To give proper credit, the speaker in the video is Ivan Coyote.
Before having anything to do with the queer community, I thought bathrooms were simple. Men's and Women's. Simple. But I soon realised that's not the case. Even now, when I look mostly female, am physically female, I always get a bit..unhappy when I enter a woman's bathroom. Would I be happier in the men's? Probably not. I know I'm taking it out of proportion, it's just a bathroom, no big deal. But it's being forced into a gender box on a regular level.
I think it'd be easier to have a men's, women's and trans*'s bathrooms. I also understand it's not that simple. In a perfect world, I think it'd be like that.
But it's not. And people are being forced into the bathroom others think fits right for them. I understand it's for safety. A bathroom is a pretty easy spot for rape or sexual assault. And preventing that would be having separate bathrooms. I understand that. I understand the vast majority of people are not trans* and do not have these problems. But that doesn't mean they don't exist.
Obviously my experiences haven't been nearly as terrible as others. Some areas offer jail time for using the “wrong” bathroom despite being trans*. Others make a big fuss.
I was doing a touch of research. I felt bad for all of those countries who don't embrace the queer lifestyle. But good for my country, good for Canada, with its gay marriage and gay adoption. But I was wrong with that. One of the top hits I got was about a university student getting into a whole lot of trouble for using the “wrong” bathroom.
I understand the health and safety, but if businesses can have a men's, women's and handicap bathroom, why can't there be a fourth option that is friendly to everyone, despite sex or gender. A bathroom where no one will be yelled at and allow one to pee in peace. Before I identified as being trans*, I always took public bathrooms for granted. But now they always add a bit of a reminder that I don't fit into a gender box.
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