Jaicee said:
Speaking for myself as the resident femyl, I'm not at all worried about being sexually attacked by trans people. There aren't any trans-identified people in my whole community, in fact. That's not my issue with the proposition that all public restrooms should be made unisex. I feel perfectly safe in that regard and furthermore would so long as whoever else may be in the same public restroom as me can pass for a women. If you look female to me, I'll assume you're a woman and think nothing of it. I think that's true for just about all women, in fact, not just me. HOWEVER, I also think I speak for many if not most women when I say that if you waltz into the women's restroom sporting oh say a Duck Dynasty-length beard and start talking on your phone in a deep, testosterone-heavy voice, I'm going to instantly become way less comfortable. I mean I don't think anyone is really comfy with using the restroom in a public setting in the first place, but the ordinary, inescapable level of discomfort just gets magnified a great deal if there's somebody who is clearly male there with me while my pants are down. I mean I'm probably safe, but that's something that drastically increases my level of concern and stress and, as someone who's typical heart rate lying down doing nothing is what yours probably is on a treadmill already, I don't think I should have to go through that. That shouldn't be allowed. And I should have some kind of official recourse available to me if that does happen; like I should be able to protest your presence in the women's room to the store management without being charged with discrimination for doing so, jeez! I'm not trying to oppress anybody, it's just...have some common sense, you know? Also, there are many places in the world that do exactly what you, Runa, have proposed and make all the public accommodations unisex. The result tends to be simply that the line to what normally would be the women's room (the one without the urinals) gets longer because men now have an additional option. Women, conversely, don't typically want to use the men's room for some odd reason that might just possibly have to do with the obvious, intimidating physical advantages that men tend to have, especially when grouped together in large numbers. Women don't want to use the men's room. Demand for unisex bathrooms overwhelmingly comes from one direction. I point this out to highlight the intellectual dishonesty of those who claim that making all public facilities unisex is a common demand of women that tends to reduce wait times. The exact opposite is the case. Many places include single-stall, unisex restrooms as a third option these days specifically to accommodate trans-identified people in a way that's not disruptive or concerning to the rest of the population, and I'm supportive of that. I feel that that should be respected; that one should treat trans people and their spaces the same way you might prefer that others treat you and yours, just as a matter of simple courtesy. You, JWeinCom, probably don't mean any harm, and likely aren't doing any, but I'm just saying. Those are my thoughts on these matters. |
If I'm understanding you correctly, then you'd limit female bathrooms to those who can pass as a woman? That begs the question, by whose determination?
