Introduction
A person is called a transgender if his sex is not defined as man or woman or they intentionally change their gender. A transgender person is physically defined as a person of one gender but he feels about himself as a person of the other. The term originated when the first operation took place in Germany by a sexologist named Magnus Hirschfield. When a person is born with a sexual deformity, he is classified by the people around him who define his orientation and how he will be treated in the future. When a person is born with a deformity or intentionally changes his gender, the society does not accept him and he faces a lot of hate for his abnormality. This culture triggers a gender hate and people objectify each other based on their gender belonging. When a person has a feeling of belonging to the other gender they sometimes change their natural gender through physical realignment procedure and enter the community of their choice. Being a part of a different community they face a number of laws that are based on their gender change. These laws define their access to use of public facilities that are defined by law to be used by one gender or the other, collectively they are called “bathroom bill”. The name is given from the first issue originated when people started changing their gender intentionally, the issue was about women bathroom usage of men who got converted to women by operation and started using women public washrooms. This bill was presented in March 2014 by Maryland State Senate. This paper is focused on the rights of transgender people and the bathroom bill. While some people believe that transgender should have their rights and freedom to choose their orientation, some believe that they should not receive rights and their change is unethical.
Discussion
The term “transgender” was introduced in the English literature in 1949 by David Oliver Cauldwell (Hixson-Vulpe, Jack., 2016 ). Since its origin, the concept got popularized by various people when they used the term in their research and started using the term. By 1990, the term was popular in literature but it became an actual concept after the first surgery was performed in 1952 on Christine Jorgensen who started the initiative of transgender rights.The transgender people have faced discrimination since the term became an actual concept. The courts did not declare the transgender rights for decades and the transgender people were living facing hate from the society.
The first conflict that is highlighted in every discussion about transgender rights is their identity. some people believe that transgender people are just like other humans but their attraction of opposite sex and definition of personal sex orientation encouraged them to change their gender, they claim that changing their gender does is their personal decision and they should not be objectified or criticized on their decision. This argument is backed up by many researchers and according to them, every person should have the right to decide what way of life he chooses and he must not be objectified on his decision (Konvitz, Milton, 2017). While there are people who are against this concept and they reject the idea of accepting the transgender people’s identity. The arguments provided against the identity of transgender people point to the fact that they are changing the natural order and that this action is directed against how God wanted them to be and that this change is unnatural (Gegenfurtner et al., 2017). Many European countries have now given identity to transgender people and the process is followed by other countries of the world.
The second biggest conflict is about transgender marriage rights. As the people change their gender they also change their choices about life partners and who they might want to spend lives with. Based on this concept they claim to have rights to marry, their marriages should be legalized and they should be considered as respectable part of society (Gates, Gary, 2015). However, the people who are against the marriage equality first base their argument on the concept being unethical and then provide an argument of nature. According to them, the marriage is a natural process of bringing children into the world and the very aim of marriage is to continue the human race. This argument is a part of the famous “Baskin v Bogan” case and it is used to negate marriage rights of transgender (BASKIN v. BOGAN, N.P).As the transgender people cannot produce children, they should not be given the right to marry, as it will fail the very purpose of marriage.
The public acceptance of transgender rights leads to the discussion of usage of public facilities. In Florida, the commission passed a legislature named “bathroom bill”, abolishing the discrimination of gender identity in public washrooms in January 2008 (Schilt, Kristen, and Laurel, 2015). This legislature was thought to be a key step in giving rights to transgender in America. However, just after a year, the opposition got so strong that the government thought of repealing the law. This opposition was made in favor of transgender community to provide them with equal rights of using public washrooms and places where differentiation based on gender is essential. This law allowed transgender women converted form men to use female lavatories like normal women as they are now considered normal women. This law when became applicable many people started opposing it and took it as a government action to promote sexual assaults. This bill was accepted by 58 legislators who voted for the legislature and it got in effect immediately.
The response that was seen after the implication of bathroom bill was both positive and negative. The Colorado state transgender community was in favor of this law as they considered it as promoting their equality. They were now free to use public lavatories of women, which was not allowed before the legislature. The anti-discrimination legislature was appreciated by the transgender community and various politicians. In 2011, the study that was made about the law and its application to the transgender community. According to the study, the law increased transgender adoption rate and increased confidence of transgenders in their workplace (Grant, Jaime M., et al., 2011). They appreciated the government law and described it in favor of America’s equality rights. By this law, transgenders were protected to use women lavatory after they had undergone the surgery and became women.
Where it received a lot of appreciation from the transgender community the bill was rejected by most natives. Their argument was that undergoing a surgical operation does not a make a woman a man or otherwise. Evelyn Reilly provided her argument by using the term of a sexual predator and said that this act will be exploited by sexual molesters and they will use it to fulfill their sexual needs (Schilt, Kristen, and Laurel Westbrook., 2015). As the law allowed men to enter women washrooms, the risk of sexual assault got increased and it was made an argument by those who opposed this act. Their argument was accepted as it was directly against laws of rape and child molestation. Sexual assault is not an issue that can be taken lightly the people who were against this act were totally valid on their points that it will promote rape cases. They claimed that this act is against the laws that protect women and will promote women abuse.
Conclusion
In short, the transgender culture is flourishing in every part of the world. Transgenders have solid reasons for their conversion to opposite genders and they consider it ethical and moral. The transgender community is facing a lot of hate and discrimination based on their unique choice. Though it is considered unethical and immoral by the people who oppose it, the community still is fighting for its rights in most countries. The argument of this act as against nature is given by the oppositions but the community rejects it by claiming they have right to choose their own lives. Similarly, they reject the concept that marriage is only meant to produce children and continue human race and they claim that they have the right to choose anyone who they like as a life partner. Transgender rights are though still suppressed in all parts of the world the community is not giving up and they choose to fight for their rights until they receive their identity and equality.
Works Cited
BASKIN v. BOGAN “Findlaw’s the United States Seventh Circuit Case And Opinions..”Findlaw. N. p., 2018. Web. 22 Mar. 2018. Retrieved from: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1677242.html
Gates, Gary J. “Marriage and family: LGBT individuals and same-sex couples.” The Future of Children 25.2 (2015): 67-87.
Gegenfurtner, Andreas, and Markus Gebhardt. “Sexuality education including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in schools.” Educational Research Review (2017).
Grant, Jaime M., et al. Injustice at every turn: A report of the national transgender discrimination survey. National Center for Transgender Equality, 2011.
Hixson-Vulpe, Jack. “A Spark of Transsexual Embodiment: Responses to Janice G. Raymond’s The Transsexual Empire.” Footnotes 1 (2016).
Konvitz, Milton. Fundamental Rights: “history of a constitutional doctrine. Routledge, 2017.
Schilt, Kristen, and Laurel Westbrook. “Bathroom battlegrounds and penis panics.” Contexts 14.3 (2015): 26-31.
