As a cis woman I have ZERO problem sharing a bathroom with a trans woman. This whole thing is so ridiculous. Republicans for my ENTIRE LIFE have been concerned with what is in other people's pants or what other people are doing in their bedrooms, and it is none of their damn business. Everything is projection with them, bunch of pervs.
If you want to find out what a Republican defecated in their virtual pants, read David Brooks' mea culpa in The Atlantic, then read Trevor Irvin's deconstruction of the mea culpa in Trevor's Substack. I recommend subscribing to Trevor Irvin. He's that rare person who is not only a good visual artist, but also a good writer.
Another good case would be a heavily bearded trans man going into the women's restroom, preferably right in front of some of the women who have been agitating in favor of restrictive bills.
It all comes back to the patriarchy, and the initial assumption of the anti-trans forces is that there's a fundamental hierarchy in which men are dominant and women are subordinate. So a trans man is someone who is trying to move up in the hierarchy -- and so portrayed as a poor foolish person caught in a social contagion, driven to medical treatment in an attempt to gain the benefits of masculinity. Whereas a trans woman is engaging in the extraordinarily suspicious behavior of trying to move DOWN in the hierarchy, which means they must really be sick and twisted, or have some ulterior motive to invade women's spaces.
Because Ms. Reintgen looks like a woman, it’s unlikely that her use of a ladies’ room would ever be questioned. It seems, therefore, that she is staging this protest solely to help others, which is admirable. A non-trans-woman could do that too—falsely state that she’s a trans-woman and use the ladies’ room. If enough non-trans-women did that, then the authorities might stop trying to enforce the law. It would be great if we all cared about the oppression of people who are not like us.
Until people start to care about others, could we just be pragmatic and point out that these laws not only are cruel to transfolks, but create GREATER risk for cis women to be harrassed?
Who gets to decide who is "feminine enough" to use a facility without showing the local sheriff's deputy a birth certificate and their matching vagina? Oh, wait, Trans women may look just as feminine, so I guess ALL women have to have their birth certificate and flash their vagina to get into the bathroom? How else can you be sure there's not a trans woman in the next stall? Because we all know that obviously a trans woman peeng in a woman's bathroom will invoke complete social collapse.
I wanted to roll my eyes and say: "You are just being pedantic, you know what I meant." Then I realized in horror that because what you're saying is correct, it could be the basis of requiring "a more thorough investigation" by the local batroom code enforcement officers.
I did know what you meant, and I was also being pedantic, but people should stop saying vagina as though it were external genitalia. They won't, obviously, but I feel compelled to wax pedantic.
I’m a cis woman who is over six feet tall and I think about this frequently. I have prepared myself to fold my arms and say “okay call the cops but you have to stay and explain to them why I can’t use the potty.” In my daydreams it works out for the good. I’m afraid in reality it might not.
The willful ignorance unfortunately is no longer as breathtaking as it once was. All you need know is that this willful ignorance is of decades of established medical and scientific research about sex and gender diversity throughout history and cultures. Add to that ignorance research which shows no evidence of safety risks for cisgender people when trans people use restrooms aligning with their authentic gender; in fact, transgender people are at elevated risk for harassment and violence in these spaces. The usual fearmongering, not facts.
I share a bathroom when I’m home and I’m perfectly fine to do so while I am out and about and need to use a public restroom. This doesn’t need to be hard. Just go to the bathroom when you need to. FFS.
I'm genuinely curious why someone would oppose trans women using a women's bathroom. I don't know if this platform is anonymous enough that anyone would answer that, though, given that most of us apparently disagree. I've been sexually assaulted, but by a cis man and a bathroom wasn't involved at all. My ladies room experiences have all been just about as boring as you want them to be. I'm wondering what a Gene Pool reader sees in this issue that I'm missing?
Elizabeth, based on what I’ve read, it’s because those who can’t keep their judgments to themselves somehow believe that transgender folks are sexual perverts who want to be in the bathroom to prey on small children … or something along those lines. Personally, just like in Ally McBeal, a non-gendered bathroom makes perfect sense and is perfectly safe. The things the ppl turn into issues. Lets just gin something up. Sheesh.
You are right. The first time we went to dinner with our transgender daughter, who was about 30 when she began the transition, she went to the men's restroom in the restaurant because she was concerned she did not look feminine enough and did not want to draw attention to herself. I offered to go with her but she declined. Trans people just want to live their lives. The vast majority of sexual offenders are cis males. It's just bigotry.
Even non-MAGAs like [god help us] JK Rowling are completely bent out of shape about the potential "victims" in the bathroom! Nobody seems to be able to convince these folks that this is pretty f'ing weird since most sexual attacks are not in public bathrooms, as noted elsewhere. As they are trying so hard to convince others of this, I have to think it's really just ignorance of trans people.
Like Rosa’s resistance led to the bus boycott, could this lead to the toilet boycott of 2025? Congress might change their minds if we made them hold it for 3 days.
Frankly, I have a bigger problem with men leaving the toilet seat up in an all-gender restroom than which gender is using the bathroom. Probably opening a gigantic and equally trivial can of worms here...
While living in Bangkok for 12 years, I frequently used women’s public restrooms at the same time as trans patrons— probably even more often than I realized. Never once did I ever encounter trouble or discomfort and I hope nor did they. We were all just doing our business, washing our hands, checking our hair etc, chatting with friends (why do we tend to head to the loo in groups?😂), and being on our way. It’s easy peasy. The haters should try it some time. They’ll see it’s a total nothing burger!😏
I forgot to include that I brought up my three children over there so until they were old enough to go into the boys restroom on their own, they were with me in the loo and they weren’t freaked out or traumatized by any trans women in there while we were (or by trans men once my kids were using the men’s loo). It was simply normal for them. The vast majority of us are human beings wanting to live our lives without hurting anyone. Most crimes are committed by non-trans people anyway so this fixation on where trans folks pee is misplaced and a waste of time. The end.
Frankly, I have maybe twenty (OK, thirty) current concerns about our country that occupy my mind more than who's using which bathroom. My only concern, especially at my age, is that it's within easy access when I need one. A clean one would be nice, too.
That said, I do understand the brouhaha. ("What's all this brouhaha? Ha, ha, ha..." Any Firesign Theatre fans here?) Obviously it's a wedge issue and designed to appeal to the base. However, the male/female delineation has been part of our hard-wiring ever since we became a species. This is why so many people react with such strong emotions to anything that might blur or mess with that distinction.
The Democratic Party has been piss-poor at recognizing, acknowledging, and validating voters' feelings about any number of emotion-based issues, including this one. Instead, we got Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables," for just one egregious example. The Republican Party, on the other hand, picked up that ball and is still running with it.
I don't know why you included the word "trans" in the poll. Everyone should be able to use the bathroom of their choice. Most people do not want to share the details or history of their anatomy in order to do so, which is why these laws are so ridiculous.
As a cis woman I have ZERO problem sharing a bathroom with a trans woman. This whole thing is so ridiculous. Republicans for my ENTIRE LIFE have been concerned with what is in other people's pants or what other people are doing in their bedrooms, and it is none of their damn business. Everything is projection with them, bunch of pervs.
If you want to find out what a Republican defecated in their virtual pants, read David Brooks' mea culpa in The Atlantic, then read Trevor Irvin's deconstruction of the mea culpa in Trevor's Substack. I recommend subscribing to Trevor Irvin. He's that rare person who is not only a good visual artist, but also a good writer.
https://open.substack.com/pub/trevorstoneirvin/p/david-finds-his-cross?r=1zjw8t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Perfectly said.
Oh hell yes! Well put Sandy.
Another good case would be a heavily bearded trans man going into the women's restroom, preferably right in front of some of the women who have been agitating in favor of restrictive bills.
I guess the distinction here is between civil disobedience (the case Gene reported) and malicious compliance (my suggestion).
Well also there is the fact that no one seems to be worrying about trans men using mens' bathrooms.
It all comes back to the patriarchy, and the initial assumption of the anti-trans forces is that there's a fundamental hierarchy in which men are dominant and women are subordinate. So a trans man is someone who is trying to move up in the hierarchy -- and so portrayed as a poor foolish person caught in a social contagion, driven to medical treatment in an attempt to gain the benefits of masculinity. Whereas a trans woman is engaging in the extraordinarily suspicious behavior of trying to move DOWN in the hierarchy, which means they must really be sick and twisted, or have some ulterior motive to invade women's spaces.
Exactly. I have a trans friend who freak out those women if he walked into a woman's bathroom.
Poor Kate Smith.
If you are gazing under a bathroom stall to see if the user fits your definition of the correct sex/gender you are the problem
Because Ms. Reintgen looks like a woman, it’s unlikely that her use of a ladies’ room would ever be questioned. It seems, therefore, that she is staging this protest solely to help others, which is admirable. A non-trans-woman could do that too—falsely state that she’s a trans-woman and use the ladies’ room. If enough non-trans-women did that, then the authorities might stop trying to enforce the law. It would be great if we all cared about the oppression of people who are not like us.
Until people start to care about others, could we just be pragmatic and point out that these laws not only are cruel to transfolks, but create GREATER risk for cis women to be harrassed?
Who gets to decide who is "feminine enough" to use a facility without showing the local sheriff's deputy a birth certificate and their matching vagina? Oh, wait, Trans women may look just as feminine, so I guess ALL women have to have their birth certificate and flash their vagina to get into the bathroom? How else can you be sure there's not a trans woman in the next stall? Because we all know that obviously a trans woman peeng in a woman's bathroom will invoke complete social collapse.
The vagina is not an external organ. You can't flash it.
I wanted to roll my eyes and say: "You are just being pedantic, you know what I meant." Then I realized in horror that because what you're saying is correct, it could be the basis of requiring "a more thorough investigation" by the local batroom code enforcement officers.
I did know what you meant, and I was also being pedantic, but people should stop saying vagina as though it were external genitalia. They won't, obviously, but I feel compelled to wax pedantic.
I’m a cis woman who is over six feet tall and I think about this frequently. I have prepared myself to fold my arms and say “okay call the cops but you have to stay and explain to them why I can’t use the potty.” In my daydreams it works out for the good. I’m afraid in reality it might not.
The willful ignorance unfortunately is no longer as breathtaking as it once was. All you need know is that this willful ignorance is of decades of established medical and scientific research about sex and gender diversity throughout history and cultures. Add to that ignorance research which shows no evidence of safety risks for cisgender people when trans people use restrooms aligning with their authentic gender; in fact, transgender people are at elevated risk for harassment and violence in these spaces. The usual fearmongering, not facts.
Facts? They don’t want no stinking facts!
I share a bathroom when I’m home and I’m perfectly fine to do so while I am out and about and need to use a public restroom. This doesn’t need to be hard. Just go to the bathroom when you need to. FFS.
What a brave young woman! If we don’t stand up for our rights, we’ll lose them.
I'm genuinely curious why someone would oppose trans women using a women's bathroom. I don't know if this platform is anonymous enough that anyone would answer that, though, given that most of us apparently disagree. I've been sexually assaulted, but by a cis man and a bathroom wasn't involved at all. My ladies room experiences have all been just about as boring as you want them to be. I'm wondering what a Gene Pool reader sees in this issue that I'm missing?
Elizabeth, based on what I’ve read, it’s because those who can’t keep their judgments to themselves somehow believe that transgender folks are sexual perverts who want to be in the bathroom to prey on small children … or something along those lines. Personally, just like in Ally McBeal, a non-gendered bathroom makes perfect sense and is perfectly safe. The things the ppl turn into issues. Lets just gin something up. Sheesh.
You are right. The first time we went to dinner with our transgender daughter, who was about 30 when she began the transition, she went to the men's restroom in the restaurant because she was concerned she did not look feminine enough and did not want to draw attention to herself. I offered to go with her but she declined. Trans people just want to live their lives. The vast majority of sexual offenders are cis males. It's just bigotry.
I've heard MAGAs say that molesters go in for victims. 🙄
Even non-MAGAs like [god help us] JK Rowling are completely bent out of shape about the potential "victims" in the bathroom! Nobody seems to be able to convince these folks that this is pretty f'ing weird since most sexual attacks are not in public bathrooms, as noted elsewhere. As they are trying so hard to convince others of this, I have to think it's really just ignorance of trans people.
I think I'll increase my donations to the ACLU and the Trevor Project now. Thank you so much for bringing this injustice to light.
Like Rosa’s resistance led to the bus boycott, could this lead to the toilet boycott of 2025? Congress might change their minds if we made them hold it for 3 days.
T
Cory Booker could do it!
If almost any Member of Congress were forced to undergo an enema, the result would be a filthy set of clothes atop a pair of beshitted shoes.
Frankly, I have a bigger problem with men leaving the toilet seat up in an all-gender restroom than which gender is using the bathroom. Probably opening a gigantic and equally trivial can of worms here...
Her bravery is Parks's bravery, and that should be enough to justify the comparison.
While living in Bangkok for 12 years, I frequently used women’s public restrooms at the same time as trans patrons— probably even more often than I realized. Never once did I ever encounter trouble or discomfort and I hope nor did they. We were all just doing our business, washing our hands, checking our hair etc, chatting with friends (why do we tend to head to the loo in groups?😂), and being on our way. It’s easy peasy. The haters should try it some time. They’ll see it’s a total nothing burger!😏
I forgot to include that I brought up my three children over there so until they were old enough to go into the boys restroom on their own, they were with me in the loo and they weren’t freaked out or traumatized by any trans women in there while we were (or by trans men once my kids were using the men’s loo). It was simply normal for them. The vast majority of us are human beings wanting to live our lives without hurting anyone. Most crimes are committed by non-trans people anyway so this fixation on where trans folks pee is misplaced and a waste of time. The end.
Frankly, I have maybe twenty (OK, thirty) current concerns about our country that occupy my mind more than who's using which bathroom. My only concern, especially at my age, is that it's within easy access when I need one. A clean one would be nice, too.
That said, I do understand the brouhaha. ("What's all this brouhaha? Ha, ha, ha..." Any Firesign Theatre fans here?) Obviously it's a wedge issue and designed to appeal to the base. However, the male/female delineation has been part of our hard-wiring ever since we became a species. This is why so many people react with such strong emotions to anything that might blur or mess with that distinction.
The Democratic Party has been piss-poor at recognizing, acknowledging, and validating voters' feelings about any number of emotion-based issues, including this one. Instead, we got Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables," for just one egregious example. The Republican Party, on the other hand, picked up that ball and is still running with it.
I don't know why you included the word "trans" in the poll. Everyone should be able to use the bathroom of their choice. Most people do not want to share the details or history of their anatomy in order to do so, which is why these laws are so ridiculous.