Shame And Dehumanization Of Transgender Bathrooms

Transgender individuals, especially trans people of color, face enormous anxiety and discrimination when they attempt to use the bathroom. Naomi Bhajamundi, a trans woman of color, explained that she is threatened with physical violence when she uses the bathroom that does not align with her gender identity. She also faces verbal attacks when she uses the bathroom that aligns with her gender identity. Trans women expressed that they have been arrested, violated, and harassed by the police, who have a duty to protect them. Carrie Davis, a transgender woman, explained that the gendered signs on the bathroom are another reminder of shame and dehumanization due to their gender identity not fitting with the binary categories. She stated, “It’s a

Educating and providing awareness about transgender identity may give people more empathy and understanding, decreasing their desire to harass and violate this population. The lecture slides mentioned that “packing” may be helpful for transgender men who may have to pee in a urinal, providing a penis appearance which may help them be safer in a men’s bathroom. Providing education about the facts and dismantling myths about sexual assault may disarm people from their worries about being assaulted due to having all-gender bathrooms. The documentary suggested that cisgender people should attempt to use the bathroom of the opposite sex so they can begin to understand the social “confrontation” that transgender people experience when needing to use the bathroom in public (Mateik, 2014). I went to Pride in Seattle two weeks ago, and even in a liberal, LGBTQ+-friendly space, I still felt very uncomfortable, like I was committing a moral and social crime when I used the opposite-sex bathroom. Lastly, every employee or student at an institution, organization, or public place with a bathroom should be required to participate in gender-diverse training so they do not perpetuate transphobic