People are upset about this change in policy for many reasons; religious beliefs, feeling that it will lead to people who aren’t transgender taking advantage of this rule, and mainly discomfort. To this, I have a story from my travels:
Last week while I was in Melbourne my friends and I decided to go out to a bar in the city to dance and have a few drinks. Having a sever water addiction like I do, I soon needed to use the restroom at this bar. I walked to the back of the establishment and searched for a few minutes, looking for the familiar “girl” symbol on the door, searching for the word “ladies”, or even trying to find some sign of a feminine product dispenser. But much to my dismay, I was met by a sign in bold letters that said “Unisex Toilet”. Being a small bit skeptical at first, I decided to bite the bullet and walk in.
Now all would have been perfectly fine, if I had not been met by two men who automatically looked me up and down the minute I walked in. I’m not talking about the kind of way that girls do to see what another girl is wearing, but the kind of way that if I even made a friendly smile, they would take it as an invitation to make some kind of inappropriate and unasked for move on me. Right there, any confidence I had built up in telling myself ‘all will be fine, we are all in here for the same reason’ was dashed. My eyes automatically hit the floor as I twisted my toes inward to look like I was occupied, as to avoid attracting any more attention.
One of the bartenders whom I had a conversation with earlier in the night walked in at that point, and automatically noticed my discomfort. I watched him as he surveyed the scene of the two men, who had yet to stop looking at me, and look to see my facial expression. It must have been a mix of fear/discomfort/and an awful need to use the bathroom that caused him to walk over and whisper to me “Do you want me to stay in here until they leave and then wait outside for you?” An immense feeling of relief washed over me as I nodded eagerly and ran into a stall. While in there I heard the bartender tell the men to finish up and to stop loitering about. When I walked out of the stall, he nodded to me and I thanked him.
Now back to the topic on hand, if I was in the restroom with someone who was transgender would I feel uncomfortable? I’m not sure. There are many people who are transgender whom we wouldn’t really know were originally a different gender. For example Gigi Lazzarato (or Gigi Gorgeous as she is known by her YouTube subscribers). She is a Louboutin wearing, make up reviewing, socialite who would never fit in if she were to step into a male oriented bathroom. If I were in Miss Lazzarato’s expensive shoes, I do not think I would either.
But then there is the side of me that just experienced being in a unisex restroom and feeling extreme discomfort. True, I was with males who identified as males, but the same sort of thought lingers a bit. I’m very torn on this subject and I still don’t really know where I sit on this subject. In some ways, I feel happy for those who do identify as a different gender than what is on their birth certificate. If I had identified as a man or woman for a majority of my life, I would want to use the bathroom that fits me. In other ways, it does make me nervous that some people may try to take advantage of this for not so great ideals.
Whichever way you feel on this subject is all up to you. You can feel free to sign the petition and never step foot into Target again, or you can celebrate for those who now can feel more comfortable in common everyday situations. I will most likely remain sitting on this fence for a while.
