Well here we go. Not even two weeks after the election results were declared...it’s already started. No no, don’t scroll past this post just because I mentioned the election. Give this a look because I want to demystify a subject that’s been insidiously used to propagate “protect the children” and now “erasure of women’s rights” rhetoric and propaganda.
Ready for it? ….Bathroom Bans.
No no, don’t leave yet. Because I’m about to tell you a different side of this issue and why bathroom ban proposals are not only detrimental but also pernicious.
So as not to belabor the point let me get right to it. Bathroom bans are ludicrous. Bathroom bans are befuddlements...and these bans create a whole assortment of unsuspected fallout.
First of all, is this really the best Ohio legislatures can do right out of the gate?
Six days ago the Ohio Senate approved a ban on transgender students using bathrooms that fit their gender identities and sent the measure to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for signature.
According to an article written by Julie Carr Smyth and published by the Associated Press on November 13th, “State Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Kirtland Republican, said the bill “is about safety and security.”
Let me interject here and now why this is ludicrous. If safety and security for our nations youth were a genuine concern, then wouldn’t there be bans on predatory men being allowed to prey about young girls in churches? Wouldn’t there be more deliberation when it comes to reproductive health in young girls who became pregnant against their will? Wouldn’t there be bans on private ownership of high-caliber weapons that utilize detachable magazines that seem to be associated with school shootings?
I call bullshit! ...on the reasons and whys behind Ohio Senators who felt it so important to pass a bathroom ban in the State of Ohio right out of the gate. There are immensely more important issues that affect Ohioans than who’s using what bathroom. I mean, come on. Human beings have been utilizing bathroom facilities for centuries. Making rules about bathrooms is not what you think it’s about.
Secondly, let’s discuss the unsuspected fallout of the rhetoric behind bathroom bans. I can guarantee you no one sits up late at night and worries about the use of public restrooms...UNLESS...you fall into a marginalized group. Let’s not forget U.S. history of segregated bathrooms for a moment. See? Ludicrous, ridiculous….bathrooms are meant to do one thing...relieve yourself. Simple fact.
But as someone who doesn’t fit the accepted appearance norms...we DO think about public bathroom use. Why? Because as it stands right now...left alone...no bans...for myself to walk into a women’s public restroom...I’ve been told such things as, “wrong one,” and received double-take looks from women walking into the women’s restroom I’m standing in while washing my hands at the sink. I am in fact selective when I use a public bathroom because I don’t want to have to defend myself each and every time I enter or depart a women’s restroom. Since my appearance is often mistaken for male...you might understand why this is problematic.
The implication that birth certificates should be carried as proof of gender is something I think about. After all, will bathroom bans lead to empowering people to think upon seeing me walk into a women’s restroom that it’s within their right to demand that I show them proof that I am in fact female?
And here’s a newsflash. No transgender person walks into the bathroom (they feel the most safe using) with the intent to cause harm to anyone else. (Even though this is the exact insinuation being spread by proposing transgender bathroom bans.) If a trans person walks into a bathroom he or she is simply there to do one thing and one thing only...relieve themselves and then go on about their day like any other human being.
It’s laughable that today in the news...(according to articles at cnn, delawareonline dot com, the hill dot com and many other news sources) “South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace on Monday introduced a resolution to amend the rules of the US House of Representatives less than two months before Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator, is sworn-in in January.”
According to delawareonline dot com “The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol,” U.S. House Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican who represents South Carolina, said in a statement.
So here’s the thing. While the alleged claim is the sanctity of protecting women is at stake, this same claim was made way back when the topic of legalizing gay marriage was up for debate. THE SAME CLAIM! Remember...the rhetoric wrapped up in “the sanctity of marriage” debate? The passing of gay marriage rights hasn’t impacted the sanctity of marriage in any way that I personally know. But that’s a whole other article to be written.
No, this maneuver in Washington D.C. is directly linked to harassing Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), who will be the first transgender member of the House when the 119th Congress convenes in January. Elected by her constituents in Delaware to represent them in Congress.
Bathroom rules? I think we can legislate better.
After hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina, I for one have been sorting conscientiously through what truly matters in life and bathroom bills aren’t one of them.
We the people have been managing bathrooms just fine on our own for centuries. And we don’t need lawmakers planting divisive rhetoric in our heads, many of whom don’t fully understand the detrimental ramifications anyway.
Photo credit: Marcin Wichary/Flickr