Okay, so remember several years ago when there was a whole uproar about trans people using restrooms? Well, it's been back big time on social media, so it got me thinking, now you have to think with me too.

The scenario being given this time around is:

A person who in every way appears as a man (dressed as a man, full beard, ect) walks into a Women's Restroom.

The questions go as follows:

Do women have a right to be afraid? Is it wrong to be afraid of someone who appears male whether they are or not?

And here's the thing, I think people should go to the restroom they are most comfortable in, and who the fuck am I to tell anyone how to dress or style themselves. But if someone who appears to be a man walked into a restroom with me, I would be scared, and I hate that it's true, but it's not unwarranted either from personal experience. But I'm not stupid, trans people whether fem or masc, have to be afraid all the time too.

Now in this situation I always go to facts, there is no group of people who is without baddies, that's just reality, I'm not making any group angels or devils, humanity is just more nuanced than that. But legitimately there's just not really any actual worry about trans people attacking women in bathrooms or cis men dressing as women to attack women in bathrooms. There is unfortunately issues with cis men attacking women in bathrooms, but the rate of this hasn't changed in areas where they've allowed people to use the bathroom of their choice.

So, is the entire idea of having sexed bathrooms ridiculous anyway? If it were up to me every bathroom stall would a full tiny room, and we could share handwashing stations. I don't want people peaking in the gaps of stalls at me no matter who they are. But what do you all think:

If you're trans and you are transitioning or aren't in a place in your life where you can be publicly transitioned, how have you handled this? How does this whole thing make you feel?

If you're non-binary, how do you handle the whole bathroom question?

What does everyone think about sexed bathrooms in general?

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@RickiTarr 99 Percent Invisible had an episode about redesigning public restrooms. Lots of good ideas. Many of which cannot be put into action until building codes change.

99percentinvisible.org/episode

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