Policing the Use of Restrooms and Transgender Issues

Transgender is referring to the movement away from the gender that an individual was originally assigned to at birth (Stryker, 2008).  Transgender issues and how this relates to bodies (what we do and do not discuss in public) is what we have been discussing in my Bodies in American Culture class.  I have decided to take a closer look into the secretive nature and the use of restrooms in particular to grasp human rights and transgendered individuals. 

Public restrooms are necessary for every human being, but it is challenging for transgendered individuals.  Rather than considering human nature, transgendered individuals are focused on their bodies and whether being in a certain space will create uncomfortable situations.  Being able to walk into a restroom without having to worry about people discussing whether I should or should not be using that gender specific restroom is something that I take for granted, daily.  Bornstein in Gender Outlaw (1994) highlights an event that occurred with someone who was in the process of gender change.  The individual was working at an IBM Subsidiary in Philadelphia and the individual did not know which bathroom to use because it was segregated into “male” or “female” only restrooms.  To be fair, most of the individual’s coworkers did not have a problem with the individual using whatever bathroom necessary, but the manager of that building was not as accepting.  Since there was construction on one of the floors of the building and no one was using that floor, the transgender individual was to use the restroom that was never cleaned or stocked. The bathroom did have running water. 

This seems to go to the extremes. Why was this individual put in a position of using a bathroom that was potential dangerous and sectioned away from other coworkers?

The idea that the individual was going “against” the gender system by changing gender, this ultimately threatens the gender system that is in place in society.  People who feel threatened/uncomfortable and use violence against transgendered (physically and mentally), they would be considered as gender defenders.  When it comes to ambiguous gender, gender defenders wish to keep transgendered individuals as a secret to maintain the gender system.

The Human Rights Act provides some support and legal protection for transgendered individuals, but discrimination and inequalities are endless.  This does not change the root of the issue.  Although this does not change the source of the issues, it does provide rights.

Recently, I came across an article on Jezebel regarding a transgender teenager who won a case against Maine’s Supreme Court (http://jezebel.com/why-this-transgender-teens-big-legal-victory-matters-1515898798).  Nicole was born a boy, but by the age of two she began identifying as a female.  She had the school’s support to use the girl’s restroom until a male classmate followed her into the restroom, claiming that if she can use this restroom, than so can he.  The classmate followed Nicole into the girl’s restroom on many occasions before they banned her from using the girl’s restroom.  She was forced to use the faculty restroom and so instead of having the ability to transition into a female identity, Nicole became an outcast.  

After the change from girl’s restroom to faculty restroom, Nicole was continually harassed and bullied because she identified as female.  This began the discrimination lawsuit. Originally, Maine’s Supreme Court in 2012 stood on the side of the school, but now the Supreme Court ruled in Nicole’s favor that her rights were violated.  This was no small feat and this is one case that has been ruled in favor of the violated individual.

Recently, the college I attend has had a list of initiatives to create better and safer spaces for the students attending the school.  On the list, there were many initiatives that I have not yet seen on campus, and a few that have arisen since meetings in 2012-2013.  One of the initiatives was to include gender-neutral restrooms for those who identify as transgender or may not identify as simply “female” or “male.” 

There are many places to offer gender-neutral restrooms, including main areas that students often use.  For example, the Campus Center.  There are a total of four women’s restrooms and four men’s restrooms.  At one point during the 2013 fall semester, I discovered on the third floor, there was a gender-neutral restroom.  I personally did not feel uncomfortable using this restroom, but if I had been uncomfortable, I would have had plenty of options to find another restroom. 

What struck me was that I never saw any announcements that the restroom was available to the public, nor an announcement when this restroom was changed back to a male-only space. I do not understand why administration decided to change the bathroom back or even to inform the student body that this was available.

This could be much of the same situation that Bornstein discusses in Gender Outlaw, which is to keep anyone who does not identify as simply “female” or “male” as a secret so that the gender system is not disrupted. 

Stryker, Susan. Transgender History. Berkeley, CA: Seal, 2008. Print.

Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw:On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us. Routledge, NY & London, 1994. Print.

Pink Blanket, Blue Blanket, Other Blanket? Intersex Infants and Consent for Surgery

While reading “Bodies in Doubt: An American History of Intersex” by Elizabeth Reis (Reis, 2009), I began to realize how gender and sex is politicalized and socialized from the moment an infant is born. Although I knew that this happened by the colors chosen for the infant’s blanket (pink for female, blue for male), I was not familiarized with the statistics of intersex individuals until I began reading “Bodies in Doubt.”  One of 2,000 babies are born with ambiguous genitalia, in which there are 60 conditions that are under the term disorders of sexual development (or DSD for short).  This means that an infant has atypical chromosomes, gonads, or genitalia that does not develop “normally.”

“Bodies in Doubt” explores the history of Intersex in America, specifically, the mindsets from a social and medical perspective by beginning in the mid-eighteenth century and progressing throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  The book provided some answers and brings up a lot of questions, especially when in reference to infants, consent, and what age can a person give consent to surgery that will change their life (140).

I did not know what the age of consent was for children and sex reassignment surgery, so I began looking on the interweb for some sort of standard.  I thought I would find something like the age for consensual sex; complicated and different from state to state.  In fact, I found a court case regarding a child whose parent(s) chose to have an unnecessary surgery done on their child, which sterilized the child. This court case ignited many questions regarding sex reassignment surgery and surgery on intersex children.  What I discovered was that the overall consensus was a person must be 16 years of age to consent without an adult (Parlett, K. & Weston-Scheuber, K.).  The argument was that the person would not have the intelligence level, maturity, or life experience to make such a life changing decision.  Others disagreed and there may be a level of intelligence and rationality to medical treatment, but overall the parents are the “keyholders” and they are able to “unlock the doors” of medical treatment. 

Although I do believe that parents makes decisions in their child’s best interest, this is not a foolproof and clean cut option when it comes to consent for those who are giving an infant a gender.  Parents may be thinking that the choice is what is best because it allows the child to have a “normal” life, but they may not be taking in all the irreversible consequences by making such a large decision for their child. Assignment surgery is not a necessary procedure for the function of a human life – wouldn’t it be easier to allow the intersex individual make that choice later in life?  Socially, there are repercussions and that is what doctors and parents are afraid of. 

There has been much debate lately regarding whether parents should make the decision to put their infant through sex assignment surgery or to wait and possibly watch their children go through social situations that may negatively impact their well being.  According to ABC news, a German Law has been put into action where parents have the choice to pick a third gender, otherwise known as “undetermined” or “unspecified” on birth certificates (S. D. James, 2013).  There has been some discussion on whether this is going to stigmatize the child even more by putting a label on their unknown gender or if it is more empowering so that when the child reaches an age to make a decision about their gender, they may do so without interference from parents or doctors.

I believe this option could become empowering for individuals, yet there will be stigmatization regardless because intersex individuals will still be labeled as “other.”  In Reis’ epilogue, she dives into the notion that by allowing the undetermined gender, it could create more issues socially for the child and can negatively impact the child.  Although this may be the situation, there is a social expectation that there must be a gender, specifically male or female.  The binary system does not work for the 1 in every 2,000 infants who are born with ambiguous genitalia.  The binary system wants females to have certain characteristics, whereas males take on the reversal.  For example, in class we listed what stereotypical characteristics are a representation of women and men.  Women are expected to be passive and men are supposed to have leadership roles and show assertiveness.  When an individual threatens to blend feminine and masculine characteristics, which disrupts the binary system, this causes stigmatization. 

This is what “Bodies in Doubt” provided extensively.  Making a choice of an infant’s identity is unsound since the infant is unable to consent to pick a gender or commit to assignment surgery. 

Activists believe that the wisest choice for parents and medical practitioners is to wait it out.  Give the infant time to grow and have the ability to make informed decisions with intelligence and full understanding of what surgery means.  Keep the options open; some people do not want surgery.

I personally agree that people should be given the rights to consent fully and making decisions with the knowledge given to them. What I am not so sure about is the German Law that I mentioned before. Although this allows parents to become knowledgeable and to give opportunity for the individual to choose to have surgery or to not accept the binary system, but by creating a third gender and calling it “undetermined” or “unspecified,” this just continues the idea of separating individuals with ambiguous genitalia. 

This brings up even more questions, such as: what if people decide not to commit to surgery and are considered “undetermined?”  How is this going to negatively impact individuals? How is this going to change the political arena, such as government documents that ask for gender?  Perhaps this German Law will begin conversation and change the binary system, or at least question the system already in place.

James, S. D. (2013). German Law: Parents of intersex kids can pick 'Gender Undetermined.’ ABC News. (pp. 1-2)

Reis, E. (2009). Hermaphrodites, monstrous births, and same-sex intimacy. In E. Reis (Eds.),  Bodies in doubt: an American history of intersex (pp. 1-21). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press

Parlett, K. and Weston-Scheuber, K. (2004). Consent to treatment for transgender and intersex children (2004).  Deakin Law Review, 9, 2. 376-397.