In the article “Bathroom Battlegrounds & Penis Panics,” by Kristen Schilt & Lauren Westbrook go into detail about the discrimination and unnecessary attacks that people who are transgender have to deal with, in regards to the issue of public restrooms. Even though there have been no reported incidents or problems because of laws and initiatives that have been passed, there is still aggressive efforts being made to repeal certain laws, and pass more restrictive and discriminatory laws that would perpetuate the heteronormative social agenda. Attack adds have become a social norm for advocating against transgender rights, which stems from something the authors designate as “penis panic.” Westbrook and Schilt make the argument that sexuality
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Sex/gender is, according to Merriam-Webster, “either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures [1].” While gender identity is, “the personal conception of oneself as male or female [2],” and gender role (I consider this to be very similar to gender expression) is, “the outward manifestation of personality that reflects gender identity [2].” A combination of the last two terms is what Westbrook and Schilt believe that sexuality is derived from, not just what parts a person has. One key piece of information that they have on their side, is that after doing extensive investigation, the pair found that there have been no actual cited cases of bathroom sexual assaults used by the media outlets spreading anti transgender sentiment. Forcing and individual to adhere to a specific role is a form of discrimination that, as they say in this quote, “forces transgender people into restrictive, normative forms of gendered embodiment that perpetuates the belief that genitals and gender must be linked [3].” I will admit that my mindset is not always the most open on certain issues, but I will say that I am a proponent of freedom. I may ever need to get an abortion, but I respect the right of a person to get one; I may never be a homosexual man, but I do not give a damn, frankly, if they want to be able to get married and be miserable like the rest of us (I kid, I kid); And I may never be transgender, but I do not care where they use the restroom, or if a female who identifies as male uses the mens room (the article specifies how the issue only seems to care about transgender men using the rest room, so this is my counter perspective), it probably is just going to
Sex/gender is, according to Merriam-Webster, “either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures [1].” While gender identity is, “the personal conception of oneself as male or female [2],” and gender role (I consider this to be very similar to gender expression) is, “the outward manifestation of personality that reflects gender identity [2].” A combination of the last two terms is what Westbrook and Schilt believe that sexuality is derived from, not just what parts a person has. One key piece of information that they have on their side, is that after doing extensive investigation, the pair found that there have been no actual cited cases of bathroom sexual assaults used by the media outlets spreading anti transgender sentiment. Forcing and individual to adhere to a specific role is a form of discrimination that, as they say in this quote, “forces transgender people into restrictive, normative forms of gendered embodiment that perpetuates the belief that genitals and gender must be linked [3].” I will admit that my mindset is not always the most open on certain issues, but I will say that I am a proponent of freedom. I may ever need to get an abortion, but I respect the right of a person to get one; I may never be a homosexual man, but I do not give a damn, frankly, if they want to be able to get married and be miserable like the rest of us (I kid, I kid); And I may never be transgender, but I do not care where they use the restroom, or if a female who identifies as male uses the mens room (the article specifies how the issue only seems to care about transgender men using the rest room, so this is my counter perspective), it probably is just going to