Would it bother you to find out that someone close to you identifies as transgender? Would you be uncomfortable? Unnerved? If so, then we hate to break it to you – but transgender people exist. They’re out in our world, living, breathing and fighting battles that you’ve never even fathomed. So, we at the Collegiate are starting a conversation. What about someone being transgender actually bothers you, is it the fact that they’re different? You don’t understand the issue at hand? Or does it go against your beliefs?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, identifying as a transgender individual means, “denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person’s biological sex assigned at birth.” Most trans people describe being trans as realizing they were born into the wrong body.
Whether you like it or not, transgender issues, and the people that embody them, are becoming more visible and prevalent in our culture. For years, transgender individuals have been fighting for the decency to have the same equality that anyone cisgendered, someone who identifies as the sex they were assigned with at birth, would receive. And why shouldn’t they be able to live with the same luxuries that you do? Trick question – they should.
And while most of us have heard names like Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner and Jazz Jennings as famous transgender faces, there are people right in our state – on our campus – that are dealing with the
biggest change in their lifetime.
A constant struggle transgender individuals face is bathroom usage, unsure when it’s safe to use the restroom they identify with. Luckily for them, the Michigan State Board of Education has approved of voluntary guidelines that are created to have a safe and supportive environment for students in the LGBT community on Sept. 14, 2016.
Being approved 6-2, the guidelines will allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match with their gender identity. However, if necessary, students can make private arrangements fitted to their comfort level. John Austin, president of the State Board of Education, spoke at the Board’s meeting regarding the guidelines.
“It will help create better learning outcomes…for all of our kids,” says Austin.
And we agree wholeheartedly. If you’re so concerned about who’s sitting next to you in the other stall, trans people aren’t the problem; you are. They don’t want to be bothered, and they most certainly don’t want to be outed in a bathroom (Protip: if you know someone who’s trans, don’t out them.) Like any normal human, they want to go in, do their business, and leave. No fuss or scene about it.
But as good as our bathroom triumph is, there are still roadblocks ahead for the LGBT community. Michigan’s Attorney, General Bill Schuette, isn’t in the same mindset as the 6 from the State Board, calling the Obama administration’s directive toward trans student’s fair bathroom usage, “yet another prime example of federal overreach.”
Michigan Sen. Joe Hune agreed in a prepared statement, “We need Attorney General Schuette to protect those he was elected to defend. We need him to provide guidance as to the legality of transgender bathrooms in Michigan.” Hune, what is there to defend us from? People needing to use the restroom?
Realize that trans people aren’t just struggling with bathrooms. They’re being murdered simply for being themselves. YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous was detained in a Dubai airport for being transgender. They get kicked out of their family homes. They’re shunned. They’re homeless. They’re fired from jobs – and the list goes on and on.
Transgender equality is a pressing issue, and while there are small, yet triumphant victories for the LGBT community, there is still a lot to be done, and there’s still a laundry list of inequalities that we could work on, and that we need to change. Don’t be a stranger to issues in today’s society. Educate yourself, be a positive ally and continue to grow.
