It’s Always About the Restrooms June 1, 2008
Posted by zythyra in Politics, civil rights, lgbt, transgender.Tags: Add new tag, transsexual
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This past Thursday, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law SB200. This bill adds transgendered people to the list included in the state’s non-discrimination law. In the weeks preceding the passing of this bill, and the few days since Governor Ritter has signed it, the right wing websites and blogs have have been ablaze. I’m not going to quote them here, if you’re interested in reading what they have to say, a Google search for Focus on the Family, Colorado Family Action, Family Research Council, WorldNetDaily and Americans for Truth (About Homosexuality) will keep you busy for quite a while. Their missives about this bill are laden with incorrect use of male pronouns for post op male to female transsexuals and excessive use of quotes around “names” and “gender identities”. They seem to be particularly focused on M2F transsexuals and cross-dressers terrorizing women and girls in public restrooms.
I’m finding what is left out of these diatribes to be fascinating as well. In all of the articles I’ve read, they never, ever mention the issue of FTM transsexuals in the men’s room. Perhaps they’re saving F2Ms for a different issue in the future. I’m guessing it might have to do with fear of stealth invasion of sacred male space such as football games or hardware and auto parts stores. These gender transgressions could destroy the moral fabric of society as we know it. I’ve also noticed that these articles never bother to consider or address the safety concerns of M2F, F2M, cross-dressers, genderqueers or androgynes using the men’s room.
They’re really using transgender people as a big scare tactic to raise money, and they obviously don’t care if a few of us get queerbashed in the process.
As I sip my coffee, I’m feeling my dormant 80s ACT-UP, Queer Nation, Lesbian Avenger, Transexual Menace, theatrical activist side waking up. I’m envisioning an action, perhaps a “Million Men in Dresses March… on Public Restrooms”. Not women’s rooms though. Instead, all of us “men in dresses” would go to the men’s room. Hey, we have to go somewhere! We’ll pick a day, a week, or perhaps even all of LGBTQ pride month, and during that time, we “men in dresses” use the men’s rooms. Each and every day. All across the USA.
If you haven’t finished electrolysis or laser, consider not shaving for a few days. I suggest wearing high heels, makeup, jewelry, and don’t forget, plenty of slinky, non age appropriate, over the top, bright pink clothing too. If you don’t pass as your birth sex anymore, you might want to bring along a copy of your original, unaltered birth certificate, just in case someone questions why you’re in there. I don’t suggest going alone though, much better if we go in groups for safety concerns. I also wish to be inclusive, so perhaps my FTM friends would consider using the women’s room during that time, in solidarity with us. And our LGB and straight allies don’t need to feel left out, you are all welcome to participate too.
This is only the beginning. After the bathroom invasion, I’m thinking of applying for a job… in a Christian bookstore or school. I have already picked out my outfit for the job interview.
The fundamentalists engaged in restroom fear mongering during the Equal Rights Amendment effort too. They are obsessed with restrooms in a very unhealthy way.
A bathroom invasion – wee ha !
Thank heavens the legislature passed this bill – it makes me loath Colorado slightly less.
Yes, they really are obsessed with restrooms, I think the average 5 year old is more mature about the potty. The whole thing is rather infantile.
I think they’d pee their panties if we invaded
i’m all for invading the ladies room
…i wonder if i still have that old prom dress….
Well the religious right will be sorely dissapointed ! Treating people equally will not cause lightning strikes NOR any increase in bath room crimes..IF they would read something other then FICTION – they the zelots would realise that the actual criminals are not the Transgendered, but rather other types of people – People who would bash a trans person in the bathroom – the phobes and haters are the violent ones, not the TG’d and its about time Colorado finally passed these protections ! Bathrooms are much ado about nothing !!! Our culture is infantile.
Yes, they really are obsessed with restrooms,
First, let me extend a long-overdue welcome to zythyra to ‘Notes’… Welcome aboard, hon!
Yes, the “restroom issue” seems to be the focal point of the right-wing, conservative, fundamentalist whackjobs, who are too complacent to “sit there on their loathsome spotty behinds, squeezing blackheads, not giving a tinker’s cuss for the” safety of the MtF variety of gender-variant people. (Sorry… I felt a Monty Python quote was duly needed).
The reality of it all is that since I’m a human being with a urinary tract, and a digestive system, just like every other human being on this planet, I sometimes feel the need to go number 1 before my bladder explodes, or to go number 2 before I explode elsewhere. God forbid I should have to use the restroom to actually USE the restroom.
The other side of the coin is this: If I use the men’s restroom, I have a greater chance of being a) beaten up, if they realize I’m transgender, or b) raped. This “restroom issue” is the sole reason a non-transgender-inclusive ENDA was brought before the Senate. The politicians (mainly the ones in the “moral majority”) have nothing on their minds other than “which restroom?”. I don’t understand how people could be so concerned with such a petty issue, unless they are simply dumbfounded because they can’t get over the “which restroom?” hump. For them to continue thinking that by giving me “permission” to use the ladies room because I’m transexual (read: voyeuristic), they are being “moral” and I’m the “immoral” one… it’s completely ridiculous. The problem I see with all of this is: How do they know I’m not a woman?
What distinguishes me as a woman (who used to be a “man”)?
What distinguishes me as a “man in a dress”?
One thing. I’ll give you a hint, and it’s not what’s between my legs. But that’s what the politicians are concerned about. What’s between your legs?
I have to agree with Kate Bornstein when she brings up the notion that gender could be compared to a cult in the book ‘Gender Outlaw’. In our culture, gender is confused with sex, and it all hinges on the male/female dichotomy. If you’re male, you can’t act like you’re female, and vice versa. I don’t think these “Gender Defenders” are thinking about “Gross, they’re men in dresses” when they are passing legislature. The one thing they’re thinking about, at least in my opinion, is “You’re not supposed to use the ladies room because you have a penis”.
I think I got a few people miffed when I decided to leave the male gender cult, much like any cult frowns on a member who breaks free from their cult membership, so they took away my “male privilege”. Now I’m somewhere in between. As far as I know, I pass as a woman. I get “holla’d” at by men all the time. I still don’t know how to react to men who find me attractive. All I know is there’s a HUGE gray area in between the two polar ends of what it means to be male and/or female. I know I’ll never be a “real” woman because the brainchildren that are in the “know”, say I just don’t have the chromosomes.
Maybe not. I’ll tell you one thing, though… I’d rather be myself, than have to pretend to be someone I’m not. For me, being a woman isn’t something I have to work too hard to accomplish. I’m not bragging about how well I pass; I’m simply stating that pretending to be a man, day in and day out, was more work than any other acting gig I’ve performed. Being a woman comes naturally for me. Being a man takes more work than I’ve got energy for. Bottom line: The qualities of what makes us man/woman, male/female, he/she can only come from within.
The logic these legislators use is flawed at best. Especially when the only thing that they can come up with to keep “men in dresses” out of the ladies room is “You’re not supposed to use that room because you have a penis”. I have a better idea than using the men’s room. Let’s use these legislators personal restrooms. Or better yet… let’s use their bowls of cereal in the morning just before they go to work on more of their bogus legislature. Someone may have beat us to the punch on that one because these people act like someone pees in their cereal every morning.
Remember, cult behavior usually involves attacking enemies of the cult.
That would explain why people would bash any member of the GLBTQ community. It’s amazing the words “cult” and “culture” begin with the same four letters. I wonder if there’s a connection there.
And I agree: The “restroom issue” is a petty issue. And Colorado… it’s about time.
~Chloë~
Thanks for the welcome Chloeelise!
Yes, their focus on bathrooms is only the tip of the iceberg. I think the main reason they use it is that it’s a hot button and gets people, even ones who are supposed to be on our side, to go along with them. I’m sure they’re raising tons of cash too!
The real underlying issue is indeed profound discomfort with gender transgression. They have a black and white (no gray areas, and definitely no rainbow colors either) understanding of gender, and outmoded patriarchal beliefs in what roles people with penises or vaginas are supposed to adhere to. No thanks! My penis doesn’t define me! Any more than my @#$% big toe or my elbow.
Z
A lot of it is based around misogyny, and wherever misogyny is present, a plethora of things can happen. Misogyny (and to the same extent, extreme radical feminism) is a form of violence. Sometimes, that ideology of “men can’t be women” and “women can’t be men” leads to physical, or sexually violent attacks. It’s all because of the “ick” factor.
Another part of the equation is the exploitation of transgender portrayals in the media. When transgender people were introduced for the first time in film, they played the part of villain or victim… and in some cases, we were the comic relief… and I don’t mean the “camp” type of comedy relief, either.
I think the world would be better off devoid of gender. Gender can be an ally, but it can also be an enemy. Without gender, or at least without the “distinct” lines between male and female opposites, society wouldn’t have a patriarchal structure to lean on. They wouldn’t be able to dictate who wears skirts, and who wears pants. I know it’s a bit hypocritical for me, as a transexual woman, who’s firmly being assimilated into the world of “high femme” to say “I think we need to do away with gender”, but it would relieve so many of the world’s problems. Would I still affirm my gender as female? You bet. Does that mean I have to be a stereotypical woman? Nope. I can still belch, fart, and do things guys stereotypically do. I identify as female, though, and that’s the key. If other people see me as a “man in a dress”, so be it. It’s a little hard for them to explain why I have breasts, but you can’t change people’s minds. So, people like that… the ones that are too dense to understand gender identity… I’ve learned to shrug them off.