I cringe whenever the subject of ‘bathroom bills’ comes up because nobody seems to understand the mechanics of this. The primary concern expressed is to protect women from men in the ladies room, and most direct that each use the restroom that corresponds to their birth gender. However, a woman that has transitioned into a man finds himself having to use the ladies room, contrary to the intended objective. Conversely, a man who has transitioned into a woman finds herself in the men’s room. I’ve never heard anyone raise an objection to this outcome, which is curious, as no mother of a small boy lets him go into the men’s room alone. We all seem to know that the men’s room is the sketchy place.
I do believe men have a physical advantage over women’s in sports. But I also know that we celebrate sports in our culture, and encourage everyone who wants to participate to do so. There are many benefits to doing so. What I don’t understand is why we don’t just impose some sort of handicap, specific to the particular sport, to level the playing field, making it fairer for everyone. Surely there are statistics that sporting organizations could agree upon. I also wonder why nobody seems to have thought to do this, as this would be sportsman-like. Instead of humiliating an already vulnerable person, and making them feel like there is yet something else that is not for them.
(This is something, without any known to me basis in fact, that is worth considering). Before my grandchildren were born, there were the news stories about bisphenol-A, and the physiological changes that were appearing in humans, particularly boys exhibiting female characteristics. More research made the connection to BPA, and, to our credit, we took almost immediate action, banning it from baby bottles, and baby products. Today, every product made from plastics that come in contact with food and drink carries a BPA disclaimer. I don’t know if the prevalence of sexual confusion (?) has always been with us, and now we just hear about it more, because we hear about everything more, or if we may have unknowingly created an unusual phenomenon, but it’s worth looking into. (If you listen to a podcast entitled “Gonads” it seems miraculous that so many of us survive our own biology unscathed). But, in the meantime, can’t we find a little more compassion within ourselves toward others who are just as insecure and confused as we are?
