Centering the most marginalized in the fight for trans access to bathrooms
Why the fight for trans restroom access has to be intersectional.
It's crucial to center trans people of color in our resistance:
1)Because black people are more likely to be perceived as threatening, black trans people are more likely to be policed in restrooms under the logic of someone being a threat.
2)Because black people and other people of color are often seen as devious or fraudulent, and the central logic of transphobia is the logic of fraud vs real, people of color's genders are more likely to be policed.
3)Because people of color are generally subjected to heightened scrutiny, BIPOC trans people are more vulnerable to bathroom surveillance.
4)Because the current focus of these efforts is on schools, and (in general) it is more difficult for people of color to transfer schools than it is for white people if their school decides to be gross about it.
5)According to the US Trans Survey, 3.2% of Middle Eastern and Asian trans women had been sexually assaulted in a restroom *in the past year*, along with 2.8% of Native and 2.4% of multiracial trans women, compared to 0.6% overall (which, as far as I can tell, is still significantly higher than cis women--I can't find *any* statistics on the incidence for cis women).
6)4% of undocumented trans people and 3% of Native trans people had been physically attacked in a bathroom in the past year, compared to 1% overall.
7)50% of undocumented trans people have had problems accessing restrooms in the past year, and 36% of native people. 23% of undocumented trans people and 18% of native trans people had been flat-out denied access to a restroom in the past year--double the overall rate (9%).
5)Trans people of color--and especially black trans women--are most frequently targeted for hate violence. As bathroom panic increases, so will hate violence.
It's important to center youth:
1)Because the current locus of this shit is schools
2)Because the degree of surveillance common in k-12 schools makes it almost impossible for trans youth to use restrooms without the permission of school authorities.
3)Because trans youth are likely to be surrounded by people who know their trans status and have free reign to target them for bullying and harassment.
4)Because, in general, youth have little agency to change their circumstances compared to adults (moving, finding a new job or social circle, accessing medical care, etc).
5)Because the totality of the previous 4 points means that trans youth getting high school educations at all will be dependent on getting *every single school in the country* to give trans students equal restroom access. Without an education, long-term economic prospects are harmed, and trans youth are funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline.
It's important to center trans women:
1)Because trans women are being explicitly demonized and targeted for harassment and violence.
2)Trans women are more likely to be perceived as trans, due to the heightened cultural stigma and surveillance.
3)Trans women are more likely to be sexually assaulted in restrooms. (the USTS only gives data about the racial background of trans women who are sexually assaulted in restrooms, but doesn't explicitly say that that's because trans women are more likely to be.)
4)Trans women--and especially black trans women--are most frequently targeted for hate violence. As bathroom panic increases, so will hate violence.
It's also important to include trans men. Trans men are the most likely to avoid public restrooms (75%), compared to 59% of trans people in general.
It's important to center gender non-conforming people, and all trans people who are consistently seen as trans:
1)Because it's generally true that there are no gendered bathrooms visibly trans folks can use without fear.
2)45% of trans people whose trans status was usually visible had problems accessing restrooms in the past year.
It's important to center sex workers.
20% of those working in the street economy had been denied access to a restroom in the past year, and 39% had had issues accessing bathrooms in the past year. 4% had been sexually assaulted in a bathroom in the past year.
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A reminder: all trans people are affected by policing of restrooms. Those who are not being centered are still way vulnerable compared to cis people. There needs to be room for everyone who's affected, which--again--is all trans folks. But we are not all affected equally, and it's crucial to lift up the voices of the most marginalized among us.
Source: Chapter 17, US Trans Survey (starts on page 224)
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