Myndra Aaron

Gray

ENGL 1102

Antithesis Essay

Why is the fight for bathroom equality important?

The LGBT struggle has now found itself in the spotlight after the

legalization of gay marriage. There was lots of backlash but also lots of fuel was

added to the fight. Now a new issue has arisen as multiple states have begun

releasing bathroom bills which require people to enter the bathroom of their

biological sex. These bar transgendered people from using their preferred

restroom and has caused a conflict in the community. This is because these laws

are non-inclusive and discriminatory says many critics. Students such as Damien

Greenlee, a girl who attends Columbus High School in an undisclosed state. He

was born female but has taken on a male persona and is severely mistreated by

his school who are have chosen not to make reasonable accommodation for his

needs. Where he currently uses, the bathroom is described as a storage unit with

a leaking roof and no lock. He was given two other options but his classes are

too far away from them. This is just one of many stories that carry such

discriminatory actions

A great article that covers this situation is the Los Angeles Timess, What

it's like to live under North Carolina's bathroom law if you're transgender The

story starts with Payton McGarry a transgendered man who is afraid to use the

restroom. The article states that he must ask himself Have I drunk too much

water today? before leaving home. The problem comes in the fact that his birth

certificate says he is a female making it illegal to use the mens restroom in North

Carolina. McGarry apparently avoids using the restroom altogether now at school
Myndra Aaron

Gray

ENGL 1102

Antithesis Essay

as to legally use it he must walk two buildings down, Thats the kind of situation

transgender people are being put in all over the place now. he says.

North Carolina was the first state to implement laws barring people from

entering the restroom that they prefer on March 23, 2016. They made it unlawful

to use government owned facilities and that do not match their birth sex. It has

created A conundrum, a daily choice between risking their personal safety or

breaking the law. the LA Times says. On one side, there are many

transgendered women who used the womens restroom as an escape from

persecution and then there are those who use the restrooms as a sort of protest

of this law. These protests create the awkward moments that were meant to be

avoided by the government. How would you feel if you were forced to plan your

entire day around your future restroom trips? This is a reality for many

transgendered people as they are no longer in control over what restroom they

can enter. Now it seems that North Carolina had found itself sitting as the

battlegrounds for Trans rights but as of March of 2017 the ban has been repealed

to better suit the needs and feeling of the transgender community in North

Carolina.

(Thesis rebuttal) Though the story of Damien Greenlee is true it does not

change the fact that he, respecting her right to be called what she likes, is firstly,

still a female with no sort of hormone therapy or anything of the sort to show a

transition was taking place. Cutting ones hair and dressing like the opposite sex

doesn't make your genitals change and does not make you pass for male either.
Myndra Aaron

Gray

ENGL 1102

Antithesis Essay

Therefore, anecdotal evidence is harming because it puts so much stock in the

pathos with not logic to back it up and exhibit a realistic idea of why this minority

deserves special treatment in any way. Damien Greenlee could be 1 of 2000

students at his high school meaning he is .005 percent of the entire school. For

the principal and the staff too even make and effort and give him not just one but

three places to go to the restroom is a privilege. Why do I say this? I say this

because Damien made his choice and decided the girls bathroom was not good

enough for him and decided to start this difficult and stressful journey in a place

where judgement is at its most high. In this age, we have answers at our

fingertips and a simple search on life as a trans high schooler would have

deterred him. The bad things are what the media covers and try to tell us. They

are also the things my anti-thesis would want you to think happens all the time

anyway, so then why wouldnt seeing all the problems others have had have

convinced him to wait until he was able to fully transition into a male. That brings

me to the next point, the pictures used in the articles stated above were of what

looked like normal men and women so why would they not be able to enter the

restroom they desire unless they ran in screaming I AM A TRANSGENDER

PERSON! it is illogical to think that someone would just know this information.

The only exception to this rule would be someone in transition as they do not

look the part of a singular gender do to the hormone therapy they must endure.

That is why such anecdotal evidence is flawed because it only relies on feelings

but the facts are ignored.