Transgender student's restroom use raises questions on PSD policy (lawyers, society, best)

[passwithoutatrace]

It would be easier if all bathrooms were gender neutral. I don't care who is taking care of business in the stall next to me. I'm in the bathroom to pee, not to wonder about the appearance of the person's genitals to my left. Of course, I also work outside so I don't have a lot of the normal hangups about using the bathroom (I've gone off the side of boats where the only cover was making the guys turn around).

I'm also biased because I am married to someone who is transgendered. I always wait outside bathrooms wondering whether he will get beaten up or not. It turns out that most guys are too busy using the facilities to even look at each other (or so I am told).

[Ceist]

Here we go again. Not that the willfully ignorant bigots will choose to educate themselves.

Sexual hormones and the brain: an essential alliance for sexual identity and sexual orientation (2010)
Endocr Dev. 2010;17:22-35. Epub 2009 Nov 24. Garcia-Falgueras A, Swaab DF.


The fetal brain develops during the intrauterine period in the male direction through a direct action of testosterone on the developing nerve cells, or in the female direction through the absence of this hormone surge. In this way, our gender identity (the conviction of belonging to the male or female gender) and sexual orientation are programmed or organized into our brain structures when we are still in the womb.

However, since sexual differentiation of the genitals takes place in the first two months of pregnancy and sexual differentiation of the brain starts in the second half of pregnancy, these two processes can be influenced independently, which may result in extreme cases in trans-sexuality. This also means that in the event of ambiguous sex at birth, the degree of masculinization of the genitals may not reflect the degree of masculinization of the brain.

There is no indication that social environment after birth has an effect on gender identity or sexual orientation.

__________________________________________________ ____



Several recent studies showed (untreated) transgender people have brains more like the opposite gender.


White matter microstructure in female to mal... [J Psychiatr Res. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

BACKGROUND:

Some gray and white matter regions of the brain are sexually dimorphic. The best MRI technique for identifying subtle differences in white matter is diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether white matter patterns in female to male (FtM) transsexuals before commencing cross-sex hormone treatment are more similar to that of their biological sex or to that of their gender identity.
METHOD:

DTI was performed in 18 FtM transsexuals and 24 male and 19 female heterosexual controls scanned with a 3 T Trio Tim Magneton. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was performed on white matter fibers of the whole brain, which was spatially analyzed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics.
RESULTS:

In controls, males have significantly higher FA values than females in the medial and posterior parts of the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the forceps minor, and the corticospinal tract. Compared to control females, FtM showed higher FA values in posterior part of the right SLF, the forceps minor and corticospinal tract. Compared to control males, FtM showed only lower FA values in the corticospinal tract.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results show that the white matter microstructure pattern in untreated FtM transsexuals is closer to the pattern of subjects who share their gender identity (males) than those who share their biological sex (females). Our results provide evidence for an inherent difference in the brain structure of FtM transsexuals.

"It's the first time it has been shown that the brains of female-to-male transsexual people are masculinised," Guillamon says.

In a separate study, the team used the same technique to compare white matter in 18 male-to-female transsexual people with that in 19 males and 19 females. Surprisingly, in each transsexual person's brain the structure of the white matter in the four regions was halfway between that of the males and females (Journal of Psychiatric Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.11.007).

"Their brains are not completely masculinised and not completely feminised, but they still feel female," says Guillamon.

[renault]

Originally Posted by Fiyero

With the US slowly turning into a Christian theocracy, what's the difference?

The difference is life: you're more likely to live if you offend a Christian than if you were to offend a Muslim.

For the record the US is less a "Christian theocracy" today than at any point in its history.

[Fiyero]

Originally Posted by renault

The difference is life: you're more likely to live if you offend a Christian than if you were to offend a Muslim.

Only because secularism and Separation of Church and State keeps nutcase Christians in line. There are plenty of fundies who would love to turn the US into a Christian Iran.

For the record the US is less a "Christian theocracy" today than at any point in its history.

Not sure I agree with that. Christian Fundamentalism didn't exist when this nation was founded. The founding fathers were barely what one would call Christian by today's viewpoints.

[emcee squared]

Originally Posted by All American NYC

"


Dionne is not a transgender, he is a cross dresser.
Vagina, women's restroom. Penis, men's restroom.

CASE should be CLOSED

In this society, yes.

Pee in your designated area.

[renault]

Originally Posted by Fiyero

Only because secularism and Separation of Church and State keeps nutcase Christians in line.

Since when did laws prevent religious extremists from doing what they think is Allah's work? Secular laws are not helping to keep the nutcase Muslims in line.

There are plenty of fundies who would love to turn the US into a Christian Iran.

Link?

[passwithoutatrace]

Out of curiosity, how many of the people throwing a fit over a person in the "wrong bathroom" would also be horrified if a man went into a woman's restroom with a disabled female? Many bathrooms have signs allowing an attendant of the opposite gender to go into that bathroom, complete with a picture. How is that different than a person identifying as female in a bathroom?

[nimchimpsky]

Originally Posted by passwithoutatrace

Out of curiosity, how many of the people throwing a fit over a person in the "wrong bathroom" would also be horrified if a man went into a woman's restroom with a disabled female? Many bathrooms have signs allowing an attendant of the opposite gender to go into that bathroom, complete with a picture. How is that different than a person identifying as female in a bathroom?

Because they think that transgender people are really creepy men pedophiles in disguise using transsexuality as a way to "pass" to get into the women's bathroom so they can creepily look at little girls.

Of course, the vast majority of trans people have zero interest in children sexually, just like the vast majority of straight and gay people. But that won't stop paranoid people from making that argument. Just do a simple CD search of any sort of trans-related issues and that's exactly what will pop up.

My gender is very ambiguous to people and coupled with blindness, people constantly think I'm going into the wrong bathroom. There are either two scenarios: 1) there are braille signs so I know I'm going in the right one or 2) there aren't braille signs so I shouldn't be held responsible for going into the right one anyway.

Incidentally enough, many bathrooms aren't accessible despite being said to be accessible because they lack a door-opening button or the sinks are too high or there is such a crowd of people a wheelchair-user has no way of wading through. This is why I propose a new solution: single bathroom off to the side from both the men's and women's restrooms, that would allow transgendered and genderqu$er people to go to the bathroom in peace, would allow families to go to the bathroom (i.e. if mommy is bringing her 4-year-old son to go pee) and would allow disabled people (whether or not with caregivers that are of the opposite sex) to go to the bathroom, because it would be able to meet a higher standard of accessibility (button, even better would be an automatic door), and sinks that are actually low enough for wheelchair users to use, which almost never happens in regular bathrooms.

1. Men/women wouldn't have to feel threatened. In the .0000000000001% chance scenario where there is some creepy pedophile posing as a transwoman, that wouldn't be able to happen anymore.
2. The 99.999999% of cases where people are just trans or genderqu$er and wanting to go about their business would be able to do so in a way they feel safe and wouldn't feel threatened.
2. A single stall is much easier for blind people and people with other disabilities to navigate. Also many disabled people take longer because of the nature of their disability and they wouldn't be adding to the wait in the main line anymore.
3. Families with mixed sexes, such as fathers with young daughters and mothers with young sons would be able to use the restroom without making other people uncomfortable.
4. The bathroom could meet a might higher standard of accessibility for all minority groups, containing a regular-sized urinal and a lower-urinal for kids, a regular-sized toilet and smaller toilet for kids, and a regular sink and a lowered sink for kids and wheelchair users. It could also have the device for diaper-changing and a tampon/pad dispenser so that transmen and genderqu$er women wouldn't have to awkwardly search for tampons.

Is there anyone that sees anything wrong with this suggestion? Anyone on either side of the issue disagree with any aspect of this solution?

[Glasvegas]

Originally Posted by plwhit

With England slowly turning into a muslim country you might regret a move there...

You mean the United Kingdom? And it isn't turning into a Muslim country...at least not last time I was there.

[Roaddog]

Originally Posted by Jaymax

Yes, I would encourage you to see your psychiatrist... again...

Nah I'm not the one who is confused.