Taken in a rest stop in Texas
But first some serious news about American Transgender Experiences
In the article, North Carolina Fails to Repeal Anti-LGBTQ Bill, Amanda Terkel explains how North Carolina lawmakers, who in spite of the public outcry and huge financial losses to the state, insist on sticking their heads in public toilets and transgender and non-binary people’s business. If denying people a place on the bowl wasn’t so offensive and unjust, it would be laughable.
The 2015 US Transgender Survey Report highlights that transgender people are discriminated against, marginalized, disenfranchised, and undermined in every part of society. Over 27,000 respondents in the USA shared their experiences.
The findings reveal disturbing patterns of mistreatment and discrimination and startling disparities between transgender people in the survey and the U.S. population when it comes to the most basic elements of life, such as nding a job, having a place to live, accessing medical care, and enjoying the support of family and community. Survey respondents also experienced harassment and violence at alarmingly high rates. Several themes emerge from the thousands of data points presented in the full survey report.
With housing, healthcare, education, immigration, airport security, criminal justice, and just walking down the street, transgender participants in the study paint and alarming picture of systemic oppression. There is even a section of the report that addresses Experiences in Rest Rooms.
Overall, in the year prior to taking the survey, 26% of all respondents were denied access to restrooms, had their presence in a restroom questioned, and/or were verbal harassed, physically attacked, or sexually assaulted in a restroom. This was nearly twice as high for undocumented residents (50%) and was also higher for respondents currently working in the underground economy (39%). It was also higher among American Indian (36%) and multiracial (32%) respondents (Figure 17.4). Respondents who said that others could always or usually tell they were transgender without being told (45%) or sometimes tell they were transgender (38%) were more likely to report one or more of these experiences, in contrast to those who said that others could rarely or never tell that they were transgender (16%).
I encourage elected officials, clergy, LGBTQ activists, educators, and cisgender gay, lesbian, and bisexual folks to read the findings and the powerful quotes from respondents.
While NC Bathroom Bill is no joke, comedy has been a powerful tool to expose just how ridiculous and unjust anti-transgender laws like it are. Below is a sampling of comedy used to address the outrageous bathroom policing laws.
Late Show host, Stephen Colbert, addressed HB2 “Bathroom Bill” in his monologue back in April.
Nova, a trans woman from South Carolina, went on a little road-trip through North Carolina back in July.
Nova’s Transgender Bathroom Comedy Skit humorously highlights a serious reality for trans people traveling through the state. A friend of mine from Florida drove hundreds of miles out of her way on a trip to New England in order to circumnavigate around the state of North Carolina.
Chase over at FTMtranstastic weighs in with “F U Bathroom Bill” video
This Canadian trans man share a simple but powerful message: People want to pee!
Finally, church lady Elizabeth Jeremiah dives into the bowl
She offers an excellent solution to the bathroom crisis created by North Carolina lawmakers.
Special thanks to Diana Lombardi for first telling me about the US Transgender Survey Report.