Transgender Student Bathrooms

Should Transgender Students Have Access to School Bathrooms?

In the United States alone, there are about 150,000 teenagers that identify as transgender. It is common to hear horror stories from transitioning students recounting the times they have been prohibited from using a public bathroom. These situations are more common than one might think, so it is time for schools to rethink their stances on allowing people who do not adhere to the gender binary into their preferred washroom. Although it might startle a few people at first, transgender individuals should be allowed to use the bathroom that aligns with their identity because being unable to use the correct restroom during the school day can cause severe mental health issues, holding

According to a national survey of transgender college students, 60.5 percent of those who have been denied access to the correct bathroom have attempted suicide (Kutner). This proves that there is a very strong correlation between suicidal tendencies and being barred from an essential facility. Furthermore, it also suggests that the stress of trying to find a safe place to use the restroom might wear down on one’s psychological well-being. In addition, some school districts force transgender students use a separate restroom and changing facility, which often leads to further discrimination from other students (Raypole). This shows that discrimination from academic officials can encourage others to show prejudice towards their peers. This is important because it proves that showing intolerance against transitioning students can only lead to more serious complications in the future. To put it briefly, the urge to judge one of your peers who does not align with their birth sex for using the same restroom as you may be overwhelming, but not allowing them to go inside of the same washroom as their cisgender counterparts can cause a multitude of mental

Michael Dunton, a chief records clerc in Rhode Island, expressed that it was difficult to find a case relating to a nonconforming person attacking a cisgender person in the restroom (Grinberg, Stewart). The fact that the statistics disprove this fear confirms that there is no basis for the fear of a transgender predator attacking them in their school’s bathroom. Frankly, the data outweighs opinion in this debate; there is no reason to ban transgender students from the bathroom due to the very rare chance of them attacking someone. Michael Dunton, a chief records clerc in Rhode Island, expressed that it was difficult to find a case relating to a nonconforming person attacking a cisgender person in the restroom (Grinberg, Stewart). The fact that the statistics disprove this fear confirms that there is no basis for the fear of a transgender predator attacking them in their school’s bathroom. Frankly, the data outweighs opinion in this debate; there is no reason to ban transgender students from the bathroom due to the very rare chance of them attacking someone. Additionally, states that have protected transgender rights have not found an increase in assaults from queer students or people pretending to identify as such (“Transgender People and Bathroom Access”). This