​Trans bathroom bills: let’s talk!

By Faye Seidler

fayeseidler@gmail.com

I’m a trans activist, born and raised in North Dakota. I’m also a trans woman, a fiancee, a writer, a dreamer, and have a passion for cooking. Beyond all of that, I specialize in educating others about trans issues in an inviting, nonjudgmental way.

Bathroom bills are any bills that codify into law who has access to bathrooms or locker rooms. There are two typical narratives for these bills, either a trans-inclusive bill that protects trans individuals from discrimination, or a trans-exclusionary bill that seeks to protect cisgender (non-trans people) privacy and safety.

The trans-inclusive bathroom bills were created in response to the endemic discrimination, harassment, and assault that trans individuals have reported experiencing within bathrooms. This could mean not being allowed to use the correct bathroom or locker room at work. It could mean students being forced to wear bright green wristbands to identify them as trans, as one Wisconsin school is accused of planning. It could mean many things, but essentially inclusive bills are designed to prevent the horrific experiences and hopeless situations that many trans people find themselves in daily.

The trans-exclusionary bills were drafted in response to the trans-inclusive laws, citing those laws as effectively creating an open door policy for anyone to enter female spaces and harass, film, or assault women.

The bills aren't necessarily argued as being explicitly anti-trans and insist the issue is non-trans people abusing these laws to gain access by pretending they're trans. These bills also sometimes claim that including trans people violates the privacy of cisgender bathroom goers.

Here’s the thing, I’m a trans person and I can attest to the truth that trans individuals need protections. I can attest to the fear, to not drinking water before going out, to not going to bars with my friends. What might come as a surprise is that I can’t agree more with the need for, and importance of, privacy. Bodily autonomy tends to be very important for trans individuals and I think we can work together to help improve the privacy conditions in bathrooms and locker rooms by removing the gaps in stalls, like the UK does, and requiring private shower stalls in any public facility.

But, what’s the reality right now? Well, modern showering facilities aren’t the huddle they used to be and every bathroom has stalls with doors. It isn’t the best, but it’s adequate for now and if someone is using that space to expose themselves, harass someone, or violate someone, that’s illegal. Trans-inclusive laws don’t protect trans people from anything other than using the correct bathroom for them. This was demonstrated when Target security kicked out a Colorado Springs protester that dressed up as a woman and tried to enter a bathroom to make his point.

Trans-inclusive laws have existed in 12 states, going back as far as 15 years, and there has not been a reported problem. There are 1.4 million trans people in the United states who have been using whichever bathroom makes sense to them for decades without problem.

While there are good intentions behind privacy and safety laws, trans-exclusionary measures address problems that don’t exist, that can be better addressed without excluding trans people, that fail at their purpose by trying to put trans men into women’s bathrooms, and they actively harm both trans and cisgender people.

Let’s be honest here, these exclusionary laws really boil down to not being comfortable with trans people. That’s okay, feeling uncomfortable is a natural response to the new and unknown, but I offer that a better way to deal with discomfort is to learn more about the trans community.

Trying to fix discomfort through exclusion is a mentality that feeds on its own discomfort and lends itself to witch hunts and to fear-mongering that trans people are dangerous. Even non-trans people have found themselves harassed, evicted from, and assaulted in bathrooms for looking too masculine or feminine.

Look, I get it that not everyone feels comfortable with trans people, but trans people are here to stay, and our issues are ones that will need to be addressed through calm discussion and social policy.

We don’t want a future with brightly colored identifying wristbands, or with more ill-planned legislation such as North Carolina’s costly and unenforceable attempt to fix a problem they didn’t have.

Because, as it stands, North Dakota has joined the national discussion by supporting a lawsuit against the federal government over trans bathroom rights for students and we may see statewide trans-exclusionary laws on our ballots in the future. If that happens, please, let’s talk!