Dear Tell All: I admit to mixed feelings about the bill recently proposed by state Rep. Jesse Kremer, which would strictly divide restrooms and locker rooms in Wisconsin schools by biological sex. The intent is to keep transgender kids out of facilities reserved for the gender with which they identify. In other words, males who want to be female couldn’t shower in the girls’ locker room.
The bill has been greeted with catcalls, particularly here in Madison. But is it really such an out-there idea that it deserves to be rejected without even a discussion? As a woman, I can tell you that I would have freaked out having a biological male in the bathroom with me in high school.
I understand the problems transgender kids face — that’s why I have mixed feelings about Kremer’s bill. But I don’t think the needs of this small minority should infringe on the rights of all the other kids in school, particularly girls who can reasonably expect to be in the bathroom without boys.
Kremer’s bill doesn’t just say “like it or lump it” to transgender kids. It requires schools to make single-occupancy changing rooms or restrooms available for those who identify with another gender. To me that seems like a decent compromise between the needs of the individual and the needs of the larger school body.
So why the knee-jerk outrage?
Mother of Two Girls
Dear Mother: Why the outrage? Start with the fact that Kremer admits he consulted no one in the transgender community about his bill. Rather than involving them in the discussion, he would ram this legislation down their throats and confine trans kids to segregated facilities. That’s a black mark against a would-be problem-solver.
Kremer’s heavy-handed approach also tramples on policies that have been carefully worked out on the local level. Madison, among other cities, would have to change its approach to transgender students in restrooms and locker rooms, even in the absence of significant complaints or problems.
I don’t agree with you on this issue, Mother. Once upon a time, white people were uncomfortable about black people using their restrooms. We now clearly see that “discomfort” didn’t justify segregation for black people, and I think one day we’ll clearly see it doesn’t justify segregation for transgender people, either.
That said, you have a right to your opinion, and I welcome your voice in the community discussion. The problem is that Kremer’s bill won’t encourage such discussion, but rather shut it down.
Do you have a question about life or love in Madison?
Write Tell All, 100 State St., Madison, WI 53703. Or email tellall@isthmus.com.
