In 2016 a small group of families with transgender kids joined the fight against a wave of discriminatory anti-transgender legislation that swept the nation and their home state. With the help of a coalition of civil rights activists and ally lawmakers, these families embarked on an uncharted journey of fighting for their children’s lives and futures in this present-day civil rights story.
As I watch this documentary I think to myself, with full belief, that one day there will be no more spreading of fear propaganda or hatred that leads to the diminishing of human rights of specific groups. I hope that within the near future there will be mandatory educational training available in the workplace, schools and even religious institutions regarding tolerance of those who are different than ourselves. While I am hopeful, in real-time, there are people all across the US that are protesting, voting and even harming transgender individuals merely out of fear; now I’m thinking, we have a long way to go.
In 2016 in the state of Washington, bathroom bills began surfacing in an attempt to segregate transgender individuals. Of those was a petition to present The Just Want Privacy I-1515, and if passed will keep transgender individuals out of bathrooms that do not match their assigned sex. Transgender women who were born male will be forced to use the men’s bathroom even though they identify as female; the same goes for transgender men. A public hearing was held to get the opinion from the community regarding their concerns around the issue and the feedback was disturbing. Many parents expressed being concerned that their child’s safe space, which includes the bathroom, would be violated. Many feared that once transgender females are allowed to enter the bathroom of cis-gender females, they would use that opportunity to attempt perverted acts or sexually violate them. As this propaganda spread, more and more victims of sexual assault spoke about how this is particularly frightening for them as well.
As I’ve had my share of conversations surrounding fear with both transgender teens as well as different groups who agree with segregated bathrooms, I couldn’t help but wonder why the association with pedophilia, molestation or sexual assault? And why would someone automatically believe a transgender who enters a bathroom at school would have the intent to harm anyone? This film raised this question as well and made it a point to confront those spreading this false claim, asking if they’ve heard of any cases or experienced sexual violation in a bathroom and all of the responses were no. In addition, a Washington State police officer states that in his 30 years on the force, he has never heard of any such incident nor did he get any calls or threats regarding bathroom pedophilia.
Another concern from the community was the idea that predators would use transgender as an excuse to dress up in women’s clothing and go into bathrooms just to sexually assault them. The parents wondered what would happen in the school locker rooms and showers where their kids get undressed. Would their daughters be traumatized after being exposed to the penis of a transgender child? Seems to me that every argument for discrimination and wanting separate bathrooms stems from the issue around genitalia, when the truth is these children just want to use the bathroom. Statistically, transgenders are the ones that are most fearful of using the bathroom because of possible harassment or violence towards them. Some even have been reported to develop illnesses like urinary and kidney infections due to holding their urine for long periods of time to avoid the shame of being ridiculed.
This issue amongst many others regarding transgenders will surface until people get properly educated on what transgender means. They also need to understand that being uncomfortable around those you don’t know is natural but it is not an excuse to take away their rights or discriminate against them. Luckily, The Just Want Privacy Campaign I-1515 went nowhere due to insufficient votes, but what if it did? So scary to think about.
This is a great documentary that should be seen by everyone, everywhere. I feel the amount of information provided in terms of medical facts from real physicians who study gender and brain development is a great start to understanding that transgender is not a choice, it is not dressing up and pretending to be someone you are not for a day and it is not someone who is just confused with who they are. So with all this information available, I’m left with the question, where do we go from here?
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