Discussing North Carolina’s So-Called “Bathroom Bill”

The following correspondence originally took place upon the Facebook wall of my friend, Stacie T., after she shared artwork from here…

Stacie T.:

Rayn: LOL. This is what happens when facts take a back seat to emotionally-charged conjecture. Why focus solely on restrooms, which constitute only one quarter of the subject matter at hand, when the bill clearly legislates “restroom[s], locker room[s], changing room[s], or shower room[s]”? Have any of those railing so hard against this bill EVEN READ ITS MERE FIVE PAGES, or is that too much to ask a thinking, reasoning human being to do BEFORE formulating strong opinions, anymore? I still haven’t found even ONE who actually has, yet! *sigh*

http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2015E2/Bills/House/PDF/H2v4.pdf

Lest our memories remain selectively short for the sake of politically convenient “outrage” and a completely shallow and shortsighted sense of “fighting against discrimination,” this “bill” was a direct response to a Charlotte, NC ordinance which, among other things, contained language that attempted to FORCE schools and public agencies to provide males and females access to ALL FOUR of these facilities, regardless of gender, in the name of “transgender” rights, and that individuals be granted such access with little more than a verbal declaration of being “transgender.”

With this understanding in mind, enforcement of this “bill” is actually pretty simple in three out of four situations. On average, the easiest way to know if a male is in using a locker room, changing room or shower room is that he’ll HAVE A PENIS dangling between his legs! And, a female using a men’s locker room will have a vulva. In other words, regardless of gender titles, or how an Individual looks, it’s a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY for one to remove their clothes, and have a sex organ that doesn’t correspond with their appearance, nor with the gender-assignment of the bathroom, itself. This is very likely why the mainstream media monopoly is fixating on the bathroom scenario, instead of discussing the entire issue at hand. Not only is it the least enforceable, making it the biggest gray area in the bill, but any discussion of a man or women entering any of the other three spaces would be met with a knee-jerk “I DON’T FUCKING THINK SO” from even the vast majority of the most left-leaning, progressive liberals! This is especially true when taking note of the fact that the first section of this bill is dedicated to SCHOOLS and STUDENTS, along with public agencies!

Meanwhile, this bill actually protects post-operative transsexuals, granting them full access to all four facilities, since they are, indeed legally able to change their gender on their birth certificate in ALL FIFTY STATES of the Union!

http://www.lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/transgender/changing-birth-certificate-sex-designations

To be clear, I’m mostly just laying out the facts, without yet providing my own views. Personally, I think that multi-occupancy bathrooms, alone, are highly unsanitary, very anti-privacy, completely anti-responsibility, anti-safety, anti-parent-and-child, and also typically anti-disability (not too mention anti-menstruation, as well), so I avoid them like the plague. Meanwhile, I have NEVER, and would NEVER, use a multi-occupancy showers, nor would I dare get undressed in a multi-occupancy changing room, nor locker room! And, I hope to see all of these sorts of facilities one day replaced with single-occupancy unisex units – and I honestly believe that ALL of these bills and ordinances will make my desire an actual reality, since it is the simplest solution to all of controversy at hand. 🙂 Even at one of my recent Autistic Self-Advocacy meetings, in Greensboro, NC, ALL THREE transgendered individuals agreed with me on my viewpoint, and when I listed my various grievances in detail, they even chimed in with their own examples, too! Peace and privacy are what we’re ALL looking for, while schools and businesses are looking at their bottom line: prices – without much more than a passing regard for the human factor!

Oh, and for the record, the single-occupancy bathrooms I mention would truly work a lot better if they were segregated by “urination” and “defecation,” rather than gender! LOL! 😉

Stacie T.: I’m all for transgender integration in bathrooms, locker rooms and everything else everywhere including schools. Not every transgender person can afford to have the surgery necessary to fall under the protections of the laws this bill proposes. Those people shouldn’t be discriminated against due to economic status. Young people are especially affected because many to most parents and child psychologists are hesitant to provide the needed documentation for a teenager to obtain the surgery.
Nobody is going to see a penis or vulva in a changing room or locker room in gym class. There is underwear covering private areas. There are school aids supervising the goings on in locker rooms, so anyone posing as a transgender individual would likely be exposed in short time. Besides, the actions of a straight, cisgender sexual predator should not dictate the level of protection a transgender individual receives under the law. There are too many instances of transgender individuals being physically or sexual assaulted in their biologically assigned restrooms and locker rooms not to take their protection into legal consideration.

Rayn: As I said, ” personally, I think that multi-occupancy bathrooms, alone, are highly unsanitary, very anti-privacy, completely anti-responsibility, anti-safety, anti-parent-and-child, and also typically anti-disability (not too mention anti-menstruation, as well), so I avoid them like the plague. Meanwhile, I have NEVER, and would NEVER, use a multi-occupancy showers, nor would I dare get undressed in a multi-occupancy changing room, nor locker room! And, I hope to see all of these sorts of facilities one day replaced with single-occupancy unisex units – and I honestly believe that ALL of these bills and ordinances will make my desire an actual reality, since it is the simplest solution to all of controversy at hand.”

I’m sure you imagine your views to be “progressive” and “supportive” to the transgender community, but have you actually discussed these issues with any of the transgender individuals you believe you’re advocating for? ALL of the transgendered individuals I’ve discussed these things with (and I know many, and they are ALL Autistic), would actually prefer single-occupancy bathrooms, because like I noted, “peace and privacy” are what they really desire, “while schools and businesses are looking at their bottom line: prices – without much more than a passing regard for the human factor”! These establishments are perfectly content to treat human beings like cattle just to save money, so long as we comply – but, when I propose a much better alternative to this whole affair, I am always met with resounding agreement!

But, “nobody is going to see a penis or vulva in a changing room or locker room in gym class,” you say? For one, why conveniently omit shower rooms from the equation? Or… did you actually shower in your underwear at school? Also, I can say from personal experience that many individuals DO get completely undressed, including a change of their underwear, in school locker rooms – mostly for hygienic reasons – so, to claim that no one will see a vulv or a peen in there is patently false.

As for your claim, “there are school aids supervising the goings on in locker rooms, so anyone posing as a transgender individual would likely be exposed in short time,” this is not true. As I stated, the Charlotte NC ordinance this bill sought to counter, contained language that attempted to FORCE schools and public agencies to provide males and females access to ALL FOUR of these facilities, regardless of gender, in the name of “transgender” rights, and that individuals be granted such access with LITTLE MORE THAN A VERBAL DECLARATION of being “transgender” – which, in keeping with the “genderfluid” and “genderqueer” philosophies embraced by much of the transgender crowd, allows such individuals to shift between whichever gender they FEEL like on ANY GIVEN DAY! That is why the language in the counter bill sought to only grant access to gender-specific facility to those who had made a PERMANENT DECISION to reassign their gender, to curb such !

You claim that “not every transgender person can afford to have the surgery necessary to fall under the protections of the laws this bill proposes,” but insurance covers this procedure, Medicare now covers it, and now, even Medicaid does, in many states, too, including yours:

Medicare Covers Medically Necessary Sex Reassignment Surgery:
http://www.transequality.org/know-your-rights/medicare

Medicaid to Pay for New Yorkers’ Sex-Change Surgeries:
http://nypost.com/2014/12/17/medicaid-to-pay-for-new-yorkers-sex-change-surgeries/

Cost is not so much of an issue, at this point, as the desire of a patient to either have the surgery, to begin with, or to actually seek a legitimate diagnosis and treatment for their condition… And, before you object to this, realize that even Medicaid covers psychiatric counseling, along with all major insurance, and Medicare.

Meanwhile, providing gender reassignment surgery to a still-developing child is a highly medically unsound “option,” and there are multiple sound reasons why doctors and parents are “hesitant to provide the needed documentation for a teenager to obtain the surgery.” For one, the surgery is technically irreversible, and comes with plenty of risks and complications, regardless of age. Besides this, youths are not yet fully physically, mentally and psychologically mature, and because of this, are often not able to completely process the risks and realities of the surgery, nor the permanent nature of their desire. Also, youths are technically in the process of discovering themselves, and will often transition through many phases before settling on what makes them most comfortable and happy. It is difficult to determine what will turn out to be a phase during this period, and ONLY TIME will really tell – giving great credence to the concept of patiently waiting until adulthood before making such a permanent decision. Besides this, in youths, hormones are still in the process of developing and balancing out, and these hormones play a large roll in a child’s neurological development, which can be impaired in the process of even hormone-replacement therapy – let alone, gender reassignment surgery!

Geez… many parents won’t even let their children get a tattoo, due to it’s permanence, and hence, make them wait until they are an adult, so they can be sure of their decision, and take full responsibility for it… So, it’s mind-blowing to imagine that some parents would actually allow their children to veritably NEUTER or SPAY THEMSELVES for the sake of “supporting” them. The Western world is slowly committing societal suicide, and this generation of humanity, in particular, has a front-row seat to the circus…

Stacie T.: Oh dear freaking lord! I was at the very end of typing a very long response and my damn phone died. I lost it all! I am so not mentally stable enough to start from the beginning right now, so this conversation must be put on hold until I’m done with my anxiety attack

Rayn: I truly hate when that happens. I keep my notes app handy due to so many past losses.