Sh*tty People in the Sh*tter.

I was scrolling through Facebook, and after seeing a large amount of ignorant comments on a shared post that I saw out of the corner of my eye, I knew that if I read what the initial post was about, I would become infuriated shortly after reading...I read it anyways, and I was right.

This was the initial Facebook post that I came across that sparked some interesting/upsetting commentary: 

One of my friends on Facebook said in response to the target post above "especially considering most women can sense a gay male that hasn't or doesn't want the surgery”. This was confusing to me because, being gay does not make you/is not the same as being transgender. I’m not saying that only transgender people get surgery to enhance or change what their body looks like/decide to express themselves and their gender in specific ways, but in this case specifically she was referring to transgender people. She continued to comment on how letting a gay male who dresses in “women’s clothing” would give other men the right to dress in women's clothing and go into the restroom???


1. She needs to educate herself on what it means to be transgender.
And 2. Yes, a cis-gendered male who chooses to dress as a woman to harass women in the womens restroom is someone who goes to a lot of trouble to be a horrible person. BUT also behavior like this should not continue to be projected on being the fault of the transgender (LGBTQ) community.

This post and the majority of the comments were advocating for not shopping at target any more because of their "ridiculous" gender inclusive bathroom policy that many people disagree with. Many of the people who are in disagreement feel that gender neutral/inclusive bathrooms give people permission to harass, rape etc.? I don’t know about you but I find this to be upsetting.

Yes I understand that there are potential risks when allowing people to use the restroom together, but is it really any different than being out in a store or anywhere else in public surrounded by those who are and are not of the same gender? The argument being made is saying that it makes it easier for someone to harass someone in the restroom if it is gender neutral is, to me, not thought through. Yes it is convenient, I suppose, for the harasser because they happen to be using the same restroom as the person that they are trying to harass, but in terms of this gender neutral/inclusive bathroom policy actually making it easier, id say it is just about the same amount of work for the harasser. The door in the gender specific bathroom is just as “easy” to open as the door on the gender neutral bathroom.

What many of the opposers don’t seem to take into account is that harassment is not only restricted to a male harassing a female. It goes both ways, AS WELL AS, harassment between those of the same gender. Which seems to fly the minds of those protesting against gender neutral bathrooms. They say that by doing this they are protecting “everyone” from predators...meaning more specifically, their young daughters. And while doing so pushes transgender people to the side making them endure harassment that often goes unseen by the people who seem to be most concerned with being harassed themselves.

So how do the folks that say that they “are not against LGBTQ people” and are “oh so keen on preventing the harassment of ‘everyone’” planning on preventing the harassment that is already going on in gender specific bathrooms and out in public, between both cis-gendered people and transgender people? I don’t know. The fact of the matter is, unfortunately, signs on doors won’t stop shitty people from being shitty. If someone is a bad enough person to want to sexually (mentally and physically) harass someone, it won't matter what gender the bathroom is. Yes they would be allowed to legally walk into the gender inclusive bathroom with no one stopping them, but that does not mean that they are legally allowed to harass anyone in the restroom without anyone stopping them. HOWEVER gender neutral bathrooms do not suddenly enable folks to harass people just because they are allowed into the restroom. Harassment is uncalled for and illegal either way. Gender neutral bathrooms are not trying to promote (and do not promote) harassment, and if harassment were to occur it would be dealt with, just like it would be dealt with if it were to occur in any other bathroom gender specific or not.

It seems as though people who are against the gender neutral bathrooms forget that harassment will and does happen regardless, that's why people are taught at a young age to not go outside alone, especially in the dark. And to use the buddy system.
So, if using a gender neutral bathroom really bothers you, you could either: go into the bathroom with a friend, not use the restroom and wait till you get home, use a diaper, or grow up and use the bathroom in the store. No one is forcing anyone to use the bathroom if they do not want to. They are just making it possible for the transgender community to use the restroom without feeling like they do not belong or are being questioned. This is important because everyone should be able to go to the bathroom in peace without feeling judged. It is probably more dangerous for a trans person to be forced by law to use the restroom of their biological gender and not the gender that they identify/express themselves as.

"Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination,'' the company wrote. "Everyone deserves to feel like they belong" Target stated (Suk).

Basically in short, no one is giving anyone permission to allow/promote rapist, pedofiles, etc. by making bathrooms gender neutral.  

**Side note:

How someone dresses is part of one's gender expression..Which does not necessarily have to connect with their gender Identity. For example a woman who was born as a biological male, could choose to express themselves by wearing clothes worn more commonly by females, males or both and it does not make them any less of the woman that they feel like/are.   

**Another side note:

I am not in any way trying to make light of harassment. It is a serious situation for sure.

I'm just saying that unfortunately it will happen regardless and denying transgendered people the right to pee in peace because you are scared is not okay, because they are also scared on a daily basis and that should not be ignored.