{"id":26862,"date":"2015-10-23T10:20:14","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T14:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/opponents-of-lgbt-protections-are-clueless-about-transgender-men\/"},"modified":"2015-10-23T10:20:14","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T14:20:14","slug":"opponents-of-lgbt-protections-are-clueless-about-transgender-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/opponents-of-lgbt-protections-are-clueless-about-transgender-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Opponents Of LGBT Protections Are Clueless About Transgender Men"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opponents Of LGBT Protections Are Clueless About Transgender Men<\/b><\/p>\n

In less than two weeks, Houston voters will consider Proposition 1, deciding whether the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) will become law. Its opponents have made many incendiary arguments targeting transgender women<\/a>, but their claims have a glaring hole: transgender men<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HERO would create sweeping nondiscrimination protections for the city, which, unlike most cities across the country, has no such law protecting any class. And though it protects multiple identity factors<\/a>, including religion, race, military status, disability, and pregnancy, opponents of the bill have focused on a very narrow aspect of its sexual orientation and gender identity protections — specifically, demonizing transgender women<\/a> as sexual predators.<\/p>\n

Opponents of HERO, identifying themselves as the “Campaign for Houston<\/a>,” have blanketed the city with billboards, radio ads, television ads, and other forms of messaging, all of which focus on the singular message: “No men<\/a> in women<\/a>’s bathrooms!” The “men<\/a>” refers to a distorted understanding of transgender women<\/a>, individuals who were assigned male<\/a> at birth but who have the inherent gender identity of a woman<\/a> and would find protection from discrimination for that identity under HERO.<\/p>\n

One ad misleadingly claims<\/a>, “Any man<\/a> at any time could enter a women<\/a>’s bathroom simply by claiming to be a woman<\/a> that day.” The campaign has also referenced<\/a> “gender-confused men<\/a>,” whose use of women<\/a>’s facilities is, as one ad described it, “filthy, disgusting, and unsafe.”<\/p>\n

As trans editor and writer Mitch Kellaway explained to ThinkProgress, these tactics “are actively intended to attack trans women<\/a>, who they see as the primary ‘threat’ to womanhood.” They erase and stigmatize transgender women<\/a>’s identities, disregarding the fact that they even are, in fact, women<\/a> — all the time. They also ignore the fact that, as HERO’s supporters have pointed out in their commercials, “indecent exposure, harassment, and assault in bathrooms is already illegal.” Most importantly, transgender women<\/a> are not predators; they are individuals who, like everybody else, simply want to pee in peace.<\/p>\n

But Kellaway is also concerned that these ads highlight “the passive transphobia that follows trans men<\/a> in our society: our erasure from existence. We aren’t even fathomable to most people.” Masen Davis, co-director of Global Action for Trans Equality, echoed that sentiment to ThinkProgress. “So many of the arguments against HERO are based on fear and misunderstanding of transgender people,” he explained, but “they also depend on a lack of visibility of transgender men<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Indeed, none of HERO’s opponents could provide ThinkProgress with the answer to a simple question: when it comes to bathrooms, what about transgender men<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Who are transgender men<\/a>?<\/h3>\n
\"Mitch<\/p>\n

Mitch Kellaway and retired Navy Seal Kristin Beck, standing in front of an image of Beck before she transitioned.<\/p>\n

CREDIT: Facebook\/Mitch Kellaway<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It’s true that transgender women<\/a> seek the use of women<\/a>’s restrooms; not only does using the restroom that matches their gender identity spare them from stigma, it also keeps them safer. Even when equipped with robust gender identity protections like HERO would create, transgender people face high rates of harassment and discrimination<\/a> when attempting to use the restroom. Though some transgender men<\/a> face these same safety issues, they can often have the opposite problem as well.<\/p>\n

Transgender men<\/a>, people assigned as female at birth but who identify as men<\/a>, are less often profiled as being trans. Thanks to the effects of testosterone, such as the growth of facial and body hair, lowering of the voice, and redistribution of body fat, they are often more readily perceived to be the men that they are<\/a>. New research suggests testosterone therapy can even change their brain structure<\/a> in masculinizing ways. As they are transitioning, these changes can put them in the position of being in a female-space but perceived as a man<\/a> — particularly in the absence of non-discrimination protections guaranteeing them access to the proper facilities.<\/p>\n

Kellaway dealt with just such experiences, describing how he avoided problems in public facilities during his transition by being “strategic”: <\/p>\n

\n

When I first started medically transitioning and was still often perceived as “female” in public, I’d use the women<\/a>’s restroom, despite the emotional costs from experiencing gender dysphoria; when I was perceived as androgynous (sometimes male<\/a>, sometimes female), I would hold my bladder rather than use a men<\/a>’s restroom out of fear of violence or make sure a female friend was with me at all times to somewhat “legitimize” my presence in a women<\/a>’s restroom; and now that I am perceived universally as male<\/a>, I still remain vigilant in public men<\/a>’s rooms — that worry just doesn’t go away 100 percent, because there are few feelings more vulnerable than having your pants down in public.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Senior Airman Logan Ireland, who now serves openly<\/a> in the Air Force, faced a unique yet similar set of circumstances during his transition. Though the Pentagon is in the process of lifting the ban<\/a> on transgender military service, Ireland still faces the risk that he could be discharged in the meantime. When he first enlisted in the military, he identified as a female, so when he began to transition a few years later, he had to hide himself.<\/p>\n

“When I went on hormones, I still had to use the female restrooms,” he told ThinkProgress. “It bothered me, but it didn’t bother me, because those were the rules, living that double life.” He didn’t specifically have any fears of his own, but he recognized the impact he had on the other women<\/a> using the facility.<\/p>\n

“Every single time that I had to use the female restroom, of course I felt uncomfortable. I was out of place. This was wrong,” he explained. “I felt bad for the other females around because they know something was out of place and I knew something was out of place. I tried to make that situation on them as easy as possible, and those incidents were few and far between.”<\/p>\n

Now that he’s living openly as a man<\/a>, he can use the male<\/a> restrooms, and “that’s effortless and not a problem.” His current workplace even has unisex restrooms, but everywhere else, when he uses the men<\/a>’s restroom, “no one bats an eye.”<\/p>\n

Who decides who uses which restroom?<\/h3>\n
\"Masen<\/p>\n

Masen Davis<\/p>\n

CREDIT: Facebook\/Masen Davis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kellaway told ThinkProgress that gender policing and stereotypes are a very real threat to transgender men<\/a>. “When we use the women<\/a>’s bathrooms we’re ‘supposed’ to use” — according to opponents of trans equality measures like HERO — “we’re seen as predators,” and that perception can lead to violence toward trans men<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The only escape in this rigid gender system is for trans men<\/a> to fit into society’s concept of what a man<\/a> ‘should’ look like and be perceived as such while using a men<\/a>’s room — which is a possibility for some men<\/a>, but leaves many other vulnerable.”<\/p>\n