‘Nondiscrimination’ ordinance leaves the Ts twisting in the wind, and LGBs let it happen
In the politically correct times in which we live, if you are a savvy city council and wish to permit and condone discrimination against a marginalized class of people, what is the safest way to do that? With a “nondiscrimination” ordinance! Brilliant!
Then, simply render this ordinance meaningless by exempting a wide group of organizations.
That is exactly what the city of Plano recently did.
In granting “equal rights” to its citizens — well most of its citizens — Plano exempted religious organizations, nonprofits (except for city contractors) and political, educational and governmental organizations.
As someone who is transgender, I have a real problem with this spiffy new gift to humanity. One is the clause stating, “Restroom access will be based upon physical anatomy.”
Yeah? How’s that work? Will a guy, who’d been a guy all his life but had some sort of industrial accident that cost him his penis, have to use the ladies room? Or will someone who identifies as female and has always done so and lives her life as a woman be subjected to an examination to determine said anatomy?
Is everyone entering a public restroom in the fair city of Plano subject to an examination of their “anatomy”? Or just certain people?
Isn’t that inherently discriminatory? Of course it is. It’s equally ridiculous.
What in creation are y’all so afraid of? I’ve been peeing in the ladies room for years without incident. Hell, I’ve probably peed next to you and you never knew.
I’m not scary. I’m not there to attack you or mess with your kids. I’m there for the same reason as you: to pee.
Do you have to look in your pants every time you head for the bathroom so you know for sure what gender you are? Of course not. You just know. So do I.
Unless businesses in the city of Plano station people at every single public restroom door and physically verify the anatomy of EVERY SINGLE PERSON entering a public restroom, then you are profiling and likely violating the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Besides, it’s already against the law for perverts to accost someone in the bathroom, or anywhere else for that matter. If you are really that concerned about restroom or locker room attacks, then instead of stationing the bathroom police outside to check anatomy, why not station security guards inside to protect the peeing public? Because safety isn’t the real issue, that’s why!
What’s it going to be Plano?
I am a transgender woman. I was assigned male at birth but have transitioned and now live my life as a woman. I didn’t set out to be an activist, but I just can’t sit silently while people like you, who are short-sighted at best and malicious at worst, sit in your high-backed, comfy chairs and sign documents that make my life more dangerous and difficult than it already is.
As I write this, I’m wearing a yellow, floor-length chiffon skirt and purple peasant blouse. My brown hair falls in curls below my shoulders. I’m wearing make-up suitable for work. Are y’all really going to make me use the men’s room? Who is in danger then?
Think about it.
But I suppose I am blessed. Because if you want to check my anatomy, what you would find is the prettiest little vagina that money can buy. Now what? Can I just go pee in peace? Or do we need to give the bathroom police the “ACME Instant Chromosome Tester.”
Where does this silliness end? Is your paranoia more important than my human dignity?
You know what are typically a “nonprofit agencies” that would be exempt from having to treat everyone equally? Emergency shelters! Yes, these are often segregated by gender. So, you going to make me bunk with the guys? Really?
The reality is that there aren’t enough transgender people in your fair city to matter politically. But dammit, we matter as human beings! And we deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect as anyone else.
It also saddens me that the transgender community is once again left behind and twisting in the wind as the “we got ours” attitude prevails once more. Not one organization that claims to represent LGBT interests stood up and cried foul. The LGB train left the station, again leaving the little “T” far behind. “We’ll come back and get you later,” they say.
Not good enough.
Leslie McMurray, a transgender woman, is a former radio DJ who lives and works in Dallas. Read more of her blogs at lesliemichelle44.wordpress.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition December 19, 2014