The Segregation Of Bathrooms

Employees starting altercations in the bathroom with trans workers will always go against the overall fight for equality, but if separate bathrooms begin to be practiced in the workplace, the next step to equal rights will be achieved. To extend this point further, co-workers and employers are mentally and physically abusing trans people in the bathrooms. Elkind writes, “Undeniably, assault on transgender individuals while using bathrooms designated for those of the opposite biological gender is more common than may be presumed” (Elkind 921). Other workers are clearly abusing Transgender workers in bathrooms, which cause a very unsafe area for them. Gershenson writes, “As interim remedy, they hunt for bathrooms in which they feel stigma free and physically safe, timing their visits to avoid potentially conflict-ridden overlap with other users,” (Gershenson 192).

150 college campuses have at least one gender neutral bathroom, but that is less than three percent of all colleges in the United states, and less than thirty­five percent of Americans receive a college degree. The negative response to gender neutral bathrooms is depicted in a Tucson Progressive article written by Pamela Hannley. The article, entitled “Bathroom Politics: Preserving the Sanctity of the ‘Ladies’ Room’”, asks of the readers “[if] the school districts want to allow transgender boys to use these facilities with the girls?”8 Later in the article she again refers to trans women as men. The article embodies a deep fear of trans women and gender nonconforming people as a whole. For example, darkness is an actual and metaphorical fear; we fear what we cannot see, understand, predict, control.

For many transgender people, walking out of their front door each day, can prove to be a challenge because they do not generally blend in, but are constantly stared at, whispered about, or laughed at because of their gender expression. Many people are unaware of the types of privilege that they hold over transgender people. Cisgender, by definition, is when a person identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth. Cisgender Privilege refers to privilege that is unearned and granted to a majority group that is considered the default. Transgender people lack Cisgender Privileges and the lack of these privileges most likely have impacted their lives with psychological and physical harm, or other negative consequences, such as the loss of homes, jobs, and freedoms (Clark).

We have a great number of men and women being tragically affected by this problem because of sexism intervening the matter. Although it is a rough mindset to break, sexism must be erased from sex education for the sake of future generations. Women feeling afraid to speak out because of cruel beliefs is unacceptable and it only results in unstable adults. Men being granted privileges for these life altering crimes is disheartening and contributes to an unsafe society. It should never be okay for anyone to be manipulated or forced to do anything against their will, then blamed for it.

Because of the gender roles that were established years ago it seems as if there is discrimination within the community if that person does not oblige to do the action. There is discrimination against men and women, and it seems as if they are at war due to the injustice that that they may have faced. Both genders will continue to face injustice if the ignorance of gender roles continue to be the backbone of life. Eventually there must come change to the stereo types. Gender stereotypes have damaged communities by backing people into a corner.

Statement of the Problem/Issue Bathrooms are a necessary part of one’s life; however could public restrooms be causing harm? Currently in the United States people are imprisoned within the binary of two genders. Someone can either be a male or a female, and depending on the gender a person is they are expected to act and look a certain way. These gender binaries are so prevalent in our lives; it is to the point where a large group of Americans are being overlooked. This group of Americans identifies as transgender, which means they do not fit society’s expectations of how a specific gender should look and behave.

Along with the pay gap, workplace discrimination is a serious issue. Smallbusiness.chron.com states that, "Stereotypical views regarding gender can cause supervisors to engage in the illegal practice of passing a person over for promotion due to gender" (Gluck). Because of the stereotypes, or gender roles as I explained earlier, women are not looked at as serious contenders for raises and/or promotions. Not only is this extremely problematic, it is also illegal, as the quote points out. Sexual harassment is an even bigger issue in the workplace so it seems.

This group of Americans identifies as transgender, which means they do not fit society’s expectations of how a specific gender should look and behave. (gaycenter.org, 2012). When using a bathroom a person is most likely only offered with two choices, men’s and women’s. By only giving the choice of using a Men’s or a Women’s bathroom has further enforces the gender binary: “In the moment that one must choose between two doors—one marked “men” and one marked “women”—the binary construction of gender is never more blatantly

This issue should be addressed among police agencies across the country in order to stop racial profiling. Racial profiling has its negative impacts that discomfort and humiliation of many minority citizens. There are many shameful cases that officers have been a part of in not a such good way. It has become such a huge problem. Racial profiling has to be stop in every way there is, is humiliating to see and is strongly unjust.

By only giving the choice of using a Men’s or a Women’s bathroom it has further enforced the gender binary: “In the moment that one must choose between two doors—one marked “men” and one marked “women”—the binary construction of gender is never more blatantly enforced” (Herman, 2012, p.25). When someone is presented with only two choices of restrooms, it is enforcing the ideals that those are the only two options a person can be. Also these gender binaries are shaming anyone who does not fit into them. These gender binaries are so normalized and engrained in society that they lead to inadequate bathroom access for transgender people throughout the United States. The trans people are the ones who do not fit society’s gender norms and they are being isolated, because of