“Death to trans freaks.” These four words stopped me in my tracks upon entering a stall in the Analy Hall women’s restroom last month. As much as I would like to think our little bubble we call Sonoma County exists as a safe-haven from anti-trans fear and hate, recent incidents of anti-trans graffiti on our campus have reminded me of the festering transphobia in our country that transgender women have to face each day of their lives.
Some of these transgender women are my closest friends, and it kills me when people, especially other women, continually treat them with blatant disdain, especially when it comes to the whole “bathroom debate.”
Since most of this disdain stems from ignorance, I’d like to address some common concerns or arguments.
“How am I supposed to suddenly be okay sharing a bathroom with someone who has a penis?”
Transgender women have existed for centuries across various cultures, before historic demonstrations in the late ’60s like Stonewall Inn or Compton Cafeteria where transgender people fought for their right to exist in public, and surely before recent reactionary, anti-trans legislation.
The passing of anti-discriminatory policies, applied as early as 1993 in some states, has allowed transgender people access to public facilities aligned with their gender long before the “bathroom debate” began. Notably, these policies had no impact on rates of sexual assault in public restrooms, according to interviews with state and school district officials from 12 different states.
You have been sharing bathrooms with trans women, you’ve just never noticed.
“But what if men try to use these policies to pretend to be a woman to assault me?”
Well for starters, no instances of a man impersonating a transgender woman to victimize other women were found in an archival review performed by the National Policing Institute in 2017. The review surveyed police reports from Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Tucson, Arizona.
Any kind of violent or sexual assault is criminalized federally, along with recording anyone where “reasonable expectation of privacy” exists. Additionally, many states, including California, have specifically outlawed voyeurism. California Penal Code 647(d) specifically criminalizes loitering in public bathrooms with lewd or lascivious intentions.
These anti-discriminatory policies exist to protect the rights of people to use the bathroom they feel most comfortable and safe in. They aren’t a free pass to commit acts of voyeurism or assault.
And let’s be real — at the end of the day, if a man wants to victimize you in the bathroom, he doesn’t have to dress up to do so. Men have been entering women’s restrooms with the intent to victimize women for as long as gendered restrooms have existed — no “disguise” needed. Take a look at these two incidents on our own campus in 2015 and 2018.
“Why can’t they just use the men’s room?”
While some trans women I know still opt for the men’s room for the convenience of a urinal or out of concern of making other women uncomfortable, it tends to be the riskier option. Take Cobalt Sovereign’s story as an example.
She opted to use the men’s room as she “would rather be uncomfortable than make other people uncomfortable by using the women’s bathroom.” This resulted in an assault from a male classmate who broke her jaw.
Sovereign’s experience isn’t an isolated incident. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, transgender people are four times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault than cisgender people.
Another study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found transgender students with restricted access to locker rooms or bathrooms were more likely to face sexual assault, compared to transgender students without those restrictions. For transgender female students, the risk was nearly doubled if they had restricted access, meaning they had to use men’s bathrooms and locker rooms.
Personally, as someone who looks and presents like a woman, I wouldn’t feel safe or comfortable using the men’s room either.
“But what if policies enforcing the use of the bathroom that aligns with your sex at birth would make me feel more safe?”
Then you would have a false sense of security. Not only are the rates of assault in bathrooms low, a study conducted at UCLA’s School of Law analyzed municipalities in Massachusetts with these “protective” laws and didn’t find a connection between them and the rates of assault in public restrooms.
A bigger question also arises: What would enforcement look like if we criminalized bathroom use that does not correspond with one’s sex assigned at birth? After all, most people don’t keep their birth certificate on them at all times. I’d have to assume if someone called law enforcement to investigate misuse of a gendered bathroom, they would have to perform a sex check on the suspect. Any women suspected or accused of being “men” would have to drop their pants for the police, which is both degrading and invasive. Almost like the Salem Witch Trials all over again, huh?
Policies like this wouldn’t keep anyone safe. They would only stoke baseless and irrational fears among women, and pit them against each other, which is already happening.
If you still find yourself concerned with bathroom safety, I recommend you put the red sharpie down and invest your energy in advocating for things that will actually result in safer public restrooms, like stall doors that lock securely and have floor-to-ceiling coverage. Or, take advantage of any of the gender-neutral bathrooms on campus if sharing makes you uncomfortable.
At the end of the day, everyone needs and deserves a safe place to piss, with respectful people who flush the toilet and wash their goddamn hands.
If you are looking for queer resources or support, or you are looking to learn more about how you can support your LGBTQIA+ peers, go to SRJC’s Queer Resource Center or check out its resources page.
