I thought this was a pretty funny cartoon.
I have had a really busy week and just not had time to write but today I thought I should speak my mind about the North Carolina bathroom controversy. No doubt I will make everybody angry who reads this because I tend to view things as they ARE, not in the idealized way that most zealots view such controversies.
For instance: I admire Bruce Springsteen for canceling his North Carolina concerts since he felt like he would be playing in a homophobic environment. I also think he made a huge mistake. By refusing to play there, he punished fans who had absolutely nothing to do with the bathroom controversy.
The controversy itself is a bit hard to get a bead on, and I read this article with that in mind. "...a little less than half of North Carolina residents -- 49 percent -- essentially agree with the bill's premise preventing cities from passing ordinances allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they associate with (39 percent thought cities should be allowed to pass those ordinances)." The bill won't even be signed until October.
Not surprisingly, there are a lot of opinions all over Facebook.
My perspective is complicated because I've been in a complicated bathroom situation. When I was in my early 20's and out of college I lived in Atlanta briefly while attending paralegal school. One night I went to a club with my friend Gary and another friend, a female. It was a gay bar with a lot of transvestites. Their lip syncing was remarkable and most of the drag queens looked far more feminine than I did. I sat on a sofa and watched several performers. However, I don't, as a rule, like crowded noisy bars of any kind, so I didn't want to stay long. Before hitting the road I ran in the ladies' room, as my mama had taught me. "Always go to the bathroom before you get in the car." That's especially important in Atlanta, where traffic can snarl up in a nanosecond and trap you in your car for a long time.
I went in the bathroom and I did what I needed to do. When I came out of the stall there was a very large drag queen at the sink. Another trans person was in the corner, snorting cocaine. Well, I will be honest here. I freaked OUT.I honestly don't recall if it was the large man or the drugs that freaked me out.
I was out of that club and in my car in a New York minute. I left my friends there. Beth gave Gary a ride home or maybe he gave her a ride home. I don't remember exactly. They were both ticked off with me later because they lived far from each other, but I didn't care. I just had to LEAVE.
So I am sympathetic with the people who think trans folks need to go to the bathroom of the gender they were born with.
OTOH, I am also very sympathetic to LGBT folks who are transsexual and straight folks who simply like to dress as the other gender. Life isn't easy or fair for them. I've never had any problems with being female, but I knew a girl in school who endured a lot of taunts and bullying because she dressed and acted like a guy. That was what she felt like inside, a male. (I think she had surgery later in life.) People who have gender issues deserve the same rights as anyone else.
I think there has to be a solution fair to everyone. My thought is to encourage businesses to have a "family" bathroom which can be used by only one person at a time, or a parent with a child. That eliminates the problem. Not all bathrooms need to be available to more than one person at a time.
I can tell you this, in other parts of the world you are lucky to find ANY public bathrooms. In Russia most businesses will not let you use the bathroom, except restaurants, and even in nice places the bathroom is often used by both sexes.
I hope that the North Carolina controversy causes a conversation that is ultimately beneficial to everyone. It's about fairness - for ALL.
