Everyone needs to pee - except transgender people in Arizona apparently

With thanks to Gordon Ellis for preparing this short commentary on a story that is currently making the rounds concerning why transgender people need to go to the bathroom.

"The Independent (20 March) reports that Equality activists are outraged as Arizona considers banning transgender people from using public toilets not designated for their birth sex.

The proposal comes less than a month after the city of Phoenix passed a human rights ordinance prohibiting gender identity discrimination in public accommodations.
The prohibition of gender identity discrimination appears to be a positive step in addressing an issue which crosses the Atlantic to the UK, but the illogical proposal to ban transgender people from using public toilets, seems to totally contradict the ordinance from Phoenix.
The Republican proposer, is nailing his colours to the mast and creating an opportunity for the national debate which seems to be taking place in the USA to be aired in the legislature.
One must hope that common sense prevails, and the “Land of the Free” lives up to its name.
From a UK equality perspective, it is good that issues such as this are being aired in our media, and in a relatively supportive way.
It is however, indicative of a fair way still to go on this, and many other equality issues. With absolutely no irony at all, I read another media report, that in Pakistan, all public forms which require to be completed now have three boxes for completion, male female or transgender."

This has happened before

Sadly, this is not the first time that a story like this has hit the media.

Around two years ago, a similar issue was raised in the national media in the United Kingdom. In that case, a trans woman was accosted and complained against in a Sainsbury's supermarket for using the ladies toilets.

It was claimed that the trans woman should have used the disabled toilet.

Everyone needs to pee

First of all, everyone need to go to the bathroom.

It does not matter is you are male, female or transgender.

The difficulty is societal perception; we are obsessed with gender stereotypes, gender norms and most relevant, an automatic assumption of binary gender - male and female.

There is also an unfounded perception that because a transgender man or woman is using a gendered toilet in their acquired gender, that they are engaged in criminal, or more usually sexual, activity.

The Scottish Transgender Alliance is an organisation that campaigns for transgender equality and awareness in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK and also in Europe.  I tweeted about this story and this is what they had to say.

Equality law in Great Britain

The Equality Act requires public bodies, service providers and employers not to discriminate on grounds of gender reassignment. The protection in law extends to cover discrimination by association and perception.

In order to obtain full gender recognition in Great Britain, there is no actual requirement to undergo gender reassigned to surgery.

Many transgender people will want to live their life in their acquired gender. For some, it is a requirement, prior to approval for gender reassignment surgery.

This would not be a problem if we did not have an obsession with binary gender roles and by extension, binary gender toilets - male toilets and female toilets.

Transgender does not equate to being disabled

Transgender people are also not disabled because of their gender reassignment status.

There may be some form of disability arising from gender reassignment, for example, on grounds of mental health.

There is no reason therefore to ask someone to use an accessible toilet, or to deny the use of gendered - male or female - toilets.

Solutions

In many organisations, there are at least some, gender neutral toilets. In these circumstances, no one has a complaint.

The title of this article highlights the crux; transgender people need to pee too.

If peeing is criminal, then we will all be going to jail.