.
What the AFA fails to recognize is that Target is not encouraging men (referring to those who were born and identify as male) to enter the women's restroom, but rather make the space more inclusive of transwomen (referring to those who were born male but identify as female). Target's policy was not enacted to undermine the safety of women and children in their restrooms, but rather to better accommodate the needs of their customers and employees.
The AFA's fight against LGBTQ+ rights is only the beginning of America's war against the community's access to restrooms. Governor Pat McCrory of North Carolina recently signed the infamous House Bill 2, also referred to as HB2 or the "Bathroom Bill." HB2 is effective statewide, and bars people in NC from using bathrooms that do not match the gender on their birth certificates. HB2 has since sparked two opposing Twitter movements: #WeAreNotThis and #KeepNCSafe.
The group Media Matters for America conducted a poll of public school systems that allowed transgender students to use the restroom of the gender they identified with. Carlos Maza reported that of the 600,000 students used in the study, officials received no reports of incidents of harassment or inappropriate behavior related to transgender students in the school's restrooms.
Chris Sgro, the executive director of Equality NC who is suing North Carolina to overturn HB2, has noted that many large cities with LGBTQ+ policies similar to HB2 in Charlotte have since eliminated them. Sgor states, "There have not been any public safety issues in those other communities."
Many companies and celebrities have taken a stand against HB2, including Biogen, Apple, Google, the National Basketball Association, and many more. Musicians Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas recently cancelled their NC tour dates, and released the following statement: "We know the cancellation of these shows is disappointing to our fans, but we trust that you will stand united with us against this hateful law." Lovato and Jonas are only two of the many stars speaking out against HB2, including comedian Louis CK who is donating all proceeds from his two Orange Peel shows to Equality NC, and Bruce Springsteen who is also canceling his NC concert.
The American Family Association's boycott of Target and its opposition to the store's bathroom policy are part of a larger problem. Some Americans are reluctant to recognize the validity of LGBTQ+ rights and concerns. I strongly denounce the newest wave of discrimination, specifically referring to North Carolina's HB2 and the AFA's opposition to Target's inclusive bathroom policy. If you truly want to protect women and girls, support social programming and feminism. Target the real sex predators, not innocent people seeking to use a public bathroom.
As LGBTQ+ issues are being widely discussed more now than ever before, it is important that their fundamental rights are upheld. Transgender rights are human rights, too.
