I Am Not a Monster, and Neither Are You
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Journal, the William H. Bowen School of Law, or 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.
By: Gabriel Watson
鈥淚 stand before you an artist and an actress, a sister and a daughter, and I believe it鈥檚 important to name the various intersecting components of my multiple identities because I am not just one thing, and neither are you,鈥� . Like most folks growing up in this country, I lacked access to encountering transgender . This leads to a about my community.
First, transgender identity does not grow out of mental illness. A lot of trans folks do attend counseling because of constant, ceaseless pain felt when folks misunderstand us. Counseling sessions also create opportunities to access live-saving medications. The difference between many of us accessing hormone therapy is life or death. A entitled Suicidality Among Transgender Youth: Elucidating the Role of Interpersonal Risk Factors found that 82% of transgender people consider suicide, and 40% have attempted suicide.
Second, transgender folks have historically been for normal identity development because of the perceptions of and associations with mental illness. from the 19th century comes from a comparison to the Daniel Sickles Trial. Sickles, a congressman, caught his wife having an affair with Burton Key. He shot Key several times in Lafayette Square, after seeing his wife signal Key with her handkerchief from a hotel window. Sickles received the benefit of doubt and a temporary insanity defense. Around the same period in 1848, Columbus Ohio passed criminalizing mainly transgender people appearing 鈥渋n dress not belonging to his or her sex.鈥� A man killing his wife for cheating received grace; someone perceived as a man wearing women鈥檚 clothing did not.
Third, transgender women typically do not fantasize about impregnating women, and transgender men typically do not fantasize about pregnancy. Within the popular Netflix show , a man received a punishment where he had to take estrogen after being caught engaging in gay sex. The fictional court intended to stop him from getting erections. . The point is to note a biological reality of estrogen鈥檚 effect within bodies of people assigned male at birth. Similarly, transgender men often experience our highest feelings of body dysmorphia during times of increased breast development. For me, this felt like the moment when the carefree part of my life ended. For an additional understanding of rallying fears of the other in protection of daughters, helps to illustrate part of this history. Leo Max Frank moved from New York to Georgia to work for his uncle鈥檚 pencil company, and a jury found him guilty of killing a 13-year-old former worker. The Ku Klux Klan rallied for years in support of hanging the Jewish man from The North to vindicate Mary Phagan.
Finally, two historical Supreme Court cases help to inform us on how limiting transgender people to only using gender-neutral restrooms falls within precedent. The Court ruled against Homer A. Plessy in 1896 when he rode a train from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana in the whites only section. In 1954 the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in overruled , recognizing, 鈥渋n the field of public education the doctrines of separate but equal has no place.鈥� Granted, a gender-neutral restroom gives gender non-conforming people a safe option in a world often confused by transgender people. During a transition folks may look in-between male and female, so neither bathroom may feel safe. However, a suggestion for folks to only use bathrooms corresponding to assigned birth sex puts those who have already transitioned in danger. After a few years of , most transgender men . Requiring transgender men to use the women鈥檚 restroom would result in a serious safety risk when folks seeing a man in the women鈥檚 restroom. Transgender women experience similar dangers in these situations. Additionally, research associates forcing transgender teenagers to use bathrooms corresponding to assigned sex at birth with increased transphobic . A requirement of only using bathrooms corresponding to assigned birth sex or a gender-neutral restroom thus turns into a separate but equal argument for many transgender people. The only safe facility to use in these scenarios for many transgender folks becomes a separate one. Fear-based arguments for separate facilities do not align with. Additionally, transgender people do not always transition; their perspectives are no less valid.
A professor once noted, the smartest student in the room admitted what she did not know in a room full of future attorneys鈥攁 bold move for her to make. A couple of past cases and my own knowledge of my community can begin to sort through common misconceptions. When I took sexuality studies, the highest missed questions on exams fell within common transgender experiences. Missing these realities is not an indication of lack of intelligence but a . Instead of shaming ignorance we can begin to admit, I am not a monster, and neither are you.
About the Author: Gabriel Watson is a transgender-male student at the University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.