Politico: Biden's Efforts To Assist Transgender Students Are Unraveling

[Carolyn Marie]

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/30/biden-title-ix-policies-schools-00171797

 

 

Carolyn Marie

[Ivy]

Unfortunately we seem to be in a place where everything gets litigated.  And it's even worse since many of the judges are apparently political appointees.

People have no understanding of nuance, everything has to be black or white, and the judges disagree, yet they are the final authority.

 

[Charlize]

We have to wait and see what happens.  " The high court could make a decision as soon as this week."

Unfortunately knowing this court.........

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[KatieSC]

Yes, there are nuances, but one thing is clear: You cannot take an in-your-face approach to force anybody to accept another without initiating some backlash. By and large, people distrust others when the others are different. We kind of land in that zone of different. The whole thing with kids in school was not a factor years ago. Why? Well, I am betting that many of us knew we were transgender way back when we were young kids. We would have faced ridicule for dressing as the opposite gender if anybody knew.

 

Where things get a bit more weird is that with kids, especially younger adolescents around the ages of 12-15, they get really funny about their appearance, and can get really anxious when they have to disrobe. We see this in medical exams and give a lot of reassurance. Many of us may recall our own discomfort when we were forced to undress in a locker room at junior high and high school. I had really bad gynecomastia from the age of 11 until I had a mastectomy at the age of 13. I was tortured beyond belief. Remember when they pulled that shirts and skins crap in junior high and high school? It was the same for the girls I am sure. So along comes a transgender adolescent, who last year attended school as Chuck, and this year is Charlotte. Charlotte is told she can use the girl's locker room, but Charlotte still has male genitalia. Do you think this does not weird out the cisgender pre-teen, or early-teen girls? Yes it does.

 

I believe the kids should still be able to transition with proper assessments, and healthcare, but when it comes to the simpler things like using a bathroom, or locker room, I think it would be far better to ensure proper and available private areas. This can be done respectfully, until the child is far enough along in their transition, and the cohort of adolescents is a bit older so that they are not bothered by it. 

 

Several years ago when I was still in transition, I was teaching at a university. I met with the HR department to discuss the steps and measures I was taking to transition. I shared with them my personal journey, and laid out a timeline. I found them to be incredibly supportive. I also got their perspective, and how I would interact at the campus. I assured them that I would appear professional in attire, and I would not be presenting as female until I was further along, and passible to the point where I could blend in. I avoided the general women's restrooms until nobody questioned my appearance. This was at a university in Utah. I had zero problems. I met with the school again, and when I was ready, they were good with my presence. I never had any issues. In fact, on the day I was ready to come out to the students in my sections, the school had changed my email name, and revised all of the online courses to reflect my new name. I sent an email to all of the students in my courses and sections. If I had taken a more in your face approach where I demanded that I had to have access, and nobody was going to tell me I could not present the way I wanted to, I believe I would have faced backlash.

 

Maybe there should be a more conciliatory or collaborative approach to win folks over. Maybe if we get back to basics and explain our heartfelt struggles, maybe we can garner more support from the population. Speaking as someone who is transgender/transsexual, many people do not have any idea of the struggles that we go through. Many think all of this is voluntary on our part, and many confuse us with drag queens/kings. Whether we agree or not, people have some very hard attitudes, and overcoming those hard attitudes are difficult to change. They never see the sincerity and contributions that many of us make. They have no idea that many of us are veterans. They have no idea that many of us struggle just like they do with bills, jobs, etc. Many of the folks out there have no idea how many of us attempt suicide. They do not have any idea how many of us are killed simply because we are transgender. They have no idea how many of us wind up destitute. 

 

While I appreciate all of the support President Biden has given us, he is an island amongst the world in many ways. He has tried hard to support us. The future is still uneven. Regardless of what happens in November, I believe we will still see many battles over our existence. I wish I was wrong.