On Feb. 22, President Donald Trump’s administration reversed protections allowing transgender students in public schools to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
In other words, the Trump administration just took a massive step backward.
Using the bathroom is one of the most basic human functions, yet there still seems to be some backlash as to where transgender or gender-neutral people can pee. It’s such a controversial topic – why?
One common reason cited with the bathroom controversy is the fear of sexual predators. As a cis-gender male, I admittedly don’t think much of sexual predators when I go to the bathroom, even though they definitely exist. However, I feel like sexual predators of any gender already exist in bathrooms. Someone being transgender or gender-neutral doesn’t make them more likely to be a predator than a cis-gender person.
This reversal could spell trouble. Transgender and gender-neutral students face getting yelled at, being reprimanded or even beat up just for wanting to pee where they feel comfortable. I’m really worried something terrible could happen to someone because they decide to use the “wrong” bathroom.
Despite this slight set-back, individual schools will still be able to choose whether or not students can use the bathrooms for the gender they identify as — some schools are creating gender-neutral bathrooms as well.
Restricting someone’s ability to use a bathroom shouldn’t be something decided by the Trump administration or anyone else. I can see how some concerns can make this a touchy issue, but believe it or not, most people just want to use the bathroom.
