Transgender people should be able to use the bathrooms of the gender they identify as

It is absolutely fine if you would like to leave the "harmful to society" bit out, it is a bit broad. Definitions:Transgender- “of, relating to, or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth”Cisgender- "individuals who have a match between the gender they were assigned at birth, their bodies, and their personal identity"Gender- “the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex”Sex- “either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures”Contention 1: Transgender people should be regarded as the gender they identify as. People who are transgender and suffer from gender dysphoria feel they were born in the wrong body. They feel that their biology does not match up with their brain. This can cause them to become depressed and, often times, suicidal. [1] [2] The way most doctors go about treating this issue is by offering therapy and the option of transitioning (hormones, surgery, etc. ) into the gender they feel they are. I'd like to make an important note that people who suffer from gender dysphoria are not simply people who do not wish to conform to conventional gender roles. They are not, for example, men who prefer "feminine" things to "masculine" things, and then reach the conclusion that they must become female as a result. It does not work that way. It goes much deeper than that. Indeed, a girl can be very conventionally feminine and still experience gender dysphoria, they would just prefer to be be a very feminine boy. Some people would argue that people who suffer from gender dysphoria just need to learn to love and accept themselves. The problem with this argument is that gender dysphoria in these situations is not the result of self-esteem problems (though it can certainly cause self-esteem problems). You can’t compare a transgender person suffering from gender dysphoria to someone who thinks they aren’t beautiful enough by societal standards. It’s not the same thing. This is about identity, not vanity. It’s important to emphasize that it’s not a matter of transgender people wanting to be the other gender, it’s them already feeling that they are the other gender. It would be the equivalent of me (a cisgender female) all of a sudden waking up with male parts, I wouldn’t feel all that happy about it. I would probably feel deeply uncomfortable with it, and not just because I’ve lived my entire life as a female, but because it’s how I identify. I don’t identify as a male, so why would I want those parts? It’s something cisgender people take for granted, the fact that our minds match our bodies. We assume that this is the natural way for everyone, but it’s not. Contention 2: Transgender people should not be forced to use the bathrooms of the gender they do not identify as. Forcing trans people to use bathrooms of the gender they don’t identify as does not keep problems and disruptions from occurring. Indeed, there have been cases where cisgender people were mistaken as another gender and kicked out of the bathroom. [3] [4] I can see this being a problem for trans people as well. A trans woman who presents in a feminine way being forced to use the men’s room may get kicked out if people don’t realize she’s trans, and then what are her options? But, most importantly, this comes down to respecting an individuals dignity. It would be very understandable that a trans-man would feel uncomfortable using the women’s bathroom and that a trans-woman would feel uncomfortable using the men’s bathroom for the same reasons why a cisgender woman wouldn’t feel comfortable being forced to use the men’s room or a cisgender man wouldn’t feel comfortable being forced to use the woman’s room. Contention 3: It does not harm anyone. Allowing transgender people to use the bathrooms of the gender they identify as will not create danger for anyone. Many people say that cisgender women would not feel comfortable with trans-women using their bathrooms. But this is most likely due to their own ignorance of trans-women and probably transgenderism in general. And why should cisgender women’s feelings on this issue be more important than trans-women’s feelings? Certainly trans-women wouldn’t feel comfortable using a men’s bathroom where they are completely out-numbered. One of the most commonly stated reasons why people are not comfortable with the idea of transgender people using the bathrooms of the gender they identify as is that it would allow cisgender men to dress as women, walk into a women’s bathroom, and pose a potential threat to the women in that bathroom. While there is always a possibility of this happening, I doubt it will actually become a real problem. The fact is, if a man wants to walk into a bathroom and sexually assault a woman, he’ll probably want to make sure that his potential victim is by herself. He won’t want to do it with a bathroom full of potential witnesses. So, if no one is around to see him (besides his potential victim), it’s not going to really matter if he’s in drag or not when he enters the bathroom. At the end of the day, unfortunately, keeping trans women from using the women’s bathroom will not stop men from sexually assaulting women. If we want to stop that, or put a nice dent in it, we’d have to go about it another way (but that’s for another discussion. )[1] . http://www.abajournal.com......[2] . http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu...[3] . http://abclocal.go.com......[4] . http://www.nydailynews.com......