Stupid reporter

[kengr]

Go read the article here:
http://community.livejournal.com/transnews/863502.html

I'd give a link to the original but the poster didn't given one.

My email to the reporter is behind the cut

> Not that there's anything wrong with that. If you happen to be a
> transgender person, that's just fine with me. It's fine with a lot of
> other people, too. But some of us aren't so sure we should be changing
> public buildings to accommodate people who are ambivalent or unhappy or
> undecided about their gender.
>
> Let's think about this whole public bathroom equation. What we're really
> talking about is not mixing people who may feel a sexual attraction to
> each other, right?

Nope. Because that falls apart as soon as you acknowledge the existence of homosexuals.

It's about feeling *safe*. Many people are (reasonably or not) afraid of being attacked in the bathroom. Or of being seen partially dressed by others.

> That's the only logical reason to have separate men's and women's
> restrooms, because, economically, it would be far better to put
> everybody in one huge room with both urinals and toilets.

See above.

> So, let's say you have taken the ultimate step and changed your body
> parts. If you changed into a man, use the men's room!

Aside from the fact that it's not legal in some places (really), there's also the not so minor matter that before one can get sex reassignment surgery one has to live 24/7 as the sex you are "changing" to for *at least* a year.

And some people can't afford the surgery. Or have medical conditions that preclude it.

For that matter, the female-to-male surgery *can't* produce a penis that's functional. Which is why most female-to-male transsexuals only get "top" surgery (ie a double mastectomy).

In any case, you appear to suffer from the common misconception (fueled by too many programs and articles that focus on the surgery) that one is only a TS(transsexual) if one has had the surgery.

Not true. A TS is a TS from the moment they realize they have the wrong body.

And TGs (transgendered folks) are an entirely different situation.

> If we're this worried about sexual orientation in public bathrooms, how
> can a gay person ever use one? Should we permit only two people of the
> opposite gender to go inside a gay bathroom at the same time?

It's not about sexual orientation.

It's about some people feeling unsafe.

Where I live, the laws more or less say that if you are dressed as a woman you can use the women's room, if you are dressed as a man, you can use the mens room.

Yet TSes have had mall security drag them out of a stall because someone looked thru the crack in the door and saw that they had a penis. It took a call to the police to get the mall "cops" to release them. And nothing was done to the peeping Thomasina who reported them.

And even without that, many are afraid that will happen.

A female-to-male TS friend of mine was afraid to use the mens room for fear that he be *attacked* by men who thought he was a fag. Or worse who figured out that he still had a female body and might try to rape him.

For that matter, there are non-TS/TG people who don't look "right" for their sex and get harrassed about use the correct restroom for their sex.

The unisex bathrooms are to provide a place for *anyone* who is afraid of the way other people mighht treat them in a "normal" bathroom.

I suggest that in the future you take the time to actually find out what the issues are instead of just inventing them on your own.

Comments

Totally "mainstream" reasons for unisex bathrooms...

[morgan-gw.livejournal.com]

When you're a single parent of a child of the other gender, and the child isn't old enough to use the public restroom by themselves (or you just don't feel safe sending them in without an escort). I remember getting the hairy eye for bringing a 5ish boy into the ladies room, but no one was stupid enough to say anything -- probably saw in my eyes that they'd get ripped a new one :-).

Or, you're an adult who needs an attendant to help you because of some physical issue, and your attendant (like, say, a nice legal hetero spouse) isn't the "right" gender.

Those "folks rooms" are a gods-send for more reasons that TS/TG :-).

Some people just need to grow up.

Re: Totally "mainstream" reasons for unisex bathrooms...

[kengr]

Someone posted the message they sent him and the reply they got. He came across as an asshole and a bigot.

BTW, seems they he doesn't "get" the idea that this was just *relabelling* existing single person restrooms.