Quote:
Originally posted by
Misfit Momma
This doesn't violate anyone's privacy anymore than having a cisgendered person in the changing room does...
Being transgendered is not just about dressing up as the opposite sex. While people could attempt to exploit this, it's
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This doesn't violate anyone's privacy anymore than having a cisgendered person in the changing room does...
Being transgendered is not just about dressing up as the opposite sex. While people could attempt to exploit this, it's generally pretty easy to tell the difference between a transgendered person and a person who is just dressing up.
Should kids be forced to be exposed to what, exactly? Reality?
I think it would be an excellent opportunity to explain to kids just how different each and every individual can be. My boys are old enough (10 and 11) that I have already taught them about transgenders and sexual orientations, but had they asked sooner I would have told them sooner.
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Additionally, how is this any more dangerous than a cissexual pedophile going into a locker room of the sex they identify as? In other words, a cissexual male could go into the men's locker room just as easily and harass or otherwise attempt to harm a child. This argument against transgender individuals using the appropriate bathroom or locker room is absurd and very thinly (if at all) veiled transphobic parading under the guise of concern trolling. It's shameful. The very real problems of sexual assault and child abuse are being exploited here to defend transphobia and that is awful. Anyone who has used this defense needs to closely examine the logic of their argument, as well as its true motivations.
Furthermore, no one has mentioned the safety of trans people in all of this madness. Consider the enormous number of verbal, sexual and other forms of physical violence that trans people endure when they go into private spaces designated for the sex that they were assigned at birth but do NOT identify with OR present as. Does this matter to anyone? Or are we all too busy going "B-b-b-but...what about the CHILDREN!!!!!" The children will be FINE. I grew up with two transgender relatives as strong presences in my life - an aunt and an uncle - and guess what? I wasn't traumatized. I grew up to not be hateful, or fearful of things I did not personally understand, and to understand that the world is a big and complex place that I wasn't always going to "get" right way and that this was okay. I do not see why it would be harmful for a child to see a trans person nude - regardless of their stage of transition - I only see that as helpful and teachable. Depending on a child's age, they may ask about it in front of the person. You can use that opportunity to tell a child
"It is not polite to talk about people's bodies or ask them questions about them. Their body - just like yours - is private and belongs to them and them only. Please apologize to this person."
You could later on (in private) explain that bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and that not all women have the same genitals, and not all men do either. You can explain what transsexuality is in rudimentary terms for them so that they have some basis of knowledge, and they can build on this as they get older and are better able to understand sexuality and gender in more complex ways. This is more or less what my mother did for me when my aunt transitioned and I started asking questions about her voice and her appearance. It worked just fine for me - and again, look ma, no trauma!
