Sunday, May 15, 2016

Gender specific restrooms - are they really protective?



So I have been following the latest news and outrage, so to speak. I am referring to the "interpretation" of the law which suggests the changing of gender specific public restrooms to be - what we used to call - "unise/x" i.e. 1 washroom for men, women, transgender and whatever.

Why this ruling now?  I wonder if it isn't just to annoy conservatives in order to divert their attention from more important issues.  If so, that ruling certainly has accomplished this end.  Many conservatives are extremely upset about this and social media like Facebook is filled with cries of outrage.

What are we forgetting?  That transgender folks probably, at present, use the restroom of the gender they feel they are, rather than the restroom for the gender in which they were born (and in which many still remain, since gender change surgery is risky, and expensive and obviously not covered by insurance).

What I am wondering is, why has this whole thing morphed into some folks feeling that - well, I'm not sure what they feel - do they think that folks who are transgender are all perverts?  That certainly is not true!  I've known many transgender folks and I feel although that they might be confused, to call them perverts is more than a bit "over the top".

 Confused? - yes - because our gender is in our genes and no matter how we change our bodies or what clothing and/or makeup we wear, we will always remain the gender of our birth - that's hard coded, into every cell of our bodies.  But to assume that because folks are gender confused, they must be perverts, is a leap I simply cannot, in any way, make.

They are, just like the rest of us humans, just trying to make sense of their lives and doing their best to be whom they are.  To dress in the clothing of the opposite gender or even take hormones, is to me, possibly, foolish because it really doesn't change anything hard coded in every cell of our bodies and poses some health risks to the individuals involved but, perverted?  Certainly not!

In thinking about this phenomena, I think it might be a holdover from earlier times where dress codes and behavior were extremely rigidly prescribed, for each gender - for instance, when I was a young 'un, a lady DID NOT wear pants and of course, males did not wear dresses ... although I thought back then, was a bit strange since, for example, the Scottish "kilt", worn exclusively by men, is, essentially a skirt!  I remember times when I, in rejecting makeup (I didn't like how it felt on my face), was horribly, going against the tide, this action considered more than, a bit strange by some around me.  Although this "rule" of makeup was NOT applied to guys! :)  (Now the tables have turned and lots of ladies don't wear makeup and  some guys DO wear makeup.) :)

Conservatism, is to me, the holding up of a Christian moral code, including important things like abstinence outside of marriage etc. and not, diverting our attention to possibly, non-issues like defining (or re-defining) public bathrooms, which seems a waste of time, and weakening our stance on more important moral issues for which we stand.  Just saying.

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