By: Adeena Syed
Of all the things to debate about, one would never think that a bathroom would be one of them.
For years, the LGBT, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender, community has endured discrimination and blatant hatred from people. Lately, it seems that one of the most controversial topics concerning the transgender community is whether or not they have the right to use the bathroom of their choosing.
This debate is considered to be one of the most important in regards to the LGBT community, especially the transgender community.
Hershey High School freshman, Barbara Bond, who has a transgender relative, said that she feels that the entire debate is “ridiculous.”
“It’s just a bathroom. I think that they should just have one bathroom for all genders, that way nobody would have to feel confused or uncertain about where they should go,” said Bond.
Bond also talked about how this debate has affected her own family.
“I think this really hits home for me because of my relative who struggles with this every day,” Bond said.
Bond also said, “People who are transgender deserve all the same rights as people who are not.”
Since the issue first came to a head, multiple states have passed laws regarding this issue.
These bills and laws express that transgender people should have to use the bathroom based on the gender they were born as. Some states have also passed laws saying that a transgender person may use the bathroom of their choice as long as they are legally declared male or female.
One of the reasons people say that they are against the idea of transgender people using the bathroom of their choosing is because they are afraid of what it may lead to. While people are afraid that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choosing would allow men to just walk in and sexually assault women, studies show that there are absolutely no reported cases of that happening, but 70% of trans people have reported being assaulted or harassed while trying to use the bathroom.
A huge part of this debate is whether or not to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choosing while in school.
Hershey High School English teacher, Emily Reinert, who is also advisor of the Gay-Straight Alliance, said that she feels that they should have the freedom to choose.
“It’s illegal for us not to provide safety for our students, and that should extend to students who are LGBT as well,” said Reinert.
Retired English teacher, Betsy Parsons, who taught at Deering High School in Portland for 30 years and was one of the first LGBT public school teachers in Maine to teach while being “out” to both students and their families, said that students learn best when they feel safe.
According to a 2009 national study done by Gay Lesbian and Straight Education, 90% of transgender students say that they have heard derogatory remarks towards them. Also, two-thirds said they feel physically unsafe at school, and half say that they regularly miss school because they feel unsafe or uncomfortable at school.
“Transgender is an umbrella term,” Bond said, “There are also people who are intersex and don’t identify as ‘transgender’ who also have trouble knowing what bathroom to use.”
In the end, there’s only one question: Is it more important what bathroom a person uses-or is it more important that they feel safe while using it?
